History of Soi Twilight

[JayToff]

I first came in 1971 for a long beach holiday in the unspoilt village of Pattaya. .

I remember when Pattaya was a respectable holiday destination and it was the mention of Hat Yai and Chiang Mai that used to lead to snickers and knowing smiles.

Brad, you really must write a history of Soi 4. You have contributed so many fascinating vignettes on here but what still missing is a narrative history of that Soi, and of Soi 2 for that matter. Someone who has actually experienced it from the earliest years needs to put into words how the air on that soi has changed over the decades and how it has evolved from the Soi Katoey of the early days to being the Soi Dining of today. Soi 4 has never been my playground, but its days are numbered, as it has also been bought over for re-development by the same group that bought Soi Twilight, and its history is worth recording. I can't think of anyone who could do a better job of it than you.

So are Tawan and Super-A the only surviving Gogo bars, in the location from the 1991 map ?
Plus from 1999 map, Screwboys ?

(Question based on map observations, since I didn't visit Thailand until about 15 years ago)

Tawan has been in the same place since that map was published, but had only moved to Soi Tantawan around that time. It was previously just off Suriwongse Road, a little bit further down towards the New Road end. In its old location, it started-out as more of a twink bar.

Screw Boy is now back in its original location, which is the location on the map. Bear in mind that it moved to Soi Twilight for a while though. It moved first to the back of the Soi, into the Five Star building and then towards the front of the Soi into the X-Boys site. So, while it is back in its original location now, it can't claim to have been its original location throughout. Before Screw Boy opened on Patpong II, the site was previously the Princess' Castle girlie bar, which was owned by the KIng's Group, which also owns Screw Boy.

The bar with the longest run at its original location would be the Golden Cock, which was in the same place from the time that it opened in the 80s until it moved across to Nature Boy in September 2020.

Why did the chicken finally cross the road? To save on the rent, I assume.