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Late night fun refurbished

The Late Night Scene is where Gay is happening in Chiangmai

Whilst for many gay foreigners visiting and living in Chiang Mai, the gay scene revolves around the usual few western orientated bars and restaurants, there is a much bigger Thai late night scene with which few foreigners seem to engage. These are the real gay places where Thai’s go to enjoy themselves, often until dawn.

Mandalay BarTo a certain extent, the “gay Scene”, as perceived from a western viewpoint doesn’t really exist here. Gay Thais just go to normal places with their friends gay and straight without having a strong need for the old fashioned “gay bar”. At any given time, some places are more “in” than others but generally gays can be found in bars restaurants and clubs all over town. But, all that changes as the clock approaches midnight; when many places are closing up for the night the Thai gay crowd rushes on mass to get a table in one of the several places they can call their own.

Previously, the biggest haunt in town was Mandalay bar in the old city (now known as sign- in); a massive Thai style place with thumping music and packed with cute young things until well into early morning. But, all that changed a couple of years ago with first the opening of See Man Pub, followed last year by the very professionally run Bangkok import, G-Star Vintage.

G-Star Vintage

Chaing Mai’s most popular gay venue

Since it opened G-Star, has become the indisputable queen of the Chiang Mai gay scene and has left the competition way behind. This latest member of the G-star family opened just in time for Songkran last year and will soon be celebrating its one year anniversary. G-Star Vintage enjoys an ideal location in a quiet side soi off Chottana Road, with a large adjacent parking lot making it easy for even the more reticent gay guys to slip in and out un-noticed. G-Star’s home in Chiang Mai is an old building that has been substantially renovated, and used to be the city hall making it easy to locate (just tell the tuk-tuk Amphur Gao!)

G-Star-Vintage-1
The G-Star formula for success is a mix of show, ladyboys and some very handsome Coyote Boy dancers, interspersed with some loud dance music. In common with many venues there is no dance floor as such, rather, everyone stands in groups around tall tables, and move to the rhythm if they are so inclined.

G-Star Vintage Chiang Mai

Karaoke – Red is the new Black!

Meanwhile, as G-Star went from strength to strength, the rest of the late night scene, was in the doldrums at the end of last year and has been re-inventing itself. Both of the main Karaoke bars, Barocco and Relax were closed for renovation, as was See Man Pub, the main alternative to G-Star with a similar formula.

First to open its doors in January was Barocco, now under the management of Pon, of CU Bar fame, apart from a coat of paint little has changed here and his large circle of friends seem to be keeping the place occupied. Definitely worth a visit if you haven’t been.

Last week then saw the re-opening of Chiang Mai’s oldest and most popular gay Karaoke, Relax. This stalwart of the scene for many years has been fully refurbished. OK its still dark, but much more red and reflective than before, making it feel more spacious. With new, much more comfortable seating we are sure the new Relax will prove to be as popular as ever. Read more about life on the dark side in Chiang Mai’s most fun bar.

See Man Pub Re-opens

Lastly, it remains to be seen how things will be at See Man Pub which is finally scheduled to re-open tonight after a prolonged refurbishment. Their original re-opening and two year anniversary was set for early February but they suffered a major setback as a result of a fire sparked by construction work. Apparently the club has been totally redesigned with a new layout, new show and some great looking dancers.

See Man Pub Chiang Mai

See Man Pub Chiang Mai

Table Plan - See Man Pub Chiang Mai

  1. […] Several of Chiang Mai’s late night gay venues have had a face lift or change of ownership. Barocco Karaoke re-opened at the End of January whilst last month saw the re-opening of Relax Karaoke and See Man Pub. Read More: Late night fun refurbished […]

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