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Is everything you've heard about gay Bangkok true? Probably.
The Thai capital is a city full of handsome young men who like to party - and there are over a hundred venues where they do so.
Gay meeting places - bars, nightclubs, karaoke bars, go-go bars, saunas, massage parlours - can be found throughout Bangkok.
Visitors to the city usually spend their evenings in
Silom.
In Soi (lane) 4, you will find the famous Balcony and Telephone bars and the newer, fashionable Cafe 4, as well as Sphinx restaurant and other bars.
A few hundred metres away, in Soi 2/1, sits Richard's pub, which is popular with residents looking for somewhere quieter to sit, drink and
eat.
In the same is the seriously trendy G.O.D (Guys on Display).
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the ever-popular Soi 4
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casual wear for Bangkok Pride
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G.O.D only gets busy after three in the morning, when Soi 2 closes. That's the home of the world-famous DJ station nightclub
and several other bars. Soi 2 opens at 10 in the evening and rush hour is from midnight to 2am.
Other places in the neighbourhood include Soi Pratoochai (Twilight) off nearby Surawong Road, notorious for its erotic bars and Silom Soi 6, with
several downmarket bars and Tarntawan Club, which specialises in body-builders on display.
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If you want to step off the beaten track and go where the gay locals go, head for Ramkhamhaeng Soi 89/2, with its nightclubs packed with students from the nearby university. Or Saphan Kwai, where gay bars have
sat for over 50 years. This is definitely down-home territory. Other options include The Door and G-Star on Ratchadaphisek Road and Mogue, on Khampangphaet Road. Then there are the saunas and massage parlours found across the city...
There is a downside. Rates of HIV among sexually active gay men in Bangkok are nearly 30% in some parts of the city, and younger men are more likely to be infected than older. Inequalities of income between some Thais and foreigners sometimes leads to confusion, exploitation and heartbreak.
But keep your head, respect your new-found friends and hosts and acknowledge the cultural differences that sometimes arise and you will find a city that you can leave behind but that never leaves your heart...
Kinnara
was pleased to sponsor
Bangkok Pride 2007.
more about gay Thailand
more about Bangkok
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