Instead, the 28-year-old stayed a month and a half, as her experience at the parade gave rise to discussions and discoveries in the Thai capital's thriving LBGTQ+ community.
Wen got interested in Thailand when her friend sent her a photo of rainbow-colored, Pride-themed ice cream being sold on the streets.Wen describes herself as queer, which she says means that her partners can be any gender and she can be any gender.
Thailand Tourism Authority official Apichai Chatchalermkit said in an Aug. 9 article in The Nation newspaper that LGBTQ+ tourists are considered “high-potential” as they tend to spend more and travel more frequently than other visitors. Owen Zhu, a gay real estate agent in Bangkok who sells houses to Chinese clients, said many are also coming to stay. He estimated some 2/3 of his clients are LGBTQ+, many of whom buy apartments to live in part- or full-time.
As a lesbian in her conservative province in central China, Jade Yang was talked into marrying a gay man at her parents’ request so that both of them could keep up appearances. “I wasted a lot of time over the past three years,” she said. “After coming here, I feel the world is so big for me to explore. I have also learned I should not deny the way I am so easily, and love myself better.”