Gay Guide Lisbon – discovering the gay scene

Arrive in Lisbon during daylight and the city is discrete, there’s very little to suggest it is gay welcoming, but there’s nothing to say that there will be a problem for gay travellers. In fact I felt incredibly welcome wherever I went and look closely – people watch – and you will begin to see quite a large gay population.

Lisbon actually has an incredibly vibrant gay scene and there’s plenty of places to visit, just don’t attempt – like I did – to try to do it during the day. There’s nothing to see and you will find it hard pushed to find the gay venues listed. I walked both the Rato and Bairro Alto, gay map in hand, and struggled to find the bars and nightclubs for the following nights’ escapades. Yet, by night, the shutters were flung open, the lights on full glare and the music popping onto the streets.

By night, the city comes alive. Bairro Alto is full of party atmosphere and it is now hard to distinguish revellers from the gay and straight bars. You shouldn’t think of going out before 9pm, but 10.30pm is a better start to your evening. Grab some food around 8.30pm and you can casually enter the nights’ events.

All the gay bars were recognisable in the Rato area. And simply follow the lads from joint to joint. My itinerary for the weekend nights is below. The great thing about Lisbon is the cost – it is so cheap for beer and cocktails. The atmosphere is electric, and welcoming. The people are friendly and chatty with nearly all of them speaking English. It is also an international city, so you are likely to meet Europeans from England, France, Spain, Italy, as well a Americans visiting on cruise ship.

Book flights and accommodation at least four weeks in advance and it can work out to be a cheap break:

Flights, EasyJet (my favourite airline): London – Lisbon; £110 return

AirParks car park: £26.99

Uneasy Hostel (2 nights): £60

Travelcard: €15, enough for 4 days

Meals: €12 – 20 for a good two-course dinner, 1 x beer, 2 x wine, 1 x coffee

Make the most of your time there, especially if you want to party by hiring an apartment:

www.homeaway.co.uk

www.airbnb.com

Thursday

Chapito, 30 Anos: multi-use bar, club, social meeting spot.

A circus shop will make this place stand out. Go through the shop, down the stairs to the large courtyard – if you’re not in the middle of a circus training session hang around for some beers. Otherwise, head to the loft house restaurant. Now this has to be seen. We hung here all afternoon supping on Green Wine, a Portuguese delicacy J

From the restaurant you can over look the city and watch the sun set. It’s a spectacular scene and the colours of the fading evening Lisbon sun fill the sky with purples, oranges, greens, reds, and pinks, framed by a city with 200-year architecture (following the great Earth Quake in the 18^th Century).

Friday

Bairro Alto

-       This is the place to start. It’s where the city comes together by night and especially at the weekend.

-       Wonder the streets, beer in hand and soak up the atmosphere, the music and the people watching

Les Marais

Rua de Santa Catarina 28, 1200 Lisboa

Open: M-Th 5.30pm-2am F/S 4am, Sun 1 – 11pm

We started in this sudo-French bar, the gay venue was recently purchased by new owners and had decided to maintain the name. Which with the gay market is the best idea, since we all follow maps that could be years out of date. I found this through Spartacus, after chatting to the owners who promote the bar on Scruff (great technique).

Shirtless Tuesdays – gives patrons the chance to receive free shots for taking off their shirt….not a bad deal!

The barmen were real lovely, and created a fun atmosphere. There really was no dull moment, even though when we arrived there were only about 8 people in the bar. An hour later, around 11.30pm, the bar had about 20 people. This is no bad thing, it’s well decorated, the drinks are good too. It’s brilliant if you’re in a couple and want to take it a bit easy, or in a group and all want a seat. I can imagine that on some days this places has a fantastic party.

From here we walked up to Bairro Alto past

Baliza

Rua de Bica de Duarte Belo 51-A, 1200-054 Lisboa

Open: M-F 1pm-2am, Sat 4pm-2am Sun Closed

We walked up through the streets to stop in

Portas Largas

Rua de Atalaia 105, 1200-038 Lisboa

Open S-Th 7pm-2am F/S 7pm-3am

This is a mixed crowd, I didn’t know what was straight and what was gay – the live music was infectious, the bar was packed – solid! People were all across the street at this crossroads. It was a great place to soak in Bairro Alto. Only recommendation, leave before 1am – it get a bit messy by 2am!

From here, sharp 10 – 15 minute walk to Rato. Aim was Bar 106 but by the time we got here it was closed, so I went onwards to clubbing

NOTE: Unfortunately on the night I was in Rato I was attacked by a group of lads who were trying to mug me. Fortunately, two guys who run the gay bar on the corner of the street, disturbed them and saved me from harm or loss. (I’ve been told that this activity is NOT common, but just don’t walk alone if possible) Please visit their bar:

Ursus Bar

Praça das Flores, 41-43 - Lisboa, 1200-192 Lisboa

ADD https://www.facebook.com/ursus.bar.lx

A new bar, only recently opened. It’s got a lot of style to it. While it may seem small it packs a punch in the ‘cool’ stakes. The hosts are really friendly too.

Trumps

Rua da Imprensa Nacional 104-B, 1250-127 Lisboa

Open: F/S 11.45pm – 6an

10€ including 2 drinks

The big gay club in Lisbon. One room uber-pop music, the other more Dance-Pop. The audience is young, think 20’s. The bar staff are sexy. The music in the dance-pop room was excellent, especially with a live violinist onstage adding his flavour to the tracks. The people were really friendly and welcoming too.

Saturday

I stopped by Bar Cru (Rua de Sao Marcal 170), but it didn’t appeal to me. Entry charge at 12 midnight was not what I wanted and it felt too early for any of that. So next stop further down the road

Bar 106

Rua de Sao Marcal 106, 1200-44 Lisboa

9pm – 2am

This place is pretty smart. People are smoking outside and inside. Shots are being knocked back and there’s a lot of introductions. Something tells me this is the meeting place – prior to the clubs. It’s a good starting point.

WoofLX

Rua de Palmeira 44B, 1200 Lisboa

10pm – 4am

Now this seemed more sort of thing, I had stopped by on the way to Trump the night before, but at 3am it was pretty dead. So arriving at 1pm was a good chance to check out the lads. The barman (later to be the sexy dancer in Construction) handed out free entry tickets to the club.

It’s a bear bar, and it has many bears! And cubs! And otters! And admirers! Of course!

Tr3s/ Tres/ 3

Rua Ruben Antonio Leitao 2A, 1200 Lisboa

4pm – 2am

Sports themed bar and most people were outside, but it was well themed and would make an enjoyable indoor experience too. Everyone was hanging around waiting for the clubs to get busy, this was the atmosphere, it was apprehensive, sat in expectation, impatient, yet chatty and friendly.

Construction

Rua Cecilio de Sousa 84, 1200 Lisboa

11.30pm – 6am

This is the end of the night, it’s one large two-leveled dance club with a darkroom on the third floor. The more mature crew hangout here, so generally 30yr+ and there were quite a few women. It was a fun cruisey atmosphere with excellent music!

Gay Guy Goes North Korea - what's gay about DPRK?

Gay Korea

North Korea is not an open country and it is impossible to fully interact with the locals, however what is interesting is that there are many gay tourists who visit the country. When I was there in my group alone there were 3 (at least :-) among 20. Tour groups often meet one another at different tourist sites and there is only 2 hotels therefore its easy to interact with other travellers. Certainly in the few days I was there I met at least 7 other gay travellers. 

So if you're looking for that unique experience in a country that seems off limits to gay, especially internally, you will be glad to know that there are ways to meet gay people easily and safely.

North Korea’s position on homosexuality is unknown, Wikipedia states:

Due to tradition in Korean culture, it is not customary for individuals of any sexual orientation to engage in public displays of affection. As a country that has embraced science and rationalism, the DPRK recognizes that many individuals are born with homosexuality as a genetic trait and treats them with due respect. Homosexuals in the DPRK have never been subject to repression, as in many capitalist regimes around the world. However, North Koreans also place a lot of emphasis on social harmony and morals. Therefore, the DPRK rejects many characteristics of the popular gay culture in the West, which many perceive to embrace consumerism, classism and promiscuity.^[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_North_Korea

GlobalGayz officials said, 'The concept of same-sex attraction hardly exists in the minds of people. Even with people who feel this attraction, there is ignorance about what it means or how it can be expressed in behavior.'  http://www.sgn.org/sgnnews39_51/page1.cfm

It's not recommended you get too close to the Korean/DPRK locals however if they choose to get close to you, that will be their choice that you will need to wait for. They are urged not to interact on that level. Certainly on two occasions homosexuality in North Korea was apparent, once when I was dancing in the park and met one guy who was incredibly enthusiastic - as my gaydar set ringing. The second was watching a close intimate bond between an American tourist and a Korean guide...

Snowmo-sexual - Arosa launches its 10th Gay Ski Week

I've been. It's great! Seriously - it's a fantastically organised week for which you need plenty of energy for.

Arosa Gay Ski Week is not just about the slopes but also the evening parties. For me, I was exhausted by day 3 - but the atmosphere, the energy and the events keep you going to the bitter end.

Arosa has just announced its line-up for year 10 - and it is a must-see!

Check out my review of the event from 2012 here: http://ryanchaynes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/arosa-gay-ski-week-becoming-snow.html

I went for work, with one colleague, but most of the time I was left alone - and actually alone is a wrong word to use, I was left to experience it without my companion but met many more through out my stay.

The most memorable has to be either the Drag Race or the evening Pool Party :-)

The big Gay World Rainbow Hotels website won Best Hotel Website award - Whoop!

World Rainbow Hotels (WRH), www.worldrainbowhotels.com, the world’s leading collection of gay & lesbian-welcoming hotels, was named as the best hotel website at the Travolution Awards travolutionawards.co.uk www.travolutionawards.co.uk in London on October 17 2013.

The awards are unique in recognising companies, brands and individuals who excel in the fields of online travel distribution, digital marketing and technology. Judged by a panel of proven business leaders, experts and entrepreneurs, they are the UK travel industry’s highest accolade for innovation and excellence online.

The 1,200 hotels in 129 worldwide destinations displayed on the website have all been put through a rigorous set of screening criteria, including analysis of their current involvement with the LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender) community, compliance with non-discrimination policies and same-sex benefits for their staff.

Member hotels are encouraged to undergo LGBT-welcoming training and required to put together an “Out & About” information guide providing tips about their local gay & lesbian scene, which can be downloaded from the hotel’s profile on WRH’s website.

Sharon Wimborne, eCommerce Director, said, “We are delighted to have won Travolution’s Best Hotel Website award. We feel we have developed a unique online proposition as well as some innovative ways for the LGBT community to share experiences and contribute to the assessment and suitability of LGBT-welcoming properties around the world.”


Nicolas Wijnants, WRH Brand Director, said, “We understood that LGBT travellers needed more than just a web-listing of gay-friendly hotels and events. It was essential to build a strong community of hoteliers, customers and travel agents where they could share information, advice and travel tips relevant to the LGBT community.”

[Oh and in a side note - I also worked with them  - great team!]

World Pride 2012: All eyes on London

Contribution from Jon Fairbanks a Gay Travel Team member at www.gaytravel.com


The videos are my experience of London Pride as a proud British gay bloke.


All opinions below are of Jon Fairbanks:

Seriously, how gay can London get in 2012? If the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee isn’t queer enough, “The Old Smoke” is also playing host to WorldPride in June. 

WorldPride, created by InterPride, is a popular celebration of all things LGBTQ that attracts revelers from … yes … around the world. This is the third installment of WorldPride, the previous celebrations took place in Rome and Jerusalem.

While the past events drew hundreds of thousands of visitors, organizers anticipate more than one million people will flock to London to take part in the festivities thanks to the upcoming 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. What’s on tap for this year’s WorldPride? Theatre shows, debates, poetry readings and other events are planned but let’s get real, it’s all about the parade and parties.

Parade Day is July 7^th, at the end of WorldPride. This year the route will start on Baker Street and will run more than a half mile longer than usual, covering more of London’s iconic landmarks including Piccadilly Circus, where a Pride Rally will take place. Several of the UK’s brightest stars are scheduled to appear on the main stage in Trafalgar Square, including X Factor finalist Lloyd Daniels and pop-punk band Twenty Twenty. In addition to the musical acts, there will also be comedy shows and dancers. In Soho, partygoers will converge at the dance stage where they’ll be entertained by London’s hottest DJs. If you’re in the right place at the right time, you might find yourself hobnobbing with Sir Elton John, Sir Ian McKellen or another A-lister who’s been known to attend London Pride.

Most of the action takes place in the heart of Soho, London’s gayborhood. The yellow brick road? Old Compton Street. A street lined with the city’s most popular gay bars, pubs, sex shops and restaurants. When you see the rainbow flags and cruisy blokes, you’ll know you’re home. The most popular venues in the West End include the spacious and stylish Ku Bar, G-A-Y Bar and The King’s Arms, catering to bears and the cubs who love them. Soho will also be closed to traffic on the day of the parade and many of the clubs will be open until 4am.

For gents who dig leather and fetish clubs, you’ll want to head to Vauxhall, a neighborhood south of the river. Crash is the hottest venue in the area on Saturday nights, Instinct is also a great spot if you love house and techno music. Horse Meat Disco/The Eagle London attracts a variety of gay patrons from bears to twinks. The bottom line, during pride, every visitor will find a bar or club to fit their individual preference.

Getting around London is incredibly easy thanks to the city’s great public transportation system. For less than £5 you can buy a daily travel card which gives you access to the London Underground (the tube) and buses. Route maps are also available at several locations throughout the city, so you should have little trouble getting from point A to point B.

Several high-profile companies are helping to underwrite this year’s festivities, including Smirnoff, Coca-Cola and Tesco, the UK’s largest private employer. Recently, some LGBT activists, including Hannah Dee, have criticized London Pride and its organizers for becoming a corporate sponsored event more interested in generating a profit than celebrating the achievements of the gay and lesbian community.

Despite the criticism, London Pride is still a great fundraiser for organizations that benefit LGBT organizations. This year Kaleidoscope Trust was selected as the official charity partner. Kaleidoscope International Diversity Trust is a nonprofit organization that campaigns for equality for gays and lesbians people around the world. For socially-minded Marys and ‘mos who want a break from the pride debauchery, there will also be a conference on gay rights featuring several renowned speakers.

England isn’t known for its great weather, but the summer months can be beautiful. Luckily, WorldPride happens at the beginning of the summer, giving visitors the opportunity to enjoy the local landscape. London’s premier gay cruising area is located in the northwest part of the city in an area called Hampstead Heath Ponds. It’s no South Beach, but it’s great if you want to check out some hot locals and out of towners and get a respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. There’s a men’s bathing pond located here which gained worldwide notoriety when singer George Michael was photographed here. If you don’t have a number one hit song, chances are you can fly under the radar.

2012 marks the 40^th anniversary of the first London gay pride parade and this year’s event promises to be biggest yet. So if you’ve never had the opportunity to explore this sophisticated, thriving metropolis, now’s the time check out the city where you are encouraged to live like a Queen.

Vietnam, Hanoi - discovering the gay life

Being gay is as much a Western disease as it is a Southern and Eastern, and well pretty much actually a part of life across our great planet. Vietnam is not immune from being fantastically rainbow and while this communist county may not flaunt it - it's here!

First stop Hanoi - first thought Grindr! Where else to find local gays and like-minded travellers? Where else to get the inside knowledge? Apart from being full of horny Vietnamese, it provided a wealth of knowledge and this came in the shape of 3 gay hangouts.

GC Bar otherwise known as Golden Cock seemed the most obvious - located by the Great Lake in old town Hanoi, local lads referred to this as the 'meeting place'. So I arrange a meet with a fellow traveller to check it out.

Other than having to interpret the map and road signs it was relatively easy to find - much simpler than crossing Hanoi streets! Arriving at 9.30pm it was relatively quiet, but it offered a friendly and welcoming atmosphere - no overt gayness about it, mild with drinks and a pool table.

The decor was reminiscent of most European bars and the music, the classic Western pop where the volume was notched up throughout the evening. By 10.30pm the place was rammed and at unmanageable decibels, with the traveller and I struggleing to hold a conversation.

The local boys covered the pool table with a plastic sheet before bringing out their drinks. Bottles of spirit - gin seemed to be the popular choice, with cans of tonic stacked high and plates of lemon. These boys know how to drink.

No matter how vibrant the music or how loud the sound system there was not a single bouncing body in the joint - these in Hanoi don't dance. The talent was pretty good, well kempt and sociable they welcomed us with warm smiles. As they left, they thanked us for our company - even though few words were uttered between us.

GC Bar was empty by 11.30pm - the night was over! They don't last long, but all gin bottles and tonic cans were finished and the music a low dull.

Address: Bao Khanh street

Also other places are
Adams Spa (Sauna), Vu Thanh street - entry 80,000 Dong
Solace Bar (don't have address)

Cuba - Gay Havana

There are certainly areas in the Vedado area where you will find a thriving gay community. Calle 23 is the centre of gay life, near the Cine Yara (cinema), this street is frequented by gay people night and day – but don’t expect it to be anything like major cosmopolitan cities. The one gay venue on this street is more like a canteen than a party establishment, though get talking to one of the locals and they will invite you to the official gay party that evening.