5 DECADES OF NANA | The History | Bar Areas Then & Now

[@lutzphilippines618]

What a pity that I can give you only ONE thumbs up for this video, by my opinion it deserves at least TEN thumbs up for the phantastic content as well as for the quality of the making. I have been only a few times in Thailand, only once at Nana Plaza, luckily during the "good" old days which now are past tense, unlikely to repeat in the near future. Thanks again!

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks for the kind words, Nana will never be the same again like the 90s/00s even if it gets busy again next year,

[@mvd4436]

The four floors of whores is still there no ?

[@CC-dx6bc]

@@BangkokPat its good stuff not click batey

[@daviddenham1511]

Fantastic even

[@MasterDag8825]

My first visit to Bangkok was in 1976. Many happy memories brought to life by your video. I loved it. Thank you.

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks David, Bangkok had more character and vibes 20yrs ago, I often wonder how I'd feel if I was a first time visitor in 2019. A lot has been lost along the way, but at least we can look back! Cheers!

[@mikeodonovan9299]

@@BangkokPat Man, I rode an old Honda Goldwing from Bangkok to top of Thailand, down the bottom and left Bangkok 2 months later. 1986. 24 years old. Full head of hair. Lol. Stayed in villages. No one could speak English but maybe one person who could translate. As long as i could pay for the cheap booze and the odd pig, sweet. Golden times. No phones. Internet.

[@BangkokPat]

@@mikeodonovan9299 Sounds fabulous, and you're obviously a good rider if you were biking hungover on those wild roads. My dad hitchiked asia in the late 60s, said the language barrier was no problem as getting drunk, eating and meeting women needed no real conversation skills.

[@dellcruz2818]

memories so very important than things that gets old.. out moded but happy memories remains forever

[@weberjack5483]

@@mikeodonovan9299 Iam Honda Magna V 4 1986 only 46000 Thb Im drof stret to Phuket .

[@greencraig8570]

God, I know that area so well. But if I ever make it back to Thailand I'm done with the bar scene. Just nature, culture, and a little shopping. The nightlife has lost its allure.

[@jimmyboysmovies1972]

I enjoyed this the 1st 2nd and now 3rd time Pat. Where you opened the vlog outside the Landmark Hotel makes me miss BKK so much 🥺 . 2 years now !!!!!! I always go to the huntsman bar under it. Great food ice cold beer and the singers are great. Your channel has grown so much and well deserved with all the effort you put into them. Keep em coming Pat stay safe

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Jimmy, while shooting this I sat outside enjoying the 1 for 1 happy hour drinks there. I'm not a drinker any more so would ask for ice which wasn't free and I'd end up consuming twice as much liquid. Sad how it's gone way down the pan the last 12 months.

[@jimmyboysmovies1972]

@@BangkokPat happy hour 🍻 ahh good times !! Use to order for more for when happy hour ended. The ice 🧊 cost is insane !!!!!! . It did get very humid outside. So they know you have to have it 😰😰😰 That’s a shame it’s not the same now . It’s been so tough hopefully 🙏 things will come good again. I wonder will BKK or anywhere in the world will be the same again. Take care Pat.

[@Tom-Yum-Gai]

@@BangkokPat hey, that "government" has run the whole country down hill. Them and the elite who consistently ignore and abuse the populace. They'll never see 40 million tourists a year again. They blew it...BIG TIME. This makes vids like this all that much more important, pushing them into the history of lost places category if you ask me. Macchu Picchu, Angkor Wat, NANA !!!! :)

[@stevemallibull]

Pat, you have made my day. I visited Thailand in 1972 , aged 20, and stayed at Miami Hotel. Blown away by the experience, I returned 3 mths later, with a mate, who married a Thai. Pictures of the Grace Hotel brought back memories of an attempted hold up in front of the hotel.In those days a girl cost A$2.50 for long time. Eventually I will upload my (blurred) videos from those days. I support all the comments re the quality and value of your wonderful videos. Thankyou again.

[@BangkokPat]

Glad to hear that you have good memories going back 50yrs! Miami hotel retained the old original interior and calls itself a retro hotel!! Totally different place now of course.

[@stevemallibull]

@@BangkokPat Thanks for yr reply , Pat. At 71, I am returning to Bangkok/thailand to revisit some places in Oct, one being the Miami Hotel,. among many others. Still has the same pool design, 50 yrs later.

[@DarkoFitCoach]

​@@stevemallibullhow was your trip to bkk after decades since your first visit. Its an amazing place bkk i LOVE it

[@stevemallibull]

@@DarkoFitCoach hi. Will be posting videos of my trip, after 50yrs, (have visited many times over 50yrs). Hope you can find them amongst the thousands of videos on youtube .

[@philiprussell4246]

In that year I stayed in the Malaysia Hotel.

[@JonCanton]

So depressing really, what a place Bangkok was, live in Chiang Mai now but miss the pre 2008 Bangkok beyond belief. Bangkok simply isn't Bangkok anymore, if used to be so raw and gritty, what a time it was!

[@BangkokPat]

I fully agree with you, it's more Blandcock nowadays and I'd say 2008 is about right, Bkk went off the boil after that and the condos and development accelerated to full speed, third world mentality thinks it's cool to look modern regardless of the reality. Bangkok can't keep papering over the cracks, if they're gonna modernize, then bring salaries, infrastructure and education along with it.

[@potosi289]

Tremendous editing job! Just as entertaining the second time!

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Michael, took long enough to do but very enjoyable, some very nice people in Nana who have businesses, made me feel welcome.

[@radleysmith7528]

Took me 3hrs to watch this;))

[@bkkfarang4749]

Very nostalgic and makes me reminisce about years gone by.

[@BangkokPat]

The days of 2000-2003 were epic nights out along that stretch of Sukhumvit, you couldn't beat that area for a bargain night out with so much choice of places to stop and have a cold one with your fellow bar hoppers (It was a lot friendlier back then too)

[@sparkeyjones6261]

@@BangkokPat I remember those nights well. The sights, smells, and activity along the stretch were wonderful. I really miss the street vendors and food carts that were everywhere at the time.

[@andrewfrancis7272]

@@BangkokPat People were less likely to be clued to mobile phones then. Hence friendlier!

[@sparkeyjones6261]

@@BangkokPat It was indeed a hell of a lot more friendly back then. What happened?

[@BangkokPat]

Chapters and locations on map are in description.👍 Pics taken during the shooting of video: www.flickr.com/photos/138595395@N02/albums/72177720295343211

[@mikekinsela7210]

Nice to reminisce about the old places. I know one thing about my 58 years on this earth is that the few days I have sat at soi 7 Beirgarden in the afternoon sipping a Beer or on the rail at Big Dogs watching the world go by have happy blissful memories to them.

[@BangkokPat]

Soi 7 used to be hactic and a fun place to sit and watch the world go by, the diverse couples eating in the food court across the street and the tourists, all drinking themselves silly in the early evening. Then a quick walk through the tunnel to Foodland for a feed.. Memories of 2003/4..

[@andrewfrancis7272]

In about a dozen visits over the years I've never felt like I understood Bangkok. Too big, and seemingly chaotic. Thanks to the video I feel like I have a little more insight. And love the historical stuff. My first visit to the city was in '88 and loved it then. Unfortunately they seem to be remaking Bangkok into a pale imitation of Singapore. It's a shame to see the old city - narrow sois, street vendors, etc - gradually disappearing.

[@BangkokPat]

I agree with you Andrew, Bangkok can seem like a jungle, and it is a jungle unless you're a city kind of person. They are trying to make Bangkok look modern, with all the buildings and gloss, but at its heart it'll be 3rd world as long as the infrastructure and poverty still exists, the new buildings just hide it more.

[@williamcrossan9333]

It's funny you say that. The first time I went to Bangkok, with a few mates, was awesome. We stopped over for a day in Singapore on the way back to Australia. I remember feeling how sterile and boring Singapore felt in comparison.

[@tomaskral4685]

@@williamcrossan9333 my first visit to Singapore was in 1982/3. Still had some interesting atmosphere, great cheap Arabic food ,now all gone. My first encounter with Bangkok was in 1985. Awesome!!

[@PeteNasia]

And Phnom pehn going Singapore way

[@123452315]

@@tomaskral4685 Yep bkk in 85, Singapore 71 as a child. Loved it, totally different to country Western Australia.

[@cpanui]

Fascinating! Thanks for posting this video. The way you present the material is also interesting and entertaining, and although these communities are changing, the historical record is absolutely fascinating. I hope we get to visit before we see another wave of change. Your videos remind us what a captivating place Bangkok (Krun Thep) and Thailand is. I look forward to more!

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks for the kind words mate. When there's not much to look forward to any more (even without the current problems) it's often better to just look back. Sukhumvit is beeing sterilised and the old haunts glossed over with commercial developments. Character and chaos that made it all gone!

[@F.C.77]

When I don't have anything to watch I rerun this video, great job.

[@wolschu5895]

Thank you for bringing back my memories of Bangkok. I first visited in 73 as a 21 year old and I delighted in seeing the Atlanta Hotel, the Grace Hotel and the coffee shop, plus the Thermae Cafe, all frequent hangouts over the years and unforgettable moments lived there. Bangkok is one of the most exciting cities of the world. Much has changed, but the essence of what makes Bangkok, it's nightlife, the bars, the markets and the whole scene haven't changed all that much. That is until Covid took over, but I have not experienced this side of travelling in Asia yet. Let's just hope things will change for the better again very soon. I am feeling sorry for people in Bangkok suffering from the side-effects of the pandemic and the political upheaval taking place. Thx again for the great video.

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks very much and sorry for late response, you would have definitely seen another completely different side of the city back then! The character that attracted people has slowly slipped away with all the modernisation and shift of tourism demographic, government thinks that shopping malls and glossy modern stuff will attract tourists!! Hopefully things can get back to the way it was before this all started in early 2020

[@fazbell]

LOL...the Atlanta Hotel has to be one of the unfriendliest places I have ever been. They have a very good restaurant, though. The Thermae is like something from another world. I found out it was run by the police. Didn't make me feel any safer, though.

[@peterthomas7093]

Grace Hotel coffee shop. First visited in 1980, then 1983 and finally 1989. Once visited never forgotten. The Atlanta Hotel, cheap but scruffy (never changed the sheets, never a shower head in the bathroom, nil maintenance carried out) but good restaurant. Thermae, the bar scene in Star Wars had nothing on this place.

[@boltman6359]

Stumbled on this and glad I did. Who remembers real elephants and their handlers walking along Sukhumvit for peddling for change? That was a shock to me let me tell you. The city has grown show much these days that its barely recognizable. Funny though...the girls who are employed in these bars don't seem to have aged at all. lol

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks man, glad you found it! I remember the elephants getting walked all over the place for money in exchange for sugar cane, sad sight that was outlawed finally. Bangkok is more like Blandcock nowadays, the character that attracted many in the old days all dried up. The government thinks foreigners wanna shop in big malls and are constantly building them, obliterating areas once more entertaining. In Nana on the corners of soi 6 and soi 7 opposite eachother are two commercial developments going up, and where Bullys was will soon be a flash overpriced fitness centre for the yuppies. The girls attitudes hardened as they became more fussy, which the internet and smartphones are to blame for. You're lucky if anyone even glances up at you as you walk in to some places. What a real shame. At least at our age we got memories!

[@beerman204]

My home base in Bangkok is Soi 8 at Nana. This video is much appreciated, all the hours spent giving the areas history the attention it deserves. There is a reason Bangkok is at the top of the list of world cities visited.....it is very, very unique....and worthy.....

[@ivangort5617]

In 1969, the Golden Palace Hotel was a great place for us GI's to stay on a budget. It did not cost 1500 Baht either. For 200 Baht a night (50:1 at the time=$10), The dining room was functional. The mural from that time is still there today. A phone call got you a girl for the night if so desired right 100-150 B. Or you went out and got company yourself. It was clean and modern for the times. Never had a problem with the shower either. It was a different time and different place back then. A private van for $100 B or more if not full, would take you back to your base. So somethings in this video is not quite accurate but close. I know I practically lived there.

[@BangkokPat]

Hello Ivan, apologies for such a delayed reply. That hotel was a mystery for those like me who only ever heard about it without ever going or staying there! Here is a ''then & now'' that I made of how the place looks now: www.flickr.com/photos/138595395@N02/51415545555/in/datetaken-public/ I'm actually really happy that a few ex US servicemen have got to see this video, the info I have had since doing it has been great, but like you say, some inaccuracies of course, I can only go by what I find online about these areas, and the whole GI era, which I find fascinating. I plan to do a whole Bangkok video on this, covering all the ares like the American Strip, Saphan Khwai, Khlong Toei, the other hotels around the city that had a murky past associated with that era. It'll take a lot of research and hopefully more stories from guys like yourself.

[@markfulwell4256]

Great video, brought back lots of memories of trips to Bangkok in the 80s & 90s. The Nana Hotel was a great place to stay and the disco was oh, so convenient!

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks mark, you had an all-in-one resort by the sound of it!

[@markfulwell4256]

@@BangkokPat I had more stamina back then!

[@vidmick]

Thank you for uploading this again, I first started coming to Thailand in 1988 mostly staying at the City Lodge Hotel, the wonderful memories you brought back, also a couple of places you missed, which were renowned in BKK alas no more, was Washington Square bar beers, just like Sukhumvit Square and which also met a very similar end, and of course just up from Nana the famous Jools bar-restaurant some amazing nights to be had there, both definitely worth a mention.

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks a lot Mick, City Lodge has been an institution for years, I think there's 3 of them along there. Now I see they're flogging rooms by the month. Obviously top location! I have done a video on Washington Square....

[@williamhartz8707]

I remember my wife & I staying in the Ambassador Hotel back in ‘93 and walked down Sukumvit which had no skytrain at the time, empty lots, and ugly neglected 1960-ish 4-5 story buildings . I returned 2004 and the place was unrecognizable. I enjoyed those old photos and film clips of the area.

[@LDW1961]

I've subscribed! That was a very entertaining and enlightening video, when I learned you are half-Thai, I really started paying attention to your work. Almost every soi has fun memories for me, I was late 90's and the noughties in my "youthful" 40s Finally, last year I bought an older (mid 80s) Condo on Soi 13, and now lower Soi 11 is a stagger away! Great effort mate, will watch like and comment on them all!

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks very much and great to hear that! The older condos l found were always bigger and designed more imaginitivelty, more room to stagger around!

[@stevozrepto5558]

24 k subscribers March 2023 Well done from chonburi 🍀🍀😂😂

[@BangkokPat]

Cheers Stevo.

[@faifaa]

At the end of Soi 5, if you took a right a Royal Benja, you'd get to Soi 7, and about 50 m or so, you'll find Mac Boutique Hotel, walk through the carpark and through an alley beside Baan Phuan massage shop, you'll end up at Soi 11, right in front of Mecure Hotel.

[@splod44]

A guy I know fell in love with a Nana Bar Girl . Yes you already know how this all goes . But there was an interesting part where she took him to Issan to meet the familly . He brought his "Girlfriend's" mother a bouquet of flowers . He left after a few hours and the Mother said " We can"t eat flowers" Culture culture mon brave !

[@BangkokPat]

Cheers, I will use this little story you've just told me, so typical and funny!

[@somnumna2606]

Wow very good historical video. Soi 11 has seen the most changes over 20 years living here. I used to be regular at Q Bar in Saigon when David opened it before leaving due to him doing too well. Then Q Bar in BKK was born. He is now at Smalls serving up great cocktails. Nana may be coming to an end so you might have to add that on in a few years time.

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks, I agree with you Sukhumvit 11 was where the proper clubbers went to in Nana, and Q Bar took the lead. Nana is coming to an end at the rate its going, only Soi 4 will be left over soon, Soi 7 will be forced out when the brand new commercial complex is finished on the corner, and Soi Arab is on its last legs with no customers.

[@letssee5213]

Ministry of Sound was popular at one stage till the boys in brown took the hump

[@mohamadakkaoui]

Great video, Bangkok has changed a lot. You asked for a translation to the arabic banner at 2:14: The management of "Lebanon Restaurant and Club" invites you tonight and every night to witness Arabic star singers and Belly Dancing. Cheers,

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks for that, a couple said it just said ''restaurant serving'' but yours sounds the most convincing!

[@jlinbkk7184]

I want to Buckskin Joe's a couple of times..Interesting vibe there.

[@wadawads]

Really glad I stumbled across this channel, super interesting! 😎🤟

[@christophersheppard1747]

Wow Pat, absolutely awesome vid! Brought back many happy memories. Life was so much less complicated 30, 40 years ago! Bangkok was so vibrant, exciting and seemed, in a sense, to be experimenting with its developing entertainment and cultural identity. Just for a minute I got a sniff of that again! Thanks for making the effort in what must have been a real mission putting this together.

[@BangkokPat]

Glad you enjoyed it Christopher, Bkk has not the same character today by a million miles!

[@jamuga60]

You know how I know the Thermae was a secret......................50 blokes, 500 women. There used to be this American bloke who only liked dark skin girls, that were from close to Myanmar border. Or Burma as it was then. There was every sort of girl you could imagine. Lots of uni student girls.

[@Few_politicians_run_your_life]

You are amazing. Nobody ever make any video explains anything in detail like you. Thank you so much. I hope some old corner in Bangkok will be keep as part of BKK history. I hate walking into big club just to get a drink.

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks, so much to look at in Nana, and so much to talk about!

[@fairbanksalaskamichael1988]

We always stayed at the Dynasty Inn when we went to Nana. Haven't been to Nana since 2017 but plan on visiting there for a few days on my next trip to Thailand soon. Miss the atmosphere and all the pretty girls but I'm married and older now so I'm sure after a few days of the loud music and wall to wall drunk people, I will have had my fill and it's on the other places in Bangkok, Pattaya, or up north to hang out with the wife's family. Great video Pat!

[@yiplekhong5111]

This is definitely the most underrated channel for introduction of interesting places in Bkk. It's pact with well research info .I really love all the episodes..

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks so much for your kind words, my videos take longer to make but it's worth it!

[@yiplekhong5111]

@@BangkokPat when you put enough effort in a video, audiences can tell the different between a well made production and a 'just another vlog'.

[@BangkokPat]

@@yiplekhong5111 I think most people want vlogs, but I'll always keep doing what I do.

[@simonbrown4142]

Yet another remarkable clip.On my bucket list is a day out with you in Bangkok in the Indian district.Cheers

[@faifaa]

One interesting thing about Soi 3/1 are the money changers. They operate till very late, after midnight. And the best part about these money changers is that you can actually bargain for a higher rate if you were changing larger amounts of money.

[@bombazine2]

I maybe in LA but I’m watching the re run of this wearing my Thai baht chain and drinking a cold Leo 😎

[@BangkokPat]

Best way Ed, how else could you relive the memories of a place where dreams were created and for some, shattered. Everyone had one favourite bar. Best days well behind it though. Cheers!

[@bakma4913]

The first Bar I believe was Woodstock opened in 1983 owned by Peter and Kevin an American and Australian! I used to drink there when it first opened! Woodstock had by far the best music and great girls! I can't remember the other Bars mentioned in this Video being open at that time!

[@fortuner123]

Soi Nana is now soi Arab. Nothing like the old days when only westerners went there. The disGrace Hotel has for decades been awful. The patrons liked cooking food in the hotel rooms and leaving all the mess to be cleaned out. My first trip to Bangkok was in 1984 and the bars were smaller and more relaxed. Too much glitter, lights and isolation in the big 'commercial' bars.

[@mythai9593]

Fantastic video but also depressing, it's all concrete and glass now. So many good place gone. I loved Lucky Luke's before the other beer bars were built outside, great place on an afternoon and people watching at around 6.00pm 😊. I had a drink in Soi Zero once, wasn't for me 😷.

[@senianns9522]

In November '82 I walked from the small Rainbow go go bar on Sukhomvit with the owner and some 'staff ' to look at Soi Cowboy. They were planning a move to what would become Nana Plaza.

[@t2216]

Thank You. Very good video. I left BKK just when covid started last time and head back there soon. I was first time there 2016, but feel the heyday was before internet age 90s and early 00s in Nana scene. I was too young to experience it then, but my father friends did. It is still one of my favorite cities. Cant wait to go there again next month

[@louisdisbury9759]

Pat did you know Sukmamvit Road is one of the longest roads in Thailand and stretches around the Gulf and through Chonburi to the Cambodian border,I remember cheap Charlies well I used to stay at the Grand President Hotel I all ways stayed there when I came to Bangkok, The garden Bar back in those days was a great afternoon venue full of attractive women that used to warm up for a night working in the hotel Nana love club,I well remember Clinton Plaza and the day those bars were demolished and Food land does some of the best Thai food I've eaten, Those were beyond doubt the best days in Bangkok.

[@Paul-dv4dr]

I've never even been to Thailand but watch this stuff thinking - ah! the good old days! Pat, you make great videos, thanks and I hope to be in Bangkok maybe later this year!

[@timw9354]

This was the first video of yours I found and made me a subscriber. So happy to find someone who is showing Thailand and not bar girls.

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Tim, there's everything in this video except bar girls almost. There are plenty of channels showing the sleaze, and they get hundreds of thousands of views!! And I thought this could easily get a new audience that YT failed to show it to first time because I had low subs

[@mvd4436]

Bed Supper Club and Q bar. That was my era. Around 2010. What a vast and mysterious city. I was drawn to it after the first time i set foot

[@larslars235]

A very interesting history lesson, thanks for the reload.

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Lars, my first long video, this took over 5wks!

[@waynedrummond6583]

The suitcase and bely shop next to the Police booth on the corner of Suk and Soi 4, has been there maybe about the same length as time as the Nana Hotel. I stayed there in 1970. Quite expensive at the time. Mainly American higher ranking officers on R&R from Vietnam. They had a good quality selection of ladies who worked the lobby and the bars and fantastic coffee shop on the ground floor. (From what I've been told).

[@Photojouralist123]

Seeing photos of Grace Hotel coffee shop holy shit , that place was insane!!!, the Rajah Hotel on soi nana, my god did that bring back memories.

[@johnsimpson6670]

(4:29) 22.40 baht for 95; and that's at a downtown pump. Oh how I yearn for the glory days.

[@JazzFunkNobby1964]

I had to stop watching. Thought I might get an epileptic fit. Please, please slow the video down. I want to see the content , not watch it whizz by before I can get a grasp of it. Love your work i just need to see it,

[@angadskate28]

Great choice for a reupload, this is easily one of my favorites and I bet of many others. Good stuff Pat!

[@BangkokPat]

Cheers, it needs a new audience I felt. KZbin didn't promote it the first time at all because I had low sub numbers.

[@vareast]

Nana Hotel was always my first stop in Thailand back in the early 80s when I was a frequent visitor. Don't remember any bars being there at the time, but there was a great travel agent (Thailand Tourist Service) run by a British lady called Susan.

[@Mrbimdrummer]

I remember the tunnel on Soi 5. I used to play with house band at the Country club there.

[@lorenzodeblock]

This is a great video. It reminded me of my trips to Bangkok. My Thailand days are over. I had the time of my life over there.

[@DrFingers]

Brings it all back. I first went there in 1979 and stayed at Rajah Hotel. Spent every night in Grace coffee shop, and Nana Hotel nightclub. Has anyone got any memories of these, or pictures or film? What was the Nana Club called? And their little coffee shop where I well remember meeting my first Thai girl. Help me remember it.

[@fazbell]

The Grace Hotel has got to be one of the strangest places I have ever stayed in. Mostly Arab clientele, a bowling alley, fat hookers and the most oddball coffee shop in Bangkok.

[@BangkokPat]

I never been in there, nor have I ever had any intention of doing so, too many stories of odd things and odd people!

[@fazbell]

@@BangkokPat I first went to Bangkok in 1998. Things have really changed. I remember the Buckskin Joes/Soi Zero complex well. Lots of very strange bars there.

[@michaelmilos2887]

Top shelf mate .always great videos

[@luciencourcol]

A tribute to Nana. High quality work. Thanks. Just one thing, why not keep the vintage footage ordered by date ?

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Lucien, I have the file of old footage by date, but not a lot exists. The stuff I showed has been uploaded on YT so many times in one form or another but I think I've found it all...

[@Photojouralist123]

Florida Hotel, Opera Hotel on soi samprang song in Petchuburi where the Green Bret's The Manhattan hotel the Chao Praya Hotel get a pizza for a quarter if you show military ID.

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks John for that info!!! I was at the Florida Hotel last week, took some photos, it's in pretty good condition for its age, the facade and sign. Sorry for such late response, YT isn't being reliable with notifications, for some reason.

[@piquedard]

2:24 i've made the same comments may times...i visited bkk for the first time in 1987! ... by then "no" tourist visited nana but few arabs (not in a derogatory way) because they had shops there. even soy cowboy was in its infancy with however the seemingly eternal Tilac! by then, there was only place for night owls: patpong!

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks! Never was a fan of Cowboy, went there if friends were visiting and wanted to go, I'd have preferred the earlier days in Nana to anytime after 2007

[@andrewmack2161]

As I mentioned on the original Vid comments, I've always known Soi 9 as Soi PP. It was a name mentioned in (I think) the late 90s by an acquaintance and I'd assumed there was a long history of a business or something that gave it the name, but walking slowly past it one hot evening a few years later I realised it got it's nickname from the stench of ammonia... 555 PS, this is still an excellent video.

[@BangkokPat]

Yes, for sure Andrew. I went there last week to see if there was any new artwork on the graffiti walls, and despite the ''lockdown'' around there it still stank of fresh urine. Thanks mate!

[@rexprestonstoner4612]

Bangkok Pat : Great video...kudos ! I have a question for you : when I visited Bangkok in the late 1980s, I vividly remember a bar called "Mississippi Queen" which I recalled was owned by an Australian expat. I think it was actually on Patpong but that was so long ago. As a matter of interest, in your archival material, do you have any record of this bar ? Thanks again and congrats on the informative videos. Rex Preston Stoner, Paris-FR

[@BangkokPat]

Rex, nice to hear from you mate, try these links: www.thebigchilli.com/feature-stories/the-original-hippie-behind-mississippi-queen-patpongs-legendary-soul-bar www.bangkokeyes.com/2013dec01.html www.patpongmuseum.com/mississippi-queen/

[@molonlabe9602]

@29:46...what a real Thai girl should look like.

[@BangkokPat]

Fantastic!

[@AikenAiken417]

Nowadays it's very expensive and scammy

[@lescline2246]

Great video I think I'm on my fourth time watching it a lot of really good detail

[@John-nw8uj]

The original three bars moved to Nana when the big roadworks took place that gave us the major interchange /junction at Soi Asok . They where located on the left hand side of Suckhumvit coming into town and had to be demolished as part of the roadworks. Raja was the tailor, originally on Suckhumvit and operated by the twins who where part of the Nana family. They moved on to Soi 4 at the entrance to the Plaza and the younger nephew took over, top quality suits from Raja. The original Theremea was the best value for money Massage, reputedly owned by the Police Pension fund. Khun Nana owned the white wooden house on Suckhumvit located well back from the road just after Soi 1. John

[@BangkokPat]

Fantastic John, that's the kind of info Iyou'll never find in google, but wish I did. The roadworks at Asok was to widen the road, and they also got rid of the top of Soi 16, right? I been trying to piece this together for a while. And that house IS Lek Nana's house. I wondered about it, and was asking and nobody knew for sure on twitter/FB, so I didn't mention it. Should have. Cheers.

[@John-nw8uj]

@@BangkokPat An elderly Brit I knew lived on Soi 1. He told me the old white wooden house was that of Khun Nana who originally owned all the land in that area after the railway line. I was also told that in very early sixties the eastern bus terminal was located there and there was nothing but orange orchards until you reached Pra Khanong, the first Amphure out of Bangkok. Then the 60s led to massive expansion of Suckhumvit and the area. John

[@jimisi7424]

Is soi 11 eden still there. I sent a few friends there but have a phobia so dont do such things

[@simonlancashire9955]

I love these videos. Thanks for some excellent content.

[@DJ-ys9cn]

Great video Pat!! Have fond memories of the Tunnel, who'd have thought hanging out on backstreet alleyway could be so much fun!! Lord there was some character and characters down there. Remember Soi Zero too, surreal with the railway on top of it. Modern BKK is boring by comparison.

[@BangkokPat]

HI Bob! Thanks mate...I never thought that it was possible to get drunk and have fun while standing at a bar in the tunnel and having to move each time someone went past, it became a habit after a few visits. I'm not gonna pretend I was in floods of tears when it shut, but places like that get cult status.....

[@bakma4913]

But I must say a great video it brought back so many memories!

[@wanmerah]

i am ur new subscriber.. very good content keep it up boss.

[@karabogaz]

the Q bar had the same Q as the skyscraper to BTS Nana

[@mattybtrekking331]

Thanks for the Video Bangkok Pat...informative... Another fyi Nana when the Bars closed Nana Plaza back in early 2000's at 2-3am the Crowds migrated to the Street bars outside Nana plaza with Thai's selling beers/Bottled Vodka in Esky's....lot of free lance chicks & at end Soi 5 we called the chicks "Bus Stop chicks" as they use to pretend they were waiting for a Bus but free lancing at 700-800 baht .... The Food Land at Soi 5 was the go to 555... I was similar to Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Beach" ...stay safe my friend Mattyb

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Matty, you had a few adventures by the sound of it mate.

[@weberjack5483]

Nana Placa 35-40 thi yaers First Bar Lucki Luck. Hotel Nana is longer Therme gif you warm Graes get you Stress. Golden Palce 200-300thb

[@BangkokPat]

Fabulous memories!

[@errolflynn2626]

Kop khun kop, I'm in Ban Chang Rayong now..and the quality of this is outstanding....when I travel I always bring those Nana Hotel Soi 4 coat hangers with me happiest memories ...and they last forever!

[@BangkokPat]

Hey, thanks!...A hotel with stealable coat hangers? That's rare, usually they're fixed to the rail! And you carry them everywhere you go!!

[@HastolNafor]

The historical perspective is excellent. Great niche, so different to most youtubers.

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Jason, I tried to do what everyone else didn't!

[@tjmctube]

My wife's cousin and her Canadian husband ran a restaurant on Soi 7/1 called B&A Bistro. On our 2016 trip we went a number of times for dinner during our stay in Bangkok. One night after dinner I decided to stay and drink with the husband and my wife returned to the hotel. A number of beers later I left, but instead of heading back down to Sukhumvit I decided to head the other way to see the rest of 7/1. I passed by Dr. BJs which if I had one more beer...... it would have been another story. Got to the top of 7/1 which hooked to the right and I found myself staring down Soi 9. I didn't know it was Soi 9. It looked to me more like some kind of service alley for the businesses on 7/1. You'd think one look and I would have turned around, but the beer was talking so it was "just carry on". It was creepy, foreboding, nasty. Had every characteristic of that place a tour book would say to avoid at all cost to life and property. Funny thing was the more I walked down the Soi the more comfortable I felt. Nobody bothered me, but there wasn't really anyone there, which actually should have been even more disturbing. Turned out to be one of those random memorable experiences that would never have been put on your "to-do" trip itinerary.

[@dennisjankowsky6130]

What a serious serious project you have completed! Congratulation! I just wish you could conduct more interviews with people who could tell more of tyhose interesting bangkok 90-00s stories

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Dennis, took me 6wks to do that video! But well worth it, putting it all together.

[@jaycee167]

My gf always got her hair done in The Tunnel at 19:33.

[@Seventh-day]

Thank you for this informative video. It may well be that you are the only person in Bangkok documenting it's history. And, you are preserving much historic footage, that might otherwise never be seen again.

[@BangkokPat]

Cheers Will, I set out to do a channel that nobody else was doing, and dig up a lot of lost footage. I often wonder how much other lost / unseen footage there is of these places.

[@mchai681]

Thanks for the informative video.. YOU MADE ME FEEL BETTER AS I RCALLED ALL OF THE NICE PLACES... GOD BLESS YOU... GOD HELP ME GO BACK...

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks! If you went back, you'd be pretty disappointed around Nana now. It's neither lively or fun. Areas have gone and the commercial developments to gentrify the area are well under way!

[@travelviking68]

Glad i found this video. Abd glad to see your channel now get the attention it deserve. This was super intressting for us that has been in Bangkok for decades now.

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks! May do a couple of updates to it in a short Part 2!

[@davedenham8697]

Grand Business Inn Soi 11….my favourite hotel in Bangkok…….not expensive, brilliant

[@BangkokPat]

Heard good things about it, nice location too.

[@daviddenham1511]

Just love the fact there’s a patch of shrubbery in your video called BUSH GARDEN…..how apt.

[@BangkokPat]

Yes that crossed my mind too.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Fascinating vid. I haven't spent much time in Bangkok so can't relate to a lot of it but you get the feeling the powers that be want to gentrify everything! I wonder how much Chinese money is behind it? Perhaps hoping for new laws on gambling?.......

[@SD-wo5ru]

Wow The Good ole days , Buckskin Joe was a Western-style theme park and railway 8 miles west of Cañon City, Colorado, opened in 1957 ... closed ?

[@BangkokPat]

No idea Sean, and no idea how it came to be really called Buckskin Joe's in Nana but I reckon Andrew Clark got it right in the video.

[@alucardcount9478]

Had to laugh Qbar guy sayn there was no international dj musik...ahh mus of been bliss...who the hell wants ibiza in bkk...pls keep ur crap in Europe.

[@BangkokPat]

it was the clubbing Thais who felt they wanted to be on a par with what was a hit in Europe but to be honest it didn't quite work as the atmosphere in Bangkok clubs is just so different, earlier closings 1-2am, nights sponsored by whisky brands so people try to just look cool with their bottles, no other drinks available, not knowing how to dance to the tunes...that is what I witnessed at Ministry Of Sound Bangkok. In 1999/2000 the Thai scene was more techno orientated. Not saying it was terrible but things didn't quite feel the same as they would in London clubs. Then along came the cut price euro DJs, who hadn't played a gig in their own countries before but were a novelty ''foreign'' DJ here in Bangkok. I could go on and on, but I think you know what I mean.

[@gregbolitho9775]

Thanks for the memes, remember in 2013 our Boss, got so pissed, we had to carry him home from that German beer garden, I was the oldest, so I had to share a room with him. thank God the other 4 were still in the rooms. I'm tryin to take a wizz in the appropiate place, and in the Boss wanders, to apoligise for bein that pizzed and leans on the shower curtain, and falls in the bath, TWICE! I didn't go back in 2015.

[@BangkokPat]

Sounds like a terrible night Greg!! I had a similar situation with a guy who was pissed in Soi 13, it was suggested I help him back to his hotel which was the Ambassador nearby. I didn't even know him but I was the only other bloke in the bar at closing time. He stumbled into the bathroom and was trying to piss in the sink, fell over while pissing and it went all over the place. I helped him up, and put him on the bed with his jeans undone and piss stained. Then I left. Never again did I ever befriend any strangers in bars.

[@timshaw1714]

Excellent video..thanks for making this....makes me feel very nostalgic for my time in Bangkok (16 years). Thanks again.

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Tim, looking back is much preferable than looking forward at the moment, so I'm glad many have got round to seeing Nana in its heyday....probably never to be repeated!

[@davedenham8697]

Nana Hotel……gotta be possibly the BIGGEST brothel in the world!

[@BangkokPat]

I heard that a lot, although never stayed.

[@andrewstones2921]

Great video, oh so many memories for an old timer like me.. when you showed that picture of the Dubai Restaurant next to the Grace Hotel you should have mentioned that it’s the most amazing food. Everyone I have been there with has gone back again and again, only problem for some is that they don’t serve alcohol but that’s a small price to pay for such amazing food. I lived in North Thailand for 16 years and every couple of months I’d go to Bangkok meet a friend who lived in the south and we would stay in Nana area, in a friendly hotel above a tailors shop near the BTS. Nana in the daytime and Nana after midnight are of course like different planets.. I remember once I was walking to my hotel and a ladyboy approached me (as they do) and I wasn’t in the mood for girls/ladyboys at the moment.. she/he said to me “I go with you mr I have nice pussy”, I knew she was a lb so I said “ sorry no I am looking for a Ladyboy”, she Immediately replied with “ mr I have big cock”… only in Bangkok eh.

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Andrew! The staff at the Dubai were amused watching me reshoot that so many times after getting the words mixed up (it was a lot of words to memorize) at one point I almost asked them for a glass of water....That hotel above the tailors, was that Parkway Inn? I always remember that as being 990 Baht for years. I recently got stared down by a LB in Nana and when I walked on I heard ''what's wrong with you I have same same lady'' ..at the moment a few freelancers standing about on the hope, and I'd imagine they do get some business given the number of blokes walking about prowling!

[@andrewstones2921]

@@BangkokPat Yes the Parkway, the staff there are so friendly and the breakfast is included and is good, more important you can get a decent mug of tea anytime day or night. I’ve been to lots of other hotels in the area, including the Dynasty Inn but I’d never go back to the Nana Hotel after a shocking bad experience there in about 2002, also I sometimes go over to Maxims Inn just after the Eden Club on 7/1 , but I have to say Parkway was a favourite for many many years. Never underestimate the amount of business a LB gets around Nana, I find them entertaining and a lot of fun, but they can also be a real pain in the ass ( terrible pun I know). There is a LB bar upstairs in Nana Plaza that is small and has been there for decades, I’d often go in there for a drink with a friend who also finds then amusing. I know one gurl who has been there for 15 years to my knowledge.. I nearly choked on my beer once hearing her tell a punter that she’d worked there for 2 weeks and was 25 years old… I don’t know which lie was the biggest. The restaurant in the Nana hotel is good just for the view, and I like Chequers bar on Soi 4 also as it’s a break from all the usual bs. A lot of those Middle Eastern restaurants are great, but seriously If you have not eaten in the Dubai then you don’t know what you are missing.

[@Mike_in_Thailand]

The final straw in Nana's decline was when the Golden Bar at the Nana closed down, to be replaced by the fake American commercialism of Hooters.

[@BangkokPat]

I always thought all the guys loved hooters and had claims to have 'had' some of their staff who weren't on the game, apparently

[@samtheman8899]

Clinton Plaza. Remember it well.

[@davedenham8697]

The Park Hotel is the worst hotel I’ve EVER stayed in……thank god it’s finally closed….even the carpets were wet and stank!

[@BangkokPat]

The Park Hotel remains standing at the moment and I've a feeling it'll be reopened by the end of the year, I saw and heard building work going on 2 months ago.

[@boxcartwilly]

Very interesting and informative documentary really well put together 👍😃😎

[@BangkokPat]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks very much.

[@Chai_Travel]

Champ!! I didn’t see the first upload. I’m glad you made a makeover. I loved the interview with Bob van Es. I actually bought a tripod because of you. You inspire me man 🙏🏼 Keep them coming 🤩🤩

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks mate, that's the thing, many recent subs haven't seen it! A good tripod is your friend!! Especially when I shoot I have to keep taking it down and setting it up.

[@Chai_Travel]

@@BangkokPat haha yeah and you have to bring it along after you finished filming 😅 I forgot to put my tripod back in my backpack the 2nd time I’ve used it… lesson learned 🙈

[@russellb4510]

Wow, what a great video and rekindling the memories of many wonderful times in my life. Started going to Thailand in 77 for diving in the Ko Similan Islands. Went back almost every year in April and November for diving. I had a great tailor on Sukumvit and Soi 11 for almost all my clothes. Usually stayed at the Landmark and spent the days at the pool and the nights at Nana and Soi Cowboy or Soi 33 then headed south to Pattaya for a few and then Phuket for a great diving base at the Amari. Not to mention the Green Mango on Ko Samui. If I could do it all over again , I would do the same. Love those LBFMs. Keep up the great work!

[@BangkokPat]

There's a phrase many would use for that life, which is ''living the dream'' especially in those days before modernisation took hold here in Bangkok. I didn't get to Pattaya until 2000 and it was still a bargain and good old fashioned fun night out. After about 2005 it changed quickly, crowded and the wrong type of tourists (I know it sounds selfish) who weren't in town for the same reasons as before and there was no rapport between guys in bars like years before.

[@RevStickleback]

I first went to Thailand in 2007, but I wish I'd discovered it ten years earlier. OK, some of the lower rent places still existed in 2007, but there looked so much more to discover back then. I just hope they can allow the place to reopen properly by the start of next year, if not earlier.

[@BangkokPat]

Early 2001 was the time I first encountered that area, Dynasty Hotel. It was full on and the vibe was happy. I'm also hoping it'll be reopening, probably won't be like before but you never know.

[@jameswilsonjr5726]

The two greatest eras for BKK fun times were in the early /mid 1960 when The Air America guys were going to the Pat Pong area and after 1966 when the Americans were coming to BKK for R&R from Vietnam. Actually, after the Vietnam War things got even better in the mid 1970s with all the Americans and Aussies ex-soldiers plus Thailand was now known as a place to escape from the cold weather in Europe and The UK.

[@martynbush3462]

2007 was my first trip to Thailand too. 17 November 2007 for 9 weeks. Loved it.

[@jcmolette1613]

Quite frankly, you missed the place this video was all about. I first came to Thailand in 1972, married my house girl (maid). We're still married today and returned to live in Northeastern Thailand in 2003. It's like living in the USA back in the 70's

[@FoxyFreddie]

Superb videos - just catching up on the backlog, really excellent. Thank you

[@BangkokPat]

Glad you enjoy them Freddie, thanks!

[@gregbolitho9775]

Nice 1, liked the furry and hairy locals the best. Never been there, wouldn't mind trying the food.

[@BangkokPat]

Soi Aran had great food to soak up the booze at midnight.