Gay Bar Reviews from 2002!

[khaolakguy]

While doing some computer housekeeping I came across(not literally) an old review of the Thai gay scene from 2002 that may be of historical interest. I think I posted it as a trip report in one of the gay forums:

 

A recent tourist trip around Thailand gave me the opportunity to update information on some of the gay venues.

PATONG IN PHUKET

 In the middle of the low season, so generally very quiet.

 Working down the right hand side of the Way In to Paradise Complex, as you go in!(EDIT the one way system was subsequently reversed)

 Passport still has gogo, and some pleasant boys, Nin is well worth taking off.

 Thipaluck Bar Beer is closed for conversion to a gogo bar.

 Connect is ticking over, with friendly service and good food in the restaurant, at fair prices.

 James Dean Bar Beer is as friendly as ever, with a good mix of locals and tourists, Thai and Farang, commercial and non commercial,  and excellent music. 

 CU and Time Bar Beers, are ticking over, the boys at CU always look smart in their matching shirts, which change daily.

 My Way Gogo, has, as ever, the largest and best selection of off boys and a reasonable show, at midnight.  

 Tiger Boy Gogo has only a small selection of boys, and I was the only customer when I was there.

 Boat Bar continues to have the best shows, at midnight, followed by dance music. It also has a busy bar beer outside. Lots of freelancers, and some non commercial guys.

 Following down the opposite side of the street, on the Way In.

 F1 is a bar beer which plays older music, sixties, seventies, and is under the same management as James Dean.

 Spartacus is a gogo bar with only a small choice of men with larger physiques.

 Patong Gogo, is now part owned by Tangmo Bar, so they have the curious arrangement of the boys from Tangmo joining the boys from Patong Gogo during the evening, and the Tangmo show taking place in Patong Gogo at 2330, after which both the show and the Tangmo boys return to Tangmo, where the show is repeated. I can recommend Noom, from Patong Gogo, and from Phitsanalouk, as a thoroughly nice and passionate guy. 

 Young Shark Boy seems to be on one of it’s declines, limited boys and poor show.

 Uncle Charlie’s, having moved to Way In from Aroonsom Plaza, has had to tone down it’s shows.

 Anaconda, on the second floor, has both gogo boys and karaoke together, and looked like it could be quite fun, but I didn’t visit it.

 Tangmo has a smaller selection of boys than it used to, perhaps because of the low season??,and gogo doesn’t start until after midnight. Prior to that are “special tourist shows”, which actually probably involve the most male, and katoey, nudity currently on show in Patong.

 Unless of course one counts Super Boys, where the boys apparently dance naked, when it is decided that it is safe to do so.

 Other than the above two, there is currently no nudity in the gay shows in Patong.

 

BANGKOK

I only covered the bars in Patpong/Suriwong/Silom area.

 The best and raunchiest all male show was at Future Boys. They also had the best selection of guys. They must share ownership with Spur, as some of the boys and parts of the show are shared between the two clubs. The clubs are in Duangthawee Plaza, and while, like most of the other bars in that area, they charge you 200 Baht for a drink, at least with these two you get a large strong drink! 

 In the same street X-treme, is far from it, with a selection of rather camp boys, and a show that while quite athletic, is neither sexual nor particularly entertaining.

 Dream Boy on Surawong had only a small selection of boys, and a short show with  a big cock selection. They do at least tell you the name and number attached to the passing appendage!

 Many of those who take part in the big cock shows can be a disappointment later. The perversion of misleading advertising, means that they use pumps to overinflate their members, and when they reach maximum size, slip on a tight rubber band to ensure that no blood can escape. Without the pump and rubber bands they may not reach the same dimensions or retain erections for the same duration.

 Screwboy in Patpong Two is as raunchy, in a seedy way, as ever. Informal would be one way to describe it, pushy would be another, but certainly different.

 Super Lex was a disappointment, we were the only customers, and the selection of boys was not great, although if you like short well built guys, I can recommend Cake, who usually does the shower show. Still the show was ok, quite sexual, and, as ever at Super Lex, lots of chiffon!

 Jupiter, by the Surawong Hotel, is worth a visit. It was completely packed out for their show, which, while not as raunchy as many of the others, is imaginative, and they have a good selection of boys there.

 Freeman in Silom certainly has the best mime show, but DJ Station has the best music and keenest dancers, with a selection of guys from commercial to semi commercial to “no chance”! Lots of fun and packed out every night.

 

Saunas: Visited Chakran and Babylon. My Thai boyfriend was hit upon regularly at Chakran, and I not at all, while the scores were more even at Babylon. But both were comfortable and uninhibited.

 And of course if you want to pose, you can sit out on the terrace at The Balcony and look at the customers opposite at the Telephone Bar, and vice versa.

 

CHIANG MAI

There is really only one gogo bar, and that is Adam’s Apple. It has a good and raunchy show, a good selection of boys, and I can certainly recommend A.

 The gay life in the night bazaar, as far as I could find, is reduced to two seedy bars, in an alley, which looks like the sort of place you would go for a pee, if you were desperate and thought that no one was looking!

 Buddy’s which was described in one guide as “going to become very popular” has closed.

 The other bars, Doi Boy, Fan, Hot Boy, Circle are really host bars, and the hosts didn’t seem very interested in what they were doing. The best of these was Circle, as the guys put on their own miming show, from which you could get some idea of what they were like, unlike the others where the boys seemed more interested in the television than the customers.

 I didn’t get to Coffee Boy, but I can recommend Nice Illusions, as somewhere to go after about 11pm. They have a live band, and the customers are a mix of katoeys, girls and straight guys and not so straight guys. A great and friendly atmosphere.

 Finally Bubbles, which has a ten per cent gay clientele. It was OK, but too many straight farangs for me.

 Hope that this is useful.

 

 

 

[vinapu]

good and interesting read , feels like looking at Joe Binden's picture made when he was first elected to Senate while having his most recent picture on the wall. ( Or replace Binden with Brigitte Bardot to avoid being accused  to be skewed toward politicians ) 

In short, nice memories but we need to deal with what we have now.

What I noticed , no massage place mentioned which say a lot about how scene evolved

One thing , other than location seem to be  constant :'

" Jupiter, by the Surawong Hotel, is worth a visit. It was completely packed out for their show, which, while not as raunchy as many of the others, is imaginative, and they have a good selection of boys there."

for uninitiated , Jupiter, now at end of soi used to be where Moonlight is now , underscored part is word for word the same  my friend who visited them on this passing weekend reported to me.

[ichigo]

It's pleasing to hear that some of the bars mentioned are still in existence today, over 2 decades later!

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, ichigo said:

It's pleasing to hear that some of the bars mentioned are still in existence today, over 2 decades later!

and Screwboys likely in he same location, even if name changed to Good Boys

[Londoner]

Thanks for the memories!  My goodness, what great times I had in those days. If only there were photos.

[siriusBE]

15 hours ago, vinapu said:

Or replace Biden with Brigitte Bardot to avoid being accused  to be skewed toward politicians

😂

[vinapu]

9 hours ago, Londoner said:

Thanks for the memories!  My goodness, what great times I had in those days. If only there were photos.

I,  rather than combing through old photos prefer to comb Kayak for airfares for next trip

[floridarob]

22 hours ago, vinapu said:

What I noticed , no massage place mentioned which say a lot about how scene evolved

Oh yes, there were massage places....and better, in my opinion, before apps were even thought of.

[Keithambrose]

10 hours ago, floridarob said:

Oh yes, there were massage places....and better, in my opinion, before apps were even thought of.

I recall some stimulating  massages over 30 years ago, even 3somes.

[Keithambrose]

Also 'Aqua Spa' behind Saint Louis Hospital,  must  have been there over 30 years. Closed some years ago. I had some good times, even a massage sometimes!

[vinapu]

7 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

Also 'Aqua Spa' behind Saint Louis Hospital,  must  have been there over 30 years. Closed some years ago. I had some good times, even a massage sometimes!

that was great place and in it's heyday very, very busy. My first semi-permanent was from there

[Keithambrose]

16 hours ago, vinapu said:

that was great place and in it's heyday very, very busy. My first semi-permanent was from there

Glad you recall it. When did V Club start, must be some time ago?

[vinapu]

7 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

Glad you recall it. When did V Club start, must be some time ago?

No idea  but it was running already when I was there first time back in 2001, I think it was in different location in the same area though

[Keithambrose]

1 hour ago, vinapu said:

No idea  but it was running already when I was there first time back in 2001, I think it was in different location in the same area though

I agree, I think must make the 30 years. Had a lot of uni students in old days.

[macaroni21]

I can't answer the question (when did V Club start) with any precision. But I believe my first visit would have been around 1997 or 1998 (and I remember the place fondly). I am fairly certain it was around those years because V Club was then in a stand-alone bungalow house along Phahonyothin Soi 7, and there was no Chakran sauna yet. I can see from a websearch that Chakran sauna opened in year 2000. That's why I reckon my first visit would have been a few years before that.

Not long after my first visit, there was talk of a new sauna (Chakran) in the neighbourhood. Even then, VClub remained a separate business in its separate location for a few years more. 

Then it moved into Chakran's building perhaps by 2005 or so. Perhaps Chakran's owners bought V Club; or both businesses had always shared the same owner and the owner consolidated V Club into Chakran's building after the lease on the bungalow house ran out.

[Keithambrose]

39 minutes ago, macaroni21 said:

I can't answer the question (when did V Club start) with any precision. But I believe my first visit would have been around 1997 or 1998 (and I remember the place fondly). I am fairly certain it was around those years because V Club was then in a stand-alone bungalow house along Phahonyothin Soi 7, and there was no Chakran sauna yet. I can see from a websearch that Chakran sauna opened in year 2000. That's why I reckon my first visit would have been a few years before that.

Not long after my first visit, there was talk of a new sauna (Chakran) in the neighbourhood. Even then, VClub remained a separate business in its separate location for a few years more. 

Then it moved into Chakran's building perhaps by 2005 or so. Perhaps Chakran's owners bought V Club; or both businesses had always shared the same owner and the owner consolidated V Club into Chakran's building after the lease on the bungalow house ran out.

Thanks, a long and venerable history!

[Keithambrose]

On my second  visit to Bangkok,  c1980, no Internet  etc, but somehow, maybe concierge  ot taxi driver delivered  me to a house where 2 delightful  boys engaged in a 3some, pre HIV. No idea where it was, looked like an ordinary  house!

[Keithambrose]

15 minutes ago, Keithambrose said:

On my second  visit to Bangkok,  c1980, no Internet  etc, but somehow, maybe concierge  ot taxi driver delivered  me to a house where 2 delightful  boys engaged in a 3some, pre HIV. No idea where it was, looked like an ordinary  house!

Bangkok was not very built up then. My hotel, the old Dusit Thani,  was the tallest building