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Singapore gay venues: historical

Introduction

Before the relative liberalisation of Singaporean society, local gay culture consisted solely of venues, largely unknown to the mainstream public. Prior to the 1980s, there were no publicly "out" homosexuals, no Singapore gay organisations, no Singapore gay literature, no Singapore gay art, no Singapore gay films or anything remotely "gay" apart from surreptitious nocturnal congregation spots. Thus, the following list forms an integral part of the documentation of Singapore gay history.

Bars

* Le Bistro- Singapore's first gay bar which opened in the 1960s, as far as many gay Singaporeans can recollect. It was located at the basement of a landmark building called Tropicana along Scotts Road. The latter was a 4-storey entertainment complex renowned for its topless dancing girl revues and occupied the exact spot where Pacific Plaza now stands. Le Bistro was a well-known chill-out bar, especially amongst English-educated gays, and a reputed pick-up haunt for white tourists and local, deeply-closeted homosexuals. Gay gatherings began on Sundays, a tradition which grew out of earlier attempts by Singapore food and beverage outlets to copy an American practice current during that era of Sunday afternoon tea dances. During that time slot, bars and discos were officially closed but Le Bistro's owner would admit his "friends" for a private party. As numbers grew and confidence increased, the afternoon tea parties eventually took over the Sunday nights. One retired New Zealand serviceman, in a chance encounter with Alex Au, claimed that in the early 1960s when he was stationed in Singapore, there was a Golden Venus bar in the Orchard Hotel along Orchard Road. This claim has not been corroborated by Singaporeans. The old Orchard Hotel has since been reconstructed beyond recognition. Le Bistro and Golden Venus no longer exist.

* Pebbles Bar- located on the ground floor forum of the now-demolished Hotel Singapura Continental along Orchard Road, it was the most famous gay bar operational in the 1970s. It was patronised largely by the English-educated, upper-strata gays of Singaporean society and spawned many a local-Caucasian pairing. Its main draw was the live band Tania, whose lead singer, Alban de Souza, was decked out in glitz, painted his face à la KISS but with red makeup instead of black-and-white, and entertained with energetic camp. Although it was the only one of Singapore's first 3 gay bars to have a dance floor, no homosexual dancing was allowed. So gay people sat in one half of the bar drinking and listening to the music, while watching the straight couples dance in the other half. However, it was a common sight to behold men pecking each other on the cheek or lips, incidents which raised nary an eyebrow.

* Treetops Bar- located at the now-demolished Royal Holiday Inn along Scotts Road. Gays also adjourned to Café Vienna after a night of hectic discoing in the 1970s. However, after several years, the proprietor of Treetops Bar felt that having a sizeable gay clientèle was bad for its image and discouraged their patronage.

* Babylon- Singapore's first exclusively gay karaoke pub at 52 Tanjong Pagar Road, set up during the height of the karaoke craze in the 1980s; a narrow, miniature version of its legendary namesake in Bangkok and the original Sumerian city.

* Vincent's lounge [1]

Opened on 18 May 1989 at #06-05 Lucky Plaza, 304 Orchard Road, former tel: 7361360, it was the first East-meets-West pub where Asian potato queens, a large proportion of whom were Malay, could meet up with their Caucasian aficionados, otherwise known as rice queens. It offered karaoke as well as booze. It relocated many years later, shortly after its 14th anniversary in May 2003, to a street-level shophouse at 15 Duxton Road in Tanjong Pagar, renaming itself Vincenz.

Image:Vincenz001.JPG Image:Vincenz002.JPG

It contained a handsomely elegant wooden bar which offered a large selection of beers on tap. The establishment was called "Venerable Vincent's" and "The Grand Dame of Singapore" for good reason. The newer outlet closed down on 26 March 2005 after 16 years of promoting East-West relations.

* For lesser-known venues which only operated for a short time before closing down, see: [2]


Discos

Originally catering to a gay customer base only once a week, usually on Sundays, newer small establishments have managed to survive on the burgeoning pink market by going full-time, on every night of the week.

* The Hangar- Singapore's first gay pub-cum-disco located in a hard-to-find alley along Upper East Coast Road near Bedok was operational in the early 1980s. One had to trudge along a length of unpaved road up a mild slope to gain access to the bar, which was housed in a whitewashed, single-storey, elongated, dormitory-like house. Looking back, some patrons presently in their fifties could not imagine how they could have grooved to the now seemingly uncool hits of that era like 'Beautiful Sunday' by Dawn.

* Marmota/Shadows/Legend- located on the second level of Kallang Leisuredrome above the bowling alley and operating in the early to mid-1980s, it was one of the first to hold regular Sunday gay nights. One would find the dance floor packed with the then-unusual sight of men dancing with each other. However, this happened only during the fast numbers. When the slow songs came on, the dance floor cleared faster than as if a tsunami threatened and only the daring ones irresistibly smitten with their partners were left in tight embrace to be ogled at by those on the sidelines. It was the first disco to organise unofficial masculine Mr. Gay Singapore contests long before Manhunt began. Ironically, the first winner of the contest was a straight boy named Oliver. The disco underwent several renovations and name changes over the years.

* Niche (at Far East Plaza)- opened in April 1983 to cash in on the popularity of Marmota. More popular with the English-educated crowd. It spawned a popular latter-day namesake at Pagoda Street in Chinatown. This second incarnation had its liquor license withdrawn in 1989 and was given only a week to close down. No reason was provided for the police action but a person, personally involved in the running of the disco, believed it was a reaction to the first reported case of an AIDS death in Singapore.

* Studebaker's/Venom- situated at the top floor of the present Pacific Plaza along Scotts Road was the largest disco that homosexuals had ever experienced in Singapore. It remade its image several times over since the early 1990s to remain fresh and introduced webcams where people could see who was dancing in real time by logging onto the Internet. Needless to say, this raised a howl of protest.

* Music World- 2-level disco in Katong Shopping Centre along East Coast Road, operational in the early 1990s.

* Centro- one of Singapore's largest discos at One Fullerton (opposite Fullerton Hotel), Collyer Quay with Sunday gay nights. It opened in 2003 but closed in 2005 to be succeeded by Onyx at the same location but under a new management.


Saunas

Before the 1990s, local homosexuals had to journey all the way to Bangkok, Thailand to experience the pleasures that gay saunas offered. It became more convenient in the early 90s when an establishment called Ryu, meaning 'dragon' in Japanese, opened in Taman Pelangi near the Pelangi Complex in Johor Baru, Johor, Malaysia. Hot on the heels of its overwhelming success in attracting huge crowds of both Singaporeans and Malaysians, another gay sauna called New Blue Boys opened at 104 A-B, Jalan Serampang, Taman Pelangi, 80400, Johor Baru about a year later. Some Singaporean gays would charter taxis in groups to traverse the causeway and experience what was sorely lacking at home.

* Spartacus

The first gay sauna in Singapore opened in 1997 by pioneering entrepreneur Max Lim. It was 3 storeys of hedonism, with a daily gay disco on the ground floor fringed by an overhead observation deck, and showers, a gym and sauna above that. It was strict about sex at first, displaying signs which read, "No obscene acts allowed", but the rule was gradually relaxed after everyone realised that the police did not bother to harass its patrons. The sauna could be recognised immediately from its external façade because of its colossal signage and the painted sketches of nude gladiators on its external wall facing South Bridge Road, near its junction with North Canal Road.
Image:SouthBridgeRoad001.JPG

It experimented with the novel concept of giving its customers the option of buying shares in the business. It also pioneered services like offering upmarket buffet meals on its premises, but unfortunately, demand for the meals and disco was poor, even though the spa facilities were a resounding success. It closed in late July 1999 due to high rental costs and other factors.

* Stroke

Image:StrokeSaunaAd001.JPG Image:AnnSiangRoad002.JPG

The successor to Spartacus under the same management, located at 22 Ann Siang Road, it had a spell of success from 2000 to 2002 when it was the only gay sauna in Singapore and also the first to open 24 hours a day, all year round. The opening of other gay saunas to break its monopoly forced its owner to move into newer premises to refocus its strategy two years later.

* Rairua

A multi-level sauna along Neil Road, the brainchild of activist Alex Au, it opened in 2002 and positioned itself as Singapore's first luxury gay sauna, with prices to match.

Image:Rairua001.JPG Image:Rairua002.JPG Image:RairuaBack001.JPG

It pioneered Singapore's first 'skin nights' touted as 'all nude, all floors, all night', a concept that unexpectedly proved so popular amongst supposedly 'conservative' Singaporean gays that such nude nights spread to all saunas within the span of one year and continue to be a major draw. It also organised special events like cultural talks, personalised photography [3] and naturist art sessions, and erotic dancing by showerboys. Unfortunately, due to the expiry of its lease and disagreements with its landlord over maintenance, it closed down in April 2005.



Outdoor venues

One important principle which has governed the peculiar locations of contemporary outdoor cruising areas is the "gentrification-induced shift" phenomenon. Older areas which had been patronised in the past had to be abandoned as urban redevelopment caused the destruction of conditions conducive to cruising such as poor lighting, sparse human traffic and the presence of dark, derelict buildings/environs. Thus, the present siting of cruising areas in the Ann Siang area may be explained by the gradual shift of activity from Boat Quay to the China Square vicinity to Ann Siang Hill as these areas were successively gentrified. To some extent, a "shopping centre/public building shift" was likewise induced by redevelopment eg. from Plaza Singapura to the former National Library to Raffles City.

* Boat Quay and the adjoining back alleys parallel to the Singapore River's west bank

Very cruisy at night before the area was rejuvenated with the present row of restaurants in the early 1990s. Police patrol cars would occasionally drive up and record the IC numbers of gay men who were doing nothing other than chatting with each other, a form of intentional harassment.

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Surreptitious sex also took place at the foot and back alley of OCBC building nearby, before bright lighting was installed which serves no real purpose other than to deter nocturnal homosex.

Image:OCBCBase001.JPG Image:OCBCNook001.JPG Image:OCBCBackAlley001.JPG Image:OCBCNook002.JPG Image:OCBCBusStop001.JPG

Areas surrounding OCBC building such as the Raffles Place MRT station and the construction sites of buildings on the other side of Philip Street were also popular and gave rise to the novel phenomenon of car-cruising. Unattractive cruisers could increase their chances of picking up handsome gay pedestrians if they drove big flashy cars.

The streets traversing China Square, namely Hokkien Street, Nankin Street and Chin Chew Street were overrun especially on weekend nights by gay men and car-cruisers when the whole area was lined with abandoned, dark, derelict buildings in the 1980s. Many would stand or sit along the corridors of these dilapidated buildings and people-watch, chat, fondle each other or step into passing cars.

* Esplanade Park- the whole area between Queen Elizabeth walk and Connaught Drive was lined by bushes enclosed in tiled rectangular stone enclosures where strollers could sit and chat before the present arts centre was built in the early 2000s. It was frequented for decades by especially gay young men who acted more girlishly than usual to attract straight pick-ups for the night. Others came looking for South Asian men, of which there were many. Some activity also spilled over into The Padang, which at night, was mainly the territory of straight couples making out on mats. Other parks which were relatively cruisy but less well known in the 1970s were Central Park, accessible via the long flight of steps up from River Valley swimming pool, Fort Canning Park nearby, Labrador Park, accessible only by car or motorbike, Mount Faber, the Botanic Gardens and MacRicthie Reservoir.


Indoor public venues

* Toilets- public toilets have their fair share of furtive homosex. Some of the historically popular ones which no longer exist were those near Hong Lim Park, at the former Odeon cinema where Orchard Cineleisure now stands, along Balestier Road next to the open market and at the former National Library along Stamford Road.

* Swimming Pools- the most notorious one no longer extant was River Valley swimming pool. It was one of the few public pools built in the city area, sandwiched between Liang Court and the imposing backdrop of Fort Canning Park. In one incident, two men were caught by the lifeguard for underwater fellatio and jailed. It was also one of the few swimming pools where outdoor photography was banned. Less well known were Yan Kit swimming pool, Jurong swimming pool and Bukit Merah swimming pool.

* Shopping centres- the upper levels and toilets of Plaza Singapura and Serangoon Shopping Centre were popular cruising grounds during the 1980s.

Singapore gay venues: contemporary

Introduction

The documentation and chronicling of gay venues in Singapore form an important aspect of the human geography of a significant sector of the population. It was extremely difficult to find or record such information in the past as the social activities conducted in these areas were sometimes at loggerheads with official policy and even considered illegal. It is a testament to the gradual loosening of the socio-legal and political reins by the Government in the past years spurred by the development of the Internet and economic necessity that such information has become widely available.

Non-commercial/non-sexual venues

* The Free Community Church [1]

Presently located at #04-02/04, Yangtze Building, 100A Eu Tong Sen Road. The unit housing the church lies at the end of a corrider branching out from the vestibule of Yangtze Cinema itself and should not to be confused with the same unit number at Pearls Centre which sells Chinese religious artifacts.

A view of the left portion of the Pearls Centre-Yangtze Building complex from Eu Tong Sen Street. A view of the rightmost portion of the Pearls Centre-Yangtze Building complex, showing billboards for Yangtze cinema.

A Singaporean Christian church which welcomes all people regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or economic status. It conducts Sunday services at 10:30 am.

* Pelangi Pride Centre (PPC)[2]

Set up by activists to inculcate pride in being gay and in staying HIV negative, it was formerly located at 22a Rowell Road, above the AFA headquarters, in the Serangoon or Little India area. It is now located at Mox Bar & Cafe, 21 Tanjong Pagar Road, #04-01, Singapore 088444. It operates an extensive library of location and international gay literature as well as non-fiction books whose catalogue can be searched online on its website, it also has an archive of Singapore gay history and culture. Open once a week on Saturdays from 4 to 8pm. For more information, please email contact@pelangipridecentre.org

Arts venues

The following list consists of exhibition and performance venues where many works dealing with LGBT themes or by LGBT arts practitioners have been held. However, they are not exclusively used for such purposes.

* The Substation [3]

45 Armenian Street, tel: 6337- 7535, fax: 6337-2729, box office: 6337-7800.

The front and side façades of The Substation viewed from Armenian Street. The corridor-like lobby of The Substation. The right wall of the lobby. The Blue Room on the left, further down the lobby, where meetings are held.

Founded in 1990 by the late Kuo Pao Kun, it is Singapore's first independent contemporary arts centre, centrally located in the civic district. Its sub-sections include a black box theatre, a gallery, a dance studio, the Blue Room and two multi-function classrooms. It was the venue for the nascent PLU Sunday meetings in the early 90s. The historic PLU 2 pre-registration discussion was also held in the Blue Room in 2003.

* The building at 21 Tanjong Pagar Road

The left extremity of the building which houses unit 21 along Tanjong Pagar Road. Happy disco is also located near the end of the building. The side and back façades of the building, which also houses Ya Kun Kaya Toast on the ground floor.

A growing arts, entertainment and lifestyle block managed by Guan Seng Kee Pte Ltd, just next to Ya Kun Kaya Toast. The lift serving the upper floors has a modern interior but is rickety and painfully slow. The building houses the following establishments:

1) Space 21

An unrenovated 1950-sq ft art space and multi-function hall situated on level 3, the second home of Utterly Art (see below).

Interior view of Space 21. Another view of the interior of Space 21. View of the doors leading to multipurpose hall on level 2 21 from the courtyard outside. Portion of the courtyard on level 2. Another portion of the courtyard on level 2. Another view of the courtyard.

2) MOX Bar & Café [4] on level 4.

It is a versatile venue which can be transformed into a bar-cum-function space equipped with lights, sound and platforms to hold events like product launches, birthday bashes and cabaret shows. Tel: 6323-9438, fax: 6227-9647.
View of the exit at MOX Bar & Café. Interior of MOX Bar & Café. Lounge area with grand piano in the background. Garden swing in one corner.

3) The Attic

The topmost floor is a vault-like loft under the same management as MOX Bar & Café. It has a seating capacity of up to 150 people and is suitable for exhibitions, fashion shows and performances. It was the former location of the Sunday services of the Free Community Church [5](from 2002 to 2004) and Toy Factory Theatre Ensemble [6](from 2004 to 2005). Currently, it houses the all-white decor-themed Bianco and contains a small bar, in addition to unique, squarish bed-like seats and a DJ console. Dr. Russell Heng's talk When Queens Ruled! A History of Gay Venues in Singapore was held here on 16 Aug 05 as part of IndigNation, Singapore's first gay pride month.

Stairs leading up to the entrance of The Attic/Bianco. The compact bar of Bianco. View of the interior of Bianco nearest the entrance. View of the other half of Bianco, showing the DJ console, screen and central row of square bed-seats.

* Utterly Art [7]

208 South Bridge Road, Level 2 (above Xposé), Singapore 058757. Tel: 6226 2605, fax: 6226-2645, e-mail: utterlyart@pacific.net.sg. It is open from Mondays to Saturdays from 11:30am to 8pm, and on Sundays from 12 noon to 5:30pm. It is closed on public holidays, but open on Christmas and New Year's Eve till 5:30pm.

Exterior façade of Utterly Art, on the second floor, viewed from South Bridge Road. The glass door next to Xposé's entrance leading to the stairs to Utterly Art. An exhibition of paintings by Martin Loh. A view of Martin Loh's artwork in a corner of Utterly Art, next to the windows.

It provides exhibition space and management services to a diverse and vibrant range of local and Asian artists, and internationally-renowned photographers. The most active gallery on the Singapore art scene, it is a leading showcase of works by established painters like Martin Loh and Chng Seok Tin, as well as popular young artists like Trina Poon.

It was the venue for the very first event of IndigNation, Singapore's historic, inaugural, government-approved gay pride month celebration in August 2005. This was an exhibition of paintings by artist Martin Loh entitled Cerita Budak-Budak, meaning 'children's stories' in Peranakan Malay. The event was followed up with Contra/Diction - A Night with Gay Poets held on 4 Aug 05, Singapore's first public gay poetry reading session which was attended by over 70 people, with standing room only. The popular Oogachaga-Looking Glass gay and lesbian relationship seminars were also conducted here.

Bars, pubs and karaoke joints

(For drag queen performance bars such as the Boom Boom Room and Gold Dust, see the article Transgender people in Singapore).
Map of Tanjong Pagar Road with the red strip having a high concentration of gay bars along it. Other gay establishments are also located along Neil Road and nearby areas.

Most of Singapore's gay bars are located in the Tanjong Pagar constituency, through the heart of which runs Tanjong Pagar Road. This has earned it the nickname of Singapore's Castro Street after its legendary namesake in San Francisco. Gay establishments are found sporadically along Tanjong Pagar Road and adjoining thoroughfares such as Tras Street, Neil Road, Duxton Hill, Ann Siang Road, as well as nearby districts such as Chinatown.


* Inner Circle

This grand daddy of all gay karaoke joints, along with the now-defunct Babylon, was originally located along Tanjong Pagar Road. It provided divas with an outlet to show off their vocal skills for almost 10 years before drawing its shutters on 24 July 2004. It was later resurrected at 3 Duxton Hill, a stone's throw away from its former location. Tel: 6220-6966.

External façade of Inner Circle viewed from Duxton Hill. Row of shophouses along Duxton Hill where Inner Circle is located.

Ample parking space is available just outside or at the Craig Place building along Craig Road which houses a multi-storey carpark.

* Taboo

A pub-cum-disco originally located in Tanjong Pagar on the left half of where Happy today stands, it was one of the most popular with the trendy young crowd for 7 years since 1997 and attained quasi-icon status.

External façade of Taboo viewed from Neil Road. Row of shophouses along Neil Road in which Taboo is located.
It closed in August 2004, only to be reincarnated at 65/67 Neil Road (opposite Tantric Bar and near where Rairua sauna used to be). Tel: 6225-6256.

* Backstage Bar

13A Trenggannu Street (at the corner with Temple Street), Chinatown, tel: 6227-1712.

View of Backstage Bar, on the upper floor, proudly displaying the rainbow flag, from the corner of Trengganu and Temple Streets. Location of Backstage Bar, on the right, along to Trenggany Street, left. Location of Backstage Bar, on the left, next to Temple Street on the right.

A cozy, nicely decorated, gay-owned bar, with a balcony for flirting with passers-by. Fridays and Saturdays are particularly jam-packed. The staff are very hospitable and drinks are reasonably priced. It is located close to multiple clubs and gay saunas, opening daily from 7pm until the wee hours.

* Caprice

70 Amoy Street. Gay-owned and staffed, the bar offers room to enjoy cocktails, meet people and indulge in chit-chat.

External façade of Caprice, viewed form Amoy Street. The shophouse in which Caprice is located. Rows of shophouses along Amoy Street in which Caprice is located.

The decor is modern and warm with natural wood flooring and fixtures. Friendly, professional and attractive staff make one very welcome. It is a nice addition to the local club scene and is close to other clubs and discos. It closed in September 2005.

* Oso café restaurant

145 Telok Ayer Street, opposite Thian Hock Keng Temple, tel: 6323-4642, fax: 6836-0266.

External faade of Oso, viewed from Telok Ayer Street. Corridor with Oso on the left, with 2 red lanterns hung above its doorway. Telok Ayer Street with the tourist landmark Thian Hock Keng Temple on the left, just opposite Oso.

A gay-owned and managed bar serving fusion cuisine, beer, wine, and cocktails. A cosy place for friends to gather, sing karaoke, and spend quality time together. Frequented especially by Chinese-educated bears, it spins good music and has a soothing ambience.

* Tantric Bar

Tantric Bar proudly hanging the rainbow flag above its entrance. The row of shophouses along Neil Road in which Tantric Bar is located.


78 Neil Road (across from Taboo), tel: 6423-9232. It is a gay-owned and managed bar, the first to drape a rainbow flag above its main entrance. It has an open courtyard and a great atmosphere with a world music ambience. Weekends groove to the deepest "deep house". It opens daily from 8pm to 3am. The crowd is gay but gay-friendly straights are also welcome.

* Xposé Café, Bar and Restaurant

208 South Bridge Road, #01-01 (in the same building as Utterly Art), tel: 9842-7849. A gay-owned, second home for anyone seeking Prince Charming or looking for a nice cozy place to dine with their dates.

External façade of Xposé Café, Bar and Restaurant viewed from South Bridge Road Vitrine of Xposé. Entrance of Xposé. Picture at the left of the entrance to Xposé

It serves authentic Thai food prepared by Chef Deang, with 20 years' cooking experience, who cooks home-style dishes with a passion. Karaoke starts after 8:30 pm abetted by a great sound system to accompany one's crooning. It especially welcomes bears, chubs and their admirers. Regulars, who tend to be Chinese-educated, chat on EFNET IRC, channel #GAYCHUB@SG.

The management allowed the organisers of IndigNation[8], Singapore's inaugural gay pride month in August 2005, free use of its premises to conduct the historic, first-ever public talk on homosexuality to be held in an indoor venue since Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's 2004 liberalisation of the rules governing these events. The lecture was entitled "Same sex love in classical Chinese literature" and was delivered to a capacity audience by Dr. Tan Chong Kee on 2 Aug 05 [9].

* Jia Karaoke Pub

57 Neil Rd (next to Taboo), tel: 6227-6772. A new kid on the karaoke scene, gay-owned and managed. It offers a very wide choice of songs from the region, even Thai and Japanese. It has friendly staff and a very talented young boss. To ensure that the air stays cool and fresh, the pub is fitted out with ionizers and air fresheners. The simple, modern decor gives the place a cosy and warm ambiance. Drinks are reasonably priced with frequent special promotions for customers. It opens daily from 6pm to 3am.

Lesbian bars

* Alternative Bar

44A Tras Street, tel: 6220 5271. It is one of the few girls' hangouts with a pool table. Week nights are strictly for ladies with Saturday being the only night when male companions are welcome.

External façade of Alternative Bar, on the second floor, viewed from Tras street. Rows of shophouses along Tras Street, where Alternative Bar is located.

It is located on the second floor, accessible from the staircase beside Legend bar. To drive away the Monday blues, it is free pool all night long. Opening hours are from 9pm onwards on weekdays and Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays and public holidays.

* Club 95

95 Club Street, tel: 6325-9595.

External façade of Club 95 viewed from Club Street. Row of shophouses along Club Street where Club 95 is located.

Situated in a busy night life area in downtown Singapore, this lesbian-owned and managed bar offers a relaxed, cool, modern style, with excellent music and a friendly welcome. Saturdays are theme nights. It is open daily from 7 pm till late. Happy hours are from 7-9 pm.

* Cow & Coolies

30 Mosque Street, tel: 6221 1239.

External façade of Cow & Coolies viewed from Mosque street. The rows of shophouses along Mosque Street where Cow & Coolies is located.

A pub for womyn to showcase their vocal prowess, belting out the latest Chinese hits.

* Sky Bar

47 Neil Road.

External façade of Sky Bar, undergoing renovation, viewed from Neil Road. Shophouses along Neil Road, where Sky Bar is located.

A karaoke bar run by lesbian owners, it is patronised by a mixed gay and lesbian crowd. It holds soup nights and pool tournaments.

Discos

* Happy

Opened in August 2004, taking over when Taboo vacated, at 1 Tanjong Pagar Road but incorporating double the space with the takeover of the next-door unit which gives it a sizeable dance floor.

The building along Tanjong Pagar Road where Happy is located. Entrance to Happy. Left side of main bar in Happy. Right side of main bar in Happy. Rear courtyard of Happy. Lounge area in Happy. Dance floor and curtained stage in Happy. DJ console to the right of the dance floor. Second bar to the right of the dance floor.

Celebrities and wannabes sip "happysexuals" (their signature vanilla, vodka and lime cocktail). DJ Marvin Kam is in the house. Long queues on weekends.

* Why Not?

External façade of Why Not? viewed from Tras Street. Rows of shophouses along Tras Street, where Why Not? is located.

56-58 Tras Street, very near the Tanjong Pagar MRT station, tel: 6323-3010. Former karaoke pub which was converted into a disco after the karaoke craze died down. Less posturing and more wild dancing than at Happy.

* Cocconuts at Cocco Latte- located at 76 Robertson Quay #01-09, along the perimeter of the Gallery Hotel at Mohd Sultan Road, tel: 6735-0402.

The Gallery Hotel by night, where Cocco Latte is located. Bar and uniquely decorated walls of Cocco Latte's interior. View of the exit of Cocco Latte.

2-storey club with an intimate lounge area on the first floor and DJ on the second. Despite unique features like kitschy decor, striptease poles, flashing neon signs, drink specials and date-matching via number tags, the atmosphere is rather sedate. Open Tuesdays to Sundays. Sunday nights is Cocconuts, a boyz party from 7pm-3 am.

* Club Momo- 5 Magazine Road, Central Mall, tel: 6535-3030. Nearby Clarke Quay MRT station. A huge new dance club launched by the former operators of Venom and Chinablack. Features include drag shows, snooker tables, Sunday gay nights and valet parking.

* Chinablack- the present reincarnation of Studebaker's/Venom occupying the sprawling 2-storey penthouse on level 12 of Pacific Plaza at 9 Scotts Road, tel: 6734-7677. It has 3 bars, a dance floor, an Oriental theme including teak panelling, Indo-Chinese lamps and Chinese calligraphy wall hangings. Features techno beats and gay anthems, ideal for bare-torsoed exhibitionists itching to strut their stuff on platforms.

* Onyx- at One Fullerton (opposite Fullerton Hotel), Collyer Quay. Nearby Raffles Place MRT station. Formerly known as Centro, the venue's theme remains the same: shirtless worshippers slaving to the beat and soaking up the sweat, muscle and sexual energy. Sunday is their ONS (One Night Stand) gay party night and women are discouraged from entering by charging them higher entry fees.

* Reload @ RAV

69 Circular Road, #01-01, tel: 9191-4846.

External façade of RAV viewed from Circular Road. Rows of shophouses lining Circular Road, where RAV is located.
Singapore's first gay after-hours club spinning progressive and tribal house. RAV decks itself out in a vibrant coat of red and a kaleidoscope of enticing lighting. There is a cozy semi-enclosed chill lounge off to the left of the dance floor. Saturdays and Sundays, 3am to 6 am.

* Zouk

Located at 17 Jiak Kim Street, tel: 6738-2988, Zouk was built inside 3 warehouses along the Singapore River that date back to 1919. Still one of Asia's trendiest clubs, the interior design was influenced by a mish-mash of styles from Moorish North Africa and Gaudi's Park Guell to Aboriginal art and Turkish baths, with a mix of minimalist furniture, mirrored walls, high-tech lighting and plasma screens thrown in.
The complex is divided into 4 distinct areas. The flagship Zouk club which is globally renowned with a mainly house and techno policy is a favourite with many gays. It is accompanied by Phuture which covers big beat, drum & bass, down tempo, nu jazz and anything experimental. Meanwhile Velvet Underground aims to achieve an intimate club experience. This is a place for slightly older clubbers with cosy alcoves and comfortable lounge areas as well as a well-stocked champagne cocktail bar. Another section is the Wine Bar, a pre-club bar and chill-out zone with an outdoor seating area and a café offering hot dogs and sushi.
Zouk club is very organised about who is spinning on which dates. The best time to meet gay folks is when guest DJs are in attendance, so the schedule on their website should be checked. However, because of the upscale, mixed crowd, discretion is warranted. Packed on Fridays and Saturdays. Wednesday is the Retro day, although not really that gay. When big-name international DJs perform, one should arrive between 7-9pm to get cheaper tickets as prices rise after 9 pm.


Saunas

* Raw [10]

45 Ann Siang Road #02-02 just behind Maxwell Food Center and a 5-min walk from the Tanjong Pagar MRT station, tel: 6222-2252.

Shophouses along Ann Siang Road. Raw sauna is located right at the end of the row on the left. Raw sauna, occupying the rightmost unit, next to Ann Siang Hill. The big square pink sign advertising its location is seen jutting out from the third level. The ground floor, permanently closed entrances to Raw, formerly doorways to Raw's gay restaurant and drag queen cabaret-cum-disco which closed down after several months of operation. Entrace to Raw sauna, facing Ann Siang Hill. Side wall of Raw sauna, facing Ann Siang Hill. Rear view of Raw sauna, with its sun-tanning roof garden visible from Ann Siang Hill below. Maxwell Food Centre, located along Maxwell Road at the base of Ann Siang Hill, is a popular hangout for gay night owls on weekends after the nearby pubs close.

The third sauna established by entrepreneur Max Lim in 2003, its competitive advantages are its budget entry fees, 24-hour opening times and a 'barracks' containing individual rooms for those desiring to stay for prolonged periods. It pioneered the concept of theme nights, which later spread to all saunas. This introduced variety and catered to subsegments of the gay crowd such as chubs, foam party lovers, minority races, foreigners and sun worshippers. It also experimented, for a short period, with an à la carte restaurant on the ground floor, a transvestite cabaret and male undergarment/swimming trunk fashion shows. It was the only sauna to proudly hang a rainbow flag, an LGBT icon signifying diversity, outside its main entrance. It is located next to Ann Siang Hill, already a popular cruising ground. Membership is no longer required.

* Club One-Seven [11]

An upmarket sauna at 17 Upper Circular Road between Boat Quay and Clarke Quay. The Raffles Place MRT station is closest. Tel: 6223-0017.

Club One-Seven - an upmarket gay sauna along Upper Circular Road. The row of shophouses along Upper Circular Road in which Club One-Seven is nested.

Nude nights start on Friday from 7pm till Saturday morning. Saturdays from 7pm to midnight are 'short towel', and after midnight it is 'skin'." It was the first to have an al fresco swimming pool which later had to be covered up, as office workers in the neighbouring building could have a bird's eye-view of the frequently naked men lounging around the poolside. The floor above, which was formerly occupied by a bank, was acquired and renovated at great expense in 2004 which effectively doubled its cruising space. Two men were arrested here by undercover policemen for homosex in 2003. Their penalty was commuted from a potential 2-year jail sentence under section 377 of the Singapore Penal Code to a mere $600 fine under section 20 of the Miscellaneous Offences Act in what may be a landmark ruling in Singapore legal history, as far as gay rights are concerned.

* Towel Club [12]

6 Loke Yew Street. The City Hall MRT station is the nearest. Tel: 6336-6328.

Row of shophouses on the left along Loke Yew Street, where Towel Club is located. Shophouse unit in which Towel Club is located, on the ground floor. Entrance to Towel Club.

It has private suites, group areas, a steam room, jacuzzi, hydrojet cool pool, café and private sun deck. Open Mondays to Fridays from 4pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from noon. The crowd is a mix of locals, expats and visitors. It is billed as Singapore's largest gay sauna and also the most expensive. Its monthly nude "full moon parties" held once a month on the 15th day of the Chinese lunar calender, and youthful attractive patrons are the greatest attractions. It has been consistently ranked as the most popular sauna in Singapore through various polls.

* V-club [13]

7 Mosque Street, near Chinatown, tel: 6221-2729.

Shophouse in which V-Club is located. Entrance to V-Club. Row of shophouses along Mosque Street, in which V-Club is located.

A 3-level sauna appealing to a mainly Chinese-educated clientèle. It has the most nude nights in a week, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

* The Box/Shogun Spa [14]

176 Telok Ayer Street near Tanjong Pagar, tel: 6221-0367.

External façade of Shogun Spa, viewed from Telok Ayer Street. Shophouse in which Shogun Spa is located. Shophouses along Telok Ayer Street, where Shogun Spa is located.

The Box was Singapore's first cruise club, a concept which proved less popular locally, so it was later converted into a sauna, using the new name of Shogun Spa. In mid-2006, it moved its location several units away, from 182 to 176 Telok Ayer Street. It was one of the last saunas to introduce nude nights. No membership is required.

* Blue Heaven [15]

2 Jalan Pinang, near Bugis Junction outside the CBD. Parking is available at the Golden Landmark Hotel. The Bugis MRT station is closest. From here, it is a 5 min walk in the direction of Sultan Mosque. Tel: 6295-5668.

Rows of shophouses along Jalan Pinang where Blue Heaven is located.. External façade of Blue Heaven viewed from Jalan Pinang, where Blue Heaven is located. Side view of the shophouse unit in which Blue Heaven is located. Entrance to Blue Heaven on its right façade.

Established by a naturalised Frenchman, it has a full gym, a café with free Internet access (the first gay sauna to offer such a service), and a large steam room. The entrance fee is inexpensive and no membership is required. It is patronised by a crowd of all nationalities. Nude nights are on Sundays; Thursday nights are for 20-somethings only. Another 4 men were arrested here in April 2005 in a police raid masquerading as a night-time fire-safety inspection. The outcome of this case is still pending amidst the apparent official backlash against the rising incidence of HIV infection amongst homosexuals in Singapore. It appears to have ceased operating in mid-2005.

* Diamond Health Centre

05-01, Sultan Plaza, 100 Jalan Sultan near its junction with Beach Road, tel: 6392-2396. It is unique amongst gay saunas in that it charges a standardised entry fee of $19 and that it closes relatively early even on weekends.

View of Sultan Plaza from Jalan Sultan. Side façade of Sultan Plaza. Side entrance of Sultan Plaza. Snazzy new entrance to Diamond Health Centre.

It started as a straight sauna offering massage by women masseuses, but gradually gained a predominantly gay, elderly Chinese-educated clientèle. This phenomenon of homosexuals eventually forming the majority of patrons in a previously straight establishment is affectionately locally known as "colonisation". It was the first sauna to have a coin-operated karaoke machine on its premises, free buffets and Hollywood/Hong Kong movie screenings, all of which proved to be very popular. It closed in early 2005 for renovations and reopened for business on 29 May 2005 with a relocated entrance but has, since the latter date, been patronised mainly by elderly straight Chinese customers, making it more of a mixed sauna again. Recently Wednesday nights have been promoted for chubs and their chasers, with this phenomenon spilling over into the weekends.

* Y Club [16]

Located at 16A, Smith Street in the Tanjong Pagar area, it opened in November 2006, advertising itself mainly through the Trevvy website. It initially billed itself as a no-frills sauna and charged only $6 per entry at all times, with no membership required.

Outdoor venues

Being frequented mainly at night by a stigmatised minority in fear of running afoul of the law every time they congregate for social or sexual intercourse, outdoor gay hangouts have remained largely unknown to the mainstream public. It was only in the mid-90s that police harassment of homosexuals at these venues stopped, although sporadic complaints by members of the public may still be investigated. The following list, which includes cruising areas some conservative gays may feel does not cast a favourable light upon the Singaporean homosexual image, has been drawn up for the sake of academic comprehensiveness and as a record of the collective local gay memory.

(For transgender (transvestite/transsexual) venues such as Bugis Street, Johore Road and Changi Village, see the article Transgender people in Singapore.)

* Hong Lim Park

Location of Hong Lim Park on the map.

Also officially known as Hong Lim Green, it was the first and formerly the most famous Singaporean gay venue listed in the première international gay tourist reference, the Spartacus Gay Guide. It was affectionately code-named "Honolulu" or "Hollywood" in the early years by some English-educated gay men. Later, after the fame of the movie, others also nicknamed it "Jurassic Park" as an irreverent dig at the geriatric homosexuals who frequented the place. Cruisy at night for more than half a century, its dim lighting and tall shrubbery provided ideal conditions for quickies between gay men, especially elderly Chinese-educated ones, until the bushes were pruned and bright lights installed in the early 90s to deter such activities. Nightly cruising and sex also took place in a small 2-storey shopping centre which was demolished and replaced by the present car park. In the 1980s, casual strollers were shocked to see young boys holding hands at night and wrote letters to the newpapers to complain. In spite of several police patrols in which these boys were questioned, no one was charged as nobody was caught flagrante delicto. The setting-up of the Kreta Ayer Neighbourhood Police Post in an old building next to the car park was also considered a measure to curb late-night cruising. Policemen would ride out on their bicycles in the 1990s to comb the entire Boat Quay-OCBC building area at night to scare away thrillseekers.
View of one of Hong Lim Park's signboards with the fountain on the right View of the Speakers' Corner signboard with the Clarke Quay MRT station exit visible in the background. A close-up of the MRT station exit conveniently located next to Hong Lim Park. A park signboard with the Kreta Ayer Neighbourhood Police Post visible in the background. The stone table and benches where young boys and other gays used to gather and chat especially in the 1980s. The perimeter footpath with Furama Hotel visible in the background. The newly-constructed toilets next to the community centre. The car park next to the park where a 2-level shopping centre used to stand prior to the 1980s. Wooden benches strewn along the periphery of the park make ideal resting spots to chat up other men. A close-up of the Speakers' Corner signboard next to the police station. A warning agaist instrument-augmented commotion. A close-up of the Kreta Ayer Police Post viewed from the main road. A visiting patrol car viewed from the car park next to Hong Lim Green. Policemen used to patrol the whole Boat Quay area on bicycles in the 1980s and early 1990s in an attempt to deter nighttime cruisers.

* Fort Road Beach- a secluded stretch of reclaimed land near Fort Road in Tanjong Rhu, visited by gay men since the 1980s. Nude sunbathing or swimming sometimes takes place as it is remote from public view and no one is disturbed. Its future as an idyllic gay venue is uncertain as development plans may bring it into direct public access. Less frequented stretches of beach include the more secluded areas near Changi Point which in the past were occasionally visited by heterosexual Gurkhas and Korean construction workers who served as the draw for local gay men, the segment of East Coast Parkway near Big Splash and the area near the People's Association chalets.

* Ann Siang Hill

Cruisy at night since the early 1990s, but much less so since a landscaped sanctuary named Ann Siang Hill Park was built in 2004 with adequate illumination so that clandestine activities are not so convenient.
Entrance to the lane leading up to Ann Siang Hill. Historical activities on Ann Siang Hill signboard. First courtyard encountered on the way up Ann Siang Hill. Wall against which 2 stone benches were located where gays used to sit, chat and fondle each other. Approaching the second courtyard near the summit, another area of concentrated cruising activity before the landscaped park was built. There were no stone benches here, so people mainly cruised standing up or walking around. Timber-constructed patio at the summit. The wooden swing where gays used to sit was removed in mid-2005 probably for safety reasons. Going down the stairs leading to Ann Siang Road. Chia Ann Siang historical signboard. Wooden gateway to Ann Siang Hill Park.

* Back alleys in the Central Business District and Tanjong Pagar

The most notorious alley in the Ann Siang area, just behind the Club Street open carpark. It still experiences considerable nightly cruising traffic today. A formerly cruisy alley branching off from Ann Siang Road, before the mushrooming of gay saunas made street cruising less popular. Another view of the same alley.

Less popular after the sprouting of numerous gay saunas since the late 1990s and the development of well-lit commercial complexes like China Square which replaced the dark, dank, derelict shophouses where night-time cruising took place.

* Katong Park- the previous toilet which was completely enclosed by 4 brick walls was a hive of activity. The new toilet, built in 2003 during a major redesign of the park, whose interior is visible from the outside via large gaps in the slotted timber walls is much less conducive to cruising, although some still takes place. Most homosexuals prefer to stroll in the fresh air along tracks traversing and skirting the perimeter of the park.


Enclosed/Indoor public venues

More comprehensive and up-to-date listings can be found at the Utopia website's Singapore pages:[17]

* Toilets

* Swimming Pools

* Shopping Centres

(For a discussion of places no longer extant where homosexuals used to socialise or cruise such as Le Bistro, Pebbles Bar, Treetops Bar, Vincent's lounge, Niche, Marmota/Legend/Shadows, Spartacus, Rairua, Boat Quay and Esplanade Park, see the article Singapore gay venues: historical).