About

Hi, I'm Wafi.

I grew up queer in Yemeni-Indonesian culture, and I learned early to read every room I walked into. Which version of me does this place want? What do I keep in my pocket today? Most queer men know that habit. It's tiring, and it follows you everywhere, even on holiday.

Travel showed me something else. In Kathmandu, I watched Nepali queers dancing to Bollywood songs, completely queer and completely Nepali at the same time. In a park in Isfahan, I noticed two men sitting close behind the bushes, quietly holding hands, just being sweet with each other. Two very different places, and the same lesson: queerness isn't one culture that comes from the West. It lives everywhere, in its own language, its own music and its own quiet ways.

Before Habibi Lads, I spent three years at a small-group travel company as marketing manager, trip designer and group leader on the road. I learned what turns a group of strangers into friends in a week, and what gets in the way. I've also spent 12 years working with a human rights film festival. I've travelled to more than 20 countries, from couchsurfing sofas to private villas, and they taught me there's no single right way to travel. Just the way that lets you feel like yourself.

So I built the trip I kept wishing existed. We stay in one private house for the whole week, so there's no packing up and checking in and out every other day. You unpack once and settle in. The group stays small, never more than 12, so everyone is heard and nobody is left on their own. A chef, a tour leader and trip support come from the country we're in, each of them local, queer, or both. We spend our money with local businesses, including the queer-owned bars and restaurants that keep these cities' queer life going. And I'm there, in the house, all week.

Our first trip is Bangkok, 24 to 30 March 2027.

See the trip