I stopped in Vientiane on my way to Malaysia after a tour around Cambodia and Southern Laos in December last year. I arrived in the big Laos capital after spending a few days in the beautiful area of the 4 thousand Islands in the Southern part of the country, where I chilled and relaxed while enjoying its beautiful outdoors!
Vientiane lays on the big, beautiful, and quite Mekong river, as quite as the life of the city itself. You can spend plenty of time walking along the Mekong, sipping a drink, stopping for a cafe in one of the many bars and restaurants facing the riverside, having an ice-cream, and still not getting tired of it! As you can imagine, due to its position, Vientiane is a very hot city during the day, which makes this kind of refreshments even more enjoyable!
The best moment to enjoy the Mekong river is the sunset: find a nice spot along the riverside, possibly further from the chaos of the city center, and enjoy the best moment of the day! The sun sets down just in front of the river, such a romantic view!
By Sergio Scardia – Full Story at the Scruffy Italian Traveler
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Think mascara is only good as make-up? Think again! The Viennese drag queen and burlesque performer, Tamara Mascara, is here to give her top tips about having a great time in Vienna.
A full-on shopping trip on Mariahilfer Strasse is an absolute must for a perfect day in the city on the Danube. “The Phil on Gumpendorferstrasse is a great place for a break: Bookstore, cafe and bar in one. Students and hipsters love it.
The Felixx just around the corner is a cozy place to round off your shopping spree …”
After dropping off the shopping bags at Tamara’s apartment and getting all dolled up, it’s time to start the evening out with dinner at the revolving Danube Tower Restaurant – fantastic 360* panorama included! “I can warmly recommend Cafe Berg for dinner – it’s totally gay friendly.
Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay:
Coqui del Mar is a gay owned and gay friendly San Juan guest house, 3 minutes walk to gay friendly Ocean Park beaches, and minutes drive to SJU airport. All units have private bathrooms and full private kitchens. Extra guests are never a problem and you are welcome to bring back new friends. We strive to provide more than our guests expect in every way. Some of our in room guest amenities include:
Fresh off the plane, our Porteño friends Pablo and Gustavo welcomed us, and took us straight to the Pepo Pepona gay restaurant in Palermo so we could have our first taster of the famous Argentinian steak.
Just as we were tucking into our bife de chorizo, the restaurant’s entertainment started: a handsome (extremely well endowed!) Argentinian lad came gyrating from table to table, quickly loosing all his clothes. At that moment we knew we were going to enjoy this city a lot!
WHY IS GAY BUENOS AIRES SO GAY FRIENDLY?
Argentina is extremely progressive with LGBT rights. It was the first country in Latin America to legalise gay marriage in July 2010, which included full adoption rights. The right to change legal gender has been in place since 2012 and anti discrimination laws are in full force in Rosario and Buenos Aires. Even the more conservative city of Córdoba has an active gay scene.
We were picked up from our hostel around 8 in the morning but didn’t really leave Marrakech until 9:30. Our tour bus had pick to up some people from one hostel to another.
The journey from Marrakech to Ouzoud Falls was almost three hours with one stop for bathroom break. We finally reached our destination at 12:20 in the afternoon. Our trek guide was already waiting for us and he wasted no time.
He gathered us around told us that the hike to the Ouzoud Falls would be around two hours – and it would cost us 3 euros each for his guiding service. When we booked this trip at the hostel, we weren’t informed about this extra/hidden service. All we were told is that lunch wasn’t included in the price (20 euros). This fee was strictly for transport only.
While it would surely raise eyebrows to deem dinner at Oakland’s Commis a bargain, it’s more than fair to call Chef James Shyabout’s elegant tasting menus a Michelin Stargain. Twinkling with two of the French tiremaker’s honorifics as of 2016, Oakland’s serene, cerebral seven-year-old culinary jewel box offers prix fixe adventures of eight ingenious small courses (plus a few more bonus bites sprinkled throughout the meal) for $125.
While that’s six times what you’ll spend for a satisfying steak dinner elsewhere in Oakland (more on that later), it’s a remarkable price compared to a constellation of other Michelin-winning prix fixes in the Bay Area: $398 at San Francisco’s Saison, $330 at Napa Valley’s Meadowood, $310 at the French Laundry in Yountville, and $235 at Manresa in Silicon Valley. (Prior to going out on his own, Shyabout cooked at the latter, as well as Spain’s legendary elBulli and England’s Fat Duck.)
Along with housing rates, the cost of opening and sustaining a business in the San Francisco environs have skyrocketed in recent years, to such an extent that, along with young, adventurous eaters, ambitious, eclectic chefs like Shyabout have rooted themselves in more affordable Oakland.
The port city of Norfolk offers more than meets the eye as a hotbed of local arts culture and a focal point for Virginia’s dynamic culinary scene. On the eve of Hampton Roads Pride, I set out to meet the city beyond the shore. There is the Ghent neighborhood, which thanks to a new wave of hip bars, restaurants, and independent art shops, has made Granby Street home to plenty of young bohemians. Downtown is equal parts old and new, where the lofty high rises stand side-by-side cornerstones of the antebellum era. Steeped in the city’s colonial history is the ever-charming West Freemason, a living portrait of Americana past and present, with grand old homes and winding cobblestone streets.
I set up digs at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel (777 Waterside Dr., Tel: 757-622-6664. 
Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay:
Thank you for considering the LaQuinta Inn & Suites New Orleans Downtown! This isn’t your everyday LaQuinta located only 2 blocks from the French Quarter in the heart of the Central Business District and only one block from the St Charles Street Car Line.
We’re also the proud recipients of the “LaQuinta of the Year Award” for excellence in customer service, cleanliness and sales.
Stay with us and experience all New Orleans has to offer at a great value in a great location! All rates include a daily hot continental breakfast buffet and complimentary wi-fi. This hotel is TAG Approved
What a week it’s been! The sun has shown itself more often than expected (and much more than the previous week), and I used every opportunity to get out and explore as much of the city as possible. I ticked all kinds of things off of my Seattle-to-do-list, like a stroll through the Olympic Sculpture Park and along Alki Beach, a visit to the locks in Ballard and a short hike through Discovery Park.
The sunny weather had me check out all kinds of parks this week, from Union Lake Park and Seward Park to Freeway Park and Volunteer Park.
I went out on more neighborhood explorations and, thanks to Katie being in town, I also got to enjoy lots of good food and craft beer. It even stayed dry long enough to check out the Sunday market in Fremont, and we headed to Golden Gardens, which turned out to be a lovely beach instead of a garden, but ended up being one of my favorite finds last week. I think I definitely have to come back to Seattle in the summer.
Romance is everywhere in gay Buenos Aires. The Porteños (local folk of the big capital city) are extremely passionate – and boy do they know how to celebrate being in love. Whether it’s taking a stroll in charming Puerto Madera, getting intimate while dancing Argentinian Tango or taking a picnic in one of the many beautiful gardens, the opportunities to spend a special moment with you lover are endless. Here are our top 5 romantic things to do in Buenos Aires.
#1 WATCH A TANGO SHOW
Tango is the romance of Argentina. This sensual dance which originates from RÃo de la Plata is so mesmerising that you could watch it for hours and not blink an eye. A candlelit dinner while watching a tango show is one of the best memories we have of Buenos Aires. There are plenty to choose from but our favourite which we absolutely recommend is Rojo Tango.
The setting for this intimate experience is in the luxurious Faena hotel in Puerto Madero. The dinner includes a three course Argentinian meal with drinks followed by an unforgettable show. Rojo Tango dinner and show starts from $298 per person.