Need For Nudity?

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Expatriates and repeat visitors to the Bangkok nightlife scene will probably fondly remember the days when the girls were dancing naked on stage in most of the bars around Nana Plaza, and some at Soi Cowboy. Surely being topless seemed to be the norm.

Thai nightlife crackdown

Now all this seems to have ended about 2-3 years ago when a crackdown was launched on the naughty nightlife. While inforcement has been up and down a bit at times, lately and for sure since many months the situation has stabilized and it is fair to say that there is no more naked dancing at Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy.

Results of less naughty nightlife in Thailand

Now what has been the result of this? Surely one could say the nightlife is a bit less seedy, raunchy and naughty. As far as the bars is concerned, there have been a lot of places where you hardly could get in and find a seat over the last few months. So having the girls dance naked is not a necessity (as long as no other bar is doing it, and your bar is not).

For the punters, there are a few issues. Surely, some will get more easily aroused by seeing plainly naked girls, than by girls dancing in bikini outfits. However, we would put that one can adapt to the newer circumstances. After a period of abstinence from the bar scene, for sure even girls suggestively dancing on stage in bikini outfit will be enticing.

An important consideration, is that one sees what one gets, when girls are dancing in the nude. It is very easy for women to cover up sagging breasts, dark patches and areas around the buttocks and the vagina, by wearing a proper covering outfit. The same of course is true for the staff at the bars. One can become interesting by a sweet talking service girl with a nice face, only to discover when buying her out, that her body has been ravaged by multiple pregnancies.

Personally, we always liked to see (some) girls in the nude, but we surely can live without it, and in a way it was a bit over the top.

Alternatives to naked Thai girls

Is there an alternative? Well, there is no obvious naked dancing anymore, but quite a few bars offer sneak previews of the girls. There are a few simple tricks (that demand some investment, and ways of having enforcers of the ban on nudity, turn a blind eye). Some bars use mirrors. Baccara Bar (location) at Soi Cowboy has been doing this the longest, and they actually started out with this format. Bar counter and dancing floor downstairs are all mirrored, the girls wear a skirt rapped around their waist, but do not wear panties. Obviously one just has to look down in the mirror to get sneak previews (depending on the 'modesty' of the girls in question, views will not always be sneak, but sometimes open).

Pretty Lady (location at Nana Plaza) offers also a mirrored counter with the girls not wearing underwear. We must say that both Baccara at Pretty Girls have been doing brisk business over the last few months, and wonder whether it has to do with these feature.

Another possibility are transparent ceilings between two dance floors, with the girls on top not wearing panties. This is the format again at Baccara (location) and also at Spice Girls (location) bar in Soi Cowboy. The girls upstairs at Baccara can turn wild sometimes, and are not shy at all to show their little secrets to the customers below. Possibly some customers suffer a stiff neck after visiting this bar.

A third way is the use of loose fitting draperies or clothing around the waist (and breast) as is the case at Dollhouse (location), Soi Cowboy. This has been the outfit at this bar for the last few years we must add. It is quite difficult for girls to keep their modesty with this kind of outfit, and there will always be the occasional girl who is not happy to offer only a sneak preview, and who actually squats wide open in front of customers at times.

Interestingly, some bars that were quite (in)famous for having the most explicit shows at Nana Plaza (Hollywood strip bars) and Soi Cowboy (Lucky Star, better known as the former Long Gun, Rawhide) have not picked up on this. Possibly they are being watched more carefully, we do not know.

Generally speaking, we highly favor some of these bars, and think that the format offered is actually more decent and at the same time more enticing than having girls dancing plainly in the nude.