Why is the Chang Mai forum dead?

[12is12]

The last post about sex is 6 months old....

Is the scene there only for locals?

[PeterRS]

Compared to what gay life in Chiang Mai was like even a dozen years ago, it is now virtually on its last legs for western tourists. True, there is still a cluster of bars in the smallish soi close to Le Meridien Hotel. When we had a look into them immediately pre-covid in November 2019 the patrons seemed mostly old-time regulars and some boys checking their phones. We did not stay for a drink in any. Adam's Apple is still on the go as I believe are the two gay saunas. And somewhere there will still be gay massage venues. But if you take a look at this Chiang Mai site, near the bottom of the page you will see a list of many gay venues that used to give the city its gay attraction. Almost all of them are closed - 

2 Brothers . Adam's Apple . Akha . Attitude Magazine Thailand . Barocco . Bird of Paradise . Black Door . Blues Club . Bon Tong Productions . Chang Puek . Christmas . Circle Pub . Classic House . Club one Seven . Coffee . Coffee Boy . Common Massage . Cream Bar . Cruise Bar . CU Bar . Darling Wine Bar . David Crisp . Diamond House . Eve . Flower Festival . Food . Free Guy Club . Friendship Bar . g-star . Garden Bar . Gay Pride . Gay Soi 6 . Glass Onion . Golden Oldies . grand-arena . Halloween . heaven-massage . His Club . House of Male . in Memorium . jacky bar . LGBT . Lotus Hotel . Loy Kratong . Mandagay . Mandalay Bar . Mango Bar . Mansfield Place . Marn Mai Massage . Marspa . Maya . New My Way . New Year . Night Bazaar . Nimmanhaeminda . Note . One 2 Come . Orion Bar . ozeed . Pandee . Paradise Massage . Pedophiles . Pee Mai Tai . Phuket Pride . Pizza . PJs Place . Powerboys . Poy Sang Long . Quick Guide . Quiz Night . Radchada Cafe . Radchada Garden Cafe . Ram Bar . Relax . Sabaidee Santitham . Santitham . Santitham Guest House . Sarcasm . Secrets Bar . See Man Pub . Shan State . Shan State Earthquake . Sleaze Alley . Soho Bar . soho-lounge . Songkran . soulmates-retreat . Spirt House . Thai Puan . The Edge . The Peak . The Pub . The Wall Massage . Valentines . Victory Massage . Visakha Bucha . Warnings . What happened to . Yaa Baa . Yokka Dok

https://www.gay-in-chiangmai.com

On the other hand it is still a very beautiful city to visit and I am sure the apps will have some attractions.

[reader]

If you’re looking for some fine specimens from Chiang Mai today, you might want to check out 15M and 27M massage shops in Saphan Kwai. 

https://www.mmassagebkk.com/

line @306SSLQB

 

 

[12is12]

Thx

But why did this happen ?

[reader]

34 minutes ago, 12is12 said:

Thx

But why did this happen ?

Didn’t ask. Too engaged just being grateful for current opportunities.

[PeterRS]

I hope someone from Chiang Mai gives his thoughts. Mine go back to one year in particular - 2009. Two events occurred that year. The first was that in February a Gay Pride Parade in Chiang Mai was interrupted by hooligan local demonstrators when fights broke out. The police put a stop to the Parade and none took place for quite a number of years thereafter. But it illustrated a depth of anti-gay feeling among some of the city's inhabitants that had not previously been visible.

Perhaps initially less important was the opening of what was billed as Chiang's Mai's first gay resort hotel, the Lanna Lavender. The owner, Jay Gregson, had bought an existing 110 room hotel at the northwest by the city wall. It opened with great fanfare near the end of 2009. As the gay public was informed, the rooms had all been upgraded, there were outdoor patios with dining areas above the third floor and another up on the roof (11th floor?) plus the swimming pool had a massage spa attached and there were always boys in attendance. In the basement was a huge entertainment venue for a "Power Boys" twice nightly show.

I only went once with friends when we had dinner on the third floor patio. The ambience was pleasant, the food was fine but the service lousy. When the bill arrived, we sent it back because it was wrong. The seond time it was brought, we sent it back again - again wrong. Not a great omen. That said, though, we then went down to see the cabaret. It had well over 120 fixed seats of which around only 14 were occupied. Not a gogo show, merely cabaret but polished and very well performed with some cute guys taking part. We felt it was considerably better than most Bangkok bar shows of that time! We chatted to one of the boys afterwards. He told us that many of the performers were from the nearby University making some extra money.

In the right location and with a far smaller number of rooms for the transient gay tourist population. plus a lot more attention to getting the detail right, perhaps the Lanna Lavender would have worked. Sadly it was all but a disaster! Massively too big, only a few of the rooms had actually been upgraded by the time it opened and the remainder were poor. There were endless complaints by those in the 'ordinary' rooms, most of whom had quickly to be upgraded. Clearly the initial financial investment in the facilities had not matched the extensive PR - it had been billed as "a gay man's utopia". The end result ought therefore have been obvious relatively quickly. The owner sadly committed suicide the following January, Power Boys closed two months later, and I believe it was not long before the hotel closed its doors for the last time. 

Its closing was certainly nowhere near the end of the gay scene. But it gave the lie to Chiang Mai being a popular gay destination with the guarantee of a goodly number of regular gay tourists. I don't believe it ever was, even though it had some really excellent gay venues and remains a great destination today for general tourism. Unfortunately I also believe that unlike those visiting Bangkok and Pattaya, too many gay tourists enjoyed their first visits but just failed to return. 

[12is12]

I stayed there after the opening in 2009, but I don't remember anything. This doesn't mean that it was an unmemorable occasion, only that my memory is weak.

[Londoner]

We stayed twice at the Lavender , in premier rooms. They were dated but priced appropriately. We liked the roof-top restaurant, the attached show bar,  Power Boys,  infinitely preferable to some we'd seen elsewhere while the massage facility had some cute guys, as well as a fearsome mamasan.

The lower floors were often used by Thai guests who were visiting relatives in the hospital next door. A rather odd arrangement, apparent at breakfast  when we were outnumbered by Thai families.

I liked the position too; near my favourite (and venerable) shopping centre, now alas closed down.

Lavender had  previously been the Tokyo Hotel and last time we were in CM, the premises was still operating as a hotel.

I was disappointed when Lavender closed but CM had long since stopped being a smaller rival to BKK and Pattaya. Its gay bars were too spread-out  and apart from the rather questionable places near the Night Market, there was no discernible "gay area."  However, I do remember Adam's Apple being packed to the rafters on occasions, the audience including university guys who were cuter than some of the dancers. Some readers will recall that the bar was also a fire-hazard!

We still go  to CM regularly; but not for the gay scene.

[12is12]

When you visit, is adam's apple the only venue to go to ? 

[Olddaddy]

Yes any updates on CM?

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, PeterRS said:

 I also believe that unlike those visiting Bangkok and Pattaya, too many gay tourists enjoyed their first visits but just failed to return. 

this is my case certainly. I liked it there but have feeling that one time visit  was sufficient

[tm_nyc]

I like Chiang Mai & think that touristically it makes a nice change from BKK.  However, the gay scene needs a major infusion of energy (& money) as better bars, clubs & massage can be found in BKK, Pattaya or even Phuket. 

Shamelessmack, hard-working as ever, posted a number of reports on Chiang Mai at the end of January on his website:

https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/

Unfortunately, i'd have to say that the reports are not encouraging.

[12is12]

Indeed Shameless explains why the forum is dead, and that also concludes my interest in CM.     )-:

[Olddaddy]

7 hours ago, tm_nyc said:

I like Chiang Mai & think that touristically it makes a nice change from BKK.  However, the gay scene needs a major infusion of energy (& money) as better bars, clubs & massage can be found in BKK, Pattaya or even Phuket. 

Shamelessmack, hard-working as ever, posted a number of reports on Chiang Mai at the end of January on his website:

https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/

Unfortunately, i'd have to say that the reports are not encouraging.

Absolutely love his reports 🙏

 

[a-447]

17 hours ago, Londoner said:

Its gay bars were too spread-out  and apart from the rather questionable places near the Night Market, there was no discernible "gay area."  

I think that is a major reason for the demise of gay CM.

I've visited CM a number of times over the years and always stayed at the Lotus Hotel, which was right across from Adams Apple.

However, it was difficult getting downtown to the gay bars in the night market, as tuk-tuks were few and far between. And getting back to Adams Apple for opening time -9 pm - was ridiculously expensive. I hate getting ripped off.

During the day it was virtually impossible to get a tuk-tuk. I used to stand by the side of the road, hoping one would come by, but they rarely did. It was just too far out of town and not a place tourists would stay, so transport options were limited.

I once thought of staying downtown and going up to Adams from there but getting a guy to come all the way back to the hotel might have been difficult.

 

[PeterRS]

15 hours ago, tm_nyc said:

Shamelessmack, hard-working as ever, posted a number of reports on Chiang Mai at the end of January on his website:

https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/

Unfortunately, i'd have to say that the reports are not encouraging.

Thanks to @tm_nyc for alerting me to Shamlessmacktwo's blog. I used to be an avid reader but for whatever reason it has had a place on my bookmark list unread.

Re Chiang Mai, love his comment that "once upon a time there was a colony of expat retirees!" On my last visit just over 5 years ago, there were clearly some who seemed fixtures at the newer bar location in the smallish Chareon Prathet Soi 6 virtually opposite Le Meridien and to the left across the main road. But not nearly as many as would be seen years before - both bars and customers. I happen to know two retired couples (one of two expats and one of an expat and his Thai partner) in CNX, but they just have no interest any more in the local gay scene. Whereas before they would take me to this bar or that bar, now they tell me the scene is all but dead. 

Also love the photos of the curtains at Circle Pub. They remind me of two similar sets of drapes. One in cinemas in the west of the 1970s or thereabouts which would slowly rise and fall before and after the main feature. The other of more interest here was the bar at the end of the little soi in Bangkok to the left and down from Mango Tree restauraht. It is the soi where I believe Super A still exerts some sort of charm (although what I fail to understand given its seediness when I visited pre-covid). I believe its name was Super Lex. Quite a large bar with lots of tables and a square stage. What I remember most, though, were those draped curtains around the stage - exactly as in Shamelssmacktwo's photos!

Photo taken (without permission - apologies) from Shamelessmacktwo's blog - https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/2025/02/03/watching-curtains/

Unlike some, though, I have always enjoyed CNX and just wandering around still find new things to do and see - with the occasional eye candy giving me more than a once-over glance. Ouside of the city there is much to see, including the lovely Doi Inthanon National park. Within the city on the oppposite side of the river, there used to be a lovely shop selling Thai handicrafts made by one of the local hilltribes. Over the years I have purchased eight exquisitely beautiful fabric table/bed runners and a quite lovely three-part fabric folding screen which nicely separates the kitchenette area from the living room. I hope Sop Moei Arts is stil going. 

[Lucky]

I used to love staying at the Coffee Boy.

[Department_Of_Agriculture]

The nicest thing about the supposedly overly spread out, overly sedate Chiang Mai scene is how it deters the worst sort of sex pests from visiting and now the worst sort of sexpats from settling. Chiang Mai is charming and the absence of these people is part of its charm.

[PeterRS]

10 hours ago, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

The nicest thing about the supposedly overly spread out, overly sedate Chiang Mai scene is how it deters the worst sort of sex pests from visiting and now the worst sort of sexpats from settling. Chiang Mai is charming and the absence of these people is part of its charm.

Not so welcome were the hoards of Chinese tourists. Ten years or so ago, one of the year's most popular movies in China was mostly filmed in Chiang Mai. In terms of box office, it came second only to Avatar in Chinese cinemas. Before then, the number of Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai  was numbered in their thousands. Thereafter it was one milion+. Following that success, the popularity of Thai TV soap operas in China continued the trend. Just before covid, Chiang Mai airport recorded 1.79 million Chinese visitors.

Although killed by covid and Chinese travel retrictions, the numbers are slowly on the way up, now joined by almost similar numbers of South Koreans. Not sure which I'd prefer - the small number of sexpats who used to make the city home or the huge regular influx of new tourists, some of whose numbers are reported to have sparked resentment among the local population.