For Old Times Sake

[PeterRS]

Just a bit of fun. A question for everyone re Bangkok, old timers and newbies. If asked to recall your two favourite gogo bars, saunas and massage spas from your visits to (or living in) Bangkok, which would you choose with just a few words on each? I think I am correct in saying there is at least one member here from the early 1970s and a lot more from the 2000s onwards. Maybe there were out of the way venues that most of us missed. I'll start this ball rolling, although I have noted some favourites in older threads. Dates are appox. when I first patronised them.

Gogo: Apollo (early 1980s), small but with great guys, always smiling, nudity - Barbiery on Suriwong (mid 1980s), 100 or so guys, always enjoying themselves, nudity, great variety in shows

Sauna: Original Babylon (late 1980s), new, classy, mostly young Thai guys, great cruising bar - Chakran off Soi Aree (late 1990s), Moroccan theme, packed with young Thais, nice bar area, huge jacuzzi outside huge dark room, with eventually BKK's first all-nude area

Massage Spa: Albury (late 1990s), popular, great guys, excellent massages and afters - Aqua off Sathorn Soi 9 (early 2000s), lovely premises with bar and food, great guys. mostly vg massages and afters.

[TMax]

Here's my boring short list but can't add dates

• Bar: Hotmale on soi Twilight, I don't usually frequent the gay bars but this one was quite good for a cold beer and watching the world pass by
• Massage: a hard one but Adonis on soi Convent would be #1, massage was hit and miss but the boys there had big hard cocks and knew just how to hammer someone into the mattress
• Massage 2: Nine Spa over Sukhumvit 31, most memorable for some delightful 3 ways there

[Londoner]

 

I agree with the inclusion of the "old" Babylon"  Putting aside the fact that it was packed with cute Thais, some of whom actually liked us, the roof- top terrace was special. Some moaned about the labyrinthine building; not me- in those days I could sprint up and down it and smile when I came to a dead end. Which I did frequently. I tried others- the well-appointed Obelisks I recall well-but they seemed to be "sticky rice."

Bars? more difficult. Circa 1996, Screw Boys, in its old location, opened-up a new world of  forbidden sensuality for me, though I don't think I ever offed anyone from there. I liked the bars in  Soi Twilight, particularly Blue Star which offered two troops of dancers, one of twinks and the other of more masculine guys. They combined occasionally for  a few minutes of nude dancing.  It was a waiter from that bar who chased me down the soi to return my wallet  when I had dropped it.

[PeterRS]

18 minutes ago, Londoner said:

I tried others- the well-appointed Obelisks I recall well-but they seemed to be "sticky rice."

I also did not have much success there but loved the jacuzzi on the roof. I think I am right in saying it was the third or fourth sauna to open - Volt off Asoke was the first. One problem was Obelisks was a tall narrow building and so not much on each floor. That either meant continually clambering up and down a massive number of stairs or waiting, often for a long time, for the one lift to arrive.

23 minutes ago, Londoner said:

I agree with the inclusion of the "old" Babylon"  Putting aside the fact that it was packed with cute Thais, some of whom actually liked us, the roof- top terrace was special.

I could never remember the number of times I sat on that terrace with my vodka tonic and one of the guys I had earlier met just watching so many other handsome guys walking past from the showers at the right end to the stairs in the centre (and also on the left?). That original Babylon was a wonderful hang out for so many of us. 

[CallMeLee]

Note: I started my annual pilgrimage to Bangkok early 2010s

Bars-wise, hands down the old Tawan at its original location (same soi, opposite side) was my favourite. It was the venue of my first off and my foray into this slippery slope of bar boys. The friendly atmosphere won me over (there were even a couple of trips where I exclusively visited this bar).

For massage, the old Hero in Sukhumvit was reliable and consistent. I don’t know why it closed down — was quite surprised, actually, since it seemed pretty popular back then.

[PeterRS]

37 minutes ago, CallMeLee said:

For massage, the old Hero in Sukhumvit was reliable and consistent. I don’t know why it closed down — was quite surprised, actually, since it seemed pretty popular back then.

I have no idea why Hero closed given its popularity. I could not believe it would be a result of location but then Albury was very close by and it also had to move. I wonder if that area was redeveloped? Sadly Albury moved to the other side of Suk towards the end of a soi close to Rama IV. In that location it just died.