Singapore may at first appear to be a “buttoned up” country with strict laws on homosexuality but things are slowly changing as public awareness and official acceptance becomes gradually more apparent.
Although the country may not enjoy the reputation of say cities like Bangkok, Sydney or even Hong Kong there are many venues where gay men and women can let their hair down and enjoy a drink or a late night disco or even a sauna or two. Here is a list of just a few places where PLU’s meet. Alas what may be considered to be the founding father of Singapore gay venues “Vincent’s” shut up shop a while ago, but others have moved in to fill the void.
Perhaps the best known gay pub in Singapore is the BackStage on the corner of Temple Street and Trengganu Street, just a short walk from the Chinatown MRT station.
BackStage is an upstairs bar that as the name suggests, has a theatrical theme – well more of a movie-themed décor. Lining the stairs to the bar are reminders of great movies of the past, posters for Gone With the Wind, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, The King and I, Oklahoma and the like festoon the walls.
