Action Sauna (Causeway Bay, Hong Kong)

I went to Hong Kong early this year for vacation. It was my first time to visit the former British colony and I must say that the city’s skyline is quite breathtaking! I wish I could have stayed for more than the few days I spent there, but I couldn’t stay away from work too long and the budget wasn’t enough. I will definitely go back there one day.

Anyway, I’ve read that the gay scene in HK is quite big (my main source of information is Utopia Asia) and so I definitely included visiting some of the PLU establishments in my itinerary. However, I didn’t have enough time since there was so much else of HK to see, so I was only able to visit 2 gay bathhouses out of a total of around 15. The first bathhouse I was able to visit was Action, and the second was CE.

I really, really wanted to visit the Towel Club ever since I’ve heard about it (and CC’s review only reinforced my desire), but the place apparently closed down in the meantime. Too bad.

For the rest of this blog post, I will talk about Action. CE will be tackled in the future.

Action, located in the Causeway Bay district, is the newest establishment of the largest chain of gay bathhouses in Hong Kong, ABC-gateway. The other bathhouses are ABC in Tsim Sha Tsui, Alexander in Mongkok, and Gateway in Wanchai. Action is open 24 hours on Saturdays and it was on a Saturday afternoon that I found myself there.

I don’t remember anymore how much the entrance fee was (I think it was about 100 HK$, around 500 pesos) but that was all I paid to get inside. No membership registration was required and I didn’t have to show any ID, just like with 24 Kaikan in Tokyo. (This is the main difference between local and foreign bathhouses I’ve visited.)

As far as bathhouses go, Action’s amenities are better than any bathhouse in the Philippines. Only Club Bath comes close. Of course, Action has a CR, a set of shower stalls, and a locker area. The place also has a sauna, a steam room, and a tanning machine. The locker room has a nice vanity area having complete supplies: alcohol, powder, hair gel, earbuds, skin lotion, mouthwash, etc. There’s a den with a sofa, a TV showing local shows, and magazines. There’s also an Internet room with 3 PC terminals. Action has an AV room with matresses covering the floor and a TV showing porn. There’s a dark maze and an kink room featuring a sling. And there are several rooms with beds where people can lock themselves up to have some private fun. In all the rooms where you can expect guys to have sex, there is an ample supply of condoms, tissue and lube. Nice!

By the way, while Action is billed as “The Nude Sauna,” towels were actually provided so I didn’t go around in the buff.

Surprisingly, it seemed that the whole place was manned by only one staff member (at least during the time I visited), and he was the one minding the counter at the entrance.

How was the crowd? I guess I went there not at the busiest time since there were only several other guys there. All were Asians except for this one chubby white dude. The age range was from the late 20s to 40s, and most were of average looks. I am partial to chinito guys but I didn’t find anyone there that I would really have a crush on. I did however managed to have fun with the attention and servicing I got. Hehe.

Given the choice, I’d probably try the place again. It’s a clean and comfortable place to spend some time in and I really want to see how the clientele is during peak times.

Action is located at the second floor (called the 1st floor in Hong Kong) of the Overseas Building along Hennessy Road. You get to the second floor via a really old elevator. The building’s entrance can be seen in the following Google Street View:

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24 Kaikan (Shinjuku Ni-chome, Tokyo)

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Arty Farty (Shinjuku Ni-chome, Tokyo)

Inspired by the Corporate Closet’s IJ post about a bathhouse in Osaka, I decided to blog about the gay scene in Tokyo which I’ve had the chance to explore a bit during the times I’ve been to Japan several years ago. Like CC, I have this curious need to check out the pink scene whenever I go abroad. Hehehe. In the case of Tokyo, the place to go to is Shinjuku Ni-chome. That’s the Tokyo equivalent of Malate’s Orosa-Nakpil area.

One of the reasons why I started this blog and why I write a lot of guide-type entries is because of my experiences in Japan. I never would have tried out the gay scene there if I wasn’t able to read about it online. (And Utopia Asia is one good resource.) So I decided to share my knowledge about the Manila scene so that other PLUs who want to try it won’t go unprepared.

A bit of a background on Japan

Before anything else, let’s talk about the guys in Tokyo. Well, there are a lot of cute and yummy guys there and chinito types are plus pogi points for me. But generally, the cuteness density in Tokyo is not so much higher than in Manila. It’s just that you get to see a whole lot more people there especially on the trains and subways that you tend to see lots of cute guys too. The high school boys were particularly cute in their uniforms.

In Japan, homosexuality is somewhat a non-issue. Before Japan opened up to the West, the country was almost like the ancient Greeks in how they dealt with gay love. Nowadays, Japan’s society have somewhat adopted the Western Christian disapproval of homosexuality. Most gay people in Japan are in the closet and because of the societal pressure to marry, there are a lot of married gay men. (You can read more in Wikipedia.)

Shinjuku Ni-chome

As I’ve said, this small area east of Shinjuku Station is the equivalent of Orosa-Nakpil in Malate and consists of several small city blocks. Shinjuku Ni-chome has about a hundred to two hundred small gay bars, clubs and cafes. Most of them can only accommodate no more than 15 people. It’s a really intimate place and most bars are usually not welcoming of strangers. Generally, each bar has a preference of its clientèle; there are the bars for the young twinks, those for the muscle beefcakes, and several for the popular chubby bears. There is supposedly a bar for any particular type you might prefer.

However, one thing common among these bars is that all of them, save for a handful or so, do not accommodate foreigners, or gaijin. Like many Filipinos, Japanese tend to stick to their own. Based on what I’ve researched back then, the only foreigner-friendly and popular bars back then were Advocates Cafe, Arty Farty, BG, and Club Dragon. I’m not sure if these still exist today.

Trying out Arty Farty

Photo taken from Flickr.

One Friday several years ago, I decided to finally try the scene out and so I swung by Shinjuku to do some advance scouting. (Yes, dapat may ocular inspection muna. Hehehe.) It was early in the evening so the area was not too crowded and I went around and around to look for these supposed four gaijin-friendly places. I found all of them except for Arty Farty. And, boy were they right when they said the bars were small. I don’t think you can pack more than 20 people inside Advocates Cafe alone.

The next day, Saturday, was my planned actual immersion to this world in Shinjuku. Before leaving for my gimik, I got on the Internet and researched some more and finally found the correct address of Arty Farty. (The Internet is your friend!) I got to Shinjuku Ni-chome at around 10 in the evening with the intention of staying up until 5 am, when the first trains start to ply their routes. (People who go out and have fun can either party till midnight and catch the last trains, or drink the night away until the trains move again.)

I wasn’t sure where to go really so I loitered around the area checking the scene out. There weren’t too many people in Advocates, and I couldn’t tell whether there were a lot of people in BG or Club Dragon. I went to where Arty Farty was located instead and after a short while a Caucasian guy went up to the door of Arty Farty and wondered how to open it. I helped him and we both got inside. Woah. There was no entrance fee!

Inside was a different world altogether. The place was packed to the brim and there were guys from all over the world having a great time. I can definitely tell that Arty Farty was the it place in Shinjuku Ni-chome, much like BED is in Malate. There were a lot of foreigners in there and the Japanese crowd is mostly between 20 to 35 years old. It’s very, very cosmopolitan. Arty Farty is also one of the exceptions to the bars in that it is large; there were probably a hundred people in there that I saw.

That said, I realized that it’s hard for me to socialize in a place like that. As I’ve said, Japanese tend to prefer other Japanese, and those that prefer gaijin prefer the white guys. Well, the Japanese can easily tell that I’m not one of them so I’m left mostly alone. The other foreigners, on the other hand, would assume that I’m Japanese and left me alone as well. Tsk, tsk.

A did get to talk to a couple of guys. One is a Japanese who asked if I were Thai or Malaysian. (Hehe, close enough.) He invited me to go to his place, but since I had no plan of doing anything naughty (besides, he wasn’t my type), I declined his offer. The other guy is a British citizen of Sri Lankan ancestry who got curious with me. He was definitely not my type so the conversation was short.

The music was nice enough, but it’s a clubber’s nightmare. The DJ had no mixing skills at all (actually he never attempted it) and the playlist had a bunch of house music followed by several hip-hop and R&B songs followed by house music and so on. I wished it was one or the other all throughout the night and that there was decent mixing. Then again, people did dance wildly when Madonna’s “Hung Up” and “Sorry” were played back-to-back and also when a bunch of Destiny’s Child hits were brought up later, so I guess they really enjoyed the music. But it does not hold a candle to the floor-filling goodness of a good Saturday night in Bed.

I got tired with the scene in Arty Farty at around 2 am. I’ve seen enough, decided that there’s no place like back home, and wanted to go back to the place I was staying at in southern Tokyo. But it was too late to go home by then so I tried my best to enjoy myself until 5 am. I think I even napped for a while on one of the sofas there.

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Next up, I’ll talk about 24 Kaikan, the most popular chain (yes, chain!) of bathhouses in Tokyo.

Enjoy Puerto Galera, guys!

So Holy Week is upon us and that means one thing: it’s the annual gay pilgrimage to Puerto Gaylera once again! And just like last year, the date of Araw ng Kagitingan (April 9) makes it so that we have two back-to-back long weekends. In 2009, the extra long weekend was the Palm Sunday weekend. This year, it will be the weekend after Easter Sunday.

Well, just like last year, I would guess that the better long weekend to go to Galera would be the non-Good Friday weekend. The reason is because I think that the other long weekend would be not as crowded but still be gay enough that you will still have plenty of cruising opportunities if that’s your thing. Hehe.

You should check out my Puerto Galera gay guide if you haven’t yet and you’re trooping to this tropical party destination. Warning: it’s been years since I’ve been to Galera so this guide might be outdated. I would certainly appreciate very much any tips and info so I can update the guide.

So, how’s your Holy Week?

I guess it’s just a lucky coincidence that we have back-to-back long weekends this summer, like I mentioned back in January, due to the moved Araw ng Kagitingan and the Holy Week. I’m also quite sure that plenty of people took this Tuesday and Wednesday off so that they can have a 9-day vacation. And as expected, PLUs everywhere will or have already descended to the island of Mindoro to have their dose of sea, sun, sand, shore, surf, and, sex?

Even if you’ll be hitting the beaches of Puerto Galera only starting this Thursday, you can still whet your appetite by checking out my Puerto Galera guide, although it’s probably outdated already. (It’s been a few years since I’ve last been to Galera and I’m not going this year.) I’d certainly appreciate any updates or even stories from you guys.

White Beach photo from Wikipedia.

A gayer Puerto Galera this 2009 Holy Week

White Beach photo from Wikipedia.

Because of President Arroyo's Proclamation 1699, Holy Week this 2009 would most likely prove to be even gayer than usual. April 9 and April 10 are Maundy Thursday and Good Friday respectively and thus there will be no work on those days, while Araw ng Kagitingan, which normally falls on April 9, has been moved to April 6, the nearest Monday, as part of Arroyo's holiday economics. This means that there will be two adjacent long weekends and I'm quite sure many people will take the remaining Tuesday and Wednesday off and get a wonderful nine-day vacation.

It's quite obvious that many (straight) people will go to Boracay during this time and that gay people will hie off to Puerto Galera. (Head on over to my simple Puerto Galera guide for details.) I'm blogging about this early on so that you can already plan your summer getaways (make reservations, file your leaves, save up, go to the gym, etc.).

This also means that the beaches might be extra crowded so if you want to go to Puerto Galera, I suggest that you go during the April 4–6 weekend instead of the main weekend. I predict that the crowds will be lighter but it will still be gay enough that there will be plenty of opportunities to meet and play with hot guys. Hehehe.

Holy Week and Puerto Gaylera

White Beach photo from Wikipedia.

"if puerto galera sinks during holy week, ubos ang kalahati ng gay population in the philippines..."—liner

"kalahati lang kaya?"—ebe

Those two comments above on Migs' Puerto Galera post made me laugh out loud. Of course it's an exaggeration, but the fact that a significant portion of the PLU population in Metro Manila and the Southern Tagalog region converge to Puerto Galera, specifically White Beach, during Holy Week is one of those things you expect year in, year out. Like Christmas, your birthday, and President Arroyo's scandals. It's so expected, even straight people know it (so they go to Boracay instead). It's as if Malate was transported magically to the island of Mindoro. And no, I didn't go to Galera. I've been there a few times but I have never went during the Holy Week; my religious convictions get the better of me. Hehehe.

Why Holy Week? I have no idea and I don't know when this gay Visita Iglesia started. I guess it's because Holy Week is the only guaranteed long weekend during summer. Also, due to the quirky nature of setting the date of Easter Sunday, there's always a full moon during Holy Week and I guess it's appealing to cruise around at night when it's dark, but not too dark that you can't see whether the guy you're kissing is cute or not. Hehehe.

Anyway, I know it's a bit late but shown below is a map depicting the usual gay places in hot pink push pins for your reference. (Hey, the weekend after Holy Week is also a popular go-to-the-beach week, since some people like to avoid the mass of people during Holy Week that could rival the population density of Bangladesh. Plus there's the upcoming Araw ng Kagitingan long weekend so it's not as if the map is entirely useless.) I've pointed on the map the three places you should know about: Jurassic Park, Rockwell, and Zanzi Bar. Click on the push pins to know where they are.

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Jurassic Park is really just a bit of forest very near the eastern end of the beach. It's the bit of dense foliage a few tens of meters from the big boulder and the cave, and its where miraculous things happen, especially at night. At least a few years ago. I hear that the local barangay have put up a barbed-wire fence to close of the area, but I don't think it prevented gay guys from entering the forest.

On the opposite end of the beach is Rockwell. This is just a rocky area leading to Aninuan Beach. I hear that the cruisiest time is during late afternoon. (I guess it's too dangerous to navigate the area at night?) Take note that many people also go here to do some artsy photo sessions via sexy poses.

Finally, on a more wholesome level, there's Zanzi Bar, I think the only bar that proudly flies the rainbow flag. Zanzi Bar is actually just a kiosk and this is the perennial party place of Government (that gay dance club in Makati) during the Holy Week. See Henry Lim's (he's one of the owners of Government) announcement for 2008.

Tips: While gays are tolerated very much in Puerto Galera, any "public indecency" is not welcome, not even at night when everything is mostly dark. Local barangay officials are known to patrol the bar areas at night to prevent "scandals" and motorboats with powerful spotlights often glide past the beaches scanning for "unwholesome activities." You'd better best stick to kissing and necking (which you can easily cover up) if you do find some nice guys on the eastern half of White Beach at night and do the more carnal pleasures in a private room. (Sadly, there's no motel in the area, as far as I know.)

Here are some nice gay blog posts from years past about Puerto Galera: " Puerto Galera’s White Beach - Gay Capital of the Philippines?!" and " A Puerto Galera Adventure". Have you been to Puerto Galera this past week? Got any stories of your own to tell?

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Update (2010): Reader taurus top has posted some updated tips regarding White Beach, Puerto Galera. You would definitely find them useful.