I recently completed a world trip trying to take in as many gay places and gay events as I could. My trip started with a flight to Chjang Mai in Thailand, where being gay is well accepted and there are many gay bars and restaurants. It is acceptable to show affection for your male partner and in the time I was there I saw nor felt any homophobia. Gay men are well accepted and the number of gay bars showed that gay men can be themselves in this very acceptable and open society. Many gay men from all over the world retire to Thailand and especially to Chiang Mai, as the cost of living is very affordable and the Thai men very wiling to live with gay foreigners. However, a word of warning: Some Thai men, especially the younger ones, will exploit this partnering by having their foreign partner buy a house for this parents, sometimes have his parents live with them, and in extreme cases, skip off with your money. They will be very loyal to you as long as you keep them in check and don't allow them access to any of your bank accounts. This is because they wil then look long term hoping you will leave your wealth to them on your passing away.
Bangkok is just an incredible city, but Babylon is a gay man's paradise. Thais are very prudish and dislike nudity so even when you are alone in the bedroom the light has to be off before they fully strip off. It is the same at Babylon where there is a beautiful pool, spar and sauna but everyone has swimming trunks on and usually a towel wrapped around them. Babylon is not just a gay sauna, it is also an Hotel for gay men and reasonably priced at around $60 US a night for a double room, which also gives you free access to the sauna. If you just want to go for the day and stay elsewhere, it is equivalent to $10 US a day for full use of facilities, including the restaurant overlooking the pool, the hairdresser, sauna, pool, spa, massage, gym and the many bars available in some great garden areas.
My next stop was Accra in Ghana to meet a young man I had met on a chat line, and I was not disappointed. There are many gay men in Ghana looking for older white men to take them away from their impoverished life. I met with several men there but I went to visit Peter and he was Devinne. He was loving and caring and my heart melted when I first met him. He is as black as the ace of spades but his smile and his eyes are just so expressive ( political correctness does not exist in Ghana and they refer to themselves as black and others as white or yellow). I had fallen in love with him during the time we corresponded before we met which was about 12 months, so I knew a lot about him before we met face to face. Many gay men receive requests to chat from Ghanaian men and most just discard them immediately. I was one of those men, but when I received an email from Peter, for some reason I took notice. I am glad I did. I am now partnered to Peter and a very happy man. If you do decide to go to Ghana, then caution should be exercised. Sodomy is an offence in their law and subject to 7 years jail. Even suspicion of being gay will get you arrested and jailed. In public you cannot be gay and when in your accommodation, make sure the lights are out before you both get into bed as the police have CCTV hidden in all hotel rooms and holiday accommodation and check them regularly. So if you are contacted by a young man from Ghana, don't just delete as many of us do. Check him out and give him the benefit of the doubt. They want to please, and yes they do want to get out of Ghana and you will have to pay for their trip out as their wages are equivalent of about $5 US a week so they cannot get themselves out of poverty. But if you want a loyal and loving man in your bed, then check out the Ghanaian boys.
London, well what can I say; as gay a city as I have ever seen. I spent most of my time at Central in Kings Cross as I was staying around the corner, and their playrooms underneath called 'The Underground' were well used. Apart from the usual tourist things, their 'underwear or less afternoons were fun and their wet nights also. Being a skinhead, I hoped they would have a skinhead night, but I was only there for 5 nights and there was none scheduled while I was there. Pity, I really wanted to have some skinhead fun.
San Fransisco - Folsom - Oh man did Folsom open up my eyes. I have been gay for the whole of my life and had experienced as many of the kinks and fetishes I had come across, but Folsom showed me I was just a pup when it came to being gay and having fun. Every conceivable fetish was there on open display, every fetish openly being acted out. When you are crammed into 5 city blocks with 450,000 other gay men and women, it becomes crowded but so exciting. Sexual acts are openly enacted, spankings, nudity, male pole dancers, slavery, pony and dog boys, Adult babies, leather men, rubber, spandex, Lycra and vinyl, drag and heaps of bears. Folsom is a destination no gay man should miss and should try and be there at least once in his life. The Castro was just so alive at night and the adult shops and gay shops opened until midnight so you could eat and the many good restaurants then shop till you dropped. I bought a whole new wardrobe of gay underwear, a white mesh wrestling suit and a pair of great leather chaps. The bars are friendly, the food great and the Starbucks coffee awful.
Pueblo was my next stop and although Pueblo was not to check out the gay scene but more for business, I found the only gay bar; Pirates Cove. Friendly and drinks well priced. It was intimate and also had a pool table in one end. I had a great night there but as I had to leave for Denver and LA the next morning, my stay was very short. I would like to have had more time at Pirates Cove.
My flight to LA was delayed so i stayed in Redondo Beach the first night and headed for Eagle gay bar. It is hard to find and in an industrial area but was dark in the bar area and garden area but very friendly. I had a good discussion with a group of transgender and their bear protector. The transgender were all Latino but their protector was a white American. The garden area was where most congregated and the weather, although cooling, was still pleasant. I had an enjoyable night.
Palm springs was an absolute joy to be in. I stayed at the Cathedral City Boys Club and had a ball (or 2) with a good clean room and helpful staff. The resort is fully gay and once inside the resort it is fully clothes optional, and few wore any clothes. With a big pool and spa, a sauna, gym and dungeon play room, it is well catered for all a gay man would want. The resort is only 3 star and starting to age and show deterioration, but look past that and you can have great fun; I know I did, I had one complaint and that was they had little if no tourist information and unable to book any tours for you. However, in their defence, most of their customers are from LA so don't require this service. Palm Springs has several gay resorts but CCBC is the best known. The town has several gay bars, restaurants and gay shops, mostly in Atarius Street I had many an afternoon playing Gay Bingo when I needed a cold drink and some relaxation after a day of sight seeing. And of course, when you are there, the gay shops are irresistible. I am definitely heading to Palm Springs with Peter next year.
Finally back to LA. I tried several other gay bars in LA but they were spread out throughout the city and I used several tanks of gas trying to find them. I still think Eagle Bar was the best and recommend it to you all. But as this was my first time in LA, I had to do the tourist thing and headed for Disneyland and had the best time. It had always been a boyhood dream of mine to go to Disneyland and now my dream has been fulfilled. Ok, back to the gay tours and of course Venice Beach and Muscle Beach could not be ignored. I spent a day in Venice, and Muscle beaches but they are looking run down and taken over by the medical maruahna shops. The day stated out foggy and cold but brightened up and when I was at Muscle Beach there were only 4 guys working out, all Afro Americans and all gorgeous. I eventually got to Santa Monica beach but little happening as the winds were high and cold. My trip around the world ended that night and I headed for LAX and to Brisbane then Cairns.
A world trip is exhausting and expensive but oh so rewarding. I had a ball.
