View source for Patpong

{{Short description|Street in Thailand}}
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'''Patpong''' ({{langx|th|พัฒน์พงศ์}}, {{RTGS|''Phat Phong''}}, {{IPA|th|pʰát pʰōŋ|pron}}) is an [[entertainment district]] in [[Bangkok]]'s [[Bang Rak District]], [[Thailand]], catering mainly, though not exclusively, to foreign tourists and expatriates.<ref name="Bangkok112">{{cite web |title=Patpong Opinion - including the ping pong scam! |url=http://bangkok112.com/patpong-opinion-including-the-ping-pong-scam/ |website=Bangkok112 |access-date=19 December 2018 |date=19 December 2015 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004140054/https://bangkok112.com/patpong-opinion-including-the-ping-pong-scam/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Patpong is internationally known as a [[red light district]] at the heart of Bangkok's [[sex industry]].<ref name="Bangkok112" /> It is the smallest and oldest of several red-light districts in the city.<ref name=Weitzer>{{cite book|title=Sex Tourism in Thailand: Inside Asia’s Premier Erotic Playground|first=Ronald|last=Weitzer|publisher=NYU Press|date=2023|isbn=9781479813407|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LsjcEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA114|page=114}}</ref> Some of Bangkok's red light districts cater primarily to Thai men while others, like Patpong, cater primarily to foreigners.<ref name="Bangkok112" />

Since the early 1990s a busy [[night market]] aimed at tourists has also been located in Patpong.<ref name=Weitzer/><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.bangkok-nightlife.com/bkk-nightlife-guide/#patpong|title=Bangkok Nightlife 2018 (UPDATED!)|work=Bangkok-Nightlife.com|access-date=2018-10-20|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Location and layout==
Patpong consists of two parallel side streets running between [[Si Lom|Silom]] and [[Surawong Road]]s<ref name="bangkok.com">{{cite web |title=Patpong in Bangkok - Bangkok Go Go Bars |url=http://www.bangkok.com/nightlife-go-go-bar/patpong.htm |website=bangkok.com |access-date=19 December 2018}}</ref> and one side street running from the opposite side of Surawong. Patpong is within walking distance from the [[BTS Skytrain]] [[Silom Line]]'s Sala Daeng Station, and [[MRT Blue Line]]'s Si Lom Station.

Patpong 1 is the main street with many bars of various kinds. Patpong 2 also has many similar bars. Next to these lies Soi Jaruwan, sometimes referred to as Patpong 3 but best known as Silom Soi 4. It has long catered to [[gay]] men, whilst nearby Soi Thaniya has expensive bars with Thai hostesses that cater almost exclusively to [[Japan]]ese men.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

==History and ownership==
Patpong gets its name from the family that owns much of the area's property. [[Luang Patpongpanich]] (or Patpongpanit), an immigrant from [[Hainan Island]], [[China]], purchased the area in 1946.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Slow |first=Oliver |date=2020-10-30 |title=When the CIA Ran Covert Operations From Bangkok's Red-Light District |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/when-the-cia-ran-covert-operations-from-bangkoks-red-light-district/ |access-date=2024-09-06 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref> At that time it was an undeveloped plot of land on the outskirts of the city.<ref name="Experience Unique Bangkok">{{cite web |title=Patpong night market - the one amid the red light district |url=https://www.expique.com/blog/2016/07/18/patpong-night-market-the-one-amid-bangkoks-red-light-district/ |website=Experience Unique Bangkok |access-date=19 December 2018 |date=18 July 2016}}</ref> A small [[khlong]] (canal) and a teakwood house were the only features. The family built a road – now called Patpong 1 – and several shop buildings, which were rented out. Patpong 2 was added later, and both roads are private property and not city streets.<ref name="Experience Unique Bangkok" /> Patpong 3 and Soi Thaniya are not owned by the Patpongpanich family. The old teak house was demolished long ago and the khlong was filled in to make room for more shops. Originally Patpong was an ordinary business area, but the arrival of bars eventually drove out most of the other businesses.

By 1968, a handful of nightclubs existed in the area, and Patpong became an [[R&R (military)|R&R]] (rest and recuperation) stop for US military officers serving in the [[Vietnam War]],<ref name="Experience Unique Bangkok" /> although the main R&R area for GIs was along New Petchburi Road, nicknamed "The Golden Mile".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Janssen |first1=Peter |title=Patpong: the rise of Bangkok's most famous red light district charted at new museum, complete with mock-up bar room and 'X-rated' area |url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3039692/patpong-rise-bangkoks-most-famous-red-light-district |access-date=24 December 2019 |work=South China Morning Post |date=29 November 2019}}</ref> In its prime during the 1970s and 1980s, Patpong was the premier nightlife area in Bangkok for foreigners, and was famous for its sexually explicit shows. In the mid-1980s the sois hosted an annual Patpong Mardi Gras, which was a weekend street fair that raised money for Thai charities.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Patpong Mardi Gras |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/02/19/The-Patpong-Mardi-Gras/9110414478800/ |website=UPI |access-date=19 December 2018 |language=en |date=19 February 1983}}</ref> In the early-1990s, however, the Patpongpanich family turned the sidewalks of Patpong 1 Road into a night market, renting out spaces to street vendors.<ref>Michael Backman. [http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/the-banana-plantation-turned-sex-zone/2005/09/20/1126982060480.html The banana plantation turned sex zone], ''[[The Age]]'', 2005-09-21</ref>

The consequence was that Patpong lost much of its vibrancy as a nightlife strip, becoming crowded with tourist shoppers who ignored the nightlife. [[Nana Plaza]] and [[Soi Cowboy]] drew away many of Patpong's thrill seekers. Patpong became a designated "entertainment zone" in 2004, along with [[Royal City Avenue]] (RCA) and portions of [[Ratchadapisek Road]], where the largest commercial sex venues are found. This designation allows its bars to stay open until 02:00, instead of the 24:00 or 01:00 legal closing times enforced in other areas.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Itthipongmaetee|first1=Chayanit|title=Why Bangkok's Fun is Ending at Midnight Again|url=http://www.khaosodenglish.com/life/entertainment/2018/02/13/bangkoks-fun-ending-midnight/|access-date=19 February 2018|work=Khaosod English|date=2018-02-13}}</ref>

In October 2019 the [[Patpong Museum]] opened in Patpong Soi 2, housing a collection of [[art]], [[antiques]] and [[displays]] covering 70 years of Patpong's history. The privately owned museum was located on the 2nd floor of building 5 opposite [[Foodland (Thailand)|Foodland]] supermarket and below Black Pagoda.<ref>{{cite news|title='Patpong Museum' opens in Bangkok's original soi of sex|url=https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/patpong-museum-opens-in-bangkoks-original-soi-of-sex/|date=28 October 2019|website=Coconuts}}</ref> Patpong Museum closed as of May 2023.

==In media==
Many Western films have featured Patpong, including ''[[The Deer Hunter]]'' (1978).<ref>{{cite web |title=7 Movie Locations in Bangkok - Bangkok.com Magazine |url=http://www.bangkok.com/magazine/7-movie-locations.htm |website=bangkok.com |access-date=19 December 2018}}</ref> The final part of the musical ''[[Miss Saigon]]'' (1989) is set in the Patpong bar scene.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

In ''[[Swimming to Cambodia]]'', [[Spalding Gray]] discussed the red light district of Patpong and its prostitutes, saying there wasn't much else to see in Bangkok save the [[Golden Buddha (statue)|Gold Buddha]] during the day and the whorehouses at night.

The song ''[[Welcome to Thailand]]'' from the 1987 studio album of the same name by the [[Thai rock]] band [[Carabao (band)|Carabao]] contains the lyrics: ''"Tom, Tom, where you go last night?... I love Meuang Thai. I like Patpong''{{-"}}.  The song complains that ''[[Farang]]'' tourists (Westerners) are often attracted to the sleazy side of Thailand (the sex tourism of Patpong and Pattaya).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://carabaoinenglish.com/song-translations/welcome-to-thailand|title=เวลคัมทูไทยแลนด์ Welcome to Thailand|work=carabaoinenglish.com|date=26 July 2015 |access-date=22 January 2019}}</ref>

The movie ''[[Baraka (film)|Baraka]]'' features several shots of strippers in Patpong.<ref>{{cite web |title=Patpong, Bangkok, a filming location from the film Baraka |url=http://www.barakasamsara.com/location/patpong-bangkok |website=www.barakasamsara.com |access-date=19 December 2018 |language=en |date=3 November 2011}}</ref>

The 1994 book ''Patpong Sisters: An American Woman's View of the Bangkok Sex World'' by [[Cleo Odzer]] describes the experiences of an anthropologist doing field research in Thailand.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Odzer|first1=Cleo|title=Patpong Sisters: An American Woman's View of the Bangkok Sex World|date=1994|publisher=Arcade Publishing|isbn=978-1559702812| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9NolzPvCHgoC|access-date=19 February 2018}}</ref>

''Patpong: Bangkok's Twilight Zone'' (2001, by Nick Nostitz) is a photographic depiction of aspects of the Patpong night life.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nostitz|first1=Nick|title=Patpong: Bangkok's Twilight Zone|date=2001|publisher=Westzone|isbn= 978-0953743827|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lusJAQAAMAAJ|access-date=19 February 2018}}</ref>

The 2008 book ''Ladyboys: The Secret World of Thailand's Third Gender'' paints a portrait of Thailand's [[kathoey]]s.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Aldous|first1=Susan|last2=Sereemongkonpol|first2=Pornchai|title=Ladyboys: The Secret World of Thailand's Third Gender|date=2008|publisher=Maverick House|isbn=9781905379484|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmDpHgAACAAJ|access-date=19 February 2018}}</ref>

''Patpong opera'' is a collection of songs written by Kevin Wood, manager of Radio City, to tunes of modern rock songs. Together they tell the story of the people in Patpong.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wood|first1=Kevin|title=Bangkok|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HccH53qD-9w |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/HccH53qD-9w| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|website=YouTube|date=9 October 2012 |access-date=19 February 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Patpong serves as part of the setting in Tom Robbins' book ''[[Villa Incognito]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Robbins |first1=Tom |title=Villa Incognito |date=2014 |publisher=Rowohlt E-Book |isbn=9783644039810 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RxSZAgAAQBAJ&q=Patpong+Villa+Incognito&pg=PT71 |language=de}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Prostitution in Thailand]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline|Patpong}}

{{Bang Rak District}}
{{Prostitution in Thailand}}

[[Category:Neighbourhoods of Bangkok]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Bangkok]]
[[Category:Red-light districts in Thailand]]
[[Category:Bang Rak district]]