thrillbill
July 17th, 2011, 09:43
I always appreciate some of the viewers' impressions of their visits to places in Thailand, so I will give a couple "tidbits" to the cause...
Chaing Mai-- Though I have lived/worked in Thailand for 7 years, it had been 10 years since I visited the place and at the time it was only for a few days and (I was with my straight friends).
This time I was with my Thai bf and had a week to spend in CM. Since we wanted to walk around and be able to take in the historical sights, temples, boutique restaurants and bars, we wanted to stay in a "gay" hotel close to the city center. We decided to stay at the Lavender Lanna Hotel which is walking distance to Central shopping center and behind it is the well known House of Male sauna. For a 3 star hotel, it wasn't bad (about 1200 baht per night including breakfast). After reading some reviews, I was wise enough to ask for a "quiet room" so our room was located away from the main street and NOT above the "Powerboy Go Go Club". (NOTE: Whenever I enter the room in these older, neglected hotels,before I unpack I check to see the the AC, hotwater, and TV are working. I discovered that the hotwater heater wasn't working so the clerk gave us a different room.) We were able to walk around inside the old city and then take a tuk-tuk back. We discovered that the red "baht bus" was cheaper than the tuk-tuks that were always asking for 100 baht for even a short distance. (I should have known since this is the case in BKK)
We went to "New My Way" club to see the show (starts after 10:30 - 200 baht for a drink. The show lasted over 90 minutes and had a variety of acts: lip sync; ladyboys doing dance numbers; and guys showing off their cocks in different skits. My Thai bf thought it was "good" but I found the acts "same same" and boring. But I am sure the new visitor to Thailand would be "wowed" by the show. What bothered me about the boys in the show (compared to the ones in BKK or even in Pattaya) -- they didn't seem to enjoy the entertainment they were doing... It wasn't a face of boredom but their somber faces seemed to indicate they were embarassed in what they were doing. (Who knows, if they were Shan (from the hills of Burma), then maybe they didn't have a choice...???)
Next, House of Male--- I found the place relaxing and clean - but on a small scale. The old Lanna wooden house where the small dark rooms are and the upstairs terrace add to the uniqueness of the place. The locals there a bit on the "shy side" but the older ones (which I prefer) were more open to get to know "outsiders".
The last three night we booked a superior room at the new Club One Seven guesthouse/sauna,located on the Ping River south of the city. Club One Seven (partly owned by the Club One Seven group in Singapore who also has a gay hotel in Phuket). The 100+yr. old teak wood Lanna house has been revamped into a 12? room guest house. A couple new additions (done in Lanna syle) have been added on which is the sauna, steam room,showers and private cubicles to "relax" in. The gay sauna sextion is larger than House of Male. Also there is a small garden pool to dip in along with a small fitness room and bar. My Thai bf and I are on the muscular side and it seemed that the young locals who visited the place were more "sticky rice" and a bit too shy to make any encounters. The scene is definately NO Babylon. For a place to stay, I liked the Club One Seven guest house for a few days of relaxing and having everything there at your door step.We'll stay there again.To get to the venues in the city, it is about 100 baht by tuk-tuk from the place on the edge of the city.
Chaing Mai-- Though I have lived/worked in Thailand for 7 years, it had been 10 years since I visited the place and at the time it was only for a few days and (I was with my straight friends).
This time I was with my Thai bf and had a week to spend in CM. Since we wanted to walk around and be able to take in the historical sights, temples, boutique restaurants and bars, we wanted to stay in a "gay" hotel close to the city center. We decided to stay at the Lavender Lanna Hotel which is walking distance to Central shopping center and behind it is the well known House of Male sauna. For a 3 star hotel, it wasn't bad (about 1200 baht per night including breakfast). After reading some reviews, I was wise enough to ask for a "quiet room" so our room was located away from the main street and NOT above the "Powerboy Go Go Club". (NOTE: Whenever I enter the room in these older, neglected hotels,before I unpack I check to see the the AC, hotwater, and TV are working. I discovered that the hotwater heater wasn't working so the clerk gave us a different room.) We were able to walk around inside the old city and then take a tuk-tuk back. We discovered that the red "baht bus" was cheaper than the tuk-tuks that were always asking for 100 baht for even a short distance. (I should have known since this is the case in BKK)
We went to "New My Way" club to see the show (starts after 10:30 - 200 baht for a drink. The show lasted over 90 minutes and had a variety of acts: lip sync; ladyboys doing dance numbers; and guys showing off their cocks in different skits. My Thai bf thought it was "good" but I found the acts "same same" and boring. But I am sure the new visitor to Thailand would be "wowed" by the show. What bothered me about the boys in the show (compared to the ones in BKK or even in Pattaya) -- they didn't seem to enjoy the entertainment they were doing... It wasn't a face of boredom but their somber faces seemed to indicate they were embarassed in what they were doing. (Who knows, if they were Shan (from the hills of Burma), then maybe they didn't have a choice...???)
Next, House of Male--- I found the place relaxing and clean - but on a small scale. The old Lanna wooden house where the small dark rooms are and the upstairs terrace add to the uniqueness of the place. The locals there a bit on the "shy side" but the older ones (which I prefer) were more open to get to know "outsiders".
The last three night we booked a superior room at the new Club One Seven guesthouse/sauna,located on the Ping River south of the city. Club One Seven (partly owned by the Club One Seven group in Singapore who also has a gay hotel in Phuket). The 100+yr. old teak wood Lanna house has been revamped into a 12? room guest house. A couple new additions (done in Lanna syle) have been added on which is the sauna, steam room,showers and private cubicles to "relax" in. The gay sauna sextion is larger than House of Male. Also there is a small garden pool to dip in along with a small fitness room and bar. My Thai bf and I are on the muscular side and it seemed that the young locals who visited the place were more "sticky rice" and a bit too shy to make any encounters. The scene is definately NO Babylon. For a place to stay, I liked the Club One Seven guest house for a few days of relaxing and having everything there at your door step.We'll stay there again.To get to the venues in the city, it is about 100 baht by tuk-tuk from the place on the edge of the city.