Sewer Backups Cause Stinky Soi Cowboy Flooding for 2nd Week

February 6, 2025

Backed-up sewers caused more Soi Cowboy flooding Wednesday, with bar owners pointing fingers and blaming the smelly effuse for slumping business.

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Soi Cowboy flooding first was reported Feb. 1, with the Neon Alley wet from Stumble Inn to Cowboy 2. There was no obvious outlet for the water, but it’s clear the Soi Cowboy flooding started on the south side of the alley, either Stumble Inn, Cowboy 2 or the bars between them: Suzie Wong, Jungle Jim’s or Moonshine Joint.

Those In the Know Silent About Soi Cowboy Flooding

No one with any knowledge of the source or the reason was talking about the Soi Cowboy flooding, but others were.

One north-side bar owner, with more than 20 years on the Neon Alley, looked around his half-full go-go bar and complained that business was slow because of the Soi Cowboy flooding. People clearly were put off by the suspect water and faint smell of urine and feces. Better to just walk off the Soi than walk through the Soi Cowboy flooding, he reasoned.

But he also pointed the finger at the Soi Cowboy bar community at large.

Soi Cowboy flooded with sewer backup again. pic.twitter.com/DL4c5sUEPR
— DAVE THE RAVE (@DaveRaveBangkok) February 5, 2025

“This would never happen at Nana Plaza,” said the owner, who also has had interests in the Soi 4 complex.

Nana Plaza Better Prepared

Nana, in fact, has its share of sewer problems. Sewage lines have backed up numerous times inside ground-floor bars including Lollipop and Obsession, washing out of the toilets into the main bar. But the problems were quickly addressed.

And, as the Soi Cowboy bar boss said, such things would never happen in Nana Plaza’s common areas.

In his view, it’s yet one more reason Soi Cowboy continues to lag behind Nana Plaza in terms of customer volume and experience. If bar owners could get together – let alone actually agree on something – the entire Soi Cowboy experience would be better.

A couple of Cowboy “old hands” on Wednesday recalled that there used to be semi-regular meetings of all the alley’s bar owners. Policies and plans were voted on and agreed to. But, in the end, the meetings stopped because bar owners would “do what they wanted” as soon as the meeting was over.

Cowboy Bosses Can’t Even Agree to Disagree

One bar owner recalled that, in the past, all the bar owners agreed to stop nudity in the bars to lower the police pressure. It was voted on and agreed to. And that night, the same bars went back to “showing” again.

If the Neon Alley’s bar bosses could actually work together, the street would be repaved and leveled. Sewer and flood-draining pipes could be improved. And, the biggest item, a roof could be built over the entire alley, nullifying one onf Nana Plaza’s biggest advantages over Soi Cowboy.

Oh, and things like the current Soi Cowboy flooding wouldn’t happen.

If only …