Most interesting bars :
Tilac Bar : Many girls ; coyotees during the WE ; reasonable prices.
Lucky Star (Long Gun) : Small, but long established. Sexotic shows.
Baccara : Flashy, best designed bar, expensive.
Rawhide Bar : Both cute girls and off putting women.
Dollhouse : The best and longest lasting happy hour.

Rio (rating : )

A bar under the name Our Place was long established on Soi Cowboy. It is located at the Soi 23 end of Soi Cowboy, opposite the ever popular Baccara Bar. For years the bar remained unchanged, and was run by an always properly dressed and polite German-speaking owner. The downside was that the bar never changed (at least over the last ten years, if we remember correctly), the ladies were a bit long in the teeth and overweight, and the bar (except for the last few years) did not 'show' a lot. Nevertheless, it was a good escape at times from more hectic bars, less noisy, and with a more laid-back atmosphere. Often 'Animal Planet' or 'Discovery Channel' were shown on the TV above the bar counter, with a few girls more interested in watching the animals, than moving about on stage.

In any case, now since April 2007, the bar has changed ownership and management, and looks quite different. The lighting and decoration has been changed, a lot more neon lights outside and inside. There is more seating, with a double row of sofas on the left when you enter (one row on the right of the bar). A downside is that now miniature, about 12 cm wide tables are used as a place to put your drink. It all looks a bit unstable and flimsy, and surely a lot of drinks will end up on the floor. (Experience tells us, if someone bumps into your drink, and the bottles falls down and/or breaks, that is the customer's loss in all cases, do not expect a replacement drink : Bangkok bar rules)

The bar was later renamed to Rio.

The dancing stage now is much narrower than before. We read in some other reports that shows are given at Our Place. However, when we went for a visit on a weekday, we saw nothing of the sort. The size of the stage also makes it unlikely that any substantial shows can be offered. Also during our visit, we noticed that the type of girl at Our Place has not really changed under new ownership, good-looking girls hard to find. On a wednesday evening (the day we visited last time), there were also hardly any customers.

We are always looking for new bars and changes. However, Rio is now part of an ever expanding 'chain' of bars (including Midnite Bar, DeJa Vu, Spicy Girls, and Spankys at Nana Plaza). The downside of this kind of expansion, is that eventually oligopolies are created, and prices tend to go up fast (less competition). In the short run, new nicely designed bar are welcome. However, in the long run, recurrent upgrades to something more fanceful and more expensive, will possibly be the nails in the coffin for Soi Cowboy (and Nana Plaza).

Expect beer prices at 155 baht.

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