Hi guys, wanted to ask if any of you have any recent trip reports on Chiang Mai boy bars? First time visiting Chiang Mai and was wondering if I could seek some guidance from our fellows here at Gay Guides.

 

Thank you

When I walked past about three weeks ago, Adam's Apple was shuttered, New My Way was closed and I understand thet Circle Pub was, likewise, closed. A pretty sorry state of affairs I'm afraid.

Even before COVID, New My Way was reduced to just the cabaret show, with no boys stood in underwear.   Circle Pub had already finished when I arrived at about 10:30pm.  Back then, Adam's Apple was open, but there was nothing for people who like skinny twinks. 

The only male massage place I could find had big hunks, which is not my kind of thing.

So I was reduced to using the apps.   Even there, the selection of twinks was a bit thin compared with Pattaya.

5 hours ago, z909 said:

Even before COVID, New My Way was reduced to just the cabaret show, with no boys stood in underwear.   Circle Pub had already finished when I arrived at about 10:30pm.  Back then, Adam's Apple was open, but there was nothing for people who like skinny twinks. 

The only male massage place I could find had big hunks, which is not my kind of thing.

So I was reduced to using the apps.   Even there, the selection of twinks was a bit thin compared with Pattaya.

Ooo which massage place was that?

48 minutes ago, Slut1215 said:

Ooo which massage place was that?

no idea what place Z909 has in mind but is you are looking for hunky masseurs I can recommend  Classic House which I patronized happily in Dec over 4 days , different massage boy every day including 4 hands on last one. 

One of them visited me in the room as well and other agreed to spent   3 nights with me so obviously I was happy with the place

I don't remember Classic House as a place for hunky masseurs, but then my last visit for maybe 5 - 6 years ago and things change.

Overall, Chiang Mai's gay bar scene for visitors has been in decline for 25 years or more and I am hardly surprised that there are few attractions left. There may still exist gay bars for locals, but these are drinking and dancing places where friends go together for a night out... not the kind of place to see nude performances or take escorts out. Or speak much English.

In short, my view is that Chiang Mai is worth going only if you're into cultural attractions. Not for its virtually non-existent gay scene. 

The other thing to beware of if you're visiting in summer is the mid-day temperature. It can get scorching hot in the day, yet without much relief in the evenings. Even when the rains come (starting in June perhaps), it doesn't get significantly cooler, it only gets more humid.

Chiang Mai remains a beautiful city to visit and there are lots of gay boys around. But as @macaroni21 has just pointed out the bar/massage scene is a mere shadow of its former self even eight or so years ago. Well over 70 gay venues have closed for good in that time, most pre-covid. Apart from the points made above by @billyhouston, the main bars now are a cluster of small host bars found in one smallish soi virtually across the main road from Le Meridien Hotel - often named Gay Soi 6. We last visited pre-covid in November 2019 and so the info is out of date but we found these bars very boring. The few working boys seemed interested only in locals and their phones. 

More so than in Bangkok and Pattaya, Thai gay guys in Chiang Mai do not seek to mix with foreigners. In the evenings they tend to go in groups to mixed clubs. If you are with a Thai, you might meet up with other Thai gays there. But if you go on your own you will almost certainly find mixing with Thais very difficult - partly because few will speak much English. Elsewhere, many of the commercial sex workers are not Thai but come from the Burmese border Shan State.

At least that is what we found. You may find it easier to meet up with Thai guys in the two gay saunas, although I'm told that even there there will be some evenings with very few customers. But then of course there will be boys available on the apps.

Adams Apple remains closed - it was the closest to a boy bar with boys in briefs and shows - Orion Bar and Ram Bar remain open in Soi 6 of the night bazaar - the former has a few freelancers at various times whilst Ram is better known for its cabaret show. There are several host bars in CM but mainly mixed venues  - Route 181, Pose Club, Maya Club, Barocco. These venues don't really kick.off until 11pm. Usually 20+ lads on stage - and you pay around 250 thb per hour for them to sit and drink with you. Whiskey bottle with free mixers 1500 thb. These venues definitely not like Screwboys or HotMale in Bangkok but the lads can be fun and attentive.

Thank you lovely people. I will try my luck and provide a trip report...hehe

Here's a video that is probably quite recent, showing what Chiang Mai looks like to tourists. Depressing.

 

The Kampaeng Ngam Hotel looks nice though, and just 550 baht per night (without breakfast). From Google Maps, I see it's in a relatively quiet side street.

Video was posted 2 weeks ago.  Depressing, to say the least.

 

19 minutes ago, tm_nyc said:

Video was posted 2 weeks ago.  Depressing, to say the least.

 

it's not that bad , fun still can be had there easily, speaking from experience

I enjoy his channel.James live in Tak and as the video mentions he had to go to CM to get his passport renewed.

I've seen a few other channels that are based in CM that also talk about how dead it is there. Songkran really looked quiet.

 

2 hours ago, vinapu said:

it's not that bad , fun still can be had there easily, speaking from experience

How can you feel fun in a ghost town...

I could compile a video showing Pattaya as a ghost town, by selectively showing the quiet parts of town.  

Or one that shows it's thriving, by choosing other parts of town.  

I would imagine Chiang Mai is similar.  

Gay Chiang Mai has never, in my estimation, had the buzz of the old Soi Twilight or Boyztown. Even when Adam's Apple was drawing ahundred or so punters and there was standing-room only, the surrounding area was quiet. It was, after all, a residential centre.  The other local bars mere three hundred meters away, were also isolated and situated in rather dark sois.

When I was a single visitor, I liked  the fact that CM offered an experience very different to those of Pattaya and Bangkok. The Night Market was bustling but even the group of small (and notorious) gay bars there were secluded.

Sorry, I wasn't clear with my previous post, where I was referring to the general tourism situation.

The gay scene in Chiang Mai was almost dead before covid, although thankfully, there are phone apps to rescue that situation.  Even then, it takes some time, if one is fussy.

These days, when traveling beyond Bangkok and Pattaya, you should be going for some purpose other than the gay nightlife.   There is plenty to see in Thailand, but just don't expect gay bars everywhere.

 

3 hours ago, z909 said:

I could compile a video showing Pattaya as a ghost town, by selectively showing the quiet parts of town.  

Or one that shows it's thriving, by choosing other parts of town.  

 

or even the same parts of the city at different time of the day 

6 hours ago, Boy69 said:

How can you feel fun in a ghost town...

with ghosts, just see the "He will come to me" BL series featuring Ohm and Singto

on serious note , tourist areas may appear ghost town but how city of 500 000 can be really ghost town in peace time?

there's your hope for fun

7 hours ago, vinapu said:

with ghosts, just see the "He will come to me" BL series featuring Ohm and Singto

on serious note , tourist areas may appear ghost town but how city of 500 000 can be really ghost town in peace time?

there's your hope for fun

The parts of CM shown on that YouTube video are very familiar to me and are the heart of CM it's completely different to the bustling crowds I remember from my last visit there about six years ago ( although the gay scene was already dead back then ) I am really sad to see so many businesses I remember closed permanently and the major attraction the night market almost nonexistent , it's definitely not the magical CM I remember from my last visit . I believe if someone is only on chasing boys and sex edvntures will find what he's looking for there  but some of us are looking for more then that once coming to lovely city as CM . Sad.

Totally agree with Boy69.  I was last in Chiang Mai in January, 2020 & like him, I like the place a lot, in spite of its dwindling gay scene.  I am also very familiar w/the locations shown in the YT video.  So it's sad to see the tourist areas looking so empty & realize how it has been changed by Covid.  I do appreciate vinapu's positive take on the situation & perhaps as the year goes on, things will improve.  We can only hope!

On 5/8/2022 at 4:28 PM, z909 said:

I could compile a video showing Pattaya as a ghost town, by selectively showing the quiet parts of town.  

Or one that shows it's thriving, by choosing other parts of town.  

I would imagine Chiang Mai is similar.  

I kinda agree. The gloomy Loi Kroh, Thapae and night market areas in the video mostly depended on tourists, and given the Thai governments hesitancy in reopening the country to tourism, it should hardly be surprising that these parts look the way they do.

My recollection is that local Chiang Mai folks gravitate to the Nimmanhaemin area, to the northwest of the moated old city, on the road to the zoo and university. That's where the shopping malls and entertainment outlets for locals tend to be. If the video had included scenes from Nimmanhaemin, the overall impression may be less sad.

That's true.....the popular malls are outside the Old City and Night Market areas. 

A couple of days ago I heard that Promenada Mall had closed. It opened at the wrong time, in the wrong place (Maya and Central Festival came into being) and then along came COVID. It's our local mall and I will try to find out whether is temporary or permanent. I use the extensive grounds as one of my exercise routes.

On 5/4/2022 at 1:10 AM, billyhouston said:

When I walked past about three weeks ago, Adam's Apple was shuttered, New My Way was closed and I understand thet Circle Pub was, likewise, closed. A pretty sorry state of affairs I'm afraid.

Adam's Apple Club reopened on June 1st this year. We had been closed for 4 days (3 Buddhist holidays in July and August and 1 day for our annual anniversary celebration in November).

Yes, New My Way is closed, the owner unfortunately passed away 2 years ago and there is no successor.

The Circle Pub has been open again for a few weeks under new management.