New and old gay Bangkok

After seven days in Pattaya (instead of scheduled two days), I finally came back to Bangkok for a short stay in Saphan Kwai, my home away from home. These round trips are a waste of time for sure but I do not feel like staying in one place for more than a week, especially in Pattaya where I am quickly done with daily routine and too many foreigners.

Soi Twilight being now closed, I feel less attracted to the Silom area than before, when I used to sit at Dick's Cafe watching the people pass by and glancing at the nearby massage shops. Eating at Foodland is however a good excuse to go there more than once, if only to roam the sois and the streets where I had felt such strong emotions when discovering my first gay bars 23 years ago.

I staid mostly in Patphong and paid a visit to Lucky Boys which got good reviews on the webboards, but was not impressed by the staff .. As for open air bars, I could only imagine how nice it would be to have some of the current ground level bars in Phatphong 2 being turned into boys bars : sitting around a circular counter sipping a beer or three and looking at boys is exactly my idea of beginning a nice evening before possibly taking a lad off for more intimate activities. Many girl bars have this layout in Pattaya or Bangkok, but I cannot remember any boy bar arranged like this.

Less time in Silom means more time to go elsewhere, so I had the opportunity to visit the few remaining bars in Saphan Khwai. As already said, Adam and Heaven are now closed and their location is now being renovated for whatever purpose. In U-Turn, they honestly said they had no boys (it was on a week day, so I guess they have some on Fridays and Saturdays). In Street Boy, you have to open a bottle so individual visitors are clearly not welcomed. D-Door was more friendly but the boys were already busy with regular customers.

Stax Bar in Saphan Kwai

Finally my choice for the best bar in Saphan Kwai would be Stax, without any hesitation :attentive and welcoming staff, large premises with an overall nice atmosphere. I had a long chat with one of the staff (31 y/o but looking ten years less, from Tak) who explained me that his bar was very lively especially after 10,00 until late in the night. Customers invite boys to drink spirits at their table and, if not taken off, the guys get an usual 100/200 baht tip - which seems a little bit low if you ask me. The boys do not come before 22.00, and I actually could see - on a week day - a bunch of five nice hilltribe lads descending on the place at about 21,45.

If you can speak some thai, Saphan Kwai at large has a lot more to offer and to explore, mostly massage places of which I will tell more later. I am sorry I had not the stamina to investigate further : for example, I have yet to explore this "Khithung" bar in Soi 21 which I saw only during daytime and is still listed as a "gay pub" on the Thailand Gay Guide website.