10 most gay friendly countries in Asia

A big part of what makes Taiwan the most progressive Asian counry is that after the 38 years of the restrictive Martial Law era ended in 1987, there was a huge push for democracy and change. Anti-discrimination laws were passed in education (2004), employment (2007) and other areas of business (2017). In addition, gays were allowed to openly serve in the military from 2002, the right to change legal gender introduced in 2008 and conversion therapy outlawed in 2018.

The biggest LGBTQ community of Taiwan can be found in the capital, Taipei, which also has one of the best gay scenes in Asia. Most of the gay bars of Taipei are based in and around the Ximen Red House Complex, such as Cafe Dalida, Secret Garden and the Commander D fetish bar. Other gay bars nearby include Hero, Hunt, Goldfish and Fairy. In terms of gay clubs in Taipei, Gstar and Cercle are the most popular. Other cities in Taiwan like Kaohsiung, Tainan and Taichung City also have a few gay hangouts.

Taiwan is notorious for having the largest gay festival in Asia: Taipei Pride. It takes place on the last Saturday in October, attracting crowds of around 150,000. Some of the best gay parties in Taiwan happen around Taipei Pride, in particular the WOOW Pool Party and the Formusa Pride Party. The Mr Gay Taiwan pageant also takes place in late October, usually coinciding with Taipei Pride. The other big gay event in Taipei to look out for is the monthly queer party called Blush. Find out more in our interview with local boy Po-Hung about gay life in Taiwan.

Thailand legalised homosexuality in 1956. At the time, it was one of the first Asian countries that legalised LGBT. Since 2015, it has had an array of anti-discrimination laws in place in education, employment and elsewhere, including hate speech. In relation to the military, gays have been allowed to openly serve since 2005 and homosexuality was declassified as an illness in 2002.

The majority of the gay scene of Thailand is in the capital, Bangkok, particularly around Silom Soi 4 and 6. We love it because there is always an exciting atmosphere and we always have a great time. Some of the main gay bars to check out include Stranger, Telephone, and Balcony. The best gay club in Bangkok is DJ Station. Other places in Thailand with a gay scene include Pattaya, Phuket, and to a lesser extent, Chiang Mai.

Whilst the country doesn't have a formal Pride taking place each year, Bangkok's Songkran Gay Circuit Party in April is one of the most exciting gay festivals in Asia. Around this time of year, there is also an equivalent gay party taking place in Phuket and Pattaya. Also in Pattaya is the annual Asia Circuit Festival in June.

Cambodia has no record of ever having any anti-gay laws in its history! The equal age of consent has always been 15 for everyone whether straight or gay. However, there are not yet any anti-discrimination laws in effect. Whilst gay marriage is not yet legal in Cambodia, in 2018 the government introduced a civil contract that gay couples can enter into called a “Declaration of Family Relationship” (DoFR), offering limited rights. The DoFR is a symbolic civil contract between two people who are willing to be together and share responsibility of taking care of family, children and to distribute joint assets.

The capital, Phnom Penh, is where you'll find the best gay bars and clubs like Toolbox, Space and Blue Chilli. Siem Reap, the base to visit Angkor Wat, also has a fun gay scenewith gay bars like Miss Wong, Barcode and Heaven & DreamBoys.

In May, there is an annual Pride in Phnom Penh going strong since 2003. More recently since 2018, Siem Reap also has an annual Pride taking place in May.

Japan got rid of its anti-gay laws in 1880 and interestingly has one of the lowest ages of consent in the world – 13 (which is the same for everyone, straight or gay). Other progressive laws include the right to change your legal gender (introduced in 2003) and gays allowed to openly serve in the Japanese military.

Tokyo has a whopping 300 or so small gay bars crammed together in the “Ni-Chōme” area of the Shinjuku district. Some of the main gay bars and clubs of Tokyo to check out include Arty Farty, Campy! and AiiRo. Check out our gay guide to Tokyo for more details. Other cities in Japan that have a few notable queer hangouts include Nagasaki, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima.

The main gay festival in Japan is Tokyo Rainbow Pride in April/May, based mainly around Yoyogi Park. In July the Rainbow Reel Tokyo takes place, which is the main annual Japanese LGBTQ film festival.

As gay travellers to Japan, we felt very welcome. When it comes to customer service the Japanese are ahead of everyone. They do everything with such precision and attention to detail, always with a smile. Whoever you are, you'll feel this in Japan. For locals, however, the situation is more complex because Japanese society is quite conservative. Despite this, it's changing and improving all the time; certainly by Asian standards.

Homosexuality has always been legal in the Philippines and the age of consent has always been the same for everyone throughout its history. Interestingly, the Philippines has one of the lowest ages of consent in the world: 12!

The main gay scene of the Philippines is in the capital, Manila, which has hangouts like O Bar, Adonis and Nectar. Other cities with notable LGBTQ hangouts include Davao City, Quezon City and Cebu.

Manila Pride in late June is the largest gay event in the Philippines, attracting around 25,000 people. Quezon City also has a Pride in March. The annual QC International Pink Film Festival (QCIPFF) in Quezon City in November is famous for being one of the largest and best LGBTQ film festivals in Asia.

The anti-gay laws were revoked in 1991 with the age of consent equalised to 16 in 2006. There are anti-discrimination laws in place but only for government employees. In terms of gay marriage laws, there are none, but this is currently being challenged in the Hong Kong High Court. Foreign registered gay marriages are however recognised in Hong Kong.

Despite its small size, there are a number of gay bars across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, particularly in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui. Some of the best gay bars and clubs in Hong Kong include: FLM, T:ME Bar, Petticoat Lane and Bing Bing.

Hong Kong Pride in November is the largest gay festival, attracting around 10,000 people. In addition, on the 17th May, there is an annual procession for the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). The Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film Festival in September is regarded as the oldest LGBTQ film festival in Asia, dating back to 1989.

On the one hand, South Korea has never had any anti-gay laws ever in its history. The age of consent has always been equal at 13, and the right to change legal gender was introduced in 2006. But on the other hand, there are no gay marriage or civil union laws, no national anti-discrimination laws and there is an outright ban on LGBTQ people openly serving in the military.

Seoul has one of the largest gay scenes in Asia with queer hubs in Homo Hill in Itaewon, and also in Jongno. Homo Hill is where the majority of the popular gay bars of Seoul can be found like Lollipop, Queen, Q-Bar, Almaz, Always Homme, Bottoms Up and Why Not. Jongno is where the original Seoul village started out and is now more of a local scene with places like OWOO, Wallpaper Karaoke Bar and The Nine.

What South Korea has in terms of conservative Christian intolerance, it sure as hell makes up for it in terms of a gay scene and queer events! Seoul Pride sums this up. Every year, usually in June/July, the capital hosts the second largest LGBTQ event in Asia (after Taipei Pride) called the Seoul Queer Festival, attracting crowds of around 120,000.

Vietnam has never had any anti-gay laws, has always had an equal age of consent for intercourse (17), gays are allowed to openly serve in the military, the right to change your legal gender was introduced in 2017 and single gay people are allowed to adopt. There are no anti-discrimination laws yet, but in 2006, the Government passed an anti-discrimination law to protect people with HIV from discrimination, which included provisions for free health care.

Despite having a large LGBTQ community in Saigon and Hanoi, the gay scene is not that big at all, with only a handful of queer hangouts. The main ones are in Saigon and include Republic, Le Pub and Thi Bar. The capital, Hanoi, only has one gay bar called GC Bar. With such a small gay scene, the gay dating apps are your friend in Vietnam, so we recommend using them to tap into the local LGBTQ community.

Viet Pride is the main gay event in Vietnam, which takes place in Hanoi every August. It includes a bike rally parade, a film festival and an After Pride party. Find out more about what gay life is like in Vietnam in our interview with gay local Quan from Saigon.

Up until 2018, it was illegal to be gay in India under Article 377 of the 1861 Indian Penal Code, introduced during the British colonial years. This law was revoked by the Delhi Court in 2009 but then brought back by the Supreme Court in 2014, then finally revoked again in 2018. We hope it stays this way!

Most large Indian cities are slowly developing a gay scene. They are constantly growing and evolving since the anti-gay laws were overturned in 2018. In Mumbai, there are regular gay meet-ups and gatherings organized by the Gay Bombay group and Salvation Star. In the capital, Delhi, there are gay nights like Pink Tuesday at Depot 48, Rainbow Thursday at PDA Martini Bar, and Kitty-Su on Thursday evenings at The Lalit.

There are quite a large number of gay events in India taking place throughout the year. Mumbai Pride is called Queer Azaadi Mumbai (QAM), which takes place in January/February (Azaadi means “Freedom” in Hindu/Urdu). Delhi Pride takes place on the last Sunday of November. Other Pride events to look out for in India include Chennai Pride in June, Bangalore Pride in October/November and the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk in December.

In 2007, Nepal’s Supreme Court ruled that discrimination on the grounds of orientation or gender identity was against the law. The court also ordered the government to legally establish a third gender category to recognise the rights of transgender people. This prompted the Nepalese Government to introduce one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, being one of the few to expressly make reference to protecting its LGBTQ community.

The short answer, there is almost none. Most of it is underground, so the gay dating apps are the best way to connect with the local LGBTQ community to tap into any queer events going on. There are a handful of gay friendly places in Kathmandu, which have a one-off queer night on weekends, like PINK Tiffany and Fire on a Friday night. Find out more in our interview with local boy Tilak from Kathmandu.

There are two main gay events in Nepal, both in Kathmandu and organised by The Blue Diamond Society. The first is the Mr Gay Handsome beauty pageant in June and the other is the Gaijatra LGBT Pride Parade, which is usually in August, but the date changes each year.

From our perspective as a gay couple travelling in Nepal, we quickly fell in love with the Nepalese people as we did with the Filipinos. They are extremely warm hearted people, eager to welcome you, no matter who you are. What summed it up is our (straight male) guide during our Annapurna trek, who was apprehensive about us at first, but quickly became a good friend, and later sent us a very sweet DM on Facebook saying, “I respect your close friendship”.