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Bangkok Go-Go Boy Bars

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Bangkok Go-Go Boy Bars - The go-go bars in Bangkok are the center of the city’s commercial sex scene for gays, and can be a lot of fun.

Quite unlike anything in most other countries, the sheer number of these venues presents the tourist with a playground that never seems to run out.

(Thais use the term “boy” to refer to males well into their thirties. The term “go-go boy“does NOT generally refer to an underaged person.)

There are about 25 go-go boy bars in Bangkok, with the biggest concentration of them on Soi Pratuchai off Surawong Road, which runs parallel with the famed Silom Road. Soi Pratuchai is still often called “Soi Twilight”, named after a long-standing bar that is now closed.

The seven or so go-go bars on this soi are generally the biggest, with the most boys, but also tend to be the most commercial, with some of their boy workers the most jaded in the city.

One can sit in one of the restaurants on this soi around 8-9 p.m. and enjoy the very attractive scenery as the boys trickle in for work. Dick’s Cafe is popular, and Maxis Bar and Restaurant is perfectly located for this purpose. The staff at both are friendly.

Also on this soi are several hair salons, where many go-go boys get their hair set before work - a look I find incredibly hot and attractive.

The soi also contains a few massage parlours.

I’ve had lots of fun at Bonny Massage, and Bangkok Massage has lots of cute, young boys sitting around outside.

As for the go-go boy bars themselves, X Boys is one of the biggest with lots of cute boys available. Another large one is Boys Bangkok with Dream Boys upstairs, both of which have a variety of good-looking dancers.

Toward the end of the small soi is Classic Boys, one in which I’ve had a lot of success. The boys here tend to be some of the friendliest on this soi, though it’s also the only bar I’ve seen where some of the boys wear shirts onstage.

There are several other go-go bars on the soi, and because things change so quickly (including the boys) it’s virtually impossible to say which is the best place to go. But basically you can walk around and take a look inside from the door - where you can view go-go boys dancing on the stage.

Be friendly to the touts posted outside the doors, but don’t believe everything they tell you. If the bar looks like it contains what you’re looking for, come on in. If not, just keep walking around outside.

When you enter one of these venues, you will be welcomed and seated.

A “captain” or waiter will immediately take your drink order. A stage will usually be in the center of the bar, with go-go boys moving slightly to the music.

If you see someone you like, tell the captain which boy you want to chat with (they wear numbered badges) and he’ll bring the boy over. You can then decide whether you want to take the boy “off” with you. The captain may recommend certain boys, but you never have to go by those recommendations.

Feel free to ask any questions about any of the boys - such as if the boy is straight or gay, top or bottom, or any other requirements you may have. Don’t be shy! The captain generally knows a lot about the boys.

If you invite a boy over to chat with you, you are expected to buy him a drink. The drinks in these venues are higher than other places (around 200 baht or more), and they usually charge the same price for a coke as a cocktail.

If you can speak any Thai at all, this is a good time to do it. Though most of the boys can at least some rudimentary English, I’ve found that speaking Thai with them puts them at ease and you’re off to a great start. Smile, be friendly, and joke with them. Thais love these qualities.

If you decide to take the boy with you, you’ll be charged an “off” fee, generally around 400 baht. The bar gets this money, so you’ll still need to tip the boy after he performs his services for you. On Soi Pratuchai they generally expect 1,500 baht up for a tip. It’s a good idea to settle on the exact amount with the boy before taking him off the bar.

Soi Pratuchai has a whole lot of gorgeous boys

Though Soi Pratuchai has a whole lot of gorgeous boys, many of the boys here tend to be the most jaded in the city, for the simple reason that they’ve been around foreign customers so much. They also often expect a higher tip than the boys in other, less touristy areas.

Popular bars nearby but on other sois include Jupiter and Tawan, the latter a bodybuilder bar. If you’re into big, muscular guys, you should definitely check out Tawan, which has been around for over 25 years and gives you a plethora of very big guys to choose from.

Most of the go-go boy bars have special shows around 10:30 p.m. These consist of various acts, often including exotic costumes and traditional Thai music, ladyboys, big cock shows, and screwing shows. And yes, it’s all real and right in front of your face.

For a more Thai-style  go-go boy bar experience, check out the Saphan Kwai area of Bangkok. Years ago, I had a lot of fun at Behigh Bar. Though the bars in this area are smaller with fewer boys, they also tend to be less jaded than the tourist areas. IMAGE/ Thegaypassport.com

Bangkok Gay Saunas

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Bangkok Gay Saunas - As we continue to explore the Bangkok gay scene, this time we’ll talk about the gay saunas of the city. Having lived in the Big Mango for 15 years, and yes, having spent a chunk of that time perusing the saunas, I’ll try to give some helpful hints on the good, the bad, and the ugly of these venues.

The most popular of Bangkok’s gay saunas with tourists is the famed Babylon. However, I’ve already reviewed this sauna in detail in a previous article, so we’ll move on to a couple of the other large saunas in the city.

There are some 20 gay saunas in Bangkok, many of them very Thai and quite small. Most of these type saunas have virtually no foreign customers, stay open until sunrise, and attract a lot of cute, young Thais who seem to get hornier as the night wears on. The crowd also gets larger, younger, and cuter the later you stay. For these reasons, you may find them worth a visit! There are too many to list here. Just check a gay Thailand site for a listing.

However, the two I’ll talk about here are large ones with nice facilities - Chakran and Farose II, both of which have an almost exclusively Asian clientele. The upscale Chakran sauna is located near the Ari station of the BTS Skytrain, on soi Ari 4.

Chakran is probably the nicest and cleanest sauna in Bangkok - even more so than Babylon. It has four floors, but part of it was recently converted to a gay massage parlour called V Club, which has the same ownership. Incidently, it is one of the better gay massage venues in the city. V Club and Chakran Sauna have separate entrance into the building.

Moving V Club into the Chakran building effectively cut Chakran’s gym in half, and also took away its nice restaurant. But you can still order food around the pool area.

In spite of these changes, the four-storey Chakran Sauna is still big enough and well worth a visit, even though almost all of the customers are Asians, mostly looking for other Asians.

The staff is friendly and cute, with many of the boys around the pool area from neighboring Myanmar. As with most Thai saunas, you are given a key at the entrance where you pay the admission price of between 150 and 250 baht, depending on the day of the week. Those under 25 get a reduced price, and it’s free on certain nights for customers under 21.

You will find a towel in your locker which you wear around the sauna. I always bring shorts to wear in the gym if I intend to work out, but you could also wear your towel there.

On the first floor there’s a nice pool area with exotic décor, a large Jacuzzi, and a large steam room which gets a lot of action. There’s also a smaller dry sauna and some showers.

Upstairs is a large cruising area with very clean private rooms that lock. They have naked zones on certain nights in this section, and also naked zones in the Jacuzzi/steam room area on specific nights.

They also have foam parties and other events at Chakran. Check out their website for more information.

The other large Bangkok gay sauna well worth a visit is Farose II in the Ramkhamhaeng Road area, off soi 21. The originally Farose is still open in the Saphan Kwai area of Bangkok. Farose II is a newer and nicer facility, but Farose I does have large sections which are naked zones with a lot of action.

Farose II would be a great venue if they’d keep it cleaner. There’s a very fun dance room on the first floor, filled with cute, young Thais in underwear (this is one of the few saunas where underwear is worn rather than towels). The dance room gets busier the later the hour, starting around 11 p.m.

The crowd also tends to get cuter and younger the later it gets, with a lot of go-go boys arriving around 2 a.m. for some hot action. There’s also a karaoke room on the first floor, and a pool outside beside a nice cruising jungle area. Also by the pool is another building which is quite dark for play.

The second floor of Farose II is a cruising area with rooms that lock, and some dark areas for encounters. The third floor is the naked zone, which also has rooms to take someone you meet. The fourth floor is a rooftop area with nice views and free Thai food.

The general lack of cleanliness is the worst thing about this place. Its biggest plus is the plethora of cute, youngish Thais who frequent it. You’ll rarely see a foreigner here, and a surprising number of the Thais will play with you. I’ve found it much easier to hook up with a Thai here than at Chakran where the crowd tends to be more upscale.