I just got back from a few days in Hua Hin, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.  For those that don’t know, Hua Hin is a beach resort about two and a half hours drive south of Bangkok.  In addition to Thai tourists it mostly attracts western seniors and families. There are also a lot of westerners living there.  Hua Hin has grown quite a bit over the past few years, as it has become a popular alternative destination for those wanting to avoid the risk of another tsunami.

For the past year or so I’ve been reading up on it, and the general consensus is Hua Hin has a very limited and modest gay scene.  Those reports are certainly true, but there was one nice surprise, which I’ll talk about later.  Of course, there are plenty of cute gay boys living there, but there isn’t much to choose from for gathering points.

From the Sawatdee Gay Thailand Forum I found a 2008 thread that listed 5 bars, but shortly after arriving I discovered the only two bars still open are the Red Indian and Guys Place.  I’ve also learned the popular Thai 4 Thai disco is in the Hilton, witch is THE navigational landmark in the central party zone.   Most of the crowd is straight, but a few gays will likely be in the mix.  While I did not take in the disco, several others confirmed there are some gays in the club on most nights.

I decided to visit the Red Indian first, because it was closer and on the way to Guys Place.  I also expected it to be the greater disappointment of the two and planned to stop in briefly before moving on to the nicer place.  The Red Indian is a very small host bar, but clean and comfortable.  A couple of days later I learned it only recently got a complete face lift, and was a bit shabby before.  It has about five boys working there of varying looks, build and age.  All but one was on the feminine side.  Looks are a matter of personal preference, but for me only 3 were even close to my taste.  They had trendy music playing, but not so loud that having a conversation would be difficult.  I had a boy with me, so the fact that they were not pushy isn’t very telling.  I did notice when other customers came in the boys were not all over them, but I’m reasonably certain all were regulars.

After a couple of beers we headed over to Guys Place.  It is located in an area that is set off from the central and very straight party zone, but not too far for walking, if you have a room in that area like we did.  Unfortunately Guys Place is a real dive.  They too had about four or five boys, but only one was what I would consider in the cute range.  I don’t know about all the boys, but one didn’t speak enough English to have a conversation with.  This bar also offers massage, but there was no air conditioning in the main floor bar, so I’m guessing the same is true for their private rooms.

We were seated at a table near the street and could see the signs of the two small bars next to it.  Suddenly I noticed Little Choices, the bar two doors down, had an upside down triangle filled with rainbow colors in its sign.  So I asked if that was a gay bar.  The answer was yes, and it had just opened about a week prior.  So, after one beer, and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, we walked over to check it out.

The first thing I noticed was someone had put a lot of money into this bar.  As you can see from the photos it’s a classy little place.  I later learned the new owners took it over turn key.  The only thing they’ve done to the place is give it a much needed cleaning and add some pieces of art. They have two big screen TVs over the bar, with music videos playing over a Bose sound system.  The music is a mix of trendy and oldies but goodies, played at a volume low enough to have a conversation comfortably.  I was told a third big screen TV is on order which will be an addition to the pool table area at the rear of the bar.  They, like the other two bars, have very reasonable drink prices.  Beer is 60 baht on week nights and 80 on the weekend.  Well drinks are 100, call drinks (top shelf) 140, and cocktails 180.  I don’t know what a bottle of high end liquor goes for, be we had Ben Moore with free mixers for 1000.  The bar also has free high speed (4 mbps) WiFi Internet.

The staff is very friendly, and the service is good. While I was there they only had two host boys.  One was there two nights and I found him cute, but he seems a bit shy.  I was told the other is cute, but never saw him.  Management said all 10 nights the mystery boy has worked there he’s been offed, if that’s any indication.  Two boys from the Red Indian are moving over, but I don’t know which one’s they are.  The last night I was there two very cute, and obviously inexperienced (working in a bar before) boys came in and signed up.  So by the time I left they had 6 host boys, which is not bad for the short time they’ve been open.

The boys have two options.  They can work full time and get a small salary and other benefits, or they can come and go as they please and just make tips.  The bar also gives them a percentage of drink sales and 100 of the 300 baht off fee.  While I’m on the subject, a Thai informed us the going fair market rate in Hua Hin is 1000 for short-time and long-time (sleep over).  I thought that was kind of interesting.

Management told me they have a full kitchen and plan to offer a good selection of Thai and western dishes.  Right now they open at 4pm and close around 2am, but in the future they’ll be starting much earlier and serving breakfast in hopes of building a community gathering place.

The first two nights I was there the bar enjoyed a modest crowed, but on the last night, a Thursday, the place was packed.  It draws a mix of locals and tourists, both western and Thai.  All the Thai guests were VERY cute boys!

There is a guest house next door that’s closed and available for rent.  Management told me they are looking at expanding into that property at a future date, so there will finally be a full service all gay guesthouse in Hua Hin.  Right now there is one gay friendly guesthouse, the Pattana, but they don’t have Internet.  Even so, I read it’s quite popular, and when I tried to book a room 4 days out they were full.  We stayed in one of the hundreds of straight guesthouses down in the central party zone which is inside an area loosely defined by Wat Ampharam, the Hilton, Damnoern Kusem road and Dechanuchit road.  I don’t think it was lost on anyone, guests or staff, that there was a gay couple staying there, but we were treated very well.

The Little Choices management plans to identify good places to stay near the bar that promise to be gay friendly.  They also have a web site under development that will list their recommendations.  I’ll link to it from RQD once it’s on-line.  In the mean time, you can call them at 087-276-6546.

As for the beach, it’s much cleaner than Pattaya, but there is no gay area and from my very limited observation it’s not a place to pick up boys, but I could be wrong about that.

From Bangkok you can take a mini van from Victory Monument for 180 baht and be there in 2.5 hours, and they make one toilet stop in route.  You can also take the train.  I think it costs 150 baht and takes 4 hours.  No doubt you can get a taxi to drive you there and back, but I don’t know what the standard rate is.

One interesting thing is you won’t find any 18 or 19 year olds working in the gay bars.  The police have asked them to employ, in any capacity, boys that are 20 and older.  It’s also a safe bet you won’t find any Pattaya style age games being played in the Hua Hin bars.

The Sawatdee Gay Thailand thread I mentioned above does include a map of the Hua Hin gay bars

Bar staff, management, one host boy (left), and Princess (black pants)

I don’t think there is a single teen or twenty something boy in Thailand that would turn down the opportunity to take in an amusement park.  Most of which have never even experienced one.  Bangkok has two very large parks, but they are quite a long way from the central city.  Even so, they are well worth taking the boys to if you want to make an entire day of it.

An alternative, for however long it lasts, is a traveling carnival that just moved into Bangkok, and is conveniently located within short walking distance of the Phloen Chit BTS station.  They have set up in a vacant lot at the intersection of Wireless Road and offer a good mix of rides for both the young and older kids.

It’s a bit expensive, compared to what you get for your money at the big parks, but the convenient location makes up for it.  You pay 50 baht a head just to enter, and then buy tokens for the rides, or “toys” as the boys call them.  They also sell a special package for 500 baht that covers most of the rides an older boy would want to take in. Three or four of the really popular rides are not included in the package and will cost an extra 250 baht each.  I think they discount those rides if you buy the 500B package, but that got a little sketchy in translation.  I was told that the package, plus all the other high priced rides comes to a total of 1,150 baht.

Figure on spending between one and one and a half hour taking in all the rides, more if you decide to sit and have a beer.  There are plenty of portable toilets that appear to be well maintained.  If you are a smoker, the security guys will point your boy to a location next to the water ride, so you don’t have to leave the grounds.

I guarantee your boy will have a great time and there is plenty of eye candy to look at while he’s getting the piss scared out of him on one of the rides.  Take a camera!