Nomadic Boys

Gay Manila, The Philippines – The Nomadic Boys

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Gay Manila, The Philippines - The Nomadic Boys

In this guide to gay Manila, we’ve set out practical safety tips and summarised the best of the city’s gay scene, top places to stay, go out and eat for you to check out.

“Be super careful in Manila boys…” was the blunt warning from our Filipino friends in London before we headed over, “…it’s crowded, polluted, too much traffic and lots of thieves everywhere!”

But in all honesty, Manila is no different to any other big city we’ve been in.

Gay Manila

Our first steps on the streets of Malate were tentative – taking our friends’ words to heart, we ensured to leave all valuables in our hotel, avoided unlit streets, and stuck to taxis to get us around. But the paranoia that we’d built up was quickly broken down. Sticking to basic common sense, it’s absolutely fine in Manila.

We ended up really enjoying the Filipino capital. It has a pretty exciting gay scene with a super friendly LGBTQ community that loves connecting with foreigners. Filipinos generally are the most affable and hospitable people we’ve ever met, which makes it so easy to quickly make local friends here. This was our favorite thing about Manila!

As the hub into the Philippines, the city makes for a pretty sweet base to start exploring the rest of this phenomenal country.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Gay Philippines Travel Resources

Traveling as a Gay Couple – The Nomadic Boys

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Traveling as a Gay Couple - The Nomadic Boys

If you were to scroll through our Instagram feed or browse our website, you may get the impression that we are nothing but super adventurous, carefree, and audacious bimbos. And you’d be 100% correct!

But just like doing the hanky panky, we believe when it comes to travel, it’s important to stay safe, be comfortable, and know what we’re getting ourselves into.

Traveling as a Gay Couple

Our point is that while you should have fun, you should make sure you’re doing so safely. Unfortunately, we all know parts of the world aren’t as progressive as we’d like them to be, so doing research and prepping yourself as much as possible for traveling as a gay couple will help make your trip run smoothly regardless of where you go.

Of course, after you’ve made those safety checks, you’re going to want to let your hair down and find out where the gay heart of your destination lies.

So, without further ado, here are our top tips for traveling as a gay couple.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Gay Life in Nepal – The Nomadic Boys

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Gay Life in Nepal - The Nomadic Boys

Our friend Tilak from Kathmandu tells us about gay life Nepal and how it was growing up here.

Gay Life in Nepal – The Shining Pink Beacon of South Asia.

When it comes to LGBTQ rights, Asia as a whole is notorious for being super conservative, especially across South Asia. Here, most countries have anti-LGBTQ+ laws in place (like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives), and one of them even has state execution on the cards – Afghanistan! Only India, Bhutan, and Nepal have thrown out and repealed their anti-gay laws. However, Nepal is the only one to have gone further and introduced a comprehensive set of anti-discrimination laws to protect its LGBTQ community.

This is why we rate Nepal as one of the most gay friendly countries in Asia. But as we said, this is one very conservative region of the world with much work to be done. Nepali society remains very conservative – many men end up leading double lives, marrying a woman to please the family, keeping their true nature hidden deep in the closet.

The Nepali gay community is evolving and growing more confident every year thanks in part to the amazing work of LGBTQ organisations like the Blue Diamond Society. In Kathmandu, we met local boy Tilak, who showed us the small gay scene in Thamel and told us more about gay life in Nepal. Whilst the country is very progressive on paper, and to foreigners, for the local LGBTQ community, Nepal is still very conservative, and for this reason, Tilak asked that we keep his identity anonymous.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Nepal Gay Travel Resources

Gay Kathmandu, Nepal – The Nomadic Boys

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Gay Kathmandu, Nepal - The Nomadic Boys

Here’s our travel guide to gay Kathmandu, with all the best gay friendly hotels, bars, restaurants and things to do.

Chaotic, messy, loud, colorful, captivating, and completely disorganized!

That was our first impression of Kathmandu as we drove into the city from the airport to our hotel in Thamel. The traffic was all over the place, with people, motorbikes, two-wheelers, taxis, and buses all negotiating tight narrow roads… yet somehow it all works seamlessly!

We completely fell in love with this city. Yes, it’s messy and slightly disorderly, but there’s something magical about it that just gets in your skin and makes you quickly fall in love with it.

Visiting Gay Kathmandu

Kathmandu was our base to start our Himalayan trekking adventures around Nepal. In fact, most gay travelers heading to the city are here for the same reason. The tourism industry here is all geared towards treks to Annapurna, Everest Base Camp, Langtang, Poon Hill, etc. The center of the city is a labyrinth of businesses geared towards trekkers including agencies, trekking clothes shops, hostels, bars, restaurants, and more.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Kathmandu Gay Travel Resources

Travel Guide to Gay Mongolia – The Nomadic Boys

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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

Gay Nepal – The Nomadic Boys

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Gay Nepal - The Nomadic Boys

The gay beacon of South Asia!

Nepal ranks as one of our favorite destinations. Not only does it have some of the most incredible scenery we’ve ever seen, but it’s also a very gay-friendly country – at least by Asian standards…

Gay Nepal

It may come as a surprise, but Nepal has for years been a beacon for LGBTQ rights across what is a very conservative part of Asia. The country’s constitution in 2015 introduced a whole set of anti-discrimination laws to protect its LGBTQ community, and Pride parades have grown massively in popularity over the past decade.

We fell in love with gay Nepal because trekking in the Himalayas is one of the most unforgettable adventures we’ve ever done together. Alongside this, the Nepali people were nothing but welcoming and super courteous to us, which just made it even more special. Take it from us, a trip to this gorgeous country is nothing short of a magical exploration into nature that will blow your mind and quickly make you want to return for more!

Full Story at The Nomadic Boys

Gay Nepal Travel Resources

Our Favorite Laos Street Foods – The Nomadic Boys

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Our Favorite Laos Street Foods - The Nomadic Boys

Imagine rows and rows of mouthwatering sizzling barbecued meats, fresh salads, salted fish, and yummy coconut pancakes…

Our Favorite Laos Street Foods

When it comes to eating out in Laos, the food markets are a treat! Whether you’re visiting the gorgeous Luang Prabang, the capital, Vientiane, or adventure hub, Vang Vieng, we guarantee there’ll be several excellent local street food stalls that you need to check out. Not to mention the fact that it’s an inexpensive way to dine.

Generally, the whole street food scene in Southeast Asia is a thing we highly recommend all travelers immerse themselves into – particularly in Thailand, Vietnam, and of course, Laos! In this article, we run through some of the best Laos street foods that made us super happy during our trip here and needs to be on that culinary Bucket List of yours!

Barbecued Meats

There are many stalls selling barbecued meats. But unlike elsewhere in the country, the street food in Luang Prabang has been adapted for foreigners. In Laos, every part of the animal is eaten, so eating in a more local restaurant was hard for us – congealed pig’s bl00d in your noodle soup, anyone? Or chunks of pork fat or other insides…?

Japanese Gay Life – The Nomadic Boys

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Japanese Gay Life - The Nomadic Boys

Our gay friend Shintaro from Tokyo tells us what Japanese gay life is like from his perspective in this fascinating interview. We love Japan. We’ve been fortunate to visit several times. Each time we leave, we say sayonara with a strong thirst to return for more!

As a gay couple traveling in Japan, we’ve always felt extremely welcome, everywhere, never receiving any judgment or raised eyebrows. To our foreign eyes, Japan feels like you’ve taken a time machine into the future. Everything is so much more advanced here, so clean, so impeccable, where trains arrive/leave on time, correct to the second!

And the Japanese themselves? Well, they’re just the icing on top – you couldn’t ask for a more welcoming and respectful nation. Everything is well received with a sweet, warm smile and a humble bow.

All About Japanese Gay Life

As we said, that’s through our superficial perspective as queer travelers visiting. What’s the reality like for the Japanese LGBTQ community? We often hear that whilst the Japanese are very welcoming to gay foreigners, on a local level, the country is very conservative when it comes to LGBTQ rights.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

16 Facts About Argentina – The Nomadic Boys

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16 Facts About Argentina - The Nomadic Boys
Following our travels in South America, we’ve rounded up our top fun and interesting facts about Argentina.

We sure did after spending half a year traveling around Argentina as a gay couple. We started our trip in the uber-cool capital of Buenos Aires and headed all the way south to Patagonia for some of the best treks we’ve ever done. Along the way, we also visited cities like Córdoba, Mendoza, Rosario, and Puerto Madryn.

Our conclusion? This is a place begging to be explored! Some of the most stunning raw natural surroundings, a rich cultural heritage that include Evita and the tango, a delicious (non-vegan friendly!) culinary journey, and arguably the hottest people on our planet who (in Marlene’s own words) throw themselves at you!

Marlene Dietrich was definitely on point when she said this. The Argentinians are an extremely passionate hot-blooded bunch with their own unique style of Spanish, spoken with strong Italian-like charisma. They will instantly embrace you into their lives and in return, you will no doubt quickly fall in love with them.

1. Argentina has the best steak in the world!

Argentinians are super passionate about their meat and it shows: their steak is world-famous! This is largely due to the abundance of cows. According to the Cattle Network, Argentina is 1 of 5 countries in the world (along with Uruguay, Brazil, New Zealand, and Australia) which has more cows than people.

Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Argentina Gay Travel Resources

Traditional Thai Foods – The Nomadic Boys

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Traditional Thai Foods - The Nomadic Boys

Our Thailand culinary fairytale began at our local Ting Tong Thai in Acton, West London. As soon as we tasted our first Pad Thai, we were hooked! But the thing with Thai food, it didn’t stop there – from the Som Tam, to the many different curries – yellow, red, green, Massaman, it just kept getting better and better…

Touchdown a few years later in the gay streets of Bangkok and our traditional Thai food culinary journey experienced one massive glo-up we’ve not yet recovered from! From the wide range of street food to the many different flavors and spices unique to Southeast Asia, we fell in love. Each region of the country has its distinct offerings.

It’s no reason why Thailand’s cuisine is known the world over. It’s easily one of our favorites. In this article, we summarise our foodie journey through the Land of Smiles, which we hope inspires yours. This is the ultimate Foodie Bucket List of the best traditional Thai foods that you need to try…tick them off as you taste each one.

How Did Traditional Thai Food Originate?

Thailand’s food is so diverse with a rich labyrinth of culinary wonders to discover! We found that eating out in Thailand is especially rewarding, particularly at one of the many street food local markets where you can sample lots of different dishes. Today Thai food is one of the most popular cuisines in the world and we can totally understand why!

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Thailand Gay Travel Resources