Alan Stables tastes the delights of what Bangkok has to offer, visiting the classic Telephone Bar, Babylon Sauna and much more.
As we took the taxi from the Don Mueang, the low cost terminal at Bangkok, haze hovered over the city. Whilst we wonderered if this was smog, the lady taxi driver assured us “No, this is winter weather.”
I was not convinced. I am not alone. Supat Wangwongwatana, secretary of the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia, is also not convinced. The levels of carbon monoxide and an increasing ozone hanging over Bangkok ensure that clear days are less likely these days. Don’t let that put you off though for a trip to Bangkok as this gay holiday destination is for the 3 S’s.
Well actually it’s for one big fat “S” – forget the Sun and the Sand.
No trip to Bangkok would be complete without tasting some of the classic delights that Bangkok has to offer. Bars for people watching, karaoke, massage, cabaret and disco, Bangkok has it all.
Hotels
Tarntawan Place at 119/5-10 Surawong Road is a gay friendly hotel located in a strategic position for the gay traveller with deluxe double room rates from 2175 Bahts (approx. £40) to 2900 Bahts (approx. £54), breakfast included. Clean and efficient, I found the staff friendly and helpful. Sorry to say I found the female breakfast staff less helpful and carpets throughout were shabby and in need of replacing. On the positive side, the extra that I really liked is that on checking in they give you a set of personalized cards with your name on and the hotel’s address. Useful for giving out to someone you like or to show the taxi driver the way back to your hotel. Couple that with a daily delivery of a piece of fruit, these are nice touches.
Another positive about staying at Tarntawan Place is the security. There is no problem about having guests, but they must register at reception on entry. When they leave, the receptionist will call you in your room to check that everything is okay. There is also a friendly security officer at the elevator. Security in Bangkok is an important issue, and should not be under estimated.
Tarntawan Place is located between the gay street area of Soi Boytown and Soi 4. Soi Boytown is a street is off the other side of the road of Surawong Road whereas Soi 4 is off Silom Road – which runs parallel to Surawong Road.
To help get your bearings, one of the best things you can do is head off to the legendary Telephone Bar in Soi 4. From there, besides eyeing up the guys strutting down the street you can pick up a useful free GM guide with all the where-to-go places listed. The Telephone Bar also produces its own useful one page map.
Another good source of information can be found HERE:
Bars
Telephone Bar itself is friendly with gin and tonics costing 150 Bahts (£2.80), and cokes at 90 Bahts (£1.70). People sit outside and do people watching, which can be very entertaining. If it’s full, try the bars next door, the Stranger and Connections.
The whole street of Soi 4, is full of gay places. Diagonally opposite from Telephone Bar for example is Balcony Bar a site that is highly rated having won a Metro Magazine High Fives Award. You can drink, play videos and connect to internet.
Whilst the locals attached to the bars and spas are young, and the clientele much older or even of retirement age, the bear community also has its niche bar at Bearibie Karaoke, opposite the Telephone Bar. As the name suggests it is a karaoke bar patronized by the bear community.
Having got your GM map you can now look up all the other places that may be of interest to you.
At Soi Boytown, there are places such as Hotmale, Hotmale 2, Maxis, Bangkok Boys and Dream Boys on one side of the street, whereas you can find Future Boy, Dick’s Café, Bunny’s Massage and a few Go-Go Bars on the opposite side of the same street. Sit outside Maxis for example and watch the young masseurs of Massage Bangkok sit outside waiting for clients. Watch out too for door touts who will try to guide you into their clubs. Some are much pushier than others.
Massage
There are many massage parlours. Some are conventional ones offering services such as foot massage, but for a more intimate experience there are so many to choose from. You pay for two things. One for the massage service that goes to the establishment and the other being a tip for the masseur. Tips generally range from a minimum of 500 Bahts (£9.25) up to 1000 Bahts ( £18.50). Make sure you establish the prices, including tips, before accepting any type of service.
Tarntawan Massage is adjacent to Tarntawan Place and the cost of a 90 minutes body massage is 750 Bahts (£14), not including the tip. One spa and massage place that appears to be heavily advertised as the newest and largest spa to be is The Prince found in Sathom Soi 3.
Saunas
The mythical Babylon is well renowned. It is more of a high class fitness centre. On ground level there is a swimming pool with lounge chairs and gym, with a restaurant and a bar looking out onto the pool. There’s also a small sauna and dark steam room as well as cold showers on this level. Walk up one level and you have a snack bar, the changing rooms, hot showers and a small dark maze with cabins. The top floor is reserved for massage and a barber shop. It is a clean place frequented by the 30 to 50 year old age group. You can train those muscles in the gym, show off those muscles around the pool or be a sleaze bag – it’s your choice. The Babylon also doubles as a hotel.
Other saunas that you may wish to check out include Chakran, Men Factory, Troy and 39 Sauna.
Live sex shows also exist. The show at Tawan Bar has muscle guys penetrating a she-male doing a helicopter routine. The mind boggles. This is just round the corner from Tarntawan Place (go left and then your first left).
If you are looking for a disco to go to, D.J. Station comes to mind. Most of the discos can be found in the street three roads down parallel to Soi 4.
Sightseeing
Apart from the bars, clubs, go-go bars, massage parlours, spas, saunas and live sex shows, you may actually want to see another side of what Bangkok has to offer. Typical tourist trips include a canal trip stopping off at the temples and visiting a snake farm. Thai boxing is world famous so a trip to the boxing ring may be of interest. There are also excursions to see elephants. Getting a made to measure suit may be a good idea too, which will be posted on to you afterwards. Apart from this, there is plenty of shopping to do in the streets as the street markets seem to bring the place alive selling anything from Singha Beer singlets to wrap around panda salt and pepper pots. Buy your mementos and then get back to the bars…
When To Go?
Temperatures range from 22 C to 32 C in December to 27 to 36 C in April. So no matter when you go, you can expect a pleasant climate. What differs is the amount of rainfall. Rainy season is from May to October, with most falling in September. With this in mind, planning a trip between November and April would seem the best time to visit Bangkok. Even still the humidity levels are over 70% even in the dry season.
Getting there
British Airways have daily direct flights from Heathrow to Bangkok starting from as low as £363, and daily flights from Manchester to Bangkok for as low as £321 at the time of writing. British Airways have no direct flights from Gatwick to Bangkok.
Check out Thai Airways though prices seem to be about double.
If travelling from another point in Asia, try the low cost carrier Air Asia for economical fares and to get about Thailand their own low cost airline is Thai Lion Air.
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