Soi Ngam Dupli

[Surfcrest]

4028

http://www.nomadicnotes.com/travel-blog/soi-ngam-dupli-the-old-backpacker-neighbourhood-of-bangkok/ (http://www.nomadicnotes.com/travel-blog/soi-ngam-dupli-the-old-backpacker-neighbourhood-of-bangkok/)

Soi Ngam Dupli – The old backpacker neighbourhood of Bangkok
A great article on the Soi Ngam Dupli area of Sathorn in Bangkok.

[fountainhall]

Apart from the Malaysia Hotel and the old Vincent's (the restaurant has now moved around the corner to Sathorn Soi 1 and taken over what used to be Mali's), I've never thought of this as a gay area. But reading the article I remembered going to a meeting of the local Long Yang Club on the top floor of a small building just up from what is now the Ibis Hotel. I believe the Club had just opened.

[steveky]

There are and have previously been a number of gay establishments in this area apart from Malaysia Hotel and Vincent's.

The Pinnacle Hotel is long-standing favourite of the gay community and a visit to the dining room of a morning will attest to this with any number of farangs with their root du jour in tow.

Opposite the Pinnacle there was a sauna for a few years but not very long. I think its 99 baht entry fee wasn’t the most feasible model. Anyone remember its name? Actually maybe this was in the same spot as the old Vincent’s?

Magic Hands is a male-only massage place of about four or five years’ standing, and I must admit to rating it pretty highly. Keeps getting better with improvements being made all the time.

When I was in Bangkok in April, I noted a new place - Zy Massage – about 4 or 5 doors down from Magic Hands, but still on Soi Ngam Duphli. It is managed by a rough-as-guts-looking, but nice, woman. There is a menu of stock standard treatments, with the annotation that there is no minimum tip.

In truth the premises are quite dingy, with thin mattresses on the floor. I had a masseur who was not very skilled insofar as the massage went, but who was happy to please, nonetheless. I walked past this place (on my way to the far better Magic Hands) on my last night in Bangkok, and there were five masseurs outside. So a different masseur could result in a different experience. But it won't assist in remedying the shabby decor.

But as fountainhall points out, this hardly makes it a gay area. Its proximity to Babylon was what made me stay there numerous times in the 90’s and early naughties.

I stayed very near it in April (on Rama IV), and took advantage of that cheap laundry mentioned in the article. I must admit to having a nice feeling of nostalia about the area.

[christianpfc]

When I was in Bangkok in April, I noted a new place - Zy Massage – about 4 or 5 doors down from Magic Hands, but still on Soi Ngam Duphli.
Just a new name. Has been around as Lomchoey massage for years before changing name to Zy massage.