The Bangkok Scene
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Suriwongse, Silom, and Sathorn are the three major streets (sois) that offer the most gay venues for the visiting tourist and are the most popular areas for the gay tourist and most of the expat community. Everything you need is here; rooms, dining, drinking, dancing, spa’s, and sauna’s. Everything is within walking distance (or nearly).
Silom has the most to see, with three Sois offering some great gay venues. Silom Soi 2, featuring the famous DJ Station and other pubs, is very popular with the Thai community, making this soi the most popular soi on Silom. A two-minute walk from there is Silom Soi 2/1, where @Richard’s Pub & Restaurant (Thai & western food) and G.O.D nightclub (after-hours dancing) is located. About 4 minutes from here is Silom Soi 4, with Sphinx Restaurant, Balcony Pub, and Telephone Pub; all of them have good food.
In between Silom and Sathorn Road, there are several massage shops to stop in to have a great massage and relax. On Soi Sala Daeng, you can have a great dinner at Fab Cuisine, and next door is a new gay Guest House, Baan Sala Daeng. For some fine dining check out Coyote Restaurant and Eat Me Restaurant on Soi Convent. Down a-ways on Naratiswat is the OmYim Lodge—a nice, reasonably-priced guesthouse.
The Sathorn area is spread out, and has many places for you to enjoy. Everyone has heard of Babylon Sauna—it is world famous—featuring a fantastic sauna and guesthouse. Not far from here is Vincent’s Seven Rooms, another nice guesthouse. There are several massage shops spread out up and down Sathorn Road; you will need a map.
For the typical foreign traveler, Silom, Sathorn and Suriwongse Roads are the biggest draw. But, in reality those only account for about 15% of the gay scene in Bangkok. There are several areas where groups of gay venues are located.
Ramkhamhaeng (Lamsalee) is the most popular area, located out on Ramkhamhaeng Road, Soi 89/2, it is probably the busiest gay area in Thailand. It draws hundreds of university students, working professional Thais, and those that just like a good time. With names like See Men, Club 9 Café, ICK Pub, Crazy Dance Club, and Lamsalee Dance Pub, it is a night to remember. Although it is probably 98% Thai, the casual foreigner and expat are welcome. The atmosphere is one of friends partying and hunting. Here the Thais can be themselves without having to worry about the “stigma” of being seen as a “money boy” to the foreign tourist. You notice I say the “foreign” tourist, as many Asian visitors from Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan go there. It takes about 45 minutes from Silom area by taxi, but is well worth the time.
The next area that is a big draw for Thais is Kampaang Pet Road (Oa Tor Kor). Again, very popular with the university students and working Thais, it is located very close to Chatachuk (Weekend Market). With names like Asian Pub, ICY Pub, August Sum, and the most popular Mogue, it is a great place to check out. A few more farangs tend to go there as some live in the area, and it is much easier to get to, not too far from the BTS.
About 10 minutes from there, is Saphan Kwai (Pradiphat). I first went there 20 years ago, when it was full of go-go bars. The area has changed, now mostly karaoke pubs (host bars) and a couple of saunas: Adonis Sauna, Farose, I Sauna, Adam Karaoke, Eagle Pub, Stax (formerly go-go), and Charming Pub.
This is where the Thais go looking for a young man to spend the evening with, or go to a sauna to “relax.” Located between Aree and Saphan Kwai BTS, it is very easy to get to.
Keep in mind this is a “Thai Scene,” with different culture and rules than what you will find in Silom. This is mostly a Thai Rak Thai (Thai for Thai) culture, they are not moneyboys or looking for the farang to go home with. You will have a great time, but please respect them for who they are. When it comes to drinking you will find that most of the small groups of Thais buy bottles of Whiskey to drink for the evening.
While it is impossible to list all the venues, you can find most of them right here in SPICE! and on some great internet sites, such as SPICE’s at www.spicemag.net, ThailandScene.com, Dreadedned.com, and Dragoncastle.net. Watch for the next issue of SPICE! to read more about The Bangkok Scene.