I land in Bangkok late on a humid Friday night. Taking a cab in from the Suvarnabhumi Airport airport, I can feel the electricity in the air. Massive billboards, lights everywhere, thousands of neighbourhoods zoom by . . . and finally, I arrive.
I got an AirBnB in the Sukhumvit neighbourhood. It’s cute and trendy, but not really gay. I whip out my phone and turn on Grindr and Scruff. Nothing stops my scrolling fingers in their tracks. Maybe Hornet? Again, nothing I’d want to write home about.
I decide I’ll go to bed early, get my beauty sleep and start a fresh search tomorrow.
Having left the apps on all night, I wake up to dozens of messages from headless torsos and some alarmingly hot Thai guys. I respond to a few, mostly asking where I should take myself on a Saturday night. They all tell me to head to DJ Station. It’s the big gay club in the Soi Pratuchai neighbourhood.
After a day of sweating, sightseeing and non-stop street eating, I head back to my room for a nap. When I wake up with a throbbing hard-on, I know it’s time to have my dirty night in Bangkok. I want to see it all.
First I head to Soi Cowboy, which is the straight sex district. Hot women, strange women, young women and old women call out from every corner trying to get you into their go-go bar or massage parlour. It’s thrilling — the neon signs and noises alone are entertainment for hours, but as a gay guy, it gets tiring very quickly.
I don’t need to see a ping pong show, so I get out of the area and head to Silom Soi 4. It’s early-evening gay heaven. One street is packed with all types of gay bars and gay men. Walking down the street is like walking down a Paris runway. Men on the patios are looking at not only what you’re wearing, but desperately trying to guess what’s underneath. I felt like a piece of meat, but my heart was racing. No one is wasting anytime and everyone is looking at one another right in the eyes if they’re interested.
I take a seat at one of bars and watch guys march by for a couple of hours. It’s very easy to get stuck here, but as I quickly found out, most go-go bars and sex clubs close by 1am.
My friend, who met up with me at the bar, decides he can’t take it anymore; he runs off to find a Thai massage with a happy ending. They’re advertised everywhere around these parts, but he had no luck finding one. With everything closing down by 1am, it was harder than expected to get a quick rub and a wank.
Throwing back my cocktail, I quickly make my way to Soi Twilight — locally known as Soi Pratuchai —the gay strip of Bangkok. This is a tight street packed with sex clubs. I walk into Dream Boys, which seemed like an innocent name enough, and it’s filled with hot guys on a stage. I sit down and get myself a rum and coke, and it hits me: these aren’t men on the stage — it’s a stage filled with ladyboys. About eight of them, shuffling around the stage and giggling. Finally a big, hunky Thai guy comes out in his underwear. He starts pushing the ladyboys around, throwing them to the ground, grabbing them by the throat . . . it’s all pretty violent, but sexy at the same time. Eventually he jumps on top of one of the ladyboys, reveals his big, thick, glistening cock and starts having hard intercourse. He’s thrusting so hard, the stage is shaking. And so is most of the audience. He fucks about three of the ladyboys before the lights go out.
Next, the stage is filled with young, fit Thai guys in tighty-whities. They take about 15 minutes to warm-up in what appears to be an on-stage Pilates class, complete with new age music and stretching. Slowly but surely, they all take our their penises. Big, wet and dangling, they roll around the stage, grabbing themselves and eachother. So many dicks, so little stage room.
A bull-looking guy appears on the stage. He looks around at his prey and chooses one guy. Everyone else backs away as these two go at it on stage. The bull fucks the younger guy in every position known to humans around the world . . . and then some. Spinning helicopter moves, hanging from bars on the ceiling, upside down on a wall, backwards and tied to rope; I’d never seen anything like it. It’s what you’ve always wanted to see happen at Cirque du Soleil but were too afraid to ask for.
Finally, the finale. All the gents featured in tonight’s performance (which runs for just under two hours) walk on stage and down the runway for a pageant show. They’re all in white underwear, and I quickly notice that they each have a number attached. I ask my waiter what this portion of the night is all about. He tells me I just pick a guy, tell him the number, and the chosen fella comes down to discuss the evening’s upcoming events: how much, where and what will be done is discussed over a friendly drink, and if it all works out, you’ve got a Thai boyfriend for the night.
I choose a favourite and, instead, give him 500 bat. I need to get to my final destination before the gay sex district closes down for the night.
I sneak out and finally make my way toward DJ Station, a massive gay club with multiple bars. A dance area, a lookout, a smaller bar area with cages, a patio . . . it’s endless and so much fun. Other tourists barely blink at each other. Everyone is clearly on a mission to make out with the local talent. After a few room tours, and a dance with a buff dreamboat on the main dancefloor, I head to what I hear is the hottest spot to dance and pickup: GOD.
The aptly-titled club stays open until whenever the party dies. It’s a massive dance club that plays mostly North American club anthems and circuit house. I take off my shirt and dive straight into the packed dancefloor. The guys are in large groups, dancing, jumping, laughing and making out. At first it’s tough to get my footing, but eventually I’m right in there and spot the towering guy I want to suck face with. We eventually get close on the dancefloor. He gets whisked away with some friends before I can really talk to him. Rather than following , I head up to the second floor to look down at all the bodies and bustling. After a couple of drinks, and a couple of make out sessions, I leave to go back to my apartment. I got all the sex I needed up on that stage in the sex bar.
I head back and decide to check my apps one final time — and the tall, towering Thai guy from GOD is online. He arrives at my door in less than 20 minutes. We get shirtless and have the most slippery, scandalous and sensational sex I’ve probably ever had.
I didn’t go far off the beaten path while visiting Bangkok (which I wouldn’t recommend doing anyway), but I found all that I needed in the curated zones.
For the most up-to-date travel information on gay Bangkok, see our City Guide, Listings Guide, Events Guide and Activities Guide.
Read more stories by Rod Peters
Why you can trust Xtra