So there was I, innocently taking a stroll near Ann Siang Road one afternoon when I discovered this quaint little blue building tucked away in an obscure corner.

Raw sauna, gym & spa

It looked to me like a restaurant or cafe, perhaps a new place where I could hang out quietly and read my book.

But the closer I got to the entrance, the less it looked like a cafe.

Raw sauna, gym & spa

Then I realised it must be a nightclub or bar - there was a small counter on the left side of the entrance, probably for the bouncer, and on the wall was a poster showing the back of a topless woman, probably advertising some topless show of theirs.

It didn’t occur to me that maybe there aren’t any topless bars in Singapore? Or are there?

Since it was mid afternoon and in bright daylight, I felt brave enough to walk right up to the entrance to satisfy my curiosity by taking a closer look at the poster.

I soon realised that the topless woman in the poster was too muscular to be a topless woman, and it also mentioned something along the lines of “exclusively all men’s sauna, gym & spa”.

I may be a man, but this isn’t the place for me.

As I staggered back a little, I decided I had to take a photo of the poster. That was when I thought I noticed some movement to my right, coming from the right side of the door (can’t be seen from the photo above). There was a small window-like opening, covered by a not-so-transparent plastic panel. Because the panel was rather blurry, I went closer to have a better look.

There was a topless guy, maybe 2 metres away inside, in the dim tungsten light.

Before I could compose myself, the entrance door swung open, and 2 young guys stepped out. Inside the building behind them, I could see another topless guy seated on a bench with a towel wrapped around his waist. He took a glance at me just before the door closed.

Perhaps my only consolation was that the 2 young guys who came out didn’t bother taking a second look at me, much less attempt to drag me inside.

I never got to take a photo of the poster, but I managed to find a similar one from the same place online, just in case you’re interested ;)