Introduction: Life in bustling Saigon, a city of eight million people and six million motorbikes, is colorful, ambitious, old and modern. Gay life barely shows its face against conservative traditions. The scene is small, unorganized and subdued (non-existent in the eyes of the government). Outside Saigon and Hanoi there are little pockets of LGBT expression in the smaller cities like Hoi An and Hue. This story is followed by a News Report that further informs about the meager LGBT life in Vietnam.
Afghanistan
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Burma
Cambodia
China
East Timor
Georgia
Guam
Afghanistan – Faces and Countryside
Afghanistan is a culturally mixed nation, a crossroads between the East and the West, and has been an ancient focal point of trade and migration. It has an important geostrategical location, connecting South, Central and Southwest Asia. During its long history, the land has seen various invaders and conquerors, while on the other hand, local
Bangladesh – Chittagong City
Chittigong city is Bangladesh’s second largest metropolis with about four million people. For tourists there are only a few sights such as the War Cemetery, the Zia Museum, Shahi Jama-e mosque and a market. Not mentioned in guidebooks is the huge and haunting ship-breaking yard just north of the city. Photos 2-5 below reveal a
Hong Kong – City and Lantau Island
Hong Kong (photos 1-22) is a Chinese territory located on China’s south coast on the Pearl River Delta. It has a population of about 7 million people and is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Renowned for its expansive skyline and natural setting, Hong Kong is one of the world’s leading
India – Vijayawada-Pondicherry-Trichy
Vijayawada and Pondicherry and Tiruchirappalli in southeast India offer places of history, spirituality and commerce, as well as colorful friendly people. Just outside Pondicherry is the international city of Auroville–started in 1968–intended as a place of "human unity". At the center of the commune is the huge round meditation globe known as the Matrimandir, pictured
Indonesia – Java and Bali
Random images from two islands in Indonesia – Java and Bali Java is an island of Indonesia and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. Once the centre of powerful Hindu kingdoms and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies, Java now plays a dominant role in the economic and political life of Indonesia.
Gay Life in South Korea
Introduction: a Shifting Paradigm South Korea has been one of the most ambitious and progressive countries in Asia in the last fifty years. It’s ancient culture has assimilated, for better or worse, many western ideas and systems. Along with the changes in commerce have come alterations in human behavior and attitudes, including a recent softening
Bangkok’s Third Gay Pride Festival November 2001
Also see: Gay Thailand Stories Gay Thailand News & Reports 2000 to present Gay Thailand Photo Galleries By Richard Ammon November 2001 (981 words) Glitter and Change Fringed by a huge storm cloud thundering in the high horizon, Bangkok’s third annual Gay Pride Parade nevertheless kicked off (dry) on time and in place November 4th.
Vietnam – Hanoi and North
A two week drive around the northern third of Vietnam brought us to Hanoi, Halong Bay, the northwest mountains, Dien Bien Phu and Sapa. This abridged gallery does little justice to the beauty of the land and the variety of hill tribes in these areas. Read the stories about gay Vietnam
Bangladesh – Dhaka City (1)
Dhaka is the capitol of Bangladesh with about 11 million people. Every form and level of life is here, from upscale mansions and privileged kids playing cricket to impoverished manual workers tearing down buildings with sledge hammers as well as women picking through garbage. Traffic is intense and dense; bicycle rickshaws by the thousands clog
Cambodia – Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat Gallery
India – Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin)
At the southernmost tip of India is the city of Kanyakumari with its variety of sites including a busy fishing port, a mahatma Gandhi memorial, extensive bazaars, pilgrimage temples and offshore monuments to the spiritual guru Vivekananda and the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar. Read the stories about gay India
Indonesia – Sumatra – Lake Toba
The village of Tuk Tuk on the eastern shore of Samosir Island in the middle of Lake Toba is a real getaway place that hardly exists. A handful of shops, hotels and eateries cluster along the water’s edge offering little to do but breathe in the beauty of nature. At the small Juwita cafe Hedi
Vientiane 2001
After a period as a French protectorate, Laos gained independence in 1949. A long civil war ended officially when the communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975 but the protesting between factions continued for several years. Private enterprise has increased since the late 1990s when economic reforms including rapid business licensing were introduced.
South Korea – Seoul
Seoul is the capital of South Korea. As a Special City, it is administered directly by the national government. With over ten million people, Seoul is South Korea’s largest city and one of the most populous cities in the world. More information at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seoul Read the story about gay South Korea
Bangkok’s First Gay Pride Festival – October 1999
Also see: Gay Thailand Stories Gay Thailand News & Reports 2000 to present Gay Thailand Photo Galleries By Richard Ammon November 1999 Across the world gay thresholds continue to be crossed, venturing into new social and cultural territory, breaking open, or at least peeking into, centuries of cultural darkness regarding homosexuality. Taiwan, Tokyo, Manila, Hong
Vietnam – Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is a vast, vibrant, hectic, intense cosmopolitan city yet with room to breath and a pace calm enough to ride a bike. As the country cautiously mutates from communism to capitalism, many ambitious citizens have tasted the delights of profit and drive around in SUV’s. Still, most common folks peddle
Bangladesh – Dhaka City (2)
Dhaka is the capitol of Bangladesh with about 14 million people. Every form and level of life is here. Dhaka University is the Cambridge of Bangladesh where only the best students gain entry (photos 10-16). The huge but polluted Buriganga River (photos 21-28) slices through the city making it a port for cargo and passengers–and
Cambodia – Phnom Penh, Seam Riep
Cambodia – Phnom Penh, Seam Riep
India – Kochi/Cochin
Kochi is an appealing delight for visitors and natives with its high-rise modern buildings on one side (Ernakulam) of its large shipping port and many historic charming European-style buildings and markets on the other in the Mattancherry colonial district. The old European buildings and ambiance attract many tourists. Vasco da Gama was originally buried here
Indonesia – Sumatra – Bukit Lawang Village
In northern Sumatra lies the village of Bukit Lawang, known for its laid back lifestyle and rustic beauty along a mountain river. It is home to an orangutan ‘orphanage’ where abandoned or injured orangutans are healed and sheltered before returning to the jungle. In addition, the orphanage has a feeding station in the hills where
Gay Tibet (Lhasa)
Intro: Not surprising, LGBT folks are everywhere in the world including a small furtive scene gathering in the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa–but not quickly and not overtly. A reporter from Singapore’s Fridae.com webzine traveled to the high mountains to report on what a gay visitor can expect to find in that community. From Fridae.com
Vietnam – Mekong Delta
The very fertile Mekong Delta is Viet Nam’s breadbasket: it feeds the nation with rice, vegetables, fish and fruit. (Vietnam is the world’s second largest rice exporter.) It is a densely populated area, including the waterways where hundreds of thousands of people conduct commerce by boat. A day trip around this floating city is a
Bangladesh – Jessore to Khulna
The drive from Jessore airport to Khulna city (on the way to Mongla and the Sundarbans National Park) takes about an hour and offers a ride via the village of Bagerhat where many mosques were built in the 15th century. Along the way are countless waterways where small cargo boats transport goods from one village
India – Goa-Palolem Beach
Palolem beach in southern Goa offers a respite from the heat and congestion of southern India. The beach is largely unspoiled and is inhabited by both local fishermen and by foreign tourists who live in shacks along the shore. It is about one mile (2km) long and is crescent-shaped. One can view the whole beach