Bangkok’s Rainbow Go-Go Bars Coming to Pattaya

Rainbow Go-Go Bar Soi Cowboy Bangkok
The colorful front of Rainbow Soi Cowboy. (Photo: Digital-a-Go-Go)

The ever-expanding Rainbow chain of go-go bars is expanding again, this time to Pattaya.

Tee, the man involved in all the investment groups behind Rainbow 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 69 in Nana Plaza and Rainbow Soi Cowboy revealed this week that his group will be opening in Pattaya. Presumably, that bar, too, will be called Rainbow.

Where will the bar be? You have to figure it will be on Walking Street. There are still some dark doors on the nightlife strip but most of them – the former Infinity and Airport clubs – are single, narrow shops.

The most inviting target is defunct Golden Club and Panda go-go bars, which are next to each other and just a few doors down from XS and Fahrenheit. Prime real estate.

Golden Club and Panda a-Go-Go on Walking Street in August 2020.
The Golden Club and Panda a-Go-Go on Walking Street in August 2020. They remain closed with Golden’s signage now removed. (Photo: Digital-a-Go-Go)

The Rainbow Group of go-go bars in Bangkok has been a prominent brand in Bangkok’s red-light scene for more than three decades. The original family-owned group first started in 1986 with the opening of the Rainbow Bar in Nana Plaza.

The bars became known for their vibrant neon lights  and large numbers of friendly bargirls.

In the early 2000s, the Rainbow Group went through a rough patch as a result of increased competition and the SARS epidemic, which significantly reduced tourism numbers in Bangkok. However, the group managed to bounce back and remain one of the most popular go-go bar chains in the city. Covid-19 proved too much, however, and all the bars were sold to Tee’s investors.