Gay Thailand: disver everythg travelers need to know - KAYAK

Contents:

• BANGKOK GAY NIGHTLIFE
• THE 5 BEST BANGKOK GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS BANGKOK
• GAY BKK: A GENTLEMAN’S GUI TO WHERE TO FD THE FT GENTLEMEN
• GAYS THAILAND: IS A LGBT IENDLY UNTRY FOR TOURISM?
• HOMOSEXUALITY AND GAY LIFE IN THAILAND
• GAY THAILAND RORTS YOU HAVE TO STAY AT
• 7 BT GAY EXPERIENC BANGKOK

BANGKOK GAY NIGHTLIFE

The gay-owned 40-seat Supanniga Cise ship is one of the classit ways to take the sights and atmosphere and offers a daily choice of a cktail and champagne cise (wh an optnal "afternoon tea" style set) or a full six-urse sunset dner excursn that clus a glass of bubbly and thentic Thai dish. The entire sixth floor of shoppg center Central Embassy is home to the credible gay-owned Open Hoe Bookshop by Hardver, a photogenic, betifully signed seri of shelv packed wh mostly art-themed tom and goods surroundg a fabulo variety of f and rtrant outlets as well. More than jt a gay bathhoe, Babylon is an ternatnally beloved, well mataed gay men's Bangkok stutn wh sna facili, a swimmg pool, gym, and full-service spa pamperg servic.

THE 5 BEST BANGKOK GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS BANGKOK

Although the upsle, chic Maggie Choo's disntued s weekly gay night early 2020, promoter Ken Kreangsak Lieng ntu to throw new, excg gay parti and events throughout Bangkok via his G-Spot Entertament. Openly gay Thai rtrantr Thanaek Laoraowirodge, known as Khun Eh, is behd Somtum Der, a buzzy, cute, sual, and affordable Isan-style rtrant near the Silom nightlife—you might even spot a few LGBTQ Thai celebs here! Also a gay-owned favore, 22-year-old Silom rtrant Eat Me is a nsistent prence on culary "Bt Of" lists, thanks to both to New York ex-pat chef Tim Butler's ventive, upsle fn cuise (there's a vegan menu as well!

Gay Bangkok power uple life and work, Bill Bensley and Jirachai Rengthong, have signed some of Southeast Asia's most stunng rorts and private rinc, cludg Bangkok's own leafy, sumptuo urban oasis, The Siam, which is jt tucked away om the Chao Phraya River. Bangkok's gay nightlife scene is fun, excg and wild, wh LGBT-iendly venu that range om hotels, ns, and gutho to nightclubs, ladyboy barets, and go-go bars. Tripadvisor performs checks on, France222 ntributnsOne of the popular gay dance club Bangkok, which loted silom soi 2, they play a great mic every night and all night until 2 pm, every night is a baret show.

Loted on Surawong Road and officially named Soi Pratuchai, this gay red-light district is packed wh go-go bars offerg a variety of entertament, om drag performanc and bizarre theater to unrwater and acrobatic sex shows. Although the ma gay scene is ncentrated Bangkok, the equally betiful getaways Phet, Koh Samet, and Pattaya are also worth a vis for LGBTQ travelers. If you’re travelg to Thailand as a gay uple, wh your gay iends, or by yourself, you n expect a fun, welg atmosphere and loads of great parti.

GAY BKK: A GENTLEMAN’S GUI TO WHERE TO FD THE FT GENTLEMEN

Silom Soi 2 is home to most of Bangkok’s gay clubs, and the whole street is almost like a club plex, so you need to pay to get to the street self. Baan Souy Rort is one of the only official gay hotels Pattaya (of urse, straight people are also wele), and s staff n give you sir tips on the cy’s gay scene. The reason is that, although daily life Thailand lbians, gays and transgenr people live wh total normaly, Thai law is not as liberal as most of the society.

The tolerance of Thai society means that gays, lbians and trans -men and women alike- have a relatively ee life to live and exprs themselv as they are. And surely that is why Bangkok attracts lns of gay tourists, immigrants and expats search of fun, a eer life or a relatnship that their untri of orig would be rejected, clanste or simply impossible. Although the are nothg but sensatns or beliefs whout much foundatn, this n be extend to gay men, or to anyone who mov away om the heteronormative non.

GAYS THAILAND: IS A LGBT IENDLY UNTRY FOR TOURISM?

In fact, this type of discrimatn is rerced by the image that Thai media giv of gay men: ivolo, obssed wh any man who pass by, humoro and foul-mouthed. Also, many gay people Thailand tend to intify themselv strongly wh an ‘active’ or ‘passive’ role, somethg that seems que old-fashned the Wt, but not Thailand.

The realy may not be that simple, and realy many gay Thais are versatile, but self-intifitn wh an ‘active’ or ‘passive’ role will help them troduce themselv and relate to their gay iends a particular way. Instead, Songkran has bee an unofficial Pri, drawg thoands of gays om all across Asia durg the week of parti and splashy street water fights.

One of the worst sex sndals ever Thailand took place 1819, durg the reign of Kg Rama II, when a high-rankg monk, a Somt, was found guilty of enjoyg homosexual activi wh some of his good-lookg male discipl. Acrdg to “Encyclopedia of Sexualy: Thailand”: Although homosexual behavr Thailand is assumed to be que mon, ltle formal rearch has been done. 1992), extremely low rat of male homosexual behavr were reported; the thors utned that, due to societal attus, the timat were probably too low and reflected the rearch participants' unrreportg of homoerotic and homosexual experienc (the prevalence of same-genr sexual behavr will be further reviewed below).

HOMOSEXUALITY AND GAY LIFE IN THAILAND

A public statement of homosexual inty would vlate two important valu of Thai culture: harmony - not to nont disagreements or nflicts - and the great value placed upon prervatn of fay uns and prervg leage through marriage and procreatn.

Allyn (1991) also ntends that the anti-homosexual attus the Thai society are primarily the discrimatn agast the feme kathoey, who, acrdg to stereotype, display overt and loud genr-atypil social manners. The “Encyclopedia of Sexualy: Thailand” reports: The attus toward homosexualy are que plex: On the one hand, the behavr is clearly stigmatized, and on the other, tolerated. “Overall, most ntemporary Thais view heterosexualy as the norm; homosexualy is seen as a viance or an unnatural act, often rultg om one's bad karma or the lack of mer past liv.

Contemporary Thais still exprs their disapproval of homosexualy by sayg, often blhely, that “lightng will strike” those who engage sex wh a person of the same genr. This pathology mol of homosexualy most likely origated the Wtern psychiatric theori of sexualy which domated Wtern medice and psychology until the 1960s and 1970s.

GAY THAILAND RORTS YOU HAVE TO STAY AT

Many Thai physicians and psychologists still subscribe to the antiquated theori and rema imperv to new rearch fdgs or the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn's classifitn of homosexualy as a mental illns 1974. To reveal one's homosexual orientatn to one's parents would, a sense, vlate the Third Precept of Buddhism, and this has ed many Thai gays and lbians to hi their homosexualy om their parents for fear of g them sorrow (Allyn 1991). Th, a person's homosexual sex, per se, may be easier for his or her fay than other more visible featur, such as long-term same-genr relatnships (Jackson 1989) or g out as an openly gay or lbian person.

7 BT GAY EXPERIENC BANGKOK

Dpe some ambivalence toward homosexualy many Buddhist cultur, Cabezón (1993) not Buddhism only nmns homosexualy more for beg an stance of sexualy rather than s same-genr sex.

Cabezón further not that, as far as the lay are ncerned, homosexualy is rarely mentned as a transgrsn of the Third Precept Buddhist texts and oral mentari.

As for other sectns of the Buddhist non, John Garret Jon has nclud that there is an implic affirmatn om the silence regardg homosexualy, and the silence is certaly not due to the lack of material. “Whereas the non is silent about homosexualy, the Jataka lerature, which the prevly mentned tale of Prce Vsantara is embedd, is replete wh sentiments about same-genr affectn. For example, some Thai people have heard that a man who acknowledg his homosexualy will be nied Buddhist ordatn, although such stanc may have been very rare or never enforced.