Shameless Mack Bali posts

[floridarob]

Not sure how many read this blog....but he had some very good stuff on Bali and massages in Bali...he also posts here, I'll say thanks here for your work!

https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/

 

[tm_nyc]

5 hours ago, floridarob said:

he had some very good stuff on Bali

Totally agree!  I wanted to leave a comment on his blog thanking him but there doesn't appear to be a way to do that.

[vinapu]

6 hours ago, floridarob said:

Not sure how many read this blog...

https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/

 

I do

[Marc in Calif]

8 hours ago, floridarob said:

Not sure how many read this blog....but he had some very good stuff on Bali and massages in Bali...he also posts here, I'll say thanks here for your work!

https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/

It's a VERY useful blog!

in Bali, he did say that he reviewed only spas and restaurants in Seminyak and Kuta Beach. There are additional gay places there and nearby.  

Notably, he didn't report on the rest of the island other than this very small corner. There are several gay places elsewhere. 

[macaroni21]

Awww, thanks @floridarob for the shout-out. To answer a few questions above,

@tm_nyc - it was a conscious decision to turn off comments. My posts come in spurts and starts, and for months between travels I may not post (nothing to report) and so have no reason to even look at my own site. This may frustrate people who put questions there, and they may think me rude to not reply. I would rather they put their questions here in GayGuides and this way benefit from the collective wisdom of many others, not just me.

@Marc in Calif - Having done the other parts of Bali before, I had no urge to go trekking to the other towns; not even Ubud which I personally think a bit overrated (but that's just me). Furthermore the trip was half work and I didn't want to risk putting myself in the smaller places where wifi might be uncertain.

Even in earlier visits, I have not come across gay places outside of the main urban area in Kuta - Seminyak - and I have not seen mention of any online (except 1 or 2 clothing-optional resorts). So, if you know of some, please share. I may check them out the next time. 

I've never been to any of these advertsed clothing-options places (no real interest) but I once had a longish conversation with someone while we were both stuck in transit at Singapore's Changi airport, waiting for a delayed flight to Manila. I don't fully recall the details (I don't even recall his name now!), but I do recall his general observation that the one (or was it two?) places he had been to were quite isolated, and there was limited choice beyond the in-house staff. Also, he said something about poor customer traffic, thus poor upkeep of the premises. But this is second-hand information. Would certainly appreciate if others had better and more recent information.

 

[Marc in Calif]

8 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

@Marc in Calif - Having done the other parts of Bali before, I had no urge to go trekking to the other towns; not even Ubud which I personally think a bit overrated (but that's just me). Furthermore the trip was half work and I didn't want to risk putting myself in the smaller places where wifi might be uncertain.

Even in earlier visits, I have not come across gay places outside of the main urban area in Kuta - Seminyak - and I have not seen mention of any online (except 1 or 2 clothing-optional resorts). So, if you know of some, please share. I may check them out the next time.

 

Yes, you do need to travel inland to find the few resorts and massage places that are gay-owned or at least gay-friendly.

[khaolakguy]

On 3/17/2023 at 12:03 AM, Marc in Calif said:

Yes, you do need to travel inland to find the few resorts and massage places that are gay-owned or at least gay-friendly.

Are you able to point us in their direction.......

[Marc in Calif]

On 3/26/2023 at 5:07 AM, khaolakguy said:

Are you able to point us in their direction.......

A quick start is a simple Google search, which will probably show you the Nomadic Boys site in the search results.

[khaolakguy]

Ah. You made it sound like you had direct personal knowledge of areas and venues that other posters/travellers didn't possess. 

[Marc in Calif]

On 3/30/2023 at 9:23 AM, khaolakguy said:

Ah. You made it sound like you had direct personal knowledge of areas and venues that other posters/travellers didn't possess. 

I know them well. You can find them too! 

I first visited Bali in 1971 and have visited regularly ever since to witness the (ahem) "changes."

[khaolakguy]

Sounds like all hat no cattle.

[Marc in Calif]

9 hours ago, khaolakguy said:

Sounds like all hat no cattle.

Your loss, bub! Best stick to the sex tourist areas of the Kuta-Seminyak-Legian beaches. 😁

[PeterRS]

On 3/16/2023 at 10:34 PM, macaroni21 said:

Having done the other parts of Bali before, I had no urge to go trekking to the other towns; not even Ubud which I personally think a bit overrated (but that's just me). Furthermore the trip was half work and I didn't want to risk putting myself in the smaller places where wifi might be uncertain.

Let me start by saying how much I really enjoy @macaroni21's posts and longer comments on the shamlessmack site. I still have copies of his guide to masseur types and the ground plan he posted years ago about his ideal Bangkok go-go bar. if only someone could have taken him up on his suggestion!

As for Bali, I agree with his comments about Ubud. I now find it much overrated but then my memories go much further back, although not nearly as far as @Marc in Calif. My first trip there was in 1981 when I stayed in the Campuan Hotel just over the bridge at the end of town on the way to Sayan. It was merely a large wooden building which incorporaed the admin offices and an open dining room. Each accommodation was a simple hut on the hillside with gauze for windows and buckets with holes in the base for showers. The hope was you could raise the bucket high enough to get some water before it emptied!

Yet I loved that hotel and its wonderfully friendly staff. There was a western style bar nearer the bridge and just over it Murni's Cafe with superb honey drenched yoghurt with fruit! I returned 10 times over the next five years. Wandering through the rice paddies you could make out the sound of gamelin playing in several villages. There was virtually no sex but it was the culture of the island that totally gripped me. Yet it was starting to become clear that more and more tourists were visiting. So I stopped going. The charms of Bangkok had won me over some years earlier and so I concentrated my future visits in Thailand.

I did return in with my bf in 2005 as he was desperate to see Bali. I was reluctant but gave in. I found the island almost overrun and the peace I had enjoyed two decades earlier had all but disappeared - even in Ubud. But then that is just how tourism works. I was saddened by that visit, but remain thrilled at my meories of earlier times.