Wikipedia:-
Soi Cowboy is a red-light district in Bangkok,
Thailand. A short street with some 40 bars, it is similar to Nana
Plaza and Patpong and caters mainly to tourists and
expatriates.
It is located near Sukhumvit Road, between Sukhumvit Soi 21 (also
called Soi Asoke) and Soi 23, within walking distance from the
SkyTrain's "Asok Station" and the Bangkok Metro's
"Sukhumvit Station".
The go go bars follow the pattern common in Thailand: alcoholic
drinks are served and women in bikinis dance on a stage. Topless or
even nude dancing occasionally occurs in some bars, but remains
technically illegal. Most of the dancers are in fact prostitutes
and will join a customer if he pays a "bar fine" to the bar and a
separate fee to the woman. Sexual services usually take place in
the tourist's hotel room. Thai customers usually are not admitted
to these bars unless accompanied by foreigners.
There are also a number of restaurants at Soi Cowboy, including
what is perhaps Bangkok's best known fish and chips shop.
The area is named after T. G. "Cowboy" Edwards, a retired American
airman who opened one of the first bars there in 1973 or 1977
(sources differ). A tall African-American, Edwards got his nickname
because he invariably wore a cowboy hat.
One staple of the Soi Cowboy nightlife are elephants frequently
marched up and down the street by their handlers who are in the
business of selling elephant food to tourists.
When Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was elected in 2001, his
government instituted a "social order" campaign. As part of this
campaign, all bars and nightclubs had to close by 2 am, later
changed to 1 am for all areas not officially designated as
"entertainment zones". (Unlike Patpong, Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza
were not so designated). A mandatory midnight closing time was even
discussed. As of 2006, the Soi Cowboy bars switch off their outside
neon lights by 1 am and usually close at 2 am.
Soi Cowboy's reputation suffered a temporary blow when, as part of
the same social order campaign, the area was closed off by police
one Friday night in November 2003 and all workers and patrons were
required to submit to urine testing for drugs
- more detailed info found at bangkokbob.net