# Soi Cowboy

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Street in Bangkok, Thailand

This article is about the red-light district in Bangkok. For the 2008 Thai film, see [*Soi Cowboy* (film)](/source/Soi_Cowboy_(film)).

Soi Cowboy Soi Cowboy at night in 2023 Interactive map of Soi Cowboy Length 150 m (490 ft) Location Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana district, Bangkok, Thailand Coordinates 13°44′12.5″N 100°33′45″E / 13.736806°N 100.56250°E / 13.736806; 100.56250 West end Asok Montri road East end Soi Sukhumvit 23 Other Known for Red-light district

**Soi Cowboy** ([Thai](/source/Thai_language): ซอยคาวบอย, [RTGS](/source/Royal_Thai_General_System_of_Transcription): **Soi Khaoboi**, pronounced [\[sɔ̄ːj kʰāːw.bɔ̄ːj\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Thai)) is a short street (*soi*) in [Bangkok](/source/Bangkok), Thailand. It is 150 metres (160 yards) long and is the location of around 40 commercial establishments, mostly [go-go bars](/source/Go-go_bar). It caters mainly to tourists and [expatriates](/source/Expatriates).[1] Soi Cowboy contains one of the three largest groups of foreign-oriented bars in Bangkok, the other two being [Patpong](/source/Patpong) and [Soi Nana Tai](/source/Nana_Plaza).[2]

Soi Cowboy at dusk

## Location

Soi Cowboy is near [Sukhumvit Road](/source/Sukhumvit_Road), between [Asok Montri Road](/source/Asok_Montri_Road) (Soi Sukhumvit 21) and Soi Sukhumvit 23, within walking distance from the [BTS Skytrain](/source/BTS_Skytrain)'s [Asok Station](/source/Asok_Station) and the [Bangkok MRT](/source/MRT_(Bangkok))'s [Sukhumvit Station](/source/Sukhumvit_Station). The Pullman Bangkok Grande Sukhumvit Hotel is nearby.[3]

## History

Soi Cowboy entrance on the side of Soi Sukhumvit 21

The first bar opened in Soi Cowboy in the early 1970s, but it was not until 1977 that a second bar opened on the street[2] by T. G. "Cowboy" Edwards, a retired American airman. Edwards got his nickname because he often wore a [cowboy hat](/source/Cowboy_hat) and the soi was given its name in reference to him by longtime nightlife columnist [Bernard Trink](/source/Bernard_Trink). The number of bars grew to 31 by the end of the century, all located on the ground floor.[2]

## In popular culture

Some scenes from the 2004 film *[Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason](/source/Bridget_Jones%3A_The_Edge_of_Reason)* were both shot in Soi Cowboy[4] and set there. In the film the actor [Hugh Grant](/source/Hugh_Grant) plays a character[5] who visits a Soi Cowboy [massage parlour](/source/Massage_parlour).[6]

In August 2006, scenes were shot in Soi Cowboy for the film *[Bangkok Dangerous](/source/Bangkok_Dangerous_(2008_film))*.[7]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NYT_1-0)** Fuller, Thomas (2007-10-27). ["At Home Amid the Red Lights"](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/books/25burd.html). *New York Times*. Retrieved 2015-01-25.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Steinfatt_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Steinfatt_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Steinfatt_2-2) Steinfatt, Thomas M. (2002). [*Working at the Bar: Sex Work and Health Communication in Thailand*](https://books.google.com/books?id=nG5ZpQJlpBoC&pg=PA17). Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 30–32. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781567505665](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781567505665).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Guest Friendly Hotels Near Soi Cowboy"](http://guestfriendlyhotelsbangkok.com/guest-friendly-hotels-near-soi-cowboy/). 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2016-08-09.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Lights, Camera, Location! Famous Movies That Used Thailand as a Location"](https://thebeat.asia/bangkok/vibe/pop-culture/lights-camera-location-famous-movies-that-used-thailand-as-a-location). *The Beat Asia*. 18 April 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Vergnügungsviertel Soi Cowboy in Bangkok"](https://www.entdecke-thailand.net/vergnuegungsviertel-soi-cowboy-in-bangkok.php) [Soi Cowboy entertainment district in Bangkok]. *Entdecke Thailand* (in German). 23 July 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Saranphon Poltecha (2017). [*Stereotypical Depiction of Thai Women in Hollywood Films*](https://ethesisarchive.library.tu.ac.th/thesis/2017/TU_2017_5406040245_8895_7102.pdf) (PDF) (Thesis). Thailand: Thammasat University.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["The Story Of Ploen"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080509165744/http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/Weekly2006/weekly276.htm), *Stickman's Guide to Bangkok*, 20 August 2006, archived from [the original](http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/Weekly2006/weekly276.htm) on 9 May 2008, retrieved 29 November 2016

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Soi Cowboy](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Soi_Cowboy).

- [Soi Cowboy Bars Photo Guide](https://web.archive.org/web/20060323043351/http://www.cityphotoguide.com/image/tid/15)

- Videos of Soi Cowboy: [Google Video](http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=soi+cowboy), [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Soi+Cowboy&search=Search)

- [List of Bars at Soi Cowboy](https://web.archive.org/web/20150510194110/http://www.barnewsbangkok.com/soicowboy.html) (archived copy from 2015)

v t e Prostitution in Thailand Red-light districts Boyztown Clinton Plaza Nana Plaza Patong Patpong Soi Cowboy Soi Pratuchai Sunee Plaza Walking Street, Pattaya Washington Square Organisations EMPOWER Human Help Network Foundation Thailand Media Bangkok Girl Elephant White Hotel Angel Kommissar X – Drei goldene Schlangen Once Upon a Time Only God Forgives Prisoners of a White God She Has a Name The Prostitute Trade of Innocents Trading Women Whores' Glory Other Child prostitution Don't! Buy! Thai! Ping pong show Sex trafficking

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Soi Cowboy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soi_Cowboy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soi_Cowboy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.