Khorat

Cutie posing in front of Suranari Monument

One of the reasons why I love Thailand is that besides the Big Four (Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai), there are around ten towns where you can find gay venues with boys available. Khorat is one of them, besides being known as the gate to Northeast. And we all know what Isaan means for those who like cute, willing and dark-skinned young men.

I had not gone there since so long that Khorat was on my schedule this time. I went for only one night and I was not disappointed. Sure the bar I went was nothing to write home about but the atmosphere, the faces in the streets, and the three hours trip in itself was a real enjoyment.

The change of scene begins at Morchit : if the first floor (buses to the North, the East and Pattaya) is quite farang-friendly, the second floor (in fact the third one if you use the lift or the stairs) where you will find the departures to every nook and cranny in Isaan is an all-thai place with hardly one word not written in thai. And of course there is always the cute face of some young man entering your field of view. There is a bus to Khorat / Nakhon Ratchasima every 20 minutes or so, so you will not to wait for a long time. If the first part of the trip in the unending suburbs from Bangkok to Saraburi is quite boring, you will then enter the mountains with some nice views along a lake and in the ricefields.

I arrived in Khorat at about 2 pm, put up at the Sripattana Hotel (615 THB breakfeast included with swimming pool, which is probably one of the best deals in the whole Thailand) and then walked along the streets. I went to The Mall where everything is still really cheap and the boys come in droves after the end of the school ..... free eye candy for everyone.

The only bar I went to was the Buddy Boy which is an old host bar near the Ningnong crossroad - rather difficult to find, walking on Suranaree towards the railway station, shortly after an hospital on your right (Khorat Memorial Hospital) and facing the Osaka karaoke building, there is a small dark soi forking on the right - walk about 200 meters and you should see on your right a white sign mostly in thai at the entry of a 100 meter long alley between houses, walk along this alley and there you are. Buddy is a host bar and they had only two boys, one of them a soldier from Ubon ; not really my style but they were very nice to chat with : they told me two other guys use to come but they did not come to-day (it was on a Wednesday night), and also that they had quite often farang customers, mostly local expats. 100 THB/drink, off fee 300 THB.

I then used a tuk tuk and went walking along Ratchadamnoen Road and found street hustlers, some with nice faces but I really did not feel secure even after chatting with them (thai only). You should find them at about 11 o'clock near the outdoor games for children (more or less facing the Cathay Hotel).

There are other gay places in Khorat but I did not visit because I was unsure about them and especially their location (I had to look around the Buddy Boys during daytime to avoid wasting too much time finding it at night). A reader on Ting Tong webboard went to a new-opened karaoke next door to Sima Thani Hotel called "Handsome Boys", a poster on the Thai Male Massage Board had heard rumours about a newly-opened bar near the "Hua Rotfay" market, and the massage place called "Tantawan" seems to be still operating in the Phailin Square area (opposite Sima Thai Hotel).

Guess I have to go back ...