I am currently working in Budapest, and have been lucky enough to have my bf visiting me. There are about nine gay clubs here, that are thriving mostly at the weekends, and a couple of Gay Saunas. But it seems to me that most gay guys here are fairly closeted, and perhaps the reverse side of this coin is that a lot of the Hungarian profiles on Gay Romeo, indicate a desire for sex greatly wilder than vanilla.

For the Gay Pride march we were joined by another Anglo Thai couple, and gathered in Heroes Square, where there seemed to be a disappointing turn out of only five floats and a couple of thousand people, with a heavy police presence.

Leaving Hero Square



In Festive Mood



Under Police Guard



Ok, some of the policemen were cute!






The parade set off on time, in the sunshine, but it wasnтАЩt long before the reason for the police became clear. Gangs of men, of traditional fascist appearance, shaved heads, black shirts, with jeans and big boots, were waiting on the pavements to hurl abuse at those on the parade.

The Thai guys were deeply shocked by this. They had never experienced anything like this hatred, simply because they were gay. Although I had previously explained to him that outside Thailand there are people like this, I think that he never really believed it until this day.

As the parade continued we were followed by the fascists, who tried to interrupt the parade, and were only prevented from doing so by the appearance of the riot police who were marching on either side. Ordinary passersby joined in the abuse, as did old ladies leaning out of windows. Other people joined the parade, presumably out of a sense of solidarity. Despite the police presence, missiles(bricks and bottles) were thrown at us, and two petrol bombs landed only feet away from me.

Protected by the Riot Police



Although the parade included those dressed outrageously, the vast majority were dressed in normal clothes, who marched with great dignity despite the provocation. The march reached itтАЩs conclusion, a safe enclosure called Buddha Island, which the Thai Guys thought was a slightly disrespectful name, and we partied away into the night, rather unsettled by the physical threat that lurked outside.

Some cute guys in Hungary too



The next dayтАЩs newspapers reported the parade, and the attacks on it, but no mention of the fire bombs. They also reported that nine fascists had been arrested, and six people had been injured, fortunately none seriously, by the attacks.

LetтАЩs not undervalue the tolerance in Thailand!

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