Soi Ngam Dupli

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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.

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.

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.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by steveky

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.

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Just a new name. Has been around as Lomchoey massage for years before changing name to Zy massage.