Nana Plaza

Bangkok, Thailand

Nana Plaza occupying a three story red-light district building in Bangkok, claims be the largest sex complex in the world. It is on Sukhumvit Road Soi 4 about 20m from the Nana Hotel, and about 300m from the BTS Skytrain's "Nana Station". The name originates from the Nana family (Lek Nana being the most prominent member) which owns much property in the area and still has much influence in Thailand. Along with Soi Cowboy and Patpong, Nana Plaza is one of the Bangkok red-light districts which attract primarily tourists. The plaza's U-shaped building is roughly square-shaped, with a single opening on the west side, and consists of a ground floor and two additional floors arranged around a courtyard. It started as a restaurant and shopping center in the late 1970s. During the early 1980s, a few go-go bars appeared and gradually replaced the shops and restaurants. In 2012 Nana Plaza was sold to Nana Partners Co Ltd, a partnership that includes the Eclipse Group - one of Thailand's largest bar and nightclub operators - for a rumored $25,000,000 after the land was inherited by seven sisters who wanted nothing to do with a red light area. Several short-time hotels operate on the middle and top floors. Short-time hotels rent out rooms by the hour or more to patrons to take a bargirl for sex. Most bar girls working at bars in Nana Plaza are willing to leave with customers upon payment of a bar fine. As of February 2017, there are seven kathoey (ladyboy) bars in Nana Plaza; these venues are True Obsession (ground floor), Straps, Chili, DC-10, Casanova, and Temptations (middle floor), Charades (top floor). Several other bars have a few ladyboys in their line-ups mixed with their regular go-go dancers.