Nomadic Boys: Finding Mongolia’s Only Gay Bar

Hanzo - Mongolia's only gay bar - Nomadic Boys

For as long as I’ve known my crazy Stefan he’s always been harping on about Mongolia.

He spends hours reading historical fiction about the Genghis Khan dynasty or watching documentaries about Kublai Khan. Although it was the Netflix Marco Polo series (starring the very handsome Italian actor Lorenzo Richelmy) that created Stefan’s ultimate wanderlust for the land of the Mongols and therefore inspired our Mongolia trip.

We visited Mongolia during our big Asia trip in July when the famous Naadam Festival was taking place. This is the Mongolian Olympics, but instead of taking place every 4 years, it happens in July. It’s the country’s biggest event with a dramatic, colorful opening ceremony before the focus turns to the three traditional games featured in the competition: horse riding, wrestling, and archery.

Hanzo – Mongolia’s Only Gay Bar

We must have spent around 25 minutes walking up and down those ugly Soviet blocks looking for Hanzo, Mongolia’s only gay bar. There was no signage, nothing recognizable anywhere to help us locate it.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Mongolia Gay Travel Resources

Travel Guide to Gay Mongolia – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Mongolia

When asked which is our favorite place in the world we’ve been to, Mongolia is one place we both agree is truly remarkable!

We visited gay Mongolia after our Trans Siberian railway adventure and ended up staying for a month. We didn’t expect to, but the landscapes in the Gobi Desert and the nomadic life along the Mongolian steppe just blew our minds. We loved it! Yes, it’s roughing it slightly as luxuries are scarce out here, but this is one cultural adventure you won’t forget in a hurry.

When it comes to gay travel, it’s fair to say that Mongolia is not the #1 place that comes to mind! This is a far cry from the Circuit parties of Barcelona or the wild scene of Fort Lauderdale. This country is more of a place to come to be awed by nature; a photographer’s paradise!

However, we still think it’s a place other gay travelers should experience. In this gay guide to Mongolia, we’ve sumarised our travels through the lands of Genghis Khan, which we hope inspires you to also pay this magnificent country a visit.

Rights in Gay Mongolia

LGBTQ+ rights in the country are, well, more advanced than you’d expect. When compared to the rest of the continent, Mongolia is one of the more advanced queer friendly nations in Asia. The government repealed its anti-gay law back in 1993, introduced the right to change legal gender in 2009, and also passed hate crime laws to protect its LGBTQ community in 2017.

Full Story at The Nomadic Boys

Mongolia Gay Travel Resources