Last year, Ashley T. Brundage spoke at around 200 events in nine countries—that’s a lot of getting around. As founder and president of Empowering Differences, a consultancy firm based in Tampa, Florida, that helps businesses and other organizations create strategies to empower employees and other stakeholders, she’s always got a suitcase packed. In fact, one of the conferences she hosts, Voyage of Empowerment, takes place on a cruise ship.
All her travel helps her when she gives advice to destinations about how to be more welcoming to LGBTQ2S+ people. “When people go on a vacation, they want an experience that will make them smile, make them feel validated as their authentic selves,” says Brundage. “I spend a lot of time in places people think wouldn’t be inclusive, but I’ve been made to feel welcome in Kentucky and felt discriminated against in Manhattan.”
After going through her gender transition, which started in 2008, she started to travel more, heading first to Paris. She says it was a reaction to having stayed at home for long periods of time because, as a trans woman, she didn’t feel safe. “I felt like I lost 11 years of not living authentically and not seeing the world like I said I would do,” says Brundage, who was named Transgender Rising Star at the New York Coming Out Conference.
Pink Ticket Travel asked Brundage to tell us about the three places in the world she most enjoys.
New York City, New York
Although my business is based in Tampa, my goal is to be in New York as much as possible. There are eight and a half million people living there, and it’s eight and a half million different cities in one. Each of the five boroughs offers its own unique experience. It’s such a melting pot of different countries and cultures; if I want a certain cuisine, for example, I know I can find it. One of the things I like about the New York food scene is that you could literally eat out every night and never go to the same place twice, so I find it hard to name a restaurant.
My favourite New York museum is The Statue of Liberty Museum (Liberty Island, New York), because you’re getting three experiences in one tour. You get the Statue of Liberty and can learn about its history, you get the Ellis Island National Immigration Museum, where you learn about how people came here from all over the world, and you get the boat ride, too. All in one purchase.
I love to go to bars and clubs in New York. My favourite karaoke spot is 161 Lafayette (161 Lafayette St., New York). It’s a hole in the wall that’s quintessential New York. It’s tiny, but everyone packs into that room. There’s so much good energy. People sing all kinds of music. I do a lot of Pat Benatar, Blondie, No Doubt. They take photos of people and put them on the wall, so I have a signed photo up there.
I’ll go to straight bars—I don’t discriminate—especially the Hell’s Kitchen ones. Blue Ruin (538 9th Ave., Manhattan, New York) is fun. I like how it’s got the couch area, the high-top tables, the dance floor. Whatever you want to do, they have a place to do it.
My favourite nightclub is House of Yes (2 Wyckoff Ave., Brooklyn, New York)—it’s probably one of the only reasons I’ll go to Brooklyn. They have amazing themed parties every weekend and people really go all out with their attire. Lots of performances. It’s really big with this main nightclub room but also other smaller rooms, each with a different atmosphere. It’s a blast.
Phuket and Bangkok, Thailand
I go to Thailand a lot to visit my family, but I also just love the culture. Being a proud woman of transgender experience in America, just existing is a political statement, so it’s nice to be in a country where being trans isn’t really that big of a thing. People are really respectful, much more respectful than Americans. The idea of respect is built into the culture there, so I’ll go to the temple and get blessed by a monk, which is really cool.
And then—it’s a beautiful country. The beaches, the highlands, the boat tours. I love to take a boat out to Koh Phi Phi because the islands are so amazing. One of them is where they made the movie The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio. I love beaches, but there has to be shade because of my fair skin.
And the food. I love the fact that in Thailand, every time you go to a restaurant, there will be a Thai food menu, but then they’ll often have another genre of food. You have Thai dishes on one side, then you flip the menu over and they’ll have Italian dishes or burgers and fries and chicken tenders.
If it’s your first time in Bangkok, you have to get a massage. They’re amazing and really cheap. The shopping is also excellent, so you have to hit some of the malls. For the bar scene, if I had to pick just one area, I’d pick Soi Cowboy (Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok), which is a walking street full of nightclubs and dance bars, some of which have go-go dancers. It’s a sight to see and just so much fun.
I usually stay at the JW Marriott (4 Sukhumvit Rd., Khwaeng Phra Khanong Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok), so they know who I am there, and I’ll hang out in that area, Nana, which has a lot of places to eat. I’ll go to one of the Hillary bars (a chain of bustling resto-bars in the lower Sukhumvit area; the original is Hillary 1, 18 Sukhumvit Rd., Khlong Toei, Bangkok). Wow, it sounds like all I do is go to bars and eat! In Bangkok, you want to stay at a place close to the things that you want to do because it’s a huge city—it just goes on and on—and you can end up sitting in traffic the whole time.
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is where my roots are, and I still have roots there. It’s one of the cities in Florida that not everybody knows about, but it’s easy to get to—the airport is very accessible.
I love the waterfront areas, especially the Riverwalk (which runs along the Hillsborough River Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park to Waterworks Park), which is beautiful. All the bridges light up and there are rainbows every single day and there’s a permanent rainbow art installation on the side of the Tampa Museum of Art (120 W. Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa). The park by the museum is lit up with rainbow colours at night—there’s an LGBTQ2S+ undertone to the whole city. It’s the gayest city that no one knew was gay. They have a gay mayor, too. [Out lesbian Jane Castor was elected mayor in 2019, making her the first openly LGBTQ2S+ person to be mayor of the city.]
You should also take a water taxi to the different entertainment districts downtown—one of the main stops is by South Harbour Island Boulevard Bridge, near the Tampa Marriott Water Street.
I would also recommend the Tampa Bay History Center (801 Water St., Tampa) to learn about the history of the city, which was built by immigrants from different cultures. In fact, you’ll notice that lots of cultural clubs still exist: a Cuban club, an Italian club, a German club. They have programming and host events.
First-time visitors will also want to check out the historic neighbourhood of Ybor City, which is a cultural hotbed. That’s where the LGBTQ2S+ clubs are (mostly along E. 7th Avenue between N. 13th Street and Angel Oliva Senior Street). Bradley’s on 7th (1510 E. 7th Ave., Tampa) is probably the most accessible and the most fun. It’s more of a drink-talk place. Southern Nights TAMPA (1401 E. 7th Ave., Tampa) is more of a nightclub. They’re both very popular.
For dining out, I like to eat on the Riverwalk. There’s Ulele (1810 N. Highland Ave., Tampa), which has seafood and steak—lots of local Florida ingredients. You can take a water taxi there or walk.
In Ybor City, I like Casa Santo Stefano (1607 N 22nd St., Tampa), which is a Sicilian restaurant. It has a rooftop deck with a bar with a view—from up there, you can see what’s happening around Ybor City.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
