Natee says that unlike overseas, where strict regimens are in place, gay saunas in Bangkok are not subject to curbs on opening hours. No age limits apply to entry, and the service is cheap.
They can open until morning, and are a popular gathering place for gays when other nightspots have closed.
Little information is posted at city saunas about the risks involved in unprotected sex. Yet that is often how encounters between men who meet at gays saunas end up, he told Kom Chad Leuk newspaper.
'Gays are like anyone else...they get turned on by the sight of near-naked bodies, people wandering about with nothing on but a towel. Men who visit saunas are often drinking, which accentuates their desire for sex.
'They can end up in darkened rooms, where no one knows who is having sex with whom. Some men who visit saunas can have sex with up to 20 men a night.'
Only one of those men need have Aids to put all the others at risk. And the hot, steamy conditions in saunas were ideal for spreading the HIV virus, he said.
Natee said some city saunas have been done up to look fancy, while others look ordinary. But that is the only thing which tells them apart, because in all other respects, they are the same.
'Young Thai gays are coming out more, as society grows more accepting. Youngsters also tend to use the internet more, where saunas promote their services openly. We need to keep an eye on this risk group in particular.'
A source at the Department of Communicable Disease Control in Bangkok said staff had surveyed people with Aids in three at-risk provinces of Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Many said they contracted the disease at saunas.
'A night at the sauna is cheap. Some do not charge for rooms - you only pay for the drink. They are also good at using the internet to promote themselves.'
now, see part 2
now, see part 2
Sadly, many men probably do pick up disease at saunas- but their unsafe behavior comes from their ignorance or carelessness, not the sauna. Saunas should do more to promote condom use: Provide more condoms, leave bowls of condoms in strategic places, and remind patrons as they are entering to be safe (also having safe-sex info at the entrance would be good). For awhile the police here were cracking down on saunas and not allowing them to give out condoms- madness!
ReplyDeleteOne more comment: I do notice that younger Thai gays (whether in saunas or not) do not seem to know or care much about safe sex these days. The government has really dropped the ball on sex education; sadly, since they had such a head start on it before.
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