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 India

India is a large country, 1.2 billion people, even taking just the basic 6% that those are gay make a total of 60miillon to 120 million gay people. The culture is religiously diverse with Muslim, Christian, Sikhs, Hindu, Buddhists. It's countrymen made of a wide range of Asians from Middle East, to China to southern, influenced by colonization by British, French, Dutch and Portuguese among others. With travelers from Europe, Australia and USA - it should make it a cauldron mixed of all the best yet orthodox ways and conservatism push homosexuality under the carpet.

In 2009 the Indian government repealed the age-old British law banning homosexuality. A step in the right direction. And some citizens in larger cities try to be recognized in Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi yet the gay culture remains discreet.

Steps to equality must start somewhere and this repeal of the gay ban is the beginning. The increasing focus on women's rights and equality is going to go hand in hand with the recognition of gay people. Eunuchs (trans-type people) are called to provide good luck at marriages but then banished at all other times to their own world on the edge of societal existence. But where does that leave the gay man and girl?

The lesbian is all but visible. While for gay men there are ways - as visitors we can see them on gay meeting applications like gaydar, grinder and most of all Planet Romeo. To insiders it is a must to be part of special invite lists for local parties - all of which happen in just the major cities and even then limited to Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata and lucky if they occur weekly. There are also the traditional cruising grounds in existence, but where does that put homosexuality?

It's in the fringes - speaking to gay guys in Delhi they are happy that way . Using applications and cruising grounds keeps their identity safe - some say they live in Delhi because they can be who they want to be, but families and friends are still none the wiser. It simply gives them a way to practise their interests and in no way gives them the full freedoms.

I was lucky to meet Rohit who works for Pinkvibyor a gay travel agency - though from Mumbai where he says the city is vibrant with gay people and lifestyles he is still learning what life is like in Delhi. Gay nights weekly on the outskirts of Delhi - well a different town altogether - Noida - this is the safe kind of party. Its held in a bar - with a dj and alcohol. When i went - M Lounge- about 60 people were there, small number but perfectly filled the small joint. A group of cross dressers/ transsexuals danced the night away. I spoke to Melissa, dressed in a brightly colored sari, she has been living in Delhi for a year but had spent a few years in Berlin, to which she speaks enthusiastically about "Berlin it's amazing, one of the best cities on earth". Berlin is incredibly open and gay life there is one of the most equal in the world, yet she raves about Delhi.

Another meeting place is weekly in the Central Park on Connaught Place gay people meet on Sundays. The place is packed with groups of lads hanging out.

I first meet Mahindra - spends half his time between London and Delhi - he called me to join his group sat chilling out - he must have spotted my British mannerisms. I see the sparkle in the eye as he mentions his life on London and tries to convince me that Delhi is just as exciting.

I move round the park and speak to a group of lads on a bench. They enthusiastically tell me they are all bisexual - all 8 of them! I ask what life is like as a gay person and they say it is good. These men so obviously live double lives - then I discover a darker side, they're all escorts. The main speaker talks of his escort agency - Delhi Boys - which he started 2-3 years ago. It's doing well and saw an opportunity to build a business. 

According to my Delhi contact the city is rife with lads charging for their time: students with bills to pay, uneducated guys with a need to earn and then those simply finding it an easier way to earn money. They charge 1500-3000ruppees per hour barely £40. It's a living.

Even in the gay night there were plenty of escorts - many dressed in black as a signal: keen to sexually exploit themselves - make themselves available. It's hard to distinguish who they are, their English is amazing- better than many working in call centres (which is most of their occupations). So as a single gay man - how does it work?

Some talk of getting married to a woman at some point for the sake of their parents. Yet speaking to some elders during my India visit this is becoming more difficult - the recent rape cases are the result of years of neglect. Families disposing of female offspring in favour for a male heir - men out number women and therefore opportunities to marry significantly decline. Men without a women "go crazy. At the age of 24-25 years old, no woman, no sex. That's why we have so many rape cases. It's not like in Europe where sex is legal from 14-16 years old and frequently had, these men have never had it - so they have to find it.

It's a dark side to India that can only get worse. Men are hiding their sexuality, men are unable to find women. It's a vicious circle that can lead to slow progression in equality and sexual freedom.

Turn on Planet Romeo and its like a machine gun - guys are driving messages begging to meet, not to meet but to get their sexual fulfillment. If this is how the gay men feel with a sexual outlet how are the straight men going to behave?

The gap between rich and poor is growing by the day in India - and the cultural differences between cities and countryside will drive India to cultural despair. If campaigning for women's rights is tough then getting gay rights firm on the agenda is a long way off - especially if gay men are happy to let it slide and remain discreet.

See the Full Transcript of the interviews in the next blog 

http://pinkvibgyor.com/

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