As this is my first time overseas I cannot help much out with contributing to the forum, so forgive me that I would be so bold so as to ask a question of the group when I have never yet given any help out before. But I have been following this board for the past three months. Sawatdee has been very helpful in planning my long vacation through much of asia, basing myself here, since "taking the package" and maybe never going back to work again. I am even thinking of eventually retiring in Pattaya.

I left my 1999 Spartacus Gay Guide at home. I don't think I really thought that it could get confiscated by Homeland Security but I would certainly have been VeRy embarrassed had they found it in my luggage. I keep it in a zipped cover, But all they would have to do is open it during the search and, well,  ... ! Anyway, I found the guide to be rather out of date on my last trip a year ago to Davenport, Chicago, Milwaulkie, and Saginaw and really feared it may be too out of date in Asia to be worth its weight for my current trip so I just left it at home at the last minute. I didn't think I would mIsS it, but actually I do.

There were some very helpful, nice and friendly young Thai guys sitting in a group around the table next to me in the restaurant next to the pool very late two rainy nights ago. One even offered to help me carry my heavy laptop back to my room. They gave me a couple leads on where to go. Their English was a little broken but directions seemed sufficient. Unfortunately I was unable to locate one at either bookstore. I asked at the counters and both times, after a bit of searching of the computer, was just told things like "no have" and "cannot". I will be here a whole two weeks but they seemed unwilling to inquire about ordering it, and would not give me a price.

Let's see. I found it online at Amazon UK amazon.co.uk/Spartacus-International-Gay-Guide-2008/dp/386187783X for 15# (discounted from #20). Let's see, that would be 15#/1.288 is 12 Eu is US16.5 * 31 = about 520 baht. Is thsi what I should pay in Thailand?

That was the 2008 issue at Amazon UK. Hmmm, I wonder if the 2009 issue will be out soon?

Anyway, I really would like to get the most updated Spartacus Guide before I take my side trips to Japan, KL, Singapore etc. Can anybody please help me and tell me where in Bangkok it is that I will find a most recent issue of the Spartacus Gay Guide? How much will it cost (I really HATE to get cheated, you know).

Why not use the internet instead to find gay places? Spartacus will be outdated....and difficult to get in Thailand now that Bookazine has been taken over by Asia Books.

http://www.fridae.com has good coverage of SE Asia
http://www.thailandscene.com has current listings for Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
http://www.utopia-asia.com also has lots of information.

There are lots of other goods sites that can give lots of details of gay places too.

Try Dosa Books near Emporium on Sukumvit.  Not sure of exact address but I think it is near Soi 20 or 21.  The store is owned and run by a gay american guy and he is a wealth of info as well.

TravelerGymBkk wrote:

As this is my first time overseas I cannot help much out with contributing to the forum,

Anyway, I really would like to get the most updated Spartacus Guide before I take my side trips to Japan, KL, Singapore etc. Can anybody please help me and tell me where in Bangkok it is that I will find a most recent issue of the Spartacus Gay Guide? How much will it cost (I really HATE to get cheated, you know).

my experience of Spartucas is they are obsolete before they are printed

You need to find forums similar to this in Japan, KL, Singapore

subscribe to www.usguyjguy.org
for japanese info. It takes a minute or two well worth while

Well I WILL put Dosa on the list, for sure, but for a more patient and cooler day, maybe Sunday. I was recently in Sukhumvit, Thonglor, looking for a sauna that wasn't there. I'm not sure what website it was but it was DEFINITELY outdated information and the early evening traffic was hot and horrible in the pouring rain through the whole Sukhumvit area and I just watched as the fare turned up and up. Not a great position to be in after a beer on a weak bladder!

I was told to go to a Bookzine behind the MacDonalds. I found a different bookstore. They were rather blunt on not having "any KINDS of alternative books, sir".

I also went to a HUGE bookstore upper floor in a shopping mall with an Aquarium. It was hours looking around, no avail :-)

I just tried calling another(?) Bookzine on Silom. They didn't seem to understand the question.

But thanks for the web site leads. I had never heard of Fridays or Utopia.

Maybe I will try to email Bruno Gmunder and ask them who their Bangkok distributor is.

Has anyone actually BOUGHT a Spartacus Guide here and can save me a little time?

I know that last year they were looking for a new distributor here (I was approached by them), and Bookazine used to carry it, but no longer does so since being taken over by Asia Books.

Woah... I don't see much point in wasting so many hours hunting for a book, especially when you're on holidays with so many other things to experience and enjoy!

And especially when there is better and easier to access information online... which doesn't require carrying 1,300 pages around.

Utopia is a good place to start for Asia. It doesn't list every venue and isn't always up to date but it covers a lot of countries quickly.

Also... I don't think anyone's going to care about or really notice a gay guide in your luggage... unless it's got pictures of stark naked men on the cover or something.

If you feel a little lost without the guide, maybe order it from Amazon and have it sent to your residence in Thailand... or if shipping is too slow have it sent ahead to where you're staying in one of the other countries. Call the hotel to let them know to expect the package.

... along the walkway to the gay beach, basically near enough opposite where everyone park their motor cycles before going on the gay beach, there is a newspaper shop, they sell Spartacus.  But you are in BKK, so probably not much help but if you are in Pattaya, that is where they have a copy.

It's really a wonder that the Spartacus Guide still exists.  With the internet, there is no reason whatsoever to own one.

When I was in Phuket recently, I saw 2 Thai gay magazines lying around the reception. These are mostly in English and are offered free-of-charge. They're quite informative. You could probably get a copy at gay-friendly hotels or venues in Thailand.

Alternatively, visit their online versions at:
http://spicemag.net/
http://thaipuan.com/

luvthai wrote:

Try Dosa Books near Emporium on Sukumvit.  Not sure of exact address but I think it is near Soi 20 or 21.  The store is owned and run by a gay american guy and he is a wealth of info as well.

I think luvthai is correct on this location.  I found the shop by accident one afternoon after a stop at NoBody and rather than walk back to the closer (Phrom Phong) BTS station I decided to go to Asoke.  I don't remember the name of it but he's most likely correct about that, too.  It's on the odd-numbered-soi side of the street and is just a single wide, non-descript bookshop, mostly used books.  I'd been looking for an out of print book on Thai culture for five years and he had three copies in his shop.  Had a nice visit with the guy, too. Well worth a browse!

As for your quest for the Spartacus guide: I heartily agree with the earlier advice.  The information online is going to be more current by months, at least -- you have a wider variety of opinions, locations and suggestions, it's less to lug around and one less thing to flag the interest of customs when re-entering the US.  Print out some relevant info from the web and then leave it behind when you go home.  

As for what’s proper and what’s not, even if it's not what you'd consider porn, it might be to an inspector if you're really trying to fly under the radar when coming home.  

If you’re picked for a random inspection and get some bluenose that thinks the Spice, Bangkok Variety or even the single sheet gay business map you picked up at Telephone is a red flag, the choice about a detailed expression is most definitely NOT “up to you”!  



There are quite a number of threads on the forum about inspections and the likes.  They’re worth doing a search for.

Why would anyone need any gay guide in Bangkok?

Why would anyone post a photo of their belly here?  

So is the Spartacus guide still on sale ??

The last time I took notice of it was when I and a friend booked into an in-expensive hotel in Paris, highly recommended by Spartacus.

When we returned from a night on the town, with our resppective pick-ups there was a terrible set-to with the manager. I hotly announced that I was reporting him to Spartacus as certainly not "gay friendly" and he responded.."for God's sake please do..I never wanted to be in there and I can't stand all you old poofs turning up !"

It made it very difficult to grandly storm out in a huff !

Lunchtime O'Booze wrote:

It made it very difficult to grandly storm out in a huff !

Groucho Marx said "If that's too soon you can leave in a minute and a huff."  

Henry, you didn't read the entire post.  What the OP said was "I really would like to get the most updated Spartacus Guide before I take my side trips to Japan, KL, Singapore etc."

As for showing his belly - I guess he just wants to share it.  Maybe he doesn't own a retriever.