Searching for male strippers in Bangkok

The testicle on the well formed man dangles a few feet from my face, his hips moving rhythmically to the sounds of the techno beat. (Now there's a sentence I never thought I would say, much less publicize on the Internet.) 

Before I go on, let me explain how I found myself in this uncomfortable position. It started as an easy enough assignment. Thailand is known for its anything-goes sex industry, and stag parties are simple to organize and host. But what about a hen party, that final blowout before a women commits herself to the institution of marriage?

In Thailand, there are no Chippendales dancers or legitimate businesses you can just call up and order male strippers from. Everything is behind a veil of secrecy, therefore an investigation was needed. But the biggest question was where to start.

First of all, it’s incredibly difficult to get past the façade of Thai conservatism. Most of the newlyweds I spoke to said the hen parties their friends held for them were quiet little outings to the beach. Nothing like those drunken stripper-filled nights out on the town many women in the West love to hold for their friends.

So there I was, without a lead. This story seemed to be headed nowhere fast. Until a gay friend tells me there is a beach in Jomtien outside of Pattaya about an hour and a half away from Bangkok where women can hire male strippers to dance at their chosen venue.

For Western men, head to the beach

Aimlessness is replaced by trepidation as the realization dawns on me that the only way to get the whole story is to actually head into Pattaya and check the scene out with my own eyes.

Pattaya is a seaside resort renowned for its sin, a prostitution and mafia-filled den of inequity that would make the perfect backdrop to a bad Hollywood movie, possessed by a foulness so evil that Darth Vader would feel intimidated here. It is in this city that I find myself, gay friend in tow, searching for male strippers for my nonexistent bachelorette party. And according to my friend, Pattaya is the only place in Thailand where you can hire Western men for the job. 

We soon find what we are looking for. Sure enough there are Eastern European-looking men loitering around the front of bars. Prices for the men of course vary, but they are willing to dance for either men or women. However, keep in mind it is illegal for people to work in Thailand without a work permit so enquire and hire at your own risk.

In any event, the lesson I quickly learn in all this is that Bangkok’s gay community is the best place to head if you want to plan a wild bachelorette party. As soon as I'm back in the city, another gay friend calls to say he heard about my assignment and tells me to tag along to a hen party he is hosting for one of his female friends. Calls are made, a tux is dry-cleaned and a few days later I find myself face to face with the dangling scrotum.

'Take it off! Take it off!'

The pretense of the party is a small gathering of friends, together for a wine-tasting course. What the guests don't know is that the waiters are actually strippers -- and do the job quite well, one might add.

The entire crowd is hushed. Tension is in the air. It lingers silently for a moment, before erupting into a mass euphoria of uninterrupted hoots and catcalls when the men begin to undress.

“Take it off! Take it off!” “More, more!”  All that decorum maintained moments earlier is now lost amidst a Dionysian onslaught of hormones and repressed sexuality. The muscular strippers, who seconds ago had been the picture of respectability, now egg on their eager onlookers with hip thrusts and erotic movements. This is not your usual crowd either -- every lady there is a member of Thailand’s posh high society.

The hotel itself is surprisingly up market, a five-star affair, and if you pay a little extra they will allegedly rent you the waiter costumes and prepare all the catering. The strippers, we are told, came from the Tawan Boy Bar on notorious gay-bar strip Surawongse, which will reportedly hire out muscular men for hen parties and girls nights out. 

The verdict

If you want to hold a hen’s party with strippers your best bet is to hire them from a gay bar and hold the party at a private venue. Or, if you don't mind being surrounded by men, just take your crowd to the gay bar (check out this CNNGo article on the city's hottest gay bars). Bonus: You won't get hassled by men trying to take you home for the night. 

We advise against checking out Bangkok’s ‘lady-toy’ bars, which offer male escorts for hire. Not only is prostitution illegal in Thailand, but, as a recent Bangkok Post article explains, customers can be intimidated by the waiters and security staff and hassled to buy high-priced drinks for themselves and their ‘dates’. The scene can also get pretty shady, with reports that the men for hire often expose their genitals -- some wearing a condom -- whether on the stage or approaching female customers at a table.  That’s probably a bit more full on than most ladies want from a harmless hen’s night out with the girls.