One of the great benefits and joys for gay travelling

One of the great benefits and joys for gay travelling to other countries is that they are certain to find other gay men. For some this means making new friends, while for others, it means fresh fields in which to trick, slut around, or find a partner.

American gay men enjoy unprecedented access to gay life on every continent except for Antarctica (and we’re not sure of that). With a proliferation of gay guides specifically for gay men travelling abroad, as well as several excellent gay travel bureaus, you are limited only by the amounts of free time, money, and curiosity you have.

Of course foreign travel was always part of some gay men’s lives. “Finishing” or “polishing” oneself via the European tour has been an important rite in many British and American men’s lives. For some famous gay artists, such as the novelist Henry James, the painter John Singer Sargent, the playwright/composer Noël Coward, the journalist Norman Douglas, or the writer Paul Bowles, the discovery of ultrasophisticated gay life elsewhere generally meant remaining where one landed and seldom returning home. As a result, many other gay men heard of and came to wish to visit these foreign places.

But one didn’t have to be wealthy or talented to enjoy the benefits of travel. Throughout the last century, but especially during World War II, gay men from small farming communities, big-city ghettos, and medium-sized industrial centers all over America traveled extensively through service in the armed forces. Many scholars consider those servicemen’s travel experiences one of the driving causes behind the founding of such gay organizations back home as the Mattachine Society.

Having found established gay society abroad, and having seen how large their own numbers were, many American gay servicemen felt driven to continue to associate with other gays, and to found their own versions of the gay clubs, bars, restaurants, salons, and theaters they had experienced while “on leave.”

In the 1960s, with the advent of discounted jet travel, large numbers of American college students began to spend summers abroad in Europe, North Africa, and the Far East. Many of these students found their experiences with foreign gay cultures to be sexually liberating, even life-altering. This same generation of gays that kicked gay politics into high gear also widely expanded international travel among gay men.

Today, a brief glance into any Spartacus or Damron Guide (among others now available) is all you need to recognize that dozens of lodgings, bars, restaurants, bookstores, and other retail stores in most major foreign cities cater specifically to gay travelers. No matter what you do in the way of sightseeing, sports, or other activities, you can be among gay people most or all of the time.

Well-known and much loved destinations for gay travelers in Europe include Barcelona, Spain, and its gay beach at Sitges; Amsterdam in the Netherlands; Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg in Germany; Milan, Florence, and Rome in Italy; Paris, Marseille, and the Riviera in France; London, Manchester, Dublin, Ireland, and Edinburgh in Great Britain; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Prague, in the Czech Republic.

The most visited cities in Asia and the Pacific area remain Manila in the Philippines; Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan; Bangkok, Thailand; and Kathmandu, Nepal. Other cities that draw gay men specifically seeking the exotic yet familiar include Cape Town, South Africa; Marrakech and Casablanca, Morocco; Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt; Tel Aviv, Israel; Beirut, Lebanon; Istanbul, Turkey; and Athens, Rhodes, and Mykonos in Greece.

Being a gay man abroad means that, in a sense, you are representing your country. Like most gay travelers, the authors have discovered the upsides and downsides of this. Many foreign gays will have prejudices about you based on what they have read, heard, or viewed on TV and in films.

Each country, city, and ethnic group has its own culture (despite the alleged internationalized wonders of the “new globalism”), and before you travel to a new country, we suggest you try to learn something about its culture, if only so you won’t do or say something offensive. One of the great benefits of gay travel groups is that their tour leaders can help you get acclimated. A few guidebooks can offer this kind of assistance. However, they won’t detail much beyond that a particular bar caters to younger men or that a “cottage” (tearoom) in a particular Yorkshire moor is “considered dangerous.”

Keep in mind that as a tourist you make a vulnerable target for the unscrupulous. Act with caution, common sense, and courtesy, or you could put your money, your health, even your life, at risk. The Chinese, among the greatest of world travelers for millennia, suggest travelers keep in mind at all times that they are strangers in a strange land, and dependent upon strangers.

Trevor R. is author at Gay Romania's official weblog, DarkQ.net.