June 2026 trip report

[jason1975]

In Bangkok for 2 weeks. Pride Parade this year will travel along Silom Road so I decided to come and experience it.

Arrived yesterday Saturday. Few arrivals. Few people on trains. Few people in Silom in fact.

Staying at airbnb at same condo that I stayed in last December. The unit is different from the one I was in but same owner. Homely and clean.

After settling my luggage in airbnb, I went to meet two forum members at G's for dinner. Soi 4 was surprisingly quiet on a Saturday night not to mention the eve of Pride Parade. Maybe it has something today with Buddha Day public holiday on Sunday.

I had arranged to meet a friend to watch the football Champions League final match at Shennanigan's at 10:15pm so I had time to spare. I followed forum members to Fresh Boy to pass the one hour away. Only 9 customers including us at 9:15pm. 30 boys working. But at 10:00pm, many customers started coming in. Bar was full when I left at 10:10pm. The first show at Fresh Boy begins at 10:15pm.

I met my friend and we went to Shennanigan's. We watched the match until 1:45am then we said goodbye.

This morning I had 84 baht American breakfast set at Foodland then I swam at the condo pool. I went for lunch at Vietnamese Noodles Silom which is the small eatery at the end of soi Patpong 2 towards Silom 2. On way back, I came across an auntie selling rainbow Pride design fans. 50 baht each. I bought one for myself. I am ready for Pride Parade in one hour's time!

[Min]

8 hours ago, jason1975 said:

I went for lunch at Vietnamese Noodles Silom which is the small eatery at the end of soi Patpong 2 towards Silom 2.

I never tried this. Didn't even know it is Vietnamese. How's the food?

[daydreamer]

8 hours ago, Min said:

I never tried this. Didn't even know it is Vietnamese. How's the food?

The food is very good, as are the prices.  The very small restaurant straddles the end of Patpong 2, next to the couple S&M bars.  There is inside seating, and across the narrow soi, there are open air tables.  The restaurant also serves Thai food, shakes, beer, desserts, etc.

Some may remember that for years, this location was an open air luggage shop, with suitcases and various travel bags lining both sides of the soi.

Below are a couple photos from Google.  I added the red boxes to show the location:

 

 

[jason1975]

9 hours ago, Min said:

I never tried this. Didn't even know it is Vietnamese. How's the food?

Mostly Thai food. The only Vietnamese dish is Vietnamese noodles. I have not tried them. My guy hasn't tried them too so he doesn't know whether they are authentic Vietnamese or not. He always eat rice dishes.

[jason1975]

Just 10 minutes before 2:00pm, the skies above Bangkok started pouring. It rained non-stop for the next hour and a half, causing some sois in Silom to be flooded. But thankfully the rain started getting less from half past 3. Pride Parade 2026 started at 4pm, which was 2 hours late, but the rain didn't dampen everyone's mood. I took mostly videos and it's not possible to upload them onto forum so I did a Tiktok video and here's the link below.

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSx7WqvWb/

[jason1975]

Turnout was small - partly due to rain, partly due to long weekend Buddha birthday holiday. But kudos to participants and organisers for waiting out the sudden downpour.

"Don't you dare rain on our parade!" that seemed to be the message.

I wasn't able to check if there was a real rainbow in the sky after the rain but the rainbow of colours on the ground formed by people along Silom Road was colourful and heartwarming indeed.

Some photos below.

[jason1975]

I did not follow the Pride Parade to National Stadiun. I went back to airbnb to take a rest. At 8pm, I met forum member at Foodland for dinner then we went for a drink at Dragon. Because it was Buddha birthday public holiday, most of the bars were closed. Dreamboys, Hot Male, Jupiter, Good Boy were closed. Only Freshboys, Banana Bar and Stranger Bar on Patpong 2 and Soi 4 were open. At Dragon, our beer and wine were poured into paper cups. The waiters were apologetic and explained it was a requirement for today. Forum member and I had the great pleasure of making acquaintance of a lovely Myanmar waiter. He is interested in languages and a quick learner. When forum member taught him a few phrases in German, he could learn and say them properly within minutes. I told him I will teach him Mandarin phrases next time. Forum member and I then went to Banana Bar and watched the show. Fully packed. Show had something for everyone. At midnight, it was time for supper at Foodland then I said goodbye to forum member and I went back to airbnb to sleep.

[bkkmfj2648]

8 hours ago, jason1975 said:

Turnout was small - partly due to rain, partly due to long weekend Buddha birthday holiday. But kudos to participants and organisers for waiting out the sudden downpour.

Today I tried to get the estimated headcount for yesterday's Bangkok Pride Parade and the various media reports were reporting from a low of 50,000 people all the way up to 300,000 people.  I know that this specific Pride event is important to Thailand, as they are competing with Barcelona for the rights to host the 2030 World Pride event - hence the inclusion of the longest Pride rainbow flag ever for Thailand.

The desire to beat out Barcelona for Thailand to host the 2030 World Pride event has gained the endorsement of many politicians and corporate sponsors with deep pockets.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/pr/3264228/siam-piwat-joins-bangkok-pride-2026-backing-the-citys-bid-for-world-pride-2030#google_vignette

If Thailand will win the 2030 World Pride event, I hope that they do not forget to tell the world that gay life in Thailand extends beyond Bangkok - from Chiang Mai, all the way down to Phuket and Koh Samui, and of course here in Pattaya.

 

[jason1975]

Streets of Bangkok were quiet on Monday morning. Office workers did not go to work. Children did not go to school. Few traffic on roads. Because Sunday was Buddha birthday holiday, Monday was a public holiday hence a long weekend and probably many Bangkok people went away which explains why so few people in the city past few days.

I had 84 baht american breakfast at foodland at 8am then swam at airbnb condo pool for one hour at 10am. After that I went to Centralworld to watch the latest Star Wars movie followed by shopping and late lunch.

Back to airbnb for nap then off I went to 1/0 sauna at 7pm. I soaked in the hot tub in the basement after stripping and observed the guys at the showers and those going in and out the two sauna and steam rooms. 3 other Asian guys in hot tub with me. There was a sign that said "no sex in the water". After 5 minutes, I went up to the other levels. Rooftop was outdoor area for smoking. There was a bar and seating available on 2nd floor for guys to use their phones. No phones on the two floors of dark maze. Mostly Chinese but there were Thais and farang as well. About 50 on a Monday evening. Loud moaning from the fucking in the private cabins. I also came across an orgy with 5 or 6 guys on mattress. Once it started, the area got filled up quickly with many watchers and gropers. The nice thing about 1/0 is the furniture which faciliated sex in various positions. A group of 4 young Taiwanese were fascinated by a human size birdcage and they took turns simulating different sex positions in it and having a laugh. A crowd gathered to watch them. But no, the 4 Taiwanese didn't proceed to have sex for all to see. They were exploring the venue but they were very open and comfortable with their bodies. They probably had sex together with each other many times. One furniture feature that I found hilarious was a raised platform which simulated the stage at a gogo bar. For guys who always wanted to live the gogo life? And true enough, soon a Middle East guy went up on the platform and started dancing to the music! He was energetic and really enjoyed himself. If I had cash on me, I would have given him a tip! Make his fantasy come true! Overall enjoyable 45 minute experience at 1/0. Many fit bodies and even some stunningly good looking guys. Different vibe from Sauna Mania.

[jason1975]

After leaving 1/0 sauna, I had a walk around Silom Road and Surawong Road. Side Bar had closed and was replaced by Hookup BKK bar. Only the bar on the second floor is open. Instead of functional chairs and tables, there are now lush black sofas. Drinks at 69 baht promotion (get the 69 reference? Lol!) They are in midst of converting 3rd and 4th floors into a sauna. Ambitious plan by new owners. They probably sense a market for a new type of hybrid bar instead of traditional gogo bar. One example is Bootcamp on Silom Road which has seen long queues to go in. I had a quick look. There was one customer. I didn't order a drink as I wanted to have my first drink of the night elsewhere. When I passed by the large 7 Eleven store on Surawong Road, I was greeted by the famous Dreamboy welcome man. He was there to grab something to eat before reporting for work. I reached into my bag and happily handed over a packet of cigarettes to him. Then I passed the outdoor foodstalls outside the Pink Panther lady bar and I saw two Viet guys who work at Good Boy bar. They were having dinner. I said hello. I will go to their bar one of these nights. I was supposed to meet forum member for dinner at Foodland but I was early so I popped into Rainbow Dragon to find last night's Myanmar waiter. I ordered a beer and bought him a drink. We chatted. He remembered some of the German and Chinese words and phrases that forum member and I taught him. Today I taught him more Chinese words and phrases. Time passed quickly when in the company of such an inqusitive young man. At 9pm, I had to leave for dinner. "Tomorrow I come again and teach you more Chinese words."

[jason1975]

Over dinner at Foodland, forum member and I decided tonight we will go to Dreamboy to watch the show. Once we had decided on Dreamboy, I sent a message to Music Guy, the Viet guy at Dreamboy whom I like. I wanted to know if he worked tonight. Yes, he replied. He was in fact on his way to bar. I invited him to eat with forum member and me. Foodland is a quiet place to chat and catch up. Still an hour before the show starts at Dreamboy. We ended up at Midnight for drinks and I had a chance to play checkers against checkers champion. I lost the first game and in fact I got thrashed. I handed over 100 baht. Second game was a tense affair and it ended with equal number of pieces which meant at best a draw but the main fact was that checkers champion had no chance of winning. He sportingly removed his T-shirt, revealing his muscular chest and arms. Music Guy was amused to see this scene. He pretended to be sad and lifted his own T-shirt to signal that he didn't have impressive muscles as checkers champion. I gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek. "Anh yêu em," I said to him and he smiled. "Anh yêu em" means "I love you" in Vietnamese. ❤️

[jason1975]

We went inside Dreamboy just minutes before the show started. I don't remember much about the show. I was in the arms of Music Guy throughout the 2 hours we were there. I saw some Vietnamese guys whom l knew and tipped them. I also saw a number of familiar faces - but these were the customers and not the Dreamboys staff - and it finally dawned on me! I saw them a few hours ago (and naked) at 1/0 sauna! At close to Midnight, forum member and I said goodbye. I went back to Airbnb holding Music Guy's hand and we made delightful music for remainder of the night.

[jason1975]

Tuesday - breakfast, swimming, lunch, more swimming, afternoon nap, massage with super horny Thai guy who wanted to fuck me but I politely declined, chill out at airbnb, dinner, drinks with Myanmar guy at Rainbow Dragon and teaching him more Chinese words and finally a night out with handsome Viet guy from Good Boy bar to Beef disco at Silom Edge.

[jason1975]

Wednesday - breakfast, laundry, lunch, swimming (and I dropped my phone into water! Luckily for only few seconds. Phone still works), massage with regular guy at Adam Massage, another meal (second lunch? pre-dinner?), half hour at Lumpini Park walking while overtaken by seasoned joggers and power walkers, coffee at Starbucks Silom Complex, rest in airbnb, 3 hours in Jupiter to watch show, listen to Poppy, met friend Vietnamese waiter and half-Malaysian half-Thai waiter, got infatuated with Myanmar guy with beautiful tattoos, decided not to off him, supper at midnight at Foodland and finally back in airbnb and time to sleep. Zzz. 

[jason1975]

Thursday - 84 baht breakfast at Foodland, half an hour of swimming at airbnb condo pool followed by a trip to Centralworld to watch movie Masters of the Universe based on the 1980s toys. I remember having some of the He-Man muscular action figures wearing only briefs and loin cloth below. Maybe those childhood toys explain why I like to see gogo boys in underwear in the bars?

[jason1975]

After the movie, I crossed over from Centralworld to Big C to take a bus back to Silom. I boarded bus 514. I always take 76, 504 or 514 from Silom to Centralworld. So it was reasonable for me to assume that all 3 buses will go back in opposite direction from Centralworld to Silom. To my horror, 514 did not continue straight to Silom Road. It turned left and I had to alight at bus stop of side gate of Lumpini Park. I ended crossing the overhead bridge and walked back to airbnb on soi 3. I passed by Quarter Sala Deang and also saw Bandara hoarded up for renovations. I took a picture and sent it to my guy. Remember this hotel? "Yes, i remember. There was a kitchen. I cooked for you. I remember everything that we do."

[jason1975]

I finally reached airbnb at 3:45pm after the long walk. I dropped off my shopping bag and headed out to soi 6 for a 4pm massage appointment. I met fabulous muscular massage guy and we got reacquainted. He told he went drinking with his friends the previous night and only got back at 6am. Well, I am glad that he woke up for our appointment! He has lost some muscle mass ever since I last met him in December. He told me he is less than 55kg! He is trying to gain back muscle. He has a gym membership at Quarter Silom and he likes using the hot showers at the gym changing room!

[jason1975]

What do gay tourists do in late afternoon and early evening in  Bangkok before they go for dinner and visit to the bars? A massage is most common answer. Or a trip to sauna or onsen. Or enjoying food at hotel lounge (for those who stay in fancy hotels). Or just having a nap or chilling in room. I decided to do something different today. I decided to join the mass aerobics at Lumpini Park!

[bkkmfj2648]

41 minutes ago, jason1975 said:

I decided to join the mass aerobics at Lumpini Park!

Fantastic Jason. 👍🤩

This Lumpini phenomena has truly taken off with huge success.

Our very small Dongtan beach aerobics cannot compete with Lumpini. 

 

[jason1975]

I joined in the mass aerobics session at Lumpini Park from 6pm to 7pm. I arrived at 5:45pm, bought a bottle of iced water and some snacks then I went to the centre of the courtyard. There were already at least 200 people ready for exercise. By the end of the session, more had joined in and I estimate at least 500 people. At 6pm, there was silence and the Thai national anthem was played over the speakers. Everyone was respectul and stood at attention. After that the aerobics began. I managed to fumble my way through the one hour. I looked at the dance instructors and followed their moves as much as I could. There was a wide range of ages. All adults. I didn't see any kids or teens. Few non-Thais. Men were in the minority - husbands and boyfriends. There were some guys who were alone. One Thai guy in 30s and wearing all pink muay thai style singlet and shorts was near me. He was enthusiastic and moved without much effort. He was definitely a regular. Later on after the exercise, I spotted him praying for quite some time outside shrine at Park Silom. I hope he gets his wishes granted.

[floridarob]

3 hours ago, jason1975 said:

I spotted him praying for quite some time outside shrine at Park Silom. I hope he gets his wishes granted.

He was waiting for you to invite him somewhere 🤷‍♂️

[jason1975]

Back to airbnb to shower and change of clothes for a long night of fun. First stop was Rainbow Dragon where I had drinks with cute Myanmar waiter. I said sorry for not coming yesterday night. I taught him more useful Mandarin phrases which he can use to converse with Chinese customers if they happen to pass by. Unfortunately, customers at Rainbow Dragon are mainly farang. According to Myanmar waiter, business has been down significantly since Songkran. He calls it "Thailand New Year." After chatting 15 minutes, I said goodbye and see you tomorrow. I went to Midnight bar where I had arranged to off Myanmar waiter to go bar hopping for whole night. But first, two games of checkers against checkers champion. Alas, he was too good for me. No shirtless forfeit and I handed over 200 baht to deserving champion. At 10:30pm, my date and I made our move to go to the first bar of tonight's bar hopping night.

[bkkmfj2648]

1 hour ago, jason1975 said:

Unfortunately, customers at Rainbow Dragon are mainly farang.

I guess they need some diversification in their marketing strategy ?

I believe that it is owned by an American?

[jason1975]

The plan tonight was to visit at least 3 bars until 4am and at least 1 bar must be a bar that I haven't visited before. Not gogo bars with boys on stage to be offed but drinking bars and discos where local gay Thais frequent.

We left Midnight at 10:30pm and walked along Surawong Road towards Crowne Plaza Hotel. First stop was Cake - a bar for bears and bear lovers. Unfortunately only 4 people in bar (and 2 of them were the staff) when my date and I walked in. We smiled politely and said we would return again.

[jason1975]

We walked to Silom Road and went to Joy Zone, a new show bar next to White rabbit and GASS. We took an elevator up to a beautifully decorated floor with wall sculptures, a stage with curtains and tables and chairs for dining. There were beer barrel tables right in front of the stage. My date and I sat at sofa seat with table by the side and we ordered beer and light snacks to munch on while we watched the show. 5 ladyboy diva performers, 2 male dancers and 3 gogo dancers. About 10 customers in and out of the bar during the one hour we were there. The show was very professional. Well chereographed. Pattaya has come to Bangkok! And prices were reasonable. Our bill was 670 baht. I tipped 600 baht - 200 baht to each gogo dancer.