And while Patpong has been sitting on its laurels and stagnating, Soi Cowboy has been up-grading and tinkering with new layouts and designs to put it ahead of the competition.

A 200-metre long pedestrian-only strip located off Sukhumvit Soi 23, Cowboy has more than 30 places of entertainment and is now considered to be Bangkok’s premier zone for heterosexual go-go bars. With the exception of a pharmacy, a couple of pool halls, a general provisions shop and a pub called Old Dutch, every establishment in Soi Cowboy is a go-go bar or a variation of the same.

There are no sex shows and therefore, mercifully, no "sex-show" touts. Instead the street is lined by "greeters", female employees of the establishments who are there to coax you into their bar. This in itself can be fun, and has none of the high-pressure strategy that you get from the aggressive male touts in Patpong.

There is not a lot to choose between the bars. Nearly all the pole-dancers are the dark-skinned daughters of rice farmers from one or another of 13 provinces in an area of northeast Thailand called Esarn.

There are no entry charges to any of the bars, and some of them lay on special shows free of charge. Among the best of these are Long Gun and its sister bar next door, the resurgent Rawhide. Tillac Bar has just been refurbished at considerable expense, and although it is probably the most comfortable, pleasant and professionally run bar of its genre in the whole of Bangkok, it doesn’t provide much in the way of entertainment.

Other bars that are popular with expats and bar-savvy visitors include Baccara, Déjà Vu and Suzie Wong.

In addition to Soi Cowboy, Soi 23 is also home to several interesting clubs of the non go-go variety. The most Western in style is the swish but small Bar Glow, which attracts an upscale clientele who still rave about the décor and the excellent DJ music that is played there nightly.

Also in Soi 23 is one of Bangkok’s finest gentleman’s clubs. The Narcissus has been there for decades, but has only recently begun to attract the attention of Westerners looking for the company of a more sophisticated hostess than can be found among the sisterhood of rice-farmers daughters who rule the roost in Soi Cowboy.

Sophistication in Thailand comes at a price, and because of the rather complicated system of pricing drinks, visitors are well-advised to make their first visit to such a club in the company of an educated Thai, by which we do not mean a taxi-driver or a tuk-tuk driver, nor the "full-of-advice" guide who showed you around the Grand Palace or Wat Pho.

Pegasus is right next to Narcissus, and is one of the only clubs in Bangkok where you do have to be a member or be invited by a member.

Access by public transport to Soi Cowboy and Soi 23 is good. Take Exit 3 from BTS Skytrain Asok Station (E4); or Soi 23 Exit from MRT underground Sukhumvit Station.