Gay Camberwell

It's easy to forget whilst living in London (especially such a - ahem - gay part of it it) what it's like for gay people in the rest of the world. Well, we don't forget too often as Roz and I have a penchant for holidays in remote parts of the world that don't exactly embrace gay people and spend some time reading about the various punitive measures that could be employed if we were to forget ourselves and have a sneaky kiss on a street corner. 

We've just returned from Borneo, a place where not only is homosexuality illegal, but there is a special 'morality police' operating, seeking gay people to punish.  Given this, it's intriguing that there are any commonly known gay venues in Malaysia. However, open the travel guides to Kota Kinabalu, and they enthusiastically list the gay venues of the city. Indeed of the 8 drinking establishments suggested in the Bradt guide, 4 are gay - with one being a particularly good place to cruise.  Apparently.  

We noticed little cruising at the first gay-friendly bar we visited, the Upper Star - which is claimed by the books to be a pre-club bar popular with gays. We glanced surreptitiously around and speculated about who might be gay, but there were few hints.  [Note by Roz: this may, however, be because our great enthusiasm for early nights means that we probably weren't there when gay pre-clubbing enthusiasts would be.] 

For Roz's 30th birthday night out, we went to Q Bar.  This turned out to be even more gay than even the Castle: from the rainbow sticker on the door to the welcoming drag queen (a Malaysian version of Camberwell's own Michael Twaits) who swanned over to advise us that there would be a drag show that evening (perhaps to warn us of the nature of the establishment), this was a proper gay venue. And, in fact, a very jolly one. I particularly liked the fact that the waiter took our orders, bringing the drinks to our tables, and that there was such a cheery mix of gay men and women kissing, chatting, cruising and playing pool. And all very much appreciating the drag show, which turned out to be rather good. A really nice atmosphere, and we had a great night.

We have to wonder why the morality police don't consult Bradt travel guide when seeking gay people...