Chiang Mai - Share your tips

[bucknaway]

I'm going back to Chiang Mai in September for a few days. I'll be staying at PJ's place again and I'll also be traveling with another poster I met from this forum. Well I have not met him yet, we have only talked in emai, over google voice and in chat apps. I expect it will be a fun trip with a lot of craziness and hopefully a lot of memorable situations.

When I was last in Chiang Mai, I had the phone number to a tuk-tuk driver that seem to know all the best gay places to go and charged very reasonable prices. I have been looking for his number and I can't find it and I am hoping that one of you will have a phone number of a tuk-tuk driver that you would like to share with me?

If you have any other interesting suggestions for chiang mai, I am sure we all here would love it if you share the tip.

I read about a massage service offered by the female prison in Chiang Mai, if the mens prison did the same thing I would be willing to give it a try but I could not find any posts about male prisoners doing the same thing.

[BonTong]

I'm going back to Chiang Mai in September for a few days. I'll be staying at PJ's place again and I'll also be traveling with another poster I met from this forum. Well I have not met him yet, we have only talked in emai, over google voice and in chat apps. I expect it will be a fun trip with a lot of craziness and hopefully a lot of memorable situations.

Dunno when you were last in Chiang Mai but it has changed so much the last few years. Sadly, there is now a big divide between the places Farangs go, and where the gay Thais like to be seen. About the only places the two scenes meet are in the saunas of which both Club One Seven and House of Male seem to be well attended.

The farang gay bars are nice places to socialise with other farangs from Chiang MaiтАЩs large ex-pat community. But, whilst youтАЩll find plenty of decay, you wonтАЩt find much gay decadence in such places anymore :( . If you want to have fun head to the Thai style mixed/gay places where you will be sure to find some craziness and debauchery.

If you really want a late night cure for insomnia check out our Overview of the Chiang Mai Gay Scene (http://www.gayinchiangmai.com/News/chiang-mai-gay/) ;)


When I was last in Chiang Mai, I had the phone number to a tuk-tuk driver that seem to know all the best gay places to go and charged very reasonable prices. I have been looking for his number and I can't find it and I am hoping that one of you will have a phone number of a tuk-tuk driver that you would like to share with me?

If you have any other interesting suggestions for chiang mai, I am sure we all here would love it if you share the tip.

Thai style, See Man Pub and G-star Vintage are the places where itтАЩs all happening. They are both late and loud with very few Farang customers. There are lots of other bars and clubs too which are quite mixed, with good gay followings. These are all around the major universities (e.g. Nimmanhaeminda, Santitham, Kwhangsingh and Kamtieng/JJ Market). By September, all these places should be booming again. There has been a break of several months as university term date are adjusted for ASEAN so the student scene has been dead.

However, Thai style places you need to go with a group. Unless you know people there, you wonтАЩt have much fun if you go alone. My advice would be, rather than rely on a tuk-tuk, do some online networking before you come. Line up a selection of gay Thai guys whoтАЩd be happy to show you round and let you join in their group of friends. When you go out with such a group, youтАЩll likely find plenty of phone numbers being surreptitiously passed to you. Play your cars right and a good time will follow. :D


I read about a massage service offered by the female prison in Chiang Mai, if the mens prison did the same thing I would be willing to give it a try but I could not find any posts about male prisoners doing the same thing.

Just go to any massage place and pick the boy with the short haircut. Whilst he might have just come from the temple, chances are more likely he's just done "si sip haa wan" for the crazy stuff.

[Manforallseasons]

You need to think wether it is worth the time and money to go to CM. now. The gay scene was fabulous years ago,I always remember the original Adam' Apple go go , and the original nite Bazar bars, like most other gay places in Thailand it's on the decline only more so, one more thing to think about is that it most likely will rain sometime everyday in September.

[Oliver]

I wouldn't discourage anyone from going to Chiang Mai; of all Thai cities, only Chiang Rai appeals to me more.
However, as far as the gay scene is concerned, Manforallseasons is correct; anyone seeking to find something similar to Pattaya there will surely be disappointed . BonTon's advice is correct but more appropriate to younger gays. And yes, things were different when I first visited in 1998 and Adam's Apple was, every night, full to bursting-point (of both dancers and punters- come to think of it, even some of the punters were cute). But those days are long gone.

Go to Chiang Mai; enjoy the temples and the countryside. Some good dining and well-priced hotels, too.

[PeterUK]

...Adam's Apple was, every night, full to bursting-point...

The comedy sketches in the show were done with more flair than usual and funny even for farangs (who don't always appreciate Thai humour!). But what a death trap that bar would have been (and perhaps still is) in the event of a fire. I often thought that Adam Zap All would have been a more appropriate name.

[bucknaway]

In chiang Mai I would be happy just hanging at the house of male. That place is always a lot of fun. I like the few bars also as well as the shows they put on.
I don't know what I will get into while I'm there but I'm hoping it will be as memorable as last time.

[Manforallseasons]

Bucky keep your expectations low and you'll be fine and you are definitely missing fuck all in Pattaya.

[BonTong]

Adam's Apple is perhaps not the legend it once was, but still OK. They had a special show last week, Tarzan Night, which was well attended and good fun. They have plenty of good lookers and some very fit and acrobatic guys (and even some cute Chinese customers).

If the gay scene is the main reason for coming to Chiang Mai I think most farangs will be disappointed, unless they engage with guys on the internet (as per earlier post) or have some Thai friends to hang out with.

But, as Oliver says, there are plenty of other things to do in Chiang Mai. Aside from temples, elephants etc, etc don't forget the fabulous winter climate, making it a good place just to hang and do nothing too. So, so many places to laze around for coffee, lunch, dinner, drinks etc. Don't restrict yourself to gay places, Chiang Mai now has a great and expanding restaurant scene, as well as loads of places where you can go native. Several big malls now which are interesting places to wander for a few hours, and quite cruisey too. Plenty of massage places for some afternoon enjoyment (and plenty of massage boys - though mainly str8)

There's Huay Tung Tao lake, near the city, Mae Nagt dam (at Mae Taeng) and plenty of waterfalls around to cool off in - just take boys and beer! Explore the area too, Chiang Rai is great, so is Phayao, Fang, Chiang Dao, Doi mae Salong, Doi ankhan, Doi Inthanon. All interesting places to enjoy. Or go west to Pai, Mae Hongsong and Mae sot. Flight of the gibbon is apparently a good day out too.

If you haven't been, it's also only a 45 minute flight (daily) to Luang Prabang in Laos. Nice little side trip to see a beautiful city which is exactly the way Chiang Mai should have been. Who said Dictatorships were a bad thing.....

And if all that is not tempting enough there's always the Saunas 8-|