Gay Thailand

If you're Gay, Thailand is a rather liberal place for those living what is considered an "alternative lifestyle" - especially when compared to its neighbours.  There has been historically been very little harassment of gays or lesbians although it should be noted that Thais generally are somewhat conservative in regards to overt displays of affection between any kind of couple in public.  Holiding hands or walking with your arms around your friend is ok but any more than that is not.

99% Buddhist – Thailand is Southeast Asian in culture, Western in lifestyle and a safe and nurturing environment for all travelers of whatever age, sex, religion, ethnicity, country of origin or sexual identification.

And don’t forget to bring your camera – PHUKET is surrounded by natural beauty and spectacular ocean vistas, sunrises and sunsets.

The larger cities and tourist spots have their own gay scene including places such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Phuket and Koh Samui.

Bangkok

The Big Mango, City of Angels, Krung Thep - call it what you will, Bangkok is a wild place and the heart of gay Thailand, but more visitors lose their heart here than find "true love", still it's fun exploring and while money can't buy you love, it can buy you a close copy for a short time - if that is what you are looking for!

Gay facilities in Bangkok include hotels/guest houses and apartments, bars and pubs, discos, karaoke, cabaret, restaurants, saunas, commercial bars (go-go and host bars), and commercial sauna/massage places. There are also a number of escort services.

The main concentration of gay places in Bangkok is around the fashionable and trendy Silom/Suriwong/Patpong area, with Silom Soi 2 being the main focus for the dance crowd and Silom Soi 2/1 and Soi 4 popular with the more relaxed bar crowd. Soi 4 also has many other non-gay music bars, but the mixed atmosphere is very friendly. The commercial go-go bars are more concentrated in Patpong, Suriwong and Soi 6. Most of the gay go-go bars feature sexy shows as well as go-go dancing.

There are some bars and saunas and many massage venues along Sukhumvit and in other areas. The Ramkamhang and Rachada areas have many gay bars targeting mostly young/student locals and and the Saphan Kwai area has many commercial venues that are more popular with local Thais, but visitors are always welcome. Most of the commercial bars in this area are lounge/host bars, often with karaoke, but one or two also have go-go. These areas tend to be quieter and the bars smaller, but many people consider these bars make a nice change from the high-pressure commercial scene around Patpong and Suriwong, but others consider them a bit too quiet - check it out for yourself and decide!

The Annual Bangkok Pride Celebration is likely to be held in November 2010.

Chiang Mai

The "Rose of the North" and the second largest city in Thailand, and a pleasant change of pace from Bangkok. The gay nightlife is not as prolific as that found in Bangkok or Pattaya, but there is an interesting variety of venues, and for many people it is the quality of venues not the quantity that counts the friendliness and charm of the locals more than makes up for the smaller scene size!

Gay facilities in Chiang Mai include hotels and guesthouses, restaurants, some mixed discos, a growing number of local bars, some semi-commercial host bars (with freelancers or "off-able" waiters) and a few go-go bars. There is also a sauna and a huge array of massage venues.

The main concentration of gay places is in the north and north-west of the city, off Chang Puak Rd and Huay Kaew Rd, but there are also gay venues in the centre and east of the city within the wall or just outside the east wall (near the Night Bazaar) and a few in more remote areas.

Pattaya

Home of the famous "Boyz Town" and the equally famous Jomtien Beach is just around the headland and you never know what you may find there, so it is definitely worth a visit if you can drag yourself out of bed before the bars open again!

Gay facilities in Pattaya include hotels/guest houses, a few general bars and mixed discos, restaurants, and commercial venues (go-go bars, bar beers and sauna/massages).

Boyz Town in Pattayaland Soi 3 continues to be the international gay heart of Pattaya, with venues offering known quality and service and this reputation spills over (sometimes undeservedly) into Pattayaland area generaly - Soi 13/3 (Pattayaland Soi 1), Soi 13/4 (Pattayaland Soi 2) and the connecting part of Pattaya 2 Road, making these few blocks the main focus of the scene in Pattaya. There is a reasonable turnover of bars in Pattayaland Soi 1, and it is sometimes easy not to notice that a bar has changed hands, or even that you have changed bars!

Sunee Plaza is still trying to position itself as a major gay area and the few responsible bars there are trying to lift the tone of this area, but there is still a long way to go. While some of the open bar beers there actually make an effort and are seen by many as an alternative to the go-go scene, many of the rest of the venues in the area (and some of the customers) seem determined to keep the area downmarket, unappealing and unsafe. Hopefully continued effort by the police will keep the area on the upswing, but in the mean time only the major venues are listed here.

The Day Night area also was trying to reposition itself, but there are still only a handful of venues worth visiting (or listing), and these are scattered along deserted, derelict looking streets. Given the changes required to lift the area to a reasonable level, it will be interesting to see if the area comes to much.

The Walking Street, while popular with tourists and full of successful girlie bars, seems to be an unsuccessful area for gay venues - they seem to appear and disappear before too many people even notice. The exception seems the be the little oasis at the junction of Soi 14 and 15 with one or two venues that tend to attract a small dedicated following.

There is a motley collection of massage and other venues in North Pattaya and other more remote areas, but again, apart from a few exceptions, these places seem to come and go fairly quickly or limp along forever with few customers and are often not worth the effort of listing here, let alone trekking out to.

Jomtien however does seem to be coming along - it is not just the beach and a handful of after beach bars any more, there is an increasing selection of accommodation and venues in the area, most in or close to Jomtien Complex. The up and coming place to have fun!

There are regular reports of underage guys in bars and working the streets in Pattaya, South Pattaya and Sunee Plaza, and there are also regular reports of foreigners being arrested for sex with people under the legal age. The only sensible advice is do not do anything with anyone under 18 at a bar or elsewhere - always check ID or just walk away!

Pattaya Pride Programme

• Wednesday 24 February 2010 - Pattaya Pride 2010 Opening Street Party, Boyztown, Pattaya.
• Sunday 28 March 2010 - Miss Pattaya Pride 2010 competition at Boyz Boyz Boyz, Boyztown, Pattaya.
• Friday 30 april 2010 - 2010 Pattaya Pride Rear of the Year competition at Copa Showbar, Boyztown, Pattaya.
• Sunday 25 July 2010 - Mr Pattaya Pride competition at Boyz Boyz Boyz, Boyztown, Pattaya.
• Friday 29 October 2010 - Amor annual Pattaya Pride dinner, Pattayaland Soi 3, Pattaya.
• Friday 5 November 2010 - Mr Sexy Body competion at Copa Showbar, Boyztown, Pattaya.
• Wednesday 1 December 2010 - World AIDS Day Pattaya Pride street Party, Boyztown, Pattaya

Phuket

If Phuket Island (Koh Phuket) is the "Pearl of the Andaman Sea", then the Patong Beach area is where it really shines if you are looking for nightlife.  PHUKET is an international destination attracting visitors from Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States. With 17 sandy beaches, access to the amazing Pha Na Bay with its dramatic rock formations, and numerous smaller islands, PHUKET has vaulted to become one of Conde Nast’s Magazines top ten tropical resort destinations in the world.

Just like Amsterdam, Sitges, Gran Canaria and San Francisco, PHUKET is one of the world’s most exciting Gay playgrounds. Parasail, snorkel, play golf, ride an elephant, canoe in hidden caves, sightsee, take a Thai cooking school course, have a tailor make you a custom suit, dance the night away or just spend lazy days on the beach. PHUKET has it all – adventure, sun, nightlife, shopping, great food and friendly people. They don’t call Thailand The Land of Smiles for nothing. This may just be one of the friendliest places on earth. If you haven’t been to PHUKET you simply haven’t seen what Gay life can be like.

Gay facilities in Phuket include gay and mixed accommodation and restaurants, the (semi-commercial) bars, bar-beers and saunas, and the go-go bars . Most of the bars and bar beers are very friendly places but are not really bars in the usual western sense - expect to be taking one the waiters "off" rather than pairing up with another customer, and expect to "tip" someone you take home, even sometimes from the saunas. Many places also offer "massage", including the saunas and some of the karaoke/bar-beers.

The main concentration of gay venues is in the area in front of the Royal Paradise Hotel in Patong, commonly referred to as the Paradise Complex, but there are some venues in other areas in Patong and elsewhere in Phuket.

The Annual Phuket Pride Celebration will be held on 25th February - 28th February 2010.

Koh Samui

Koh Samui, or Samui island is a popular tourist destination, once described as the straightest place on earth, but there is an increasing number of gay and gay-friendly venues there and of course the "scenery" is spectacular!

Gay facilities in Samui include hotels/guest houses, bars and pubs, discos, and restaurants.

The main concentration of gay places in Samui is around the fashionable and trendy Chaweng Beach area, but there is also some life in some of the other areas on the island.


Please note that Xpressionz offers this information in good faith and is not responsible for any inaccuracies - we advise all Gay and Lesbian Holiday Makers to do their own research on resorts and/or consult Spartacus - The International Gay Guide.