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| Babylon |
| Written by Hawaii 50 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Friday, 17 March 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Previously known as the Rasta Café for 8 years, the renamed Babylon Bar and Restaurant was reopened on Christmas Day 2005 after a temporary closure for six months. "Boy", the owner, thought of naming it Cannabis but considered it too presumptuous and challenging to the authorities.
The terms Babylon and Rastafarian conjure stereotyped images of cults and sects of Caribbean men with long braided hair styles gyrating to the hypnotizing thump of Bob Marley's reggae music. I was not to be disappointed. The steady beat of the live band could be heard before our car had stopped. The nightclub itself is mostly outdoors, with just the bar, the band shelter, a few booths and the toilet facilities under cover. The place was packed with some 15 tables surrounding a bonfire and the bandstand. "Boy", himself wearing a long set of dreadlocks (as the hair style is commonly referred to), mentioned that "the bonfire, which is lit every night regardless of the weather, is the fire of life as both you and I have passionate fire in us. As you can observe around yourself, my clientele is international of all ages, and I never approach my customers first as I let them come to me whenever they feel comfortable". I found the Thai five-member band second to none with their reggae repertoire, both in Thai and in English. A whole long wall of portraits of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Hendrix and other rock music legends, hand painted by Boy himself, further complimented the club's electric atmosphere. The bar is self-serving and offers drinks like Malibu Beach, Long Island iced tea, Margarita, Kamikaze and Free Cuba. Drink prices range from a Thai whiskey and coke at Baht 60 and a pint of local whiskey and set-up for Baht 200. Food is limited to light snacks. Ready made Indian food is served during lunch hours. The Babylon has been featured in the Lonely Planet, the Farang Magazine, Citylife, and the Souvanaphoum Thai Tourist Guide. Some of "Boy's" ongoing concerns include watching out for large roving bands of young homeless children who will steal anything not nailed down in order to survive and feed their drug habits. "Boy" further explains that the nightclub's revenues are sufficient to cover his costs and at his age in the early 30's, he is still young enough to maintain and enjoy this pace and lifestyle for quite a few more years, as the club is closed during the rainy season. He is just very happy to be able to provide the appropriate entertainment to "his own people". I consider the Babylon entertaining enough to want to while away most of an evening there, watching other people come and go and generally having their own good time, listening to some great musical renditions of great rock legends performed by a surprisingly great local band and "Boy's" enthusiasm sure can be contagious.
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