Jatujak, Chatuchak, JJ’s, whatever you call it Bangkok’s Weekend Market is a swap meet on steroids, a SE Asian street market gone wild, a shopaholic’s paradise, and a great place to get your gay on. Fashion queens will salivate over the oodles of local designer’s shops, all offering trendy clothing for the price of a song. Bling can be bought by the pound, although it’ll only cost you a tuppence. It’s the cheapest place in town to purchase tacky souvenirs, or for those with a more discriminating taste you can find some truly unique mementos that scream Thailand, often handmade by a local artist and often one-of-a-kind. And then there are the boys. As well as those who once were boys.
By numbers alone with the sheer mass of humanity that shows up at the Weekend Market you can assume 5-10% fly the rainbow flag in their heart. Add in the thousands of shop vendors and the draw of one of Bangkok’s premier shopping destinations and the percentage balloons thanks to the gay man’s love affair with the retail trade. Cruising the warren of small sois that make up the market is part of the fun of spending your Saturday at Chatuchak. You can find some great bargains at the Weekend Market. And possibly a new friend too. And that’s just before the sun goes down.
Officially Chatuchak closes at 6 pm. Unofficially, that’s just when the real fun begins. The older touri crowd heads for a night of gawking at the risque elements and high street market prices of Patpong’s Night Market, the Euro-Trash doing SE Asia on a budget head home to Khaosan Road, and the local hipsters begin to claim JJ’s as their own. A small quasi-legal market where stalls are replaced by blankets spread out on the pavement opens up selling everything from screen-printed t-shirts made by the guy selling them, to retro collectibles, to cheap knock-offs of whatever’s been recently knocked-off, to an eclectic array of secondhand merchandise that only a Thai could love. Spread along the main drag between gates 2 & 3 from 6pm until around 8-ish – or until the Boys In Brown make an appearance – it’s a more local and younger crowd, many of whom move from making a buck or nabbing a deal to partying their ass off as the shopping part of the evening dies down and the drinking part of the night begins. It’s also a great time to start getting your gay on.
The Silom ghetto with the pubs of Soi 4, the clubs on Soi 2, and the gogo bars on Soi Twilight, is the usual hangout for gay touri. It’s where you go for a sense of gayja vu and/or when your companion for the evening will be a commercial one. Die-hard sex touri may expand their boundaries and head for the cheaper, sleazier sex clubs, the small dingy hole-in-the-wall places that sprang up around the muscle marys’ nirvana of Tawan on and around Soi Tarntawan. Some gay visitors even brave the more local gay bars of Ratchada, Ramkhamheang ( AKA Lamsalee Junction), Saphan Kwai, and Or Tor Kor. But without a Thai friend or two in tow in those areas they may feel like a fish out of water – especially if they stumble into one of the lesbian bars, or try to ‘cuz several of those only allow entrance to real fish. Truth be told, if you are looking for the typical gay touri One Night In Bangkok experience – regardless of how many nights that lasts – the Silom ghetto is your best bet. Especially if you equate being gay with getting laid. At whatever the cost.
But if your world is larger than the experience of paying for a happy ending, if you are a gay who can be happy with nothing more than a fun night out surrounded by like-minded individuals, if you’ve come to the realization that your penis isn’t the only gay part of you, you may want to give Chatuchak a try. And with the right attitude, you might still end up making your best buddy’s night.
Ratchada is where the younger, local, university kids head; if you are over 30, on the prowl, and don’t have a Thai friend with you your night will not end happily. On the other hand hitting clubs like Ratchada Soi 8 – where you can drool over the coyote dancers – or G-Star Pub, with its world of whiskey-guzzling hormonal local lads and spiky-haired university students, can be a fun night out if you go with some Thai friends.
Or Tor Kor, located across the road from Chatuchak (and often referred to as the same) attracts a slightly more mature, but still predominately local crowd. Fake Club is the most popular venue and is often packed to the rafters. Obama Bangkok is less frantic, less cramped, but a whole lot more camped thanks to its grating ladyboy emcee. And El Ninyo goes for the truly fabulous with its extravagant ladyboy cabaret show, replete with lots of exaggerated lip syncing and over the top costumes. The whole strip is like one big club; you can hang out outside or go inside any of the clubs lining the sidewalk to dance your ass off. But like Ratchada, you’ll have more fun if you speak Thai, or have some Thai friends with you when you hit the Or Tor Kor clubs. It is not a new prowling ground for older farang sex touri. This is Bangkok, not Pattaya.
The scene at Or Tor Kor isn’t specifically gay either. Younger gays no longer feel the need to build ghetto walls around their favorite haunts. ‘Mixed’ is the name of the game these days. And that’s a good thing. Straight eye candy is just as delicious, and you never know when one of those straight boys is actually a closeted gay boy out for the night while flying under the gay radar a mixed atmosphere offers. The result is a classic gay clubbing night in true Thai style, where you never really know which of the boys likes playing with boys’ toys. And which may decide to start whistling a new tune.
And that holds true back inside Chatuchak Market where Viva has been a gathering place for gays, might-be-gays, who cares if they are gay, and those oblivious to the gayness surrounding them since 1998. Viva does not advertise itself as a gay bar. It does not cater to a predominately gay clientele, even if on most nights that’s what you’ll find there. It’s a small, happening place that will make you rethink what the Weekend Market is really all about. And for a gay visitor it’s the closest thing you’ll find to a gay version of Cheers in Bangkok. Without all the white faces. Or money exchanging hands in hopes of exchanging body fluids later. Everyone there might not know your name, but regardless of your age or where you come from you’ll be warmly welcomed just the same.
A local bar-cum-furniture store, the chic interior decor shop turns into a jumping bar after dark while retaining it’s typical Chatuchak stall flavor. Not quite as happening during the day, Viva is still a great little spot to stop for a cold one during your shopping melee. And it still attracts a large gay clientele before the sun goes down too. Or I should say ‘they’ do. Viva has two locations inside of Chatuchak. The original, diminutive and laid-back Viva is in Section 26 (Stall 149, Soi 6) near the antique shops and small restaurants. The newer, larger branch in Section 8 on the main drag by Gate #2 is where after dark a DJ cranks up the tunes and the retail operation transforms into a funky bar offering live music and a friendly crowd. A stall opposite Viva is opened up every weekend night and becomes a stage where the band plays. And by 8pm it’s standing room only, with the crowds spilling over into the surrounding sois.
It is probably not the gay Bangkok you know and love. Viva is not a meat market. It’s a place to hang out with friends. Or make new friends. Because you enjoy their companionship. Not because you are hoping they’ll end up in your bed. Not that that is out of the question – face it, gay guys are equal opportunity employers when it comes to their penis, but if you do it’ll be because you were a fun guy to be around and not because you have a large wallet. Moneyboys have not made Viva one of their hangouts, and fortunately neither have those who make up their clientele.
What you will find at Viva is a fun crowd made up of locals and visitors, gays and straights, vendors from the market tipping a few before headed home, Or Tor Kor partiers tipping a few before the nearby clubs open, and, of course, some drag queens. There are single gay guys, gay couples, 30-something hipsters, straight backpackers of both genders . . . it’s truly a mixed crowd but with enough wearing the pink you’ll feel right at home. You can just as easily find yourself sharing a few shots with a wizened old local woman who spent the day selling fried insects at the market as a hot Thai guy looking to practice his English. Or looking to satisfy his curiosity with a friendly farang.
It’s a good place to allow fate to rule the day, to open yourself to friendship and possibility, and to be free of any agenda save having a good time. And isn’t that what travel is all about? Besides, with the party winding down around 10-ish, you still have plenty of time to head back to Silom to buy a happy ending if a fun night out on the town didn’t suffice.
(I thought I’d post a handful of phots from Viva’s Facebook page, just to give ya an idea of the bar and its clientele.)
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roguebearsf said:
Your market research is greatly appreciated. I had heard of some sort of mixed, gay bar after hours at the market, but that was about it. Always looking for a new adventure and this sounds like a fun place to take my Thai friends. We compete in finding different experiences to surprise each other. This sounds like a winner.
Bangkokbois said:
Thanks RB, looked like there was an interest in the place so I chatted with a fellow blogger who originally told me about Viva and got more info. And then it turns out I know the bar and usually stop for an iced coffee when I’m at the market during the day. Let me know how you and your friends like it after you visit.
Glenn said:
Very interesting. Some year I will have to check JJ out.
Here’s a tumblr for your collection http://singa61.tumblr.com/
Bangkokbois said:
Thanks Glenn, and thanks for the link. Preparing for your trip to Singapore are we?
🙂
Glenn said:
Singapore and Taiwan. Headed to Taipei for their big Pride event and some other things. Stopping in BKK for 3 days in between since I am in the neighborhood.
Bangkokbois said:
Nice!
I saw pix from last year’s Pride in Taipei – looks like a hell of a lot of fun!
Hendrikbkk said:
You are such an auntie to Christian, but you are right, this way he will never meet the (underwear) man of his dreams. Christian, probably the most famous gay in Thailand (for several reasons…) never fails to amuse me, such a different person he is with his PhD, Thai language skills and relative youth.
I hope in return of your suggestion to go to Viva at Weekendmarket, he will give us a trip report, including all the Christian aspects, such as money spend, transportation, level of sound, boys and other adventures.
PS I myself won’t go, the pictures of straight guys in tank tops, made me puke. Too much eastern Europe trailer park.
Bangkokbois said:
Well since smoking is no longer allowed at the Weekend Market that’ll be one thing he doesn’t have to complain about.
And I doubt (god I hope!) those two guys are not still there . . .
Alex said:
I go to Or Tor Kor every now and then, I’ve always had a great time there. It’s true that it makes sense to bring your own fan club along, at least if you’re shy and/or Thai language impaired. The gay venues are actually on the same side of Kamphaeng Phet Road like Chatuchak Weekend Market itself, and an easy walk from both Kamphaeng Phet MRT station and the weekend market. It’s the Or Tor Kor market that gives the gay venues their name (a fresh market, Or Tor Kor = Thai Farmers Association) that is located on the opposite site of the road. El Ninyo has been closed since quite a while and I’ve never been to (or even heard of) Obama, but Fake Club, Fake Cafe and Mixzer are still in business.
In Ratchada, even more has changed, the Soi 8 bars aren’t actually in Soi 8 anymore at all. The former “Soi 8” club has moved to another location nearby MRT Huay Khwang and is now called “Soi 8 Redbeat” (I liked the original MUCH better), G-Star has also moved to Huay Khwang, but is somewhat hidden and not really in close proximity to the MRT station. Still, worth a trip with a group of naughty Thais.
And let’s not even talk about Ramkhamhaeng. 😉
Bangkokbois said:
Thanks Alex, we checked out Or Tor Kor last year, Ratchada the year before that, so your updated knowledge is appreciated. I don’t know if the individual clubs are all that important as is the general atmosphere and types of patrons each area attracts. But I do want to check out Ramkhamhaeng again, the time Noom and I went there was during the floods so everything was kinda dead.
xiandarkthorne said:
Viva. Hhmmm…Viva. Are you sure you got the spelling right? From what I saw in your earlier post, I’d have thought they actually wanted to spell it with ‘u’ and an ‘l’ after that between the two V’s.
Pretend artsy-fartsy (even with pink and/or fake blonde hair) doesn’t cut it as sleaze! Where are the Soi Twilight posts? YOU’RE SLIPPING!
Bangkokbois said:
lol
Man cannot live on sleaze alone.
xiandarkthorne said:
I’m jolly well going to try!
ChristianPFC said:
“a fun night out surrounded by like-minded individuals”
I think therein lies the problem. I go to hook up, others go to party. In general, I don’t like discos, they are too loud and too late for me, the only reason I go is to hook up. There is some hope, the first night in Chachoengsao (where the boys invited me to their table) was fun, even though I had to go home alone.
I wonder: have you been to all the places you mention? I have been, but to some places only once and spread over three years. I wonder because your language is this undefined, interchangeable general stuff. (You know, there are people* who write about places they haven’t been to, they use the same language.)
*hint: the one I’m referring to starts with “beach” and ends with “lover”
Bangkokbois said:
Yeppers, therein does lay the problem. I read your posts on the boards today and it appears you’ve identified some behaviors that need altering. So I’ll leave it at that and cross my fingers on your behalf. As for the Beachball reference, usually any place I write about is from personal experience. Not so with Viva, which you may have been tipped off to from my Bangkok Shorts post which said, “On my list of things to do is a gay club at the Weekend Market that I keep hearing about.” I chatted with a fellow blogger – the guy from whom I first heard of this place – for more details (and then discovered this is the same bar at Chatuchak I regularly hit during the day, so technically I’ve been there too. Just not at night. Yet.).
ChristianPFC said:
“the general atmosphere and types of patrons each area attracts” I did not notice any difference in the various gay discos (Thai for Thai; DJ station is different) that I visited. (Too much focused on finding someone to take home?)
If you go to Ramkhamhaeng Soi 89/2 in daytime, you will see that it is close to Klong Saen Saeb, diagonally opposite The Mall Bangkapi. That puts it in walking distance from the canal boat pier. Unfortunately, the discos get active late, and there are no boats at night.
I almost made it to Viva on Sunday. But then a friend messaged me if I want to join him in Sake, so I did. And oh wonder: despite slight rain, paying for everything and not getting laid, I had a good time.
Bangkokbois said:
“despite slight rain, paying for everything and not getting laid, I had a good time.”
Fuck me! Now I have to start watching for flying pigs!
🙂