How I Became A Startled Traveler In Patong Beach
As I rode in the van from the airport, I wondered which part of Patong Beach my hotel was located. It was my first visit to Thailand and I wanted a place within walking distance of the main nightlife area, known as the walking street..
I had gone to Airbnb to find a place and got what seemed to be a screamin’ deal – a place a couple blocks away from the walking street, clean and modern from the pictures, and only for about $30 a night (the time of year was September).
The van dropped me off but I did not see the hotel. I had to make a few inquires and was instructed to walk around a kind of round block off the main street. I walked behind some small businesses and emerged into a kind of courtyard with several nightclubs in front of me. Hmm, this looked promising, I thought.
I found the hotel and when the person behind the counter was checking me in, I picked up a small magazine that I assumed was the local tourist publication. I started flipping through it and saw a bunch of photos of shirtless men. And then more than shirtless. I looked around me and out the door was a hanging sign with two men locked in a sexual embrace.
“Oh NO, I’m in a gay hotel in the gay area!.” I screamed to myself.
It was too late to try and find another hotel – I would not even know where to begin to look – so I took the key and went to my room.
It was okay, nothing special, but the air conditioner did not work so they moved me to another room. That one was nicer – it was bright, had plenty of space and had a decent-sized patio overlooking the courtyard.
The nightclubs in that courtyard, I quickly learned, were the gay clubs.
Being a completely straight person, I at first felt a big uncomfortable but that quickly subsided. I even passed a girl (and attractive one at that) in the stairwell and we exchanged a brief laugh as she obviously was as surprised as me at the hotel. I was, of course, hoping we could turn that laugh into more laughs over drinks and then into a night of turning one of our rooms into a hetrosexual encounter. But, alas, she just smiled and walked past me. I never saw her again.
I wound up liking the room. I spent more time in it than I had ever envisioned because it rained on three of my four days there. Two afternoons, it poured. But that was okay, for the hotel had an excellent Internet connection and I was able to spend time working on PubClub.com.
The hotel staff was also friendly and I wound up having a nice experience.
As I departed, I wondered why nobody in any Airbnb review mentioned the fact that this hotel was in the middle of the gay nightlife area. One reviewer stated that it was loud at night because of the music coming out of the bars. I found this not to be a problem and of course I was out every night anyway – in another part of town, of course.
I can’t stay I will stay there again if I ever go back to Patong Beach, but if I do wind up there, I would not mind it at all.
Cheers!
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