Gay BKK
 

I am in Bangkok every other month and I know the city pretty well. I generally stay and the Conrad or Peninsula, which generally have a number of gay men around at any given time. But I always get the feeling that I am missing out on something. Does anyone know of other nice Bangkok hotels with a large gay crowd? In Singapore, Raffles The Plaza has that great pool scene where you can always meet lots of interesting guys. Wondering if there is something like that in Bangkok...or maybe the Peninsula is it.

Locals
 

If you're in Bangkok every other month, as you say, you will understand that even though Bangkok is three times the size of Singapore its middle class is tiny by comparison, so the number of guys who could afford to be at the hotels you mention in any capacity other than servants is equally miniscule

You could always try the hotels patronised by air crew from certain airlines (Qantas springs to mind) if it's Westerners you're after. Utopia (http://www.utopia-asia.com) mentions Regency Park as gay-friendly and upmarket; perhaps you could change your hotel preferences. Other mid-range hotels in the heart of things are Swiss Lodge or Tarntawan. The Sukhothai Hotel has long been the haunt of upper class Thai gay men (not to mention Rich Old Queens and their kept boys)

These hotels are not in the same category as your "usual" hotels, but the Tarntawan Place, the Pinnacle are about 75% gay or more. Also, the Saladang Place, Saladang Colonnade, and Chin House (all serviced apartments walking distance to the Silom gay area) all usually have a gay crowd (though none of them market specifically to the gay market, as the Tarntawan and Pinncacle do). Neither of those have a good pool scene, though the serviced apartments (for sure the Saladang ones) do have decent pools where I have made some friends over the years. :)
Have fun!

if you are specifically looking for flight crew below is a list of where i belive some airlines stay

British Airways - Amari Watergate
Air France - Sofitel Silom
SAS - Rembrandt
Qantas - Imperial Queens Park
Kenyan Airlines - Sofitel Silom

AAny other people know about?

Qantas
 

The hotel name for Qantas staff seems curiously appropriate

The Pathumwan Princess which is located next to MBK Shopping Complex has a large gay following. Mainly because the large gym reputedly is quite cruisy.

MBK Shopping complex is known to be rather er.. busy at times too.

I thought I read it somewhere that Sukhothai had very strict policy regarding visitors.

Thanks everyone for the replies. BigBadJohn, that is exactly what I was looking for. I was probably not very clear in my original post, but I did not mean to imply that I was looking for local gay Thais. I know where they hang out and realize that, for the most part, they cannot afford these hotels. Since I am in business in Bangkok so often, I am really just looking for some gay conversation. My boyfriend gets a little annoyed if I am out cruising haha. Thanks again.

You rather have your gay conversation in your hotel? :confused: My gay conversations typically start in the bar but end up in my hotel. ;)

Marco,

KLM crews stay at Dusit Thani hotel, not very far from Penninsula, isn't it.

Conversations usually start at a bar like telephone or balcony bar. After that, it is up to you, of course.

Veel plezier!

Ik ga ook naar Thailand volgende maand.

Companionship
 

You travel with your boyfriend? You have a Thai boyfriend who is happy for you to talk to Westerners but not other Thais? Or your boyfriend is back home and only knows what you get up to because you choose to tell him OR he calls your hotel room every 30 minutes to make sure you are there?

Question for RTWFF
 

Are those questions for me or for Marco? It seems like your questions are based on typical Thai or Asian boyfriends' characteristics.

I will be in BKK on December 10 to give lectures at a university. Then off to HKG for Christmas celebration or perhaps skiing in Korea. However, I am not sure about the latter yet.

Careful what one says about typical Thai or Asian boyfriends. Mr. Megatop might take offense! :eek: ;)

We'll be in Bangkok Dec. 18-21 and Dec. 30-Jan. 2. We'll also be in Tokyo and, after that, Hong Kong for Dec. 27-30. Full details in the Current Itineraries thread. Funny in this context, but we'll be staying with The Gays at The Peninsula Bangkok.

Pichate: PM me if you'll be in the same place at the same time. I know a bunch of FTers and others who'll be in BKK and HKG at that time, and we're going to try to get together for at least a beverage.

Any other hotels you guys would recommend (based on closest to gay scene, subway/Skytrain, food/shopping and gym).

I was thinking of the following:
Westin / Sheraton Subhumvit
Royal Sheraton Bangkok
Evergreen Laurel Hotel Bangkok
Shangri-la Hotel Bangkok
Le Royal Meridien Bangkok
Banyan Tree Bangkok
Intercontinental Hotels Bangkok
Conrad Bangkok

I will be there in December, perhaps we can organize a DO.

Of those, the Intercontinental is probably closest. It's nearby the Grand Hyatt Erawan and the Four Seasons. The Westin/Sheraton Sukhumvit are a ways down Sukhumvit: great access to SkyTrain but kinda remote. The Conrad is tucked into the Embassy District around Wireless road, a bit of a walk from the Chit Lom SkyTrain station but still very centrally located, just not on top of the Silom Rd. area. The Banyan Tree is very close to Babylon, but otherwise, situated over on Sathorn Road, a hike from the SkyTrain. The Royal Orchid Sheraton and the Shangri-La are on the Riverside, with the Shangri-La right next to the Saphan Thaksin SkyTrain station but the Sheraton a decent boat ride upriver; being on the river, though, is convenient access to tourist sites like the Grand Palace, Chinatown, Temple of Dawn. Don't know about the Evergreen Laurel or Le Meridien, but I think the latter is quite close to the Silom Road area, the entertainment district with the gay clubs/bars.

There's just one thing: the comments in this thread were for last December. But it's all right. I'll be back in Bangkok this coming December too. I'm sure plenty of GGG FT'ers will be too. Popular destination.

Thanks for the comments. We should perhaps start a BKK DO for December 2006.

or during/around the first weekend in FEB 07 where the gay festival/pride in Phuket takes place.

As I'm gonna be in BKK in two days, I thought I'd resurrect this thread.

I'm in the mood for partying at the moment. Can you guys recommend a place to go where I'll be doing the dancing and not some go-go boy?

I guess I'd still recommend the old stand-bys of DJ Station, FreeMan Disco, and a few others on the tiny soi where DJ Station is....I don't recall the names. Also, Babylon often has DJs in their dance area on certain nights of the week.
I'm sure some other people know more about currently "in" places!

I was pretty impressed with DJ Station on Saturday night. The balcony winds up and around like 3 to 4 floors. The place was so crowded. I have never seen a club packed like that but it was still a lot of fun. Not sure how much dancing you can do when it is that crowded but people did and the music was good. Getting out was quite a task. I literally had to push and squeeze my way out as I got closer to the door. The higher you go up the less crowded it is. Entry cost even included two drinks tickets. I would get there before midnight if you can.

Packed
 

Unfortunately if they ever have a fire, hundreds will die. The fire escapes are quite inadequate, even if accessible

I have a long nighttime layover at BKK coming up this Mon/Tues night. Is there a hotel bar/restaurant or other place where you would recommend I go and hang out between approximately midnight-4 AM?

Timing
 

Unfortunately the Thai authorities believe that people visit their country for purposes other than having fun, so generally all bars in Bangkok are closed by 2am. While it's always possible to find somewhere - usually by being particularly diligent or having local contacts - this can change day-to-day or week-to-week. I also wouldn't be holding out much hope for a Monday or Tuesday night opening. You're hoping to get laid or merely to socialize?

Just socializing. I can get laid anywhere so no need for that in Bangkok. :)

I'm going to be in BKK in August with my bf for 3 nights after Koh Samui, Koh Phag Nan, Chiang Mai and Siam Reap. Definitely would like to stay at a *wood proprty - and seems that the Sheraton Grande (Sukhumvit Road) and Plaza Athenee (Wireless Road) are the two nicest of the SPG family.

Any suggestion on which we (25 yr old lawyers) would be more happy with for touring, suit making, resturants/bars/clubs?

Both are good properties, Sheraton is closer to the skytrain and undergound as they are right outside the door, plaza is about a 5 minute walk away.

for your age group i would recomend Bed Supperclub if you wanna have a good night in gay atmosphere.

i suppose it all depends on what u want out of your stay, if you wanna private message me and let me know i can then guide you to the right places
:)

I agree re. the Supperclub, it's a great place and Sunday is 'Pink' night. The absolute best however is on Tuesday which is salsa night, great music and ambiance but very straight (and with the best looking guys I've ever seen ANYWHERE... and I live in Paris).

When I was in BKK 2 months ago, there was a club that opened only from 2 to 4 on weekends on Silom Soi 6. I'll check if it's still there when I arrive in BKK in a couple of days.

That is perfect! We have a sunday there, but no tuesday unfortunately. I'm making my reservation now for Sunday night.

im staying at conrad bkk with my dad next week. while i do appreciate the gay culture and def wouldn't mind getting to know someone ;) , i certainly do not wish to scare my dad away.

Question: is conrad really that gay that i should change the hotel???

on a similar line, i have no idea what to do while im at bkk next week for the first time... visit night market, see some temples.... what else to do?

When did the Conrad Bangkok turn gay? It is one of the most exclusive hotels there right across the road from the US embassy ie straight laced and *yawn* boring. I think the yellow rubber duckie is about the only fey feature in this establishment.

Just don't bring your dad to the penis shrine at the nearby Nai Lert Swissotel. He might get the wrong idea if his precious son prances around the sacred garden riding the giant lingams.

Tons to do in Bangkok. Other than the usual tourist attractions, make sure you check out the somewhat tired bar scene at Silom Soi 4 and spend an afternoon (without your dad) at Babylon which is simply one of the best sauna in the world. Tons of giant lingams to make up for lost time.

thanks for the advise...

i have been reading curiously at the number of posts on bkk and one that caught my attention was that an implication that after 10pm, all the "normal" people disappeared and all the night people appear and some of whom were deem odd...

im just wondering abt Fter's experience with gay bars in bkk. is it really unsafe to venture to the bars at night?? cos 10pm seem like a busy time for most gay bars around the world.

Not that all. I ventured by myself after 10pm and it was perfectly fine (that was back in December before the bombings).

The clubs and bars don't really get going until after 10pm (esp on Friday and Saturday).

The Gay BKK is not as exciting as in some other cities in the world, although it is not bad and I am sure that some others will disagree with me. For me at least it seemed that there were more of older gays around.

There are quite a few bars in Silom 4 of which the Cafe 4 was the only one where I would set my foot in and where I actually had great time. No older gays with their far younger Thai friends aka moneyboys.

And they close at 2am. Z z z z z.

Follow the Thai crowd at DJ to the unlisted afterhours clubs for some nonstop predawn fun.

The Metropolitan
 

I wonder that nobody mentioned The Metropolitan.
A superb design hotel which attracts a young , wealthy, artsy crowd.
From what saw, the gay asian jet-set also stays there,
Refreshingly very little older american/european rice queens though :D

http://www.metropolitan.como.bz/bang...sp?section=178

Strike one.

Edit: Those preferring a snob's eye view of Bangkok might want to read this article.

I'm not so sure that's entirely a snob's eye view. I'd say it's just written for an English-speaking audience of visitors to Bangkok, not locals or those connected to locals. It had a slight snobby edge, like the shameless name-dropping with the Pink Night promoter, but the fundamental point was a more or less fair one. Silom isn't dead, but the farang:Thai ratio has certainly deteriorated. Thais have moved to Langsuan (the distict on the northern edge of Lumpini Park) and other spots farther afield.

Fair enough, MTL. It's great that the number, style and location of gay venues in BKK has expanded in recent years, although I think that many western visitors may have difficulty finding some of the venues and will not always find a welcoming atmosphere. I guess the article annoyed me because it is basically praising the Bangkok gay scene for becoming yet another clone of the trendy urban gay scene that you can find in any other major city. I mean, extolling Siam Paragon and its "chic Euro-boutiques", for crying out loud! :rolleyes:

Those are good points. Yes, most of Siam Paragon can be found at any upscale mall anywhere in the world, thus making it categorically boring and useful only for people-watching. Praising it for attracting the ex-SIN and ex-HKG muscled jetset is equally boring/amusing. What I did like, and focused on, was the coverage of Bangkok's move away from fawning-over-farang venues to a more developed local scene. You're also correct, though, that many non-Thais might find it difficult to fit in at such places without locals to help.

Well this ex-SIN un-muscled jetset will be in BKK this weekend to escape the domestic horrors of Chinese New Year (along with half of the gay population in Singapore). Am looking forward to my usual Thai forays.

The best spots in Bangkok are the non-gay places. Ultra chic Bed Supper turns pink on Sunday night and most of the joints in Langsuan won't even wink if you cuddle up to your Thai squeeze. There is more to the city of angels than the tired Silom scene. Love Bangkok for its tolerant lifestyle and fantastic posh-nosh. Not to mention a great street food scene.