Asia offers so much for gay travellers. Whether you’re looking for rich cultural experiences, magnificent natural wonders or exciting gay parties, Asia’s got it all.
We’ve put together all our experiences and adventures from our travels in Asia including travelling on the Trans-Siberian Railway through Russia, camping with Mongolian nomads in the Gobi Desert, hiking with Sherpas in the Himalayas of Nepal, partying in the awesome gay bars of Bangkok, trying fried scorpions and tarantulas in Cambodia and standing in awe at the Great Wall of China outside of Beijing.
Asia is generally a very conservative continent and not as gay friendly as Europe and America. It therefore pays to be careful in Asia, particularly in countries where homosexuality is illegal (like in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia) or it’s such a taboo that being open can get you into a lot of trouble (like in Indonesia and Russia).
On the whole, we generally found Southeast Asia to be more welcoming towards LGBTQ travellers, with pockets of fabulousness in East Asia (like Japan and Taiwan) as well as in South Asia (like Nepal and India).
Our top pics for gay havens in Asia which welcome LGBTQ travellers the most include: Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Nepal and Cambodia.
Some of our favourite places that we’d go back to in a heartbeat for the gay parties include the Songkran Circuit parties in April in Bangkok and Taipei Pride in October – the largest gay event in Asia. As foodies, we were particularly enthralled by the thalis of India, the curries of Sri Lanka, anything Japanese(!), and the delicious street food across Thailand and Malaysia. As divers, we loved the coral reefs around Indonesia’s Komodo National Park, Japan’s tropical southern Yaeyama islands and El Nido in the Philippines.
Some of our most popular gay travel content about Asia includes:
Below you’ll find our latest content relating to gay travel in Asia, from city guides, country travel guides, inspiring content detailing our experiences, and more!
Read about the time we stumbled on the only gay bar in Mongolia called Hanzo in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. For as long as I’ve known my crazy Stefan …
From Balcony to Stranger Bar, Hugs to Circus, the gay scene of Bangkok is next-level fierce! We always look for an excuse to stop over in the Thai capital whenever …
Our gay guide to Bangkok has all the information you need including the best gay hotels to stay, gay bars, where to play and practical safety tips. “OMG Stefan, we …
Our friend Aaron from Phnom Penh tells us about gay life in Cambodia and what it’s like growing up gay there. Cambodia is surprisingly gay friendly by Asia standards – …
This is our complete travel guide to Koh Adang in Thailand including transportation, entrance fees, accommodation, things to do and more… Whilst Koh Adang has nothing to do with Alex …
This is our Luang Prabang itinerary for you to work out how many days you will need to see the top sights in this magnificent city in Laos. Are you …