Impressions Around Soi Nana

Dear Readers,

Here are some impressions of my usual December trip to Soi Nana. Allow me to include some personal suggestions that some might find useful.

In my opinion, there is no better way to start these lines than beginning with the famous “mothership”, the Nana Hotel, where I have stayed for more than a decade. It still offers great value for the money with excellent service and clean rooms. May I suggest that you try to book a room on floor 11, on the quiet side with the even room numbers. The best way to get one is to contact Mrs. Jaruwan who is in charge of the bookings and speaks excellent English: nanaresdept01@gmail.com. She and the people at the reception are competent and helpful. At the restaurant there is a very good cook and the typical Thai dishes such as pad Thai or gaeng kiau wan moo are excellent and with prices around 150 to 300 THB, and worth every satang. Instead of the former booking office for travel, one can now have a very recommendable foot-massage; 300 baht for one half hour. But some little things have changed over the last years and not for the better. There is no more “Bangkok Post” early in the morning under your doorstep and your coupon for the welcome drink is not redeemable for harder stuff – instead of Tequila Sunrise, it’s now Chang or Heineken. The ladies who offer traditional massage have increased their price from 400 to 500 THB / hour. Breakfast on floor 4 is 300 baht instead of the previous 250, but still included for those who make direct online-bookings. But breakfast entirely could or should be improved, not only are there fewer choices but some days the eggs and rice were lukewarm, at best. Outside, the tables at the side of the parking lot were occupied by the usual older men drinking mostly Chang and looking at the passers-by when not joking with some ladies. A rather cynical friend of mine once labelled them as “reminders of the times of R&R”. A new element at the Nana Hotel is a continuous flow of younger men, mostly from Japan and South Korea, returning soon after opening hour at the Nana Plaza accompanied with quite attractive young ladies, and headed to the short-time rooms the hotel has rented out to a contractor. There are fewer girls “working” the parking lot.

Crossing the soi from the hotel to Nana Plaza, one has to be quite careful; cars let one pass, but motorcyclists often come at full speed. During my multiple “excursions” over the two weeks I stayed at the Nana Hotel, the plaza was mostly “full-house”. There were noticeably fewer farangs than former times, some Indians and plenty of younger customers from around Asia. Some short personal comments; the guards at the security-checkpoint at the entrance are correct, most watchmen are friendly, as long as one does not take a photo. Only one seemed to have had a bad day, as he was quite rude and chased me away when I had the audacity to sit down for a moment at one of the round, empty bar-stools in front of Spanky’s. Maybe he has had a problem with his girlfriend, or he just did not like old farangs? Concerning Spanky’s, should one not want to be spanked / punished by one of the most friendly young ladies either side of the entrance, just speak the magic words “ya ha tan” – “do not even think about it” and you shall be spared.. Mamasans did a good job with the exception of one at a “wonder”-ful ladyboy bar on the first floor. When out of curiosity I tried to get a closer look, she told me in a loud voice “You pay me 5000 THB or you bai!” Bai clearly not in the meaning of, “Please go” but as in “Get lost!” I did not argue with her or with the aforementioned guard, rather I just went away; only a fool would make a scene over such small things. Should one dare to interact with a former famous Thai porn star then cross to the other side to B 52 and look for Shasha, who still has the face of a true predator – but newbies beware, this lady is no kitty and might be more than you can handle! Pass the impressive new murals up to Billboard and Butterflies where there was mostly standing room only. As a rule, before midnight the overall scene was a bit “tame” without much “showing”. But afterwards the poor young things were tired from doing the Bangkok shuffle, and what better way to relax as to take a foam bath with a lot of rubbing and laughing – quite a nice view! Prices for short-time were as a rule starting at 4,000 THB, with a little bargaining down to 3,000 THB. Some stunners asked for much more, up to 6,000 and even 8,000, partly because they could afford it and partly as a polite Thai way of rejecting a customer they preferred not to go with, without any confrontation.  Add 1,000 THB for bar-fine and 200 – 300 THB for each drink and the times of cheap entertainment are as over as the former “girl-friend-experience”. It is high-season now, time is money and the family far away in Isaan is always hungry.

Outside Nana Plaza, a delicate “spinner” in a sexy outfit offered to stay with me all night – but she really looked way too young, and in case the police should catch you with an underage girl, man, you are in deep deep trouble! Some may suggest when in doubt about her age to inspect her ID card; but those cards can be faked or belong to an elder sister. And even if statistics suggest the danger is not very great, always be well protected. I personally prefer dried mangoes as a souvenir from Thailand, not AIDS. On Soi 4 / Soi Nana walking is difficult, especially at night because of the often broken pavements. At dawn, the strip between Nana Hotel and Ibis Hotel is full of girls and ladyboys; some consider it a playground for grown-ups, others as a human meat-market. Any female provocatively dressed who visits this part out of curiosity should not complain when she gets dubious offers, as was written about in some foreign newspapers. As a rule it is quite safe here as long as one is not drunk or stoned. Each of the hundreds of streetwalkers has her / his own modus operandi to attract your attention – most just smile at you or make a certain hand-gesture, others great you with “Nai nai” or “Hello, hansum man, I go with you.” Some try to hold your hand and a few even try to make a much bolder move. If not interested, just say no or “mai mi dang” – I do not have money – but please be not be rude to them. Most of them do not live “on the sunny side of the street” and are offering their services not out of fun or for getting the latest smartphone or Gucci bag, but out of necessity. Some are real eye candy. Others? Well, I am a polite man and tastes are different. A different tone to the overall picture of mostly Asian girls bring ladies from Arabia and Africa. Some readers previously speculated that the many well-rounded ladies in abayas – long black dresses – were Thais in disguise but when I spoke to a couple of them they responded in Arabic that they came from Lebanon and preferred to work here because of too much competition at the side of the Grace Hotel. Each year more black ladies now try to make a living here. When I asked a group of them who stayed close together for protection in my broken Swahili, they told me that most of them come from Kenya and Tanzania. I had the feeling that they were glad that someone spoke to them in a normal way and did not look at them as part of some sort of human zoo. Should finally anybody be interested in current prices for the many “butterflies of the night”, a few try their luck by asking for 2,500 THB, but most want 2,000 THB or even a bit less. But take a warning and never pay in advance, not even when already in your room with them, otherwise a sudden call may come to her smartphone from her “sick mother” and she needs to leave immediately. Some may be afraid to be paid afterwards at all – but as a rule, why work hard when you have been paid already?

Stick‘s thoughts:

A very nice report which captures the feel of Soi Nana wonderfully!