Gay Hangouts In Bangkok

[cybershaun]

Hi all. I'm fairly new to Bangkok and here for a year for work. I'm looking for places where gay people hang out in the evenings which are not overrun by guys on the make. Bars, restaurants, lounges, etc where I can relax and meet people, not necessarily hook up. I've been to Silom sois 2 and 4 and they seem to be full of commercial boys and their whinging farang admirers. Surely there are non-commercial venues in a big metropolis like Bangkok? I'm in my late 20s, with a good job and speak a reasonable amount of Thai.

Edited July 26, 2008 by cybershaun

[Tyke]

Hi all. I'm fairly new to Bangkok and here for a year for work. I'm looking for places where gay people hang out in the evenings which are not overrun by guys on the make. Bars, restaurants, lounges, etc where I can relax and meet people, not necessarily hook up. I've been to Silom sois 2 and 4 and they seem to be full of commercial boys and their whinging farang admirers. Surely there are non-commercial venues in a big metropolis like Bangkok? I'm in my late 20s, with a good job and speak a reasonable amount of Thai.

I think the lack of response to your question indicates the lack of such venues!

I think wherever you get gay farangs in Thailand, you are likely to find the usual money boys in one form or another. To get away from them, you might try the more Thai venues, of which there are more than those catering to farangs but it may be difficult to penetrate them, so to speak. Within the Thai gay community, there is likely to be even fewer money boys where the clientele are rich Thais, but I am no expert on them.

You might want to try Dick's cafe and Metz (?) bar in Soi Twighlight off Suriwong Road and also Coffee Republic (cafe) on Silom Road - both popular with farangs but no money boys even though the areas are wildly commercial.

[PeaceBlondie]

I think the lack of response to your question indicates the lack of such venues!

I think wherever you get gay farangs in Thailand, you are likely to find the usual money boys in one form or another. To get away from them, you might try the more Thai venues, of which there are more than those catering to farangs but it may be difficult to penetrate them, so to speak. Within the Thai gay community, there is likely to be even fewer money boys where the clientele are rich Thais, but I am no expert on them.

You might want to try Dick's cafe and Metz (?) bar in Soi Twighlight off Suriwong Road and also Coffee Republic (cafe) on Silom Road - both popular with farangs but no money boys even though the areas are wildly commercial.

You might go to Dick's Cafe earlier in the day, before the commercial venues open. Still, most customers sit at separate tables. It is typical to go with friends. I have been to a couple Thai venues, with farang friends, and I think you had to speak Thai to chit-chat and so forth.

[cybershaun]

Thanks for the suggestions. I don't mind the presence of some money-boys as long as they're not occupying every other seat in the house. One more question: an elderly westerner of about sixty I chatted with at Dick's last week asked me whether I liked farang. What did he mean by that? Not knowing what to say I just said, "It depends." He then asked asked, "Depends of what?" I said, "Depends on whether I find him attractive or not." He seemed to have taken offence. Did I say something wrong?

Edited July 28, 2008 by cybershaun

[PeaceBlondie]

Thanks for the suggestions. I don't mind the presence of some money-boys as long as they're not occupying every other seat in the house. One more question: an elderly westerner of about sixty I chatted with at Dick's last week asked me whether I liked farang. What did he mean by that? Not knowing what to say I just said, "It depends." He then asked asked, "Depends of what?" I said, "Depends on whether I find him attractive or not." He seemed to have taken offence. Did I say something wrong?

No, I do not think you said something wrong. Maybe the guy knew he is not attractive by back-home, young and hung gorgeous standards. Actually, there is no rule that says you can only hook up with 20-somethings. Mature men have usually figured out who we are and what we want to be when we grew up. Yet some of us came to Thailand looking for under-50 Asians.

[vorei]

I dont know much about places gay guys go hanging out in the evenings but if you wanna get around bangkok in daylight , I'd be more than happy to give you an exclusive tour of the city. I'm thai, by the way.

[cybershaun]

Thanks, vorei but, I work in the day, pretty much 10-hour workdays actually. Besides, I'm really not looking for a Thai tour guide. I'd rather discover things for myself - I've learnt so much in the last month setting up shop, so to speak, and my Thai vocab has improved dramatically.

[noctiluca]

That's the way to go, cybershaun. That's how you blend in with the locals here. By locals, I mean urban Thais, up-country Thais, expats, etc. Be able to speak Thai would definitely help.

I'm not really into a bar or club scene, but if you really want to, why not check out the Sarasin-Langsuan area. It's north of Lumpini Park. I heard there are nice bars/restaurants/hangout places in that area. I assume most clients are urban Thais, but perhaps someone here could confirm it.

Good luck. I know Thailand is not a cup of tea for everyone, but I hope you enjoy it while living here.

[flightcrew1]

@Richards on Soi Freeman between Soi 2 and 4. Older crowd but the bar is friendly. I generally sit at the bar with another friend who are both early 40's and we have many times spoken to out of towners and held conversations with new people. Friday nights they actually do a great "theme" buffet for 250 baht. BBQ one Friday, pasta the next, and Thai the next.

Drinks and the food off the menu are decent prices.

[kek]

@Richards on Soi Freeman between Soi 2 and 4. Older crowd but the bar is friendly. I generally sit at the bar with another friend who are both early 40's and we have many times spoken to out of towners and held conversations with new people. Friday nights they actually do a great "theme" buffet for 250 baht. BBQ one Friday, pasta the next, and Thai the next.

Drinks and the food off the menu are decent prices.

I can't agree with you flightcrew; I think @Richards is losing it. I used to go there but no more. I go up Silom from Soi 4 to Soi 2 about 4 times a week at various times and every time I go past that soi entrance the numbers I see in Richards are getting fewer and fewer. When it first opened a lot of the older farang left soi 4 and went to Richards but now they have drifted back to soi 4 or going to Dicks or Maxies in soi Twilight.

The problem with that soi (until GOD opens at 2.30am) is that there is nowhere in it except Richards and if you get stuck next to some self-opinionated asshol_e (as many of Richards customers seem to be) the only solution is to pay up and leave the soi. In soi 4 there is variety with Telephone, Balcony, Sphinx, Tapas and a load of smaller theme bars; if you don't like one of them you can try any of the others.

Food and drink prices in soi 4 are the same or cheaper than Richards and as for food quality it's no different: hit or miss - sometimes it's great sometimes it's a disappointment, where ever you go. As for the luke warm over cooked pasta on fridays ... never again.

[flightcrew1]

@Richards on Soi Freeman between Soi 2 and 4. Older crowd but the bar is friendly. I generally sit at the bar with another friend who are both early 40's and we have many times spoken to out of towners and held conversations with new people. Friday nights they actually do a great "theme" buffet for 250 baht. BBQ one Friday, pasta the next, and Thai the next.

Drinks and the food off the menu are decent prices.

I can't agree with you flightcrew; I think @Richards is losing it. I used to go there but no more. I go up Silom from Soi 4 to Soi 2 about 4 times a week at various times and every time I go past that soi entrance the numbers I see in Richards are getting fewer and fewer. When it first opened a lot of the older farang left soi 4 and went to Richards but now they have drifted back to soi 4 or going to Dicks or Maxies in soi Twilight.

The problem with that soi (until GOD opens at 2.30am) is that there is nowhere in it except Richards and if you get stuck next to some self-opinionated asshol_e (as many of Richards customers seem to be) the only solution is to pay up and leave the soi. In soi 4 there is variety with Telephone, Balcony, Sphinx, Tapas and a load of smaller theme bars; if you don't like one of them you can try any of the others.

Food and drink prices in soi 4 are the same or cheaper than Richards and as for food quality it's no different: hit or miss - sometimes it's great sometimes it's a disappointment, where ever you go. As for the luke warm over cooked pasta on fridays ... never again.

You know when I'm wrong I will agree. Your quote about the luke warm over cooked pasta made me realize that last week the Thai food was luke warm and overcooked as well! I guess as I only go on Friday and normally go with my best friend so we are oblivious. I do agree and also frequent Telephone, Balcony, and Sphinx which I like.

I still think the waiters are friendlier @Richards than Telephone though.

I laughed about your comment on the self-opinionated assxxxxx that are there! Your right the end of the bar has 3 or 4 of them who fit that comment exactly!!!

As you said...all these places are hit or miss.

[THAILIBAN]

I dont know much about places gay guys go hanging out in the evenings but if you wanna get around bangkok in daylight , I'd be more than happy to give you an exclusive tour of the city. I'm thai, by the way.

what kind of places would that be ? I live in BKK quite some time already, but always open to discover new things, or even improve and practice my recently gained modest skills of PHAASA THAI

[PeaceBlondie]

Thanks to flightcrew and kek for agreeing!

[Tyke]

@Richards on Soi Freeman between Soi 2 and 4. Older crowd but the bar is friendly. I generally sit at the bar with another friend who are both early 40's and we have many times spoken to out of towners and held conversations with new people. Friday nights they actually do a great "theme" buffet for 250 baht. BBQ one Friday, pasta the next, and Thai the next.

Drinks and the food off the menu are decent prices.

I can't agree with you flightcrew; I think @Richards is losing it. I used to go there but no more. I go up Silom from Soi 4 to Soi 2 about 4 times a week at various times and every time I go past that soi entrance the numbers I see in Richards are getting fewer and fewer. When it first opened a lot of the older farang left soi 4 and went to Richards but now they have drifted back to soi 4 or going to Dicks or Maxies in soi Twilight.

The problem with that soi (until GOD opens at 2.30am) is that there is nowhere in it except Richards and if you get stuck next to some self-opinionated asshol_e (as many of Richards customers seem to be) the only solution is to pay up and leave the soi. In soi 4 there is variety with Telephone, Balcony, Sphinx, Tapas and a load of smaller theme bars; if you don't like one of them you can try any of the others.

Food and drink prices in soi 4 are the same or cheaper than Richards and as for food quality it's no different: hit or miss - sometimes it's great sometimes it's a disappointment, where ever you go. As for the luke warm over cooked pasta on fridays ... never again.

I agree with a lot of this. I don't frequent Richard's much at all - and have no objections to it - maybe 3 times a year but have always found the waiters nice but the food pretty bad. Yes, the Friday night buffet is overcooked, but the worst food i ate there was farang food. I ordered hamburger steak and mashed potatoes - the steak was deep-fried - overcooked on the outside and rare on the inside, the mash was instant and the gravy like jelly. Previously had liver and onions and it was as dry as a bone. I thought maybe the guys there like the Thai food so tried that with a Thai friend recently. He thought it was 50% OK, with one of the curry dishes having the meat cooked seprately and added to the curry later - so was not 'marinated'.

As for the assh*oles at the bar, well don't they go on to Soi 4 etc afterwards? The saddest ass*oles of all time are those that frequent the end of the bar at Balcony. Why do some people so sadly to retire to Thailand and spend every night hanging off the edge of the Balcony.

[cophen]

Why do some people so sadly to retire to Thailand and spend every night hanging off the edge of the Balcony.

Presumably hanging off the edge of the balcony in Bangkok is better than moving to Pattaya and jumping off it

[Ijustwannateach]

A while back the food at Richard's was pretty good, but I haven't been there for awhile. They have a new cook or something? A pity if things have gone downhill.

[Tyke]

Why do some people so sadly to retire to Thailand and spend every night hanging off the edge of the Balcony.

Presumably hanging off the edge of the balcony in Bangkok is better than moving to Pattaya and jumping off it

Better for who?

[cophen]

Why do some people so sadly to retire to Thailand and spend every night hanging off the edge of the Balcony.

Presumably hanging off the edge of the balcony in Bangkok is better than moving to Pattaya and jumping off it

Better for who?

Those who are still alive.

[Tyke]

Why do some people so sadly to retire to Thailand and spend every night hanging off the edge of the Balcony.

Presumably hanging off the edge of the balcony in Bangkok is better than moving to Pattaya and jumping off it

Better for who?

Those who are still alive.

Well, I've not seen or heard a better case for euthansia. I hate to see people being so sad.

[popshirt]

A while back the food at Richard's was pretty good, but I haven't been there for awhile. They have a new cook or something? A pity if things have gone downhill.

Not sure that it has gone downhill, but the quality is very uneven, especially with the farang food.

I had a "good-for-being-served-in-a-bar" club sandwich (or maybe it was a BLT) there some months ago. Last week I ordered the same and it was dripping with that awful Thai SWEET mayonnaise, and I could not finish it, even after scraping the excess mayo off. It tasted terrible. And the fries were limp, not crisp.

Reason for edit: maybe BLT

Edited July 31, 2008 by popshirt

[genobkk]

it depends on what you are looking for. I go to Richards sometimes but find most western guys their very stuckup, their is this group of english teachers that are not friendly at all that tend to have taken over the place. I do not mind english teachers just not the stuckup ones whom think the own the place I can be a bit opinionated sometimes, having been in thailand a long time and not chatting to other western guys much only, when I go out so I tend to talk to much. I like the owners at Richards nice and friendly, certainly better then telephone. I go to the Balcony the most, I love the staff their the most friendly on siliom that is for sure. The thai bars in other places can be a blast and great chance to meet and know normal thai....When I go to sliliom soi 2 or 4 I am not looking to hookup, just chat and have some drinks with thai or western guy. When I first came to thailand 7 years ago that would put me at 34 or 33 I had a few white guys that wanted me. I do not mind white guys just that the ones that wanted me well lets just say not my thing.... Well I am 41 now so do not have that issue anymore, the white guys here want someone young, and race does not matter to most of them. I am open to all types of guys. anyhow I will go to Richards tonight for a dirnk..... check out the thai bars it is your best bet to meet local people, normal working guys with real jobs..I have never been into boys who's job it is to get my money, well if I had any money that is

@Richards on Soi Freeman between Soi 2 and 4. Older crowd but the bar is friendly. I generally sit at the bar with another friend who are both early 40's and we have many times spoken to out of towners and held conversations with new people. Friday nights they actually do a great "theme" buffet for 250 baht. BBQ one Friday, pasta the next, and Thai the next.

Drinks and the food off the menu are decent prices.

I can't agree with you flightcrew; I think @Richards is losing it. I used to go there but no more. I go up Silom from Soi 4 to Soi 2 about 4 times a week at various times and every time I go past that soi entrance the numbers I see in Richards are getting fewer and fewer. When it first opened a lot of the older farang left soi 4 and went to Richards but now they have drifted back to soi 4 or going to Dicks or Maxies in soi Twilight.

The problem with that soi (until GOD opens at 2.30am) is that there is nowhere in it except Richards and if you get stuck next to some self-opinionated asshol_e (as many of Richards customers seem to be) the only solution is to pay up and leave the soi. In soi 4 there is variety with Telephone, Balcony, Sphinx, Tapas and a load of smaller theme bars; if you don't like one of them you can try any of the others.

Food and drink prices in soi 4 are the same or cheaper than Richards and as for food quality it's no different: hit or miss - sometimes it's great sometimes it's a disappointment, where ever you go. As for the luke warm over cooked pasta on fridays ... never again.

[cybershaun]

Thanks guys for taking the time to reply and for your suggestions.

[MickeyM]

Thanks guys for taking the time to reply and for your suggestions.

You might also try Coffee Society and Bug & Bee (both near Saladaeng BTS); mixed crowds, but generally friendly staff and customers.

[chuck_s]

Go to this site. It is pretty much waht you need to know.

http://www.dreadedned.com/

[Rionoir]

Hi all. I'm fairly new to Bangkok and here for a year for work. I'm looking for places where gay people hang out in the evenings which are not overrun by guys on the make. Bars, restaurants, lounges, etc where I can relax and meet people, not necessarily hook up. I've been to Silom sois 2 and 4 and they seem to be full of commercial boys and their whinging farang admirers. Surely there are non-commercial venues in a big metropolis like Bangkok? I'm in my late 20s, with a good job and speak a reasonable amount of Thai.

Coffee Society is a good one... bring a laptop for the free wireless. B&B is a nice place too, but I don't know if they have wireless do they?

To be honest though, if you are going to live in Thailand for a year you should just accept the fact that moneyboys and the farang that admire them live here too, and they aren't going anywhere. If you relax a little bit I think you'll enjoy your year a lot more. Being in your late 20s and gay, you should know that even the in the quitest gay establishments, regardless of what country you are in, the majority of people there are going to be looking to hook up. If you're truly just interested in hanging out and enjoying yourself, then go somewhere that doesn't have a sexual orientation attached to it.

[Tyke]

If you're truly just interested in hanging out and enjoying yourself, then go somewhere that doesn't have a sexual orientation attached to it.

You mean he should leave Thailand?

[dorayme]

A Thai boyfriend told me the Thai go to a place called auto gor near Jatajak market. He has been there.

It sounds like most of the customers are Thai looking for Thai not a place a farang would go but you could have some luck.