Gayborhoods

Best Sydney Gay Bars, Clubs and Nightlife – The Nomadic Boys

by
Best Sydney Gay Bars, Clubs and Nightlife - The Nomadic Boys

On our Sydney trip, we dove straight into the gay scene around Oxford Street where the only thing sharper than the contour lines is the wit of the queens!

In a city where even the seagulls have perfected the art of a well-executed death drop, choosing the best drag shows is like picking your favorite child – impossible, but you secretly have one. So, grab your sequined cape, because Seby and I are about to guide you through the rhinestone-studded labyrinth of performances that had us clapping so hard, we almost spilled our cosmos!

Best Sydney Gay Bars, Clubs and Nightlife

From dazzling queens that could outshine the Sydney Opera House to performances so fierce they could make a kangaroo blush, we’ve left no rhinestone unturned in our quest to tell you about the best drag shows in Sydney…it’s also why we rate Sydney as one of the most gay friendly cities in the world. So buckle up, darlings as we take you to the best Sydney gay bars, on a journey more extravagant than a drag queen’s wardrobe…

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Sydney Gay Travel Resources

Pattaya’s Supertown – Thailand’s New Gay Destination

by
Supertown - Gay Supertown Blog

Thailand is a wonderous country, it is a mix of a ancient culture and modern cities, warm beautiful beaches and cool misty mountains. Thai people are very welcoming by nature and will endeavor to make you feel most welcome!

Most major cities have a significant gay population of both Asian and Westerner and the public by & large is accepting of the lifestyle. As a vacation spot, it is hard to beat. For gay tourists it can be a wonderful destination to explore. Unlike many places, Thailand caters to gay tourists of all ages.

Pattaya / Jomtien Beach is located on the Eastern Seaboard of the Gulf Of Thailand approximately two hours south of Bangkok, the country’s Capitol. The official population stands about 100,000 but that number does not include non Thai Ex-Pats and many Thais who work here but call other provinces home.

Thailand’s Supertown Gay Complex

Jomtien Complex  south of town by about 4 km which for years seemed a “hit or miss after thought” with only a few bars and a lot of empty shophouses. A few years ago, Jomtien Complex was renamed Supertown Jomtien Walking Street to avoid confusion with a similarly named Condo.  Many locals still refer to by its former name.

Full Story at the Gay Supertown Blog

Jomtien Gay Travel Resources

Gay Cambodia With Local Aaron – The Nomadic Boys

by
Gay Cambodia With Local Aaron - The Nomadic Boys

Cambodia is surprisingly queer friendly by Asia standards – and we loved it! We easily rate it as one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly countries in Asia.

Traveling in Cambodia as a gay couple was a joy for us. We never felt discriminated against anywhere we stayed, and also discovered a pretty big scene in the main cities, particularly in Phnom Penh and in Siem Reap.

Living in Gay Cambodia

Culturally, the LGBTQ community here has a lot of visibility in society, with a small gay pride taking place in Phnom Penh every year since 2003, the Cambodian film Who Am I? in 2009 was the first to depict a lesbian couple and became a huge hit. More recently, in 2015 gay Cambodia got its first LGBT magazine called Q Cambodia and in June 2017, the government announced it would introduce a new course in schools to teach students about LGBTI issues, sexuality, and gender – an amazing feat!

However, that’s from our perspective as foreign tourists. What’s the true reality like? In Phnom Penh, we connected with our local gay friend, Aaron, who spent his childhood living on the streets of Phnom Penh for 8 years until he managed to develop a better life for himself and his family. In this interview with Aaron, he tells us about life in Cambodia and what it’s really like.

Full Story at The Nomadic Boys

Colombia Gay Travel Resources

Hanging Out in Gay Edinburgh – The Nomadic Boys

by
Hanging Out in Gay Edinburgh - The Nomadic Boys

Here is our fabulous gay guide to Edinburgh, with the best places to sleep, eat, drink, party, and more.
We hold our hands up…we are kilty of falling in love with Edinburgh!

From the ever-present visual of the castle that looms over the city to the faint sound of bagpipes you can hear on most street corners, we couldn’t help but look around in love and say aloud to ourselves “thistle do nicely.”

We spent hours wandering about the bustling Royal Mile, down the winding Victoria Street (which famously inspired JK Rowling in creating Diagon Alley), and into the thriving Grassmarket courtyard, where we found a bountiful selection of pubs and cafes. But it was the electric and kind spirit of the Scottish people that loch-ed in our deep love.

This was our second trip to Scotland together – last time focusing on the gay scene of Inverness and the gorg beauty of the Scottish Highlands. We really fell in love with the Scottish capital. Edinburgh is a city steeped in history and mysticism, with a stunning photo opportunity on every street corner.

Full Story at The Nomadic Boys

Gay Edinburgh Travel Resources

Lesbian Miami: Bars, Clubs, Events & More – Once Upon a Journey

by
Lesbian Miami - Once Upon a Journey

No matter if you are a SoFL local, it’s your first time visiting this beach town, or it’s your tenth time in this amazing city: this queer and lesbian Miami guide is for you! 

We share everything about top queer-friendly things to do in this city: bars, clubs, events, hotels, and more. So you know exactly where to go. 

Miami is one of the gayest cities in the United States and has a lot to offer. From beautiful beaches, lots of sunshine, great parties, to cultural highlights, delicious food, and a vibrant LGBTQ+ community. There’s truly something for everyone here.

Visiting Lesbian Miami

Yes, this city is famous for its amazing parties, and there are definitely some great parties for us queer women in Miami. The lesbian party Aqua Girl, for example, is one of the biggest lesbian parties in the world!

But, there are also many cultural things to do in this vibrant Southern Florida town. We absolutely love exploring the buzzing local art scene. And we will tell you all about it. Enjoy this amazing city!

Full Story at Once Upon a Journey

Lesbian Miami Travel Resources

Gay Dublin, Ireland – The Nomadic Boys

by
Gay Dublin, Ireland - The Nomadic Boys

Dublin has all of the best things in life that start with the letter D. Drinks. Dancing. Dramatic arts. And Dickie… i.e. Rock!

When people think about gay-mazing cities in Europe, Gay Dublin is often overlooked for places like Manchester or Berlin. We can’t think of a reason why a place that has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest the most times and also given birth to legendary gay icons like Oscar Wilde isn’t more highly favored amongst the gays.

Gay Dublin is Unique

For one, there is nothing like the Irish sense of humor. After all, Irish people have the best crack in all of Europe. Except they spell it “craic”, and it’s not what you’re thinking, it’s the Irish slang saying for “fun” or a “good time”. In fact, the term is so common, locals greet each other by asking ‘any craic?’ or ‘what’s the craic?’ instead of ‘hello’. So, don’t be alarmed if this happens to you whilst exploring the city!

Another is the city’s incredible energy. Half-modern, half-medieval, there are few other places you can sip a cocktail in a posh metropolitan bar within viewing distance of a castle or cathedral that is centuries old. Every street corner is embroiled in some fascinating historical event. From the iconic O’Connell Street, where you can still see the bullet holes in the GPO building from the 1916 rebellion, to Kildare Street, where Dracula writer Bram Stoker once liv

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Dublin Gay Travel Resources

Gay Germany – The Globetrotter Guys

by
Gay Germany - The Globetrotter Guys

Gay Germany is notorious for being one of the most open and friendly countries in Europe. Like many countries in Europe, Germany has a troubled past when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights but now easily can class itself as one of the most gay friendly destinations worldwide.

Same sex marriage has been legal since 2017, same-sex couples have full adoption rights, there are strong discrimination protections and transgender people can legally change their gender without surgery. From the vibrant and diverse scenes that you will find in its main cities, to the welcoming attitude of the people, you can feel at home here.

We have been lucky enough to spend time in some of Germanys biggest and gayest cities, including celebrating pride (aka Christopher Street Day) in two of the 3 gay Germany cities in this list.

Berlin – The Hedonistic Capital

Three words to describe our visit to Berlin – liberating, insane and gay! Berlin probably eats other gay cities for breakfast! There is an attitude of open mindedness across Berlin that seems to be embedded into its culture. People don’t seem to care if you are different and we really felt a sense of ‘anything goes’ and ‘you do you’.

Not only that, but it is a beautiful city, steeped in history and activities to keep you entertained all weekend unless the nightlife takes you first. Berlin has a wealth of gay nightlife, from casual bars to huge clubs and more cruising clubs that you could shake a stick at.

By Sion & Ben – Full Story at the Globetrotter Guys

Gay Germany Travel Resources

Gay China, A Local Perspective – The Nomadic Boys

by
Gay China - Nomadic Boys

China has the potential to be the gayest nation on our planet. Think about it: a country with a population of 1.5 billion people. That’s a billion! You do the maths, how many gays does that work out to…?

Today, the country is slowly emerging from an oppressive Communist rule under which homosexuality was criminalized and seen as a mental illness. It wasn’t until 1997 when it was legalized and then subsequently declassified as a mental illness in 2001.

Historically it wasn’t always like this. Homosexuality in ancient China appears to have been widely accepted well before the 1800s. For example, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) literature (like the Bian Er Chai – 弁而釵/弁而钗) portrays homosexual relationships as being positive, and writings from the Liu Song Dynasty (420–479 AD) allege that homosexuality was an everyday common thing!

The fabulous LGBTQ folk we met during our travels as a couple in gay China were confident of progressive change – albeit very slowly. During our trip in Xi’an we met the awesome Cass Chen who sat us down and gave us this interview about his experience growing up gay in China.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Gay China Travel Resources

Gay Vancouver – The Nomadic Boys

by
Gay Vancouver - The Nomadic Boys

Greenpeace, Ryan Reynolds, Hayden Christensen, and Botox – what do they all have in common?
Vancouver!

That’s right, they were all created in this super cool city located right on the far West coast of Canada. Vancouver is the capital of the British Columbia Province, famous for being one of the most diverse regions of Canada. It is also nicknamed “The Hollywood of the North” due to its popularity as a filming location for TVs/movies after LA and NYC. Oh, and did we mention the part about Ryan Reynolds and Hayden Christensen?

We visited Vancouver several times on our trips to Canada and always have a fantastic time. As well as a bustling Gay Village over at Davie Street, Vancouver has tons of fun things to do, with the mountains on its doorstep and the natural paradise of Vancouver Island a short ferry ride away.

Most importantly of all, we found gay Vancouver to be a very tolerant city, accepting of everyone. We frequently saw many gay couples walking the streets hand-in-hand all across town and felt comfortable to do the same. Of course, this comes as no surprise as this is Canada, a country we absolutely adore and rate as the most gay friendly country in the world.

In this detailed gay guide to Vancouver, we summarise our experience discovering the gay scene of Davie Village, as well as some of the best things to do in the city, gay hotels to stay and more practical tips for LGBTQ travellers.

Davie Street: The Gay Vancouver Village

Vancouver’s gay village, also known as the Davie Village, is the heart of the city’s LGBTQ community. It is based mainly along Davie Street between Jervis Street and Burrard Street. This is where the majority of the queer bars and clubs are. Although it’s not as big as the scene of Montreal or Toronto, it’s just as fun.

There is also a more bohemian area popular with the lesbian community of the city at Commercial Drive, called “The Drive” over in East Vancouver, which we did not visit so have not covered in this guide.

Gay Amsterdam – The Nomadic Boys

by
Gay Amsterdam - The Nomadic Boys

We love visiting gay Amsterdam. Whether it’s for a city break, romantic weekend or a party, we always know we’re going to have a terrific time.

Whilst Amsterdam is most famous for its “coffeeshops” where you can smoke joints legally, it is also culturally rich with world-class museums and has the most distinctive urban landscape. The city is dominated by water, with 165 canals, around 500 bridges, lots of cute narrow cobblestone streets and many many many bicycles! It’s so picturesque that the network of canals in the 17th-century historic old town (called the “Canal Ring“) was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

The city is also super gay, which is unsurprising given that it is the capital city of one of the most queer friendly countries in the world. It is one of the few places where we feel comfortable walking the streets holding hands and don’t feel like we first have to look over our shoulders to do that safety check! It also has some fantastic parties, plenty of LGBTQ+ hangouts, lots of events and the most unpronounceable gay village ever! We’ve summarised it all right here in our detailed gay Amsterdam travel guide.

First time in Gay Amsterdam?

One of our favourite ways to get a feel of Amsterdam is on a gay tour, in particular the ones offered by Gaily. They do a series of different tours in Amsterdam which we’ve tried, love and highly recommend, especially to first-timers. A local will take your hand and guide you through the touristic highlights of the city by day and will also show you around the Reguliersdwarsstraat scene by night.

Full Story at The Nomadic Boys

Gay Amsterdam Travel Resources