PRAGUE BY ANDREA

I’m Belinda, a 39 year old TV from Inverness. I don't feel that I am 100% convincing, but I try my hardest.

My journey to Prague involved an early start. The taxi arrived at 0530 to meet the Inverness to Aberdeen train at 0630. My flight to Amsterdam took off at 1030. The connecting flight from Amsterdam departed at 1630 C.E.T. getting into Prague at 17:45.

I had booked into a gay guesthouse - Haus Holiger, Pod Sychrovem II/ 47, Praha 10 ( tel no. 00420 602 311 516). The guesthouse has also a ‘sister’ establishment - Holiger’s Hotel. The room cost was 1500 Czech Crowns (approx. £30) per night. The guesthouse and hotel welcome tv's.

It was a lovely place, small - 8 rooms. The staff were very friendly. The guesthouse is German owned and run and was clean and tidy. My room had satellite tv, mini bar, en-suite bathroom + shower and a lovely balcony. The guesthouse also does very reasonable priced lunch and evening meals. Breakfast is included in the price.

I met a gay escort at a club and he stayed for a couple of days - the hotel don't mind this and no extra charge was incurred. Prague is a wonderful city, steeped in history. The buildings in the old part of town are magnificent. It is a sightseer's paradise. Horse and carriage and vintage car tours of the city are available. Walking tours of the city are also very popular along with mini cruises. The Czech women are astoundingly beautiful. Walking down the street you will see so many stunning women of all ages you will be astounded. It seems to be a characteristic of the Czech female race - tall, very slim and facially extraordinarily beautiful. The weather when I was there averaged about 30-35C - It was very hot.

The cost of eating and drinking out is very reasonable - Czech beer such as Budvar (original Budweiser) is about 60p a glass. Czech wine is 150 Czech crowns (approx. £3) per bottle. I had a nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Czech people adore café life. It is similar to Paris, they love to see and be seen in the pavement café bars mobile phones at hand. Prague is also blessed? With Macdonald’s. A word of warning - do not use Macdonald’s as a point of reference when trying to get around as there are so many of them.

There is a very good under ground and Tram network which is very cheap. I got caught out one day. My escort, Gabriel (he was an angel) said locals do not have to pay. This goes back to communist times when transport was 100% free for all citizens. The cost is minimal 10 crowns (50 to £). We took 3 trams and never paid. We took 2 underground trains and never paid. As we were walking up to the underground exit two Inspectors demanded to see our tickets. They were very aggressive. Gabriel had to pay 400 crowns - approx. £8. So it is not worth the risk, pay for a ticket. Taxis in Prague are a bit suspect. It is best to phone for one - the hotel will have several numbers. I will illustrate what I mean. A journey from the centre of Prague to the guesthouse averaged about 200 crowns when pre-booked. One afternoon (entirely my fault) I suggested jumping into a taxi home. The same journey cost 700 crowns - so be warned.

Most bar and shop personnel speak excellent English. I had to resort to some pigeon German on a couple of occasions. Surprisingly they had some British shops. Marks and Spencer's, C&A (even though UK C&A are now closed) and Tesco. The tesco was more than a supermarket, having about 4 floors of clothes, electrical goods CD’s and videos along with sports equipment. The shop in Prague is excellent and very reasonable.

Most shops accept VISA and MASTERCARD. I had a problem getting cash out from ATM's using my UK bankcard, as in it would not work there. Most machines take VISA ELECTRON.

The Prague nightlife is amazing. Like other European cities they tend not to go out until late 10pm. I went to two clubs, there are undoubtedly more. The first night I went out I headed for a gay club called Pinocchio’s, Selfertova 3, Praha 3 tel no. 420 222 710 773. I went dressed in guy drag, as I wanted to see what the place was like. I was no sooner over the threshold, ordering a drink at the bar when a tall Czech guy (Gabriel) who did not speak very good English chatted me up. We settled for German - I can just about get by in German. I bought him a drink, just being neighbourly. When we got chatting a told him I was a Travesti (TV). He just laughed his head off at that and kept looking me up and down, shaking his head. We had a good laugh. He said he would come along to my guesthouse the next day. As I left, I though he will never turn up, but he proved me wrong and appeared the next evening.

That night we went out to another club - I got dressed in my finery. Gabriel suggested going to the Aqua Club 2000 - a tv club. This sounded perfect. The address is Husitska 7, Praha 3 - tel. No. 02 62783468. Gabriel got this one a bit wrong. It was a tv show club. On the same grounds as Funny Girls in Blackpool. The tv’s performing were stunningly beautiful and bodies to die for. So here was me, dressed to the nines. Sitting in a 100% straight audience. I felt like a complete alien. Don't get me wrong - there was no hostility. But to be so different from the people around you is a horrible feeling. Several large Vodka Coke’s soon resolved this. The Aqua club is a bit pricey for drink. The entrance fee is 150 crowns - you do not pay at the door. You get a bar ticket and each drink is marked on it. You pay when you leave. Don't lose your bar ticket as they charge 1000 crowns. The show was really well done, probably better than Funny Girls, if you have been. Once I got more relaxed, I started to enjoy myself. I was getting a fair bit of attention from women and men - I suppose curiosity more than anything else. A mega moment for me was when my bladder called time and I had to go to the loo. I reasoned, dressed as I was, there was no way I could go to the gents. So gathering up my purse, I headed for the ladies. I even managed to pluck up courage to fix my hair and make-up with other real girls beside me. I just smiled. God knows what they were thinking?

It was a great night, but I don't think I would have gone dressed if I had known I was going to be the only tv in the audience - It boosted my dressing confidence a bit, but was very nerve wracking. It was a really nice evening. Gabriel being a perfect gent bought me a rose as we left the club - such a sweetheart.

The next evening we went back to Pinocchio’s, this time me as a grrrl. I got quite a reaction walking into a gay club dressed. Again not hostile, just amazement/curiosity. Pinocchio’s is a fine club. Drinks are reasonable the service is excellent. Ashtrays emptied regularly and table served drinks. Every night there is a disco starting at 10pm. The club was very quiet up until then. The club as I found out is German owned. The Germans seem to like Prague. Gabriel turned out to be the perfect escort, very attentive, getting me to dance with him. I thoroughly enjoyed myself at this club. Whilst dancing to Abba I had my bum slapped quite hard. Of course when I turned round there was 3 or 4 innocent faces. I just teasingly wagged my finger at them - It was all just good fun.

My bladder posed me with another dilemma. I trotted off to the loos. Only to find that there was no ladies. I suppose being a male gay club, it kind of made sense. As they say when you gotta go, you gotta go, so in I trotted. I turned a few heads as I swished past the urinals in my long evening dress and heels. I just smiled as they peed down their legs. I had to compete with the gay boys to get near a mirror to do my make-up and hair. Someone graciously let me in. The age of chivalry is not dead.

I cannot properly explain the feeling of going out dressed to a club - this is completely new territory to me. It made me feel wonderful. Dancing also made me feel so feminine.

I would thoroughly recommend Prague as a holiday destination. I only found 2 gay clubs, undoubtedly there are many more. There is a Czech gay publication called ‘Amigo’ which I found quite useful. It is predominantly a personal contact advert magazine, but has lots of adverts. My only regret about Prague is not having more time there - I have vowed to go back. It is a wonderful city.