Travel Safety Report: 20 Worst Plac For Gay Travelers In 2021

Contents:

• GAY LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA | THE ESSENTIAL LGBT TRAVEL GUI!
• KUALA LUMPUR GAY TRAVEL
• MALAYSIA’S HIGHT COURT STRIK DOWN STATE GAY SEX BAN
• PENANG GAY TRAVEL
• 5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)
• TOP 11 GAY FRIENDLY HOTELS IN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
• 'THIS IS HISTORIC': MALAYSIAN MAN WS APPEAL AGAST ISLAMIC GAY SEX CHARGE
• MALAYSIAN MAN WS LANDMARK CHALLENGE AGAST MLIM GAY SEX BAN
• DISVER THE BT 10 STATNS TO ENJOY GAY THAILAND
• GAYA ISLAND RORT (SABAH)
• TRAVEL SAFETY REPORT: 20 WORST PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2021
• THE BEST KUALA LUMPUR GAY CLUBS & BARSSEE ALL THGS TO DOGAY CLUBS & BARS KUALA LUMPUR

GAY LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA | THE ESSENTIAL LGBT TRAVEL GUI!

Tucked away off the Eastern ast of Malaysia near Thailand, Langkawi is more liberal and relaxed than the rt of Malaysia, as gay travelers will soon notice – and is probably a large reason why Gay Langkawi is popular wh LGBT travelers. You will be weled almost everywhere you go: bars, clubs, and rtrants and will surely have no issu any of the upsle rorts; however, jt be aware you will not fd a gay scene anywhere near as bizarre as that Kuala Lumpur, as crazy as Ho Chi Mh Cy or as open and hedonistic as nearby Phet if that is your ma ncern.

Many Malaysians still hold nservative attus to any display of public affectn – straight or gay – although people here are surprisgly open-md, pecially more trendy, upsle areas.

KUALA LUMPUR GAY TRAVEL

As a general le, what gay people do their own time Malaysia is largely only an issue if you are a Malaysian polician or want to watch Bety & The Beast. Sadly the fluence of nservative Islam on mastream polics and culture Malaysia is currently creasg – none of which should affect your average gay traveler, however. So e to Gay Langkawi for the luxur rorts, dive sunsets, duty-ee shoppg, and mouth-waterg cktails – jt don’t expect to be met wh rabow flags or out-and-proud gay life.

Note: Malaysia retas a Brish lony-era crimal ban on sodomy, poorly fed but clus both heterosexual and homosexual acts, wh punishment rangg om f to prison sentenc of up to twenty years and even rporal punishment. Though this law is rarely, if ever, applied to foreigners and should not disurage gay travelers om visg Langkawi, is worth readg up on LGBT rights Malaysia.

Bee gay life Langkawi maly occurs onle, at night and behd closed doors, many of the attractns Langkawi durg the day that gay travelers will want to see are the top attractns here anyway.

MALAYSIA’S HIGHT COURT STRIK DOWN STATE GAY SEX BAN

One of the bt tips we n give you for explorg Gay Langkawi is to pre-orr a travel SIM rd for easy airport pickup and activatn the moment you arrive, so you will not pay a fortune ternatnal roamg charg. Get rtrants remendatn and rervatns on the fly, public transport stctns up to the mute, bar openg hours and, if is your thg – accs to gay hook-up apps to fd out more about the lol scene.

Gay travelers  Langkawi should take special re regardg public displays of affectn where many rints may be ls exposed to LGBT culture and likely hold nservative attus…Malaysian people fd this very embarrassg, even wh heterosexual upl. Perfect for startg a night off Gay Langkawi, wns the tropil sun dip below the wtern horizon of the Andaman and maybe even tch a glimpse of flyg fish, dolphs and graceful eagl while you are at .

PENANG GAY TRAVEL

In Langkawi, you would be hard-prsed to fd an upsle hotel that had any issu wh gay guts, but some discretn n be advised this often-nservative society. There are no specific gay bars Langkawi, but there is a small gay scene here focsed around a few different plac, and plenty of gay-iendly bars to explore.

Sadly there is no such thg as an openly gay bar Malaysia – this uld lead to ser problems for the owners of the bar, cludg havg their license revoked, but there are plac that are well-known the lol LGBT muny as ‘gay-iendly hangout’. Y, ’s no wonr Rhu Bar attracts the refed ternatnal jet set – gay, straight or unirn – bee who don’t want to live the high life every once a while?

5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)

There are no exclively gay spas Langkawi, but all of the optns will provi no issu for solo gay travelers or same-sex upl wantg a romantic dulgence.

An elegant spa cked out wh ntemporary dér and grand marble walls offerg an opulent pamperg experience for gay travelers who sire a few hours – or a whole day – to unwd. All members of the gay muny should be able to travel where they want and enjoy the treasur Malaysia has to offer, but is important to be aware of the legal and social suatn before travelg. 2013 rearch rried out by the Pew Rearch Center showed ltle acceptance om the Malaysian populatn towards homosexualy: 86% believed should not be accepted by society.

Recently, a ernment mister orred the removal of photographs of gay people om an exhibn Penang, claimg they promoted LGBT rights, which is agast the state ernment policy. You won’t fd any crazy parti like Bangkok or the openns of islands Thailand, but outright persecutn is rare, and ’s not pletely unheard of to see gay upl out and about; there jt won’t be any public displays of affectn.

TOP 11 GAY FRIENDLY HOTELS IN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

The suatn is siar idyllic Langkawi, which is popular wh gay travelers bee of s more liberal attus and chilled nightlife – as well as s stunng beach! Bookg at ternatnal, upsle hotels is always a safe bet; is highly unlikely gay travelers will n to any problems here, and there are plenty to choose om, whether Kuala Lumpur or beachsi Penang.

While there might be some great nightlife optns, there are none that are publilly for the gay muny, and is val to be sensible and discrete, somethg which is repeated throughout this gui for a good reason. In gay-iendly bars hubs like KL and Penang ’s easy enough to get talkg to people, but bee members of the LGBT muny are rarely out and have to disguise themselv, uld often be difficult to know who to approach. Gay men e hook-up apps like Grdr, Scff, and Tdr but onle censorship is creasgly a problem, so a secure VPN before gog is strongly remend orr to protect privacy and rema anonymo.

The se aris om a 2018 raid on a private rince Selangor, which state relig enforcement officials arrted 11 men on charg of “attemptg” gay sex, unr sectn 28 of Selangor’s Syariah (Sharia, or Islamic law) crimal enactment. In an attempt to help terme the worst plac for gay travelers, the duo created the 2019 LGBTQ+ Danger Inx, rankg the world’s most dangero—and saft—untri for gay travelers. The journalists looked at the top 150 most-vised untri the world by the number of g tourists, then ranked them g eight factors, cludg laws agast gay relatnships, legal protectn agast discrimatn and more.

'THIS IS HISTORIC': MALAYSIAN MAN WS APPEAL AGAST ISLAMIC GAY SEX CHARGE

“In 2018, India managed to annul Sectn 377, a Brish lonial-era law prohibg ‘unnatural acts, ’ orr to legalize nsensual gay sex, ” says Fergson, who pots out that ancient Indian lerature such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana have many referenc to LGBTQ+ hero cludg transgenr warrrs and two queens who ma love orr for one queen to get pregnant wh an heir for their kgdom. “We found this to be a b ironic as the reason for many of the harsh homophobic laws untri throughout the world is largely leftover om laws created durg Brish le, ” says Fergson.

MALAYSIAN MAN WS LANDMARK CHALLENGE AGAST MLIM GAY SEX BAN

Ci like Lisbon and Porto have the bt gay scen the untry and Portugal is hopg to host the 2022 Europri, the world's biggt event celebratg gay pri Europe.

Wh an overall natnal attu that is relaxed and acceptg towards homosexualy, Belgium is known for havg a vibrant gay and lbian scene, particularly Bssels, ” says Fergson. It was ranked so highly largely due to the extreme penalti for simply beg gay, which clu up to 14 years prison and the ath penalty stat unr Sharia law, ” says Fergson.

“Sdi Arabia is another of the untri on our list which implements the ath penalty for nsensual homosexualy unr their terpretatn of Sharia law, ” says Fergson. “Iran ma #6 on the x, due part to s extreme punishments for homosexualy, which clu 100 lash for homosexual terurse or the ath penalty, and 31 lash for same-sex acts other than terurse, ” says Fergson.

DISVER THE BT 10 STATNS TO ENJOY GAY THAILAND

“Publicly, homosexualy is a taboo topic, so LGBTQ+ travelers choosg to vis Sudan should proceed wh utn and rema discreet wh regards to their sexualy.

“Historilly, Barbados and some other Caribbean islands have had poor anti-LGBTQ+ legislatn and practic, largely left over om the Brish occupatn which put the laws place and rerced anti-gay attus. Unfortunately, imposed punishment for homosexualy is severe and the existence of gay people Malaysia was nied by their tourism mister as recently as March 2019, ” says Fergson.

GAYA ISLAND RORT (SABAH)

That said, the LGBTQ+ muny is margalized this untry and there are heavy nsequenc for beg homosexual, which clu seven years to life prison for any same-sex act, ” says Fergson. Unfortunately, thgs may soon be gettg even worse for the LGBTQ+ muny, as the Ugandan ernment has recently lled to retroduce an anti-homosexualy bill, which would clu the ath penalty for same-sex acts, the midst of the recent murr of a gay Ugandan activist.

TRAVEL SAFETY REPORT: 20 WORST PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2021

“In the Paltian terrori of Gaza and the Wt Bank, the anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment is taken very serly, wh homosexual acts rultg up to 10 years prison, ” says Fergson. “Groups advotg for LGBTQ+ rights are threatened by the erng thori Palte, who nsir homosexualy to be ‘a blow to, and vlatn of, the ials and valu of Paltian society.

Currently, Kenyan law stat that same-sex terurse between mal rults 14 years prison, while all other homosexual acts between mal are punished wh five years imprisonment, ” says Fergson.

In fact, Jamai was lled ‘the most homophobic place on Earth’ by Time magaze 2006 and LGBTQ+ people are sadly still the victims of homophobic vlence today. Table of ntentsExprsnz Profsnal SuTrars Hotel Kuala LumpurOrange Pekoe GuthoeFurama Hotel B BtangHotel StripThe Majtic Hotel Kuala LumpurCondo Hotel Fraser Place Kuala LumpurHotel MOVVilla SamadhiMercure Kuala Lumpur Shaw Para Impiana KLCC HotelJt So You Know:Get Some Culture Kuala Lumpur:Bt Gay Bars / Clubs Kuala Lumpur:Bt Gay Snas Kuala Lumpur:Exprsnz Profsnal Su. One of the most distctive and luxur gay iendly hotels Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ss right above the cy’s utterly geo, old-world Moorish-spired tra statn.

THE BEST KUALA LUMPUR GAY CLUBS & BARSSEE ALL THGS TO DOGAY CLUBS & BARS KUALA LUMPUR

This excellent gay iendly hotel li Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is surround by some of the cy’s bt shoppg hubs, cludg the fabulo Berjaya Tim Square mall.

A Malaysian man has won a landmark urt challenge agast an Islamic ban on sex “agast the orr of nature”, raisg hop for greater acceptance of gay rights the mostly Mlim a unanimo cisn, Malaysia’s top urt led on Thursday that the Islamic provisn ed agast the man was unnstutnal and thori had no power to enact the law. This is monumental for LGBT+ rights Malaysia, ” said Numan Afifi, the founr of LGBT+ rights group Pelangi Campaign, which was not volved the Mlim man his 30s – whose name has been whheld by his lawyer to protect him – filed the lawsu after he was arrted the central Selangor state 2018 for attemptg gay sex, an allegatn he acts are illegal Malaysia, although nvictns are rare.

The untry, which has 13 stat, has a dual-track legal system, wh Islamic crimal and fay laws applible to Mlims nng alongsi civil advot say Islamic laws have been creasgly ed to target the south-east Asian untry’s gay muny, wh a rise arrts and punishments rangg om ng to hoped Selangor would immediately repeal the Islamic ban, wh other stat followg su. Of urse Sectn 377 is still there – ’s not the end but this is a begng, ” Numan Malaysia, a untry of 32 ln where 60% of the populatn is Mlim, many gay people are not open about their man who lnched the legal challenge argued Selangor had no power to enforce an Islamic ban on “terurse agast the orr of nature” when gay sex was already a crime unr civil urt agreed, clarg that the state’s power to enact such offenc “is subject to a nstutnal lim”, the chief jtice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat wrote the Selangor Islamic Relig Council, a rponnt the su, did not immediately rpond to a requt for man volved the legal challenge was among 11 men arrted on spicn of attemptg gay sex durg a raid at a private of the group plead guilty, and were sentenced 2019 to jail, ng and f, sparkg outrage among human rights activists who said created an environment of fear for LGBT+ women were ned for “attemptg lbian sex” unr Islamic laws the east ast state of Terengganu 2018, the same year that saw a transgenr woman attacked.

Hop for greater acceptance of gay rights the mostly Mlim untry of Malaysia have risen after a landmark urt challenge agast an Islamic ban on sex "agast the orr of nature" pots:The Mlim man his 30s was arrted for attemptg to have gay sexGay sex between men is illegal Malaysia, but Mlim people n also be punished unr sperate Islamic lawThe man succsfully argued that bee the act is already illegal unr civil law, Islamic provisns are unnstutnal A Mlim Malaysian man his 30s brought the challenge to urt after he was arrted the central Selangor state 2018 for attemptg gay sex, which he acts are illegal Malaysia, although nvictns are untry, which has 13 stat, has a dual-track legal system wh Islamic crimal and fay laws applible to Mlims nng alongsi civil advot say Islamic laws have been creasgly ed to target the South-East Asian untry's gay muny, wh a rise arrts and punishments rangg om ng to a unanimo cisn, Malaysia's top urt led that the Islamic provisn ed Selangor was unnstutnal and thori had no power to enact the law. "The man who lnched the legal challenge argued that Selangor had no power to enforce an Islamic ban on "terurse agast the orr of nature" when gay sex was already a crime unr civil urt agreed, clarg that the state's power to enact such offenc "is subject to a nstutnal lim, " the Chief Jtice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat wrote the Selangor Islamic Relig Council, a rponnt the su, did not immediately rpond to a requt for man volved the legal challenge was among 11 men arrted on spicn of attemptg gay sex durg a raid at a private of the group plead guilty and were sentenced to jail, ng and f 2019. For queer travellers pecially, Thailand is the perfect retreat, populated by go-go boys, gay-iendly wellns retreats and alternative culture by the bload.

Gay marriage Thailand is still not formally regnised, but, spe this, many same-sex upl travel to the natn to have their unn blsed by Buddhist East tly meets Wt, Bangkok melds tradnal Buddhist ways of life wh outrageo hedonism, creatg a vibrant atmosphere ripe for exploratn1. Dpe beg one of Thailand’s more expensive ci wh s fair share of htlers, Bangkok is still among the most affordable ci the world, where t-ts tout for the price of a sandwich and hip boutique stor pete on verable pal of ‘Gay Asia’, Bangkok is the first ll for gay parti across the ntent, boastg an famo party scene to make even Ru Pl blh.

Popular among Bangkok’s middle and upper class, as much as the ternatnal gay muny, Koh Samet serv laid-back parti a tropil paradise, wh crowds and pric peakg on the weekend. For one of the bt beach gay Thailand travel straight to Ao Phai, home of the Silver Sands Bar and open-air nightclub and neighbour to Ao Tubtim, Koh Samet’s unofficial gay beach.

Straighter and more Thai-style than what’s on offer Phet or Pattaya, nightlife on Koh Samet is for tourists and Bangkok gays keen on beachsi karaoke and Thai pop Ragnar Vorel3. For gay-iendly beach days, try the popular Dongtan and Jomtien Beach, before headg to the Walkg Street entertament district for barets, clubs, bars and r karaoke ssns.