Why This Gay Man Prefers to Travel Solo

Contents:

• WHY THIS GAY MAN PREFERS TO TRAVEL SOLO
• GAY SOLO TRAVEL: A GUI TO SAFETY AND EMPOWERMENT
• MANY UNTRI DON'T ACCEPT OUR RIGHT TO EXIST: LIFE AS A GAY TRAVELER
• GAY TRAVEL TOURS & TRIPS
• LGBTQ TRAVEL: A FABULOUS GUI TO GAY TRAVEL 2023
• HE TRAVEL – GAY TRAVEL TOURS, GAY ADVENTURE TRAVEL, ACTIVE VATNS
• LGBT TRAVEL IAS: TOP 12 GAY FRIENDLY CI

WHY THIS GAY MAN PREFERS TO TRAVEL SOLO

Tth be told, I’d ed gay webs to make nnectns worldwi for years and learned that there are untry and regn-specific on to check out some s. David France’s grippg Osr-nomated 2020 documentary, "Wele to Chechnya, " chronicl s repugnant anti-gay purge and torture of LGBTQ people who often are baed, ambhed, and tortured via the apps. The followg year saw a ernment-fund, anti-gay mil tled “Abnormal Dire” which lightng strik and kills you for succumbg to queer impuls—this productn went on to tour schools.

To w, early 2021 saw an Aceh provce gay uple receive 77 lash public, while the island of Bali is a chilled-out LGBTQ haven wh gay-owned gutho and villas, and far removed every way. My travel wrg asi, I was there as a gut of Q Ft, an LGBTQ film ftival anized by the bravt and most betiful Indonians, as -wrer of a gay rom- tled BearCy. As Pri month approach and the summer travel season beckons, ’s sential for to addrs a prsg ncern: ensurg our safety durg gay solo travel.

In this article, we’ll dive to valuable tips and strategi for safe gay solo travel, empowerg you to embark on unfettable journeys whout promisg your secury.

GAY SOLO TRAVEL: A GUI TO SAFETY AND EMPOWERMENT

ILGA World: The Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA) provis valuable sights to LGBTQIA+ rights globally.

MANY UNTRI DON'T ACCEPT OUR RIGHT TO EXIST: LIFE AS A GAY TRAVELER

Unrstandg the implitns of beg openly gay a specific untry will help you make more rmed choic about how to navigate and experience the lol culture. When Lonely Pla asked me to wre about my experienc as an openly gay traveler and journalist, was one of the harst assignments I’ve ever accepted. The story of passenger aviatn is tertwed wh gay men, most famoly gay flight attendants, stereotypilly swishg their way through the ski wh their gal pals, a guy every (air)port, footloose, fancy ee and happy.

GAY TRAVEL TOURS & TRIPS

As one of the relatively few openly gay aviatn journalists, and one who specialis the passenger experience – what we all see when we travel – the way this particular quirk of history has evolved, as Phil Tiemeyer’s excellent book Plane Queer tells , trigu me.

Right now, the shadow of another panmic, my gay iends of a siar age and I talk equently about how formative that particular experience was how we’re reactg to COVID-19, and how much affected our perspective.

In more than a dozen untri, gay people n still be put to ath for spendg a night wh our partners, arrted for holdg hands, prosecuted for gatherg wh other people like , jailed for even discsg our liv – let alone beg attacked by mobs for simply beg who we are. I intify as gay and queer, and I reclaim the word “queer” along wh others to scribe a wir sense of inty, the unrstandg that there is a generatn olr than me, of gay men particular, who don’t like the word, havg had screamed at them by police as they were arrted and btalized.

LGBTQ TRAVEL: A FABULOUS GUI TO GAY TRAVEL 2023

Let me be the first to highlight that the LGBTIQA+ muny is as diverse as s members, and I n only speak to my experience as a whe, cisgenr, universy-ted thirty-somethg gay man livg wtern Europe, which giv me a particular perspective on the world.

Enjoyg credible drag performanc Sgapore, the search for the perfect ty gay bar Shju, gog for a drk the Stonewall, lettg my purple hair down gayborhoods om the Marais to the Castro, browsg queer bookstor om Toronto to Melbourne, dancg the night away among fellow queers om Beijg to Buchart… and chattg the galleys of aircraft worldwi: gettg to experience the amazg flavor of queer life across the world is a joy and a privilege. It’s also a rponsibily: as a journalist wh a public profile, I often avoid postg about visg gay venu and queer spac on social media untri where LGBTIQA+ people are still targeted for harassment, vlence and opprsn by ernments or society. I also grew up the UK the 1980s when the Thatcher Government stuted laws that prevented schools om talkg about gay people and lol ernments om fundg servic for , cludg AIDS servic.

We still live a world where scribg the layed rponse to the HIV-AIDS epimic – where failure to fund treatments for a disease that was first lled Gay-Related Immune Deficiency was wispread durg a time where was seen as a “gay disease” — as a genoci is ntroversial. We live a world where I’m expected to travel to and via some of the dozens of untri where I uld be put to ath, jailed, tortured or extrajudicially killed for beg gay whout a send thought.

HE TRAVEL – GAY TRAVEL TOURS, GAY ADVENTURE TRAVEL, ACTIVE VATNS

We live a world where, prr to leavg for a trip to or via an even larger list of untri, I need to b through my phone for anythg gay that uld e problems.

LGBT TRAVEL IAS: TOP 12 GAY FRIENDLY CI

We live a world where beg openly gay means g out every sgle day to someone new, never knowg whether that will be met wh an exced “me too!

We live a world where I watch and listen to the experience of the transgenr, genr-nonnformg, genrqueer, non-bary and other members of the LGBTIQA+ muny, and see so many disturbg parallels to how gay people were treated earlier my lifetime that I n’t help but stand bi them.

The most gay-iendly plac on the pla 7 historic LGBTIQ+ US statns to celebrate Pri How Black LGBTIQ+ travelers navigate a challengg world. )By the end of my year abroad, I realized that beg gay was an unniable part of who I was; I me out to many of the iends I’d ma Burgos, knowg them well enough to share my full self wh them. Vcent Jon, owner of Cizen Jon Travel, says that he notic how bs and lols gay travel hotspots—like Mykonos, Ibiza, and Puerto Vallarta—ter to whe gay men, while Black gay tourists like him don’t receive the same treatment.

” I barely knew how to travel, wasn’t entirely sure I was a lbian, and I didn’t really know how to give them an LGBTQ-iendly spiel… A gay travel gui assortment of tips and advice… Their qutns really threw me. But I also know that travellg n be the bt gift to give yourself while tryg to figure out which booti you like bumpg and how to live a life that is still not nsired “normal”, there are some super smashg gay iendly ci to fill the spiratn cup along the way.

FAQs of Gay TravellersWrappg Up the LGBT Travel GuiExperienc of LGBTQ Travellers – A Challeng and Inspiratn SandwichFor this article, I terviewed several other badass LGBT travellers. A Nugget of Wisdom om a Cutie Interviewee“(Comg om a small cy) I had a very specific imprsn of what meant to be gay… there wasn’t any nuance. Travellg Together When GayThere will be differenc the challeng – and rewards – of travellg as a partnership or group of iends pendg on the same factors above.

When I was livg and travellg Central Ameri, two of my gay iends faced more overt threats of vlence om small sectns of the muny (mostly borrachos late at night). Whether you want to swan through classy rtrants, luxury LGBTQ hotels, and seclud beach – or you jt want to PARTY HARD – there are gay-iendly ci for you! Gay Pri memorat LGBTQ ristance to the vlent police enforcement of immoral ‘moraly laws’ New York ps raid a gay bar – as was typil of the time.

Existg as your uneded, loud, proud, gay-ass self giv those around you permissn to be there is no reason for you to not claim your space as an LGBT traveller some of the world’s bt gay ci.

#1 Wellgton, New ZealandWellgton mak the top of my list for gay travel partly bee there isn’t a whole lot of dited gay bars and LGBTQ+ spac.