Reminds me of the hoity toity attitude of the novel and film set in Thaiand "The Beach".Nobody wants those others on their exclusive island.

Glad the locals get a broader choice of farang one time a year.

Babylon is still very up and down for this time of the year even.Last Tuesday a manager invaded the change room to advise all departing that there was a show about to start.Seemed they needed to make up the numbers in the audience and sell booze in the courtyard.For the sake of staff hope they have a solid summer.Should pick up now.

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Ok, yes the farangs also spend money there. Massage, lunch, dinner and drinks. I sometimes see farangs checking out with bills over 1000B. Many Thais check out with no charges.

It's OK that farangs go but I wish they would keep their hands off me and butt out when a Thai or an Asian guy is showing me some attention.

Some farangs showing a sexual interest in me have been so aggressive I have had to leave. Others so smelly I gagged. Every now and then there's a group of loud and arrogant farangs congregating at the pool. And, there's a core group of resident farangs that's looks and behavior can only be described as bizarre.

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If you don't like farangs going after you, why don't you just say "no" or even, "I'm definitely not interested." It would quickly solve all your problems. I've cruised there and often could not figure out if the Thai guy was interested, not interested, or just playing tease games (but still interested). I think some of the Thai in there want to have the farangs touch them just so they can put on a drama show of jumping away (or whatever other little sadistic mind game they want to play). I know it's not the Thai culture to say "no" but likewise I think a lot of farangs will agree that a lot of it is Thai wanting to parade around and play weird games.

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Without getting into a long story, lets just say that on a few occasions a few farangs would not take "no" for an answer. Others a "no thanks" does fine and others take a few stabs at it before giving up. I don't think any of these aggressive farangs spoke enough English to get into a protracted conversation over the lack of my interest.

I have never had a problem with a Thai or Asian. One "no" is all it takes. Not that I say that many no's to Thai and Asians.

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Been fascinating reading this thread, especially the most recent comments from trongpai about "farangs" would "would not take 'no' for an answer." I hear similar complaints here in the USA, but over here it is white guys complaining about Asian guys who can't understand the meaning of "no." Guess it all depends on who is calling the kettle whatever. I was taught that grouping an entire race together for the behavior of a few was a form of racism.

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Trongpai is right. If you go in a Thai sauna, no Asian will go after a farang non-stop (be a pest). You might have seen this in U.S. but it doesn't happen in Thailand. Actually I've never experienced it anywhere (an Asian being a pest).

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Actually I have experienced some very aggressive Asians in Bangkok. I could generalize and say it's all Asians, but I know that is not true, just as I am sure Trongpai knows not all foreigners are aggressive - there are probably many who don't pay him any mind and many others who take no as no. Let's cut the crap and recognize that all races/cultures/groups of people have good and bad among them. And if Trongpai is so disgusted by westerners (as his post suggests he is a farang as well), I would suggest he go to a sauna that only caters to Asians. There are many in Bangkok.

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My sexual orientation is exclusively toward Asians. Part of the reason I live in Thailand. Choosing a sexual partner and cruising is a choice based on mutual attraction not racism.

Sure, it's generalizations. not all westerns are aggressive cruisers and not all Asians are polite cruisers.

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Huge sign at Asian leaning City Steam in Sydney -"NO MEANS NO."

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Cruising or sexual attraction is not usually bad behavior, just the norm for most of us. The behavior of which you lumped together a large group, joined together only with one identifying factor, that of being a foreigner, was a bad behavior: being overly aggressive. That is text book bigotry, to assign a bad behavior to a group just because of something like skin color, religion, or gender. Sort of like assuming every black man is going to rob you because some black men are in prison for robbery. Or like assuming American Southerners are all less than intelligent because some of them have little education. Same thing to imply this: every foreigner is aggressive because a few are overly aggressive.

Are you a foreigner? Are you, by definition, aggressive?

I didn't think so.

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If you say no and they still go after you, then I agree it's torture to have to put up with it. If there's anything I hate, it's nodding a definite no, or saying no, or even saying, "I'm definitely not interested"--and then older guy keeps going after me. Maybe they find some guys give in. Or they think, "wow, this guy talked to me--even if he said no--he might really be interested even if he says he's not" or "I know this game--he says no--that's a signal that he wants to play hard-to-get and I should go after him." Again, there are a LOT of weird psycho games that go on in saunas. I've had times where I've wanted to kill people.

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Yeah we oldish farangs are a jealous, envious, rapacious lot wanting it all to ourselves.

LOL. Was rather pleased with the financial crisis and troubles in LOS when it put off large tour groups with fat women and straight men. By the way my tongue is firmly planted in my cheek for a change. I know where I would rather have it... HPV notwithstanding.

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Babylon has its moments. While I don't think it is anywhere close to being the best gay sauna in the world like I had been led to believe, I have had some great experiences and met my current Thai boyfriend there (9 months ago).

Sometimes, the energy there is amazing and at other times it is just awful. Like any gay sauna I guess....

But where Babylon excels is that it offers more than just a gay sauna. It is certainly a great place for accommodation - check out those garden suites. Wow!

I hope the owners continue to upgrade the place (e.g. the gym could do with an overhaul) to attract more well heeled clientele - then you will see the place overflowing with gorgeous locals.....

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I don't care so much about "well-heeled", but gorgeous would certainly be welcome.

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I have been reading the board for several years and thought it was time to contribute. I've enjoyed (and benefited from) the experience of others here. Particularly indebted to s_xtile for his wide-ranging travels and observations.

I visited Babylon three times in the past six weeks, each time hoping that it would finally emerge as the same place I used to love. I felt like a restaurant reviewer, giving the kitchen one more chance to prove itself. Alas, disappointment persisted.

The numbers are certainly down (way down). Non-Thais appeared to outnumber the locals on each visit. And the Thais who do frequent seem, on average, older than I had remembered. For those who haven't been there lately, the layout in the cruising area has changed. Gone is the atrium-like stairwell with the big TV display and grand sound system and light show that I really liked. It has been replaced by a small maze-like cruising "box" on each floor level, none of which seemed at all cruisy.

Visitors from the past frequently used to comment on the AC in the cabin areas (quite cool). Now it seems that the temperature is not much different than that in the courtyard below. And absent are the cadre of staff who used to patrol the cabins with flashlights, quickly cleaning up any mess left behind. It's now common to find tissue paper and other stuff in the cabins, so you frequently have to clean it up before using it.

The one time I used the main restaurant, I was one of only seven diners at 1900 but the food was OK. The large steam room was open but it had an odor about it that discouraged me from returning.

On two of the three visits, I was approached by a MB. They quickly took the hint when I declined their offer.

Overall, I don't feel compelled to return any time soon. Babylon may well reinvent itself or get "rediscovered." But for the immediate future, it's dependent upon a loyal number of locals who frequent it regularly. And, of course, on the kindness of strangers. Many of the younger locals have gravitated to other saunas.

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