Babylon again!
 

Am I the only person in the world who dislikes Babylon? I went there this week for the first time in months. The place was filthy, the waiters were surly (not one, in my entire evening, said 'thank-you' or even Kawp Khun Krub), the food was ordinary, the jacuzzi was full of Legionnaires passing on their disease, half the areas were permanently closed, the showers were disgusting and only with cold water and soap dispensers which didn't dispense, what few 'looms' there were which were open were awash with old sperm and soggy tissues, the film was 'Apollo 13' for God's sake!, the ratio of farang to Thai was about 3 to 1 and those Thais who were there looked distinctly shop-soiled and second hand. The only bright spot was the whimsical choice of music - and that was too loud.

I can't imagine why people think it is the best sauna in the world.

Sad to hear! So much for that illusion. Assuming it to be so where is the best place to meet Thai gays(25-40 in age) who are non rent and are not only into quick sex? Telephone, Ministry of Sound,Freeman, Chakran? See I have been reading these posts!

Oh boy! I was just going to ask what it would be like staying at Babylon Barracks, guess I will give it a miss.

Oh boy! I was just going to ask what it would be like staying at Babylon Barracks, guess I will give it a miss.

I don't think the New Babylon has been called one of the best saunas in the world. The old one was called that, and for good reason. It was great and I had many good times there.

No, the new one, while good in some ways, has nothing on the old one, or some of the other new saunas around town. I like Hero and Chakran the best. Both of them have lots of action, are well maintained and are a joy to visit.

The Barracks have gotten good reviews as far as it's cruising action goes. But the rooms are basic and I think the toilets are outside of the rooms. So there aren't what you would want in a room if you just wanted to hang out for an evening. Still, I'd like to check them out one night, you know, just for research purposes.

I went there while I was there will likely not go back. Of course I am not into quickie sex but thought I might find someone to take back to my close hotel. Of course it was good for my ego since I was crusied quite a bit by some younger men and some Farang as well so it was interesting visit. But the only real action I saw was in places where I couldn't see who was doing the deed. I really want to see at least a little of what the guy looks like that is giving head. Of course I am not your normal but the guys that were there were not all that hot. But neither am I. However I am coming back again in few weeks so it may be worth checking out some of the other places. espscially after this post . However when I was there a month ago I was not like that but I never knew the old place so I have nothing to compare. ;)

I REALLY liked the old Babylon. LOTS and LOTS of fun there. RIP. Don't like the new one because of the set up. Too fancy where it doesn't count (at least in my opinion) and lacking and grubby where it counts (wet areas and rooms) with little or less regard to the real purpose of a visit...sex (not weights or restaurants where I visit other places)! I also think it smells and is dirty in the wet areas and few rooms they have and agree with Elgar. :mad:

I recently returned from a trip to Thailand. While in BKK (Bangkok) I stayed at the Babylon Barracks and often spent time at the Babylon Sauna. I could not believe that Elgar was describing the same place at which I had stayed and enjoyed tremendously. Not only is the staff not surly, but I did not find even one waiter that wasn't anything but polite and friendly. The sauna has a beautiful pool and area with lounges and many chairs arranged so that one can take in the sun or sit in the shade, and the waiters that serve that area come often to ask if u need anything from the bar and when they bring ur drinks and or snacks they do so without getting or even expecting to be tipped. As far as the free cabins where do u find in a sauna that they r cleaned up after every use. I found that the people who come to Babylon r mostly older farangs until about five in the afternoon. After that hour and into the evening I found that the overwhelming number of visitors were young slim Asians and those young Asian that have gone in for workouts at the gym and have beautiful bodies to show for it. So I don't have the slightest idea to what Elgar was referring to when he called the Thais that r there as shop-soiled or second hand. It makes me wonder what kind of person is someone who is a guest in another country and refers to some of the native people in that manner; shame on u Elgar. The only point that I could agree with Elgar was the cold showers. These showers were in the sauna areas (at least they always worked, whereas at the old Babylon quite often the showers did not work or the water just dripped out)but u could get hot showers upstairs in the locker and cabin area. I don't know what Elgar was referring to when he said that half the place is permenently closed. I found that Babylon has three areas that open at different times of the day. The pool and sauna area around the pool is the only area opened until five in the afternoon. After five a second area with a bar and table and chairs and another sauna and cabin area is also opened. The last area which is referred to as the disco area is opened at about nine in the evening. So to which area Elgar is referring to as permenently closed is a mystery to me. I also had an occaision to visit the old Babylon. There were some things about it that I liked very much, but on the whole I would say that the new Babylon is a better facility.

I have stayed at Barracks and recommend a stay there once if you are a regular visitor.The conditions are basic but in a stylish minimal way.Very smart.

Was at Babylon 2 months ago and found it the best venue for Thai/Farang mix and would rank it still one of the worlds best.However,I agree the original was the best.The spa is the worst feature but with saunas being very hard to keep clean Babylon keep up pretty well compared to most.Check out Heaven also for a quiter but spotless sauna and Chakran is a venue of high standard.

I can't understand all these negatives about Babylon.I have been going to the old Babylon since it opened in 1986 and to the new one since it opened.I think both are great.I still think it is the best place for a farang to meet middle class Thai guys.I am at Babylon at least 2-3 times a month and have not found it dirty nor have I found the staff unfriendly-on the contrary I have found the staff great-especially in the restaurant and the disco.The Sat. night underwear parties in the disco are great fun and sometimes quite wild!I am really looking forward to the up coming Chinese New Year party and Valentines foam parties.Both should be fun and attended by Asians from all over Asia holidaying in Bkk over CNY.I also like Chakran a lot but feel it is more a place for Asians who are into Asians than a Thai/Farang meeting place.Also I don't like the relocated no towel zone next to the jacussi.I liked it better when it was upstairs.

Well, as we all know, opinions on saunas generally tend to be subjective - but Elgar (have you sobered up yet from last night, my dear?) does get into some specifics here. True, various areas do tend to open and close at the whim of the management, and there seems to be no logical system (what am I saying "logical system"? this is Thailand :D ). On Thursday, the steam room near the restaurant and weights room was closed, and the cruising/room area above the maze was also closed. Yes, the ratio of Thai to farang was not working in my favour, but I did score eventually! I didn't find the place dirty or the staff surly. The food was average.

I certainly preferred the old Babylon, as did many, but the problem now, as far as I am concerned, is, where to go that is better? I've been to Chakran 3 times, I think, and each time found it to be completely "sticky rice". I haven't tried anywhere else - perhaps I should. Any suggestions welcomed.

Thank you Dorrers! I am as shober ash a Lord m'judge...

I think I'd be surly, too, if I had to clean up the cum soiled rooms of butt fuckers, cock suckers and wankers!! I mean, I've seen some pretty nasty rooms at any given sauna over the years. Like any job, it's got it's low points.

But at any of the saunas you can find sticky rice, rude employees, dirty rooms and/or a lack of customers. And at all of the saunas where I've found these things, I've also found the opposite at other times. I don't worry about it, too much.

In fact, I always go to the saunas with the thought in mind that I may not score at all. Sometimes that happens. When it does, I'll just wank a nut on the floor for the surly employee to clean up !!! :D

I feel one of the main advantages to cruising at the old Babylon was the layout. The new Babylon is mostly linear dead-ends, i.e. you walk down a corridor, then you have to walk back. The old Babylon was like a giant loop, with some nice lounge areas for rest stops along the way. You could keep walking around without ever having to backtrack. This does wonders for psychology IMHO. Oh, and the old shower in the back with the sunroof (light!) is something else I miss.

I always found the floor outside the steam room by the spa of the new Bab too wet and filthy. Did not really like it at all. The old one was usually kept dry and nice to walk most of the time.

Like cupidman, I never expect to score anything when visiting a sauna although I usually score something. Not that I am a prince, but I am not very choosey. Hate to walk or hang around for hours to have no one to cuddle at the end. If I go there to look for a boyfriend or a LTR, I may prepare to wait as long as I have to for my dream guy to come. Some guys prefer to wank themselves alone if they cannot find their dream guys, that is entirely up to them.

I am sure there are still middle class Thai guys around at the Bab. I met and had fun with an older Thai man when I was there last October. I am very much into farangs, but he was handsome and so friendly that I couldn't resist. He was 40 something. I was surprised to hear him moan and groan in English as we were having fun. Later he told me he had been educated in San Francisco. Although he did not speak English with an American accent, I believed him because he initially spoke with me in English as we met and his English was very good.

In my personal opinion, the new Bab isn't so good as the old one but it is still one of the best saunas. Going there in 3 weeks, will see if I will still be able to confirm this!

Funny how there are so many opinions of this place. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and we all take our preconceptions wherever we go. How much the place sparkles or how cute the guys are that night ... well, maybe that's (partly) a reflection of the mood we're in at that moment? Since there really aren't any objective standards to use here, we might take all of these opinions with a grain of salt.

In my opinion, Babylon is a decent place, although I do wish they could have kept the original and expanded it somewhat. It had many features which are lacking in the present one (such as the aforementioned never-ending-loop and the rooftop showers). I also liked the terrace garden. The present ultra-aircondtioned restaurant just isn't as cosy. And the too-much-glamour entranceway could be much more understated. On the whole, though, I think it's a nice spot, and have had many good times there (in both its past and present incarnations).

I dislike new Babylon - I've been there twice only. I liked the old one sometimes.

For me the main overall differrence is that the old Babylon was a rabbit warren of small places where some sort of fantasy game could and often was played out. Especially the many changing rooms with small shower spaces, the several saunas and steam rooms, the quiet jacuzzi.
The roof terrace was also really nice though the courtyard bar in new babs I like too.

The reason I dislike new babs is the cruising spaces are all too big and impersonal. Both steam rooms are just free for alls there's an assumption anyone who ventures inside has given permission for anyone to grab them. This was true in the darkest part of the steam at old babs too and I therefore rarely went there. At old babs that left me enough other places. At new babs it doesn't.

Beind constructive, it wouldn't be so very difficult to restore some of the old charms. The showers with wooden slatted partitions could easily be thrown in a small outhouse near the pool for example. They could copy the roof gardens of other saunas and use potted shrubs and trees to create a warren of cruising space in the far corner of the garden.
It would also help if all areas were open. Really don't understand the business logic of keeping them closed. Staff are paid so little anyway and so many guys want work. I know for a fact (at old Babylon and I assume new too) that one extra admission daily would pay for an extra staff member so why not open everything from 5pm onwards.

There is one good thing about Babylon which I always viewed as the place for farangs and Thais who want to behave in the less reserved way that is common in farang culture. This is the place for that "push and grab" behaviour and the fact it exists means other places are left to be more thai. Somewhere for everyone then. I used to go to old babs when first arriving from Europe because I was aware that my way of behaving had changed and it would be more difficult to score at Obelisks. After a week or two back I managed to behave sufficiently "well" to get what I want elsewhere.

..You want hot (temperature-wise) showers at the Babylon? OK, here they are- Shower room, locker level; three showers, ALL hot. After 5PM area (jacuzzi, etc): When you enter area from outside bar, turn to left, across from sauna is a large circular stall with four showers, ALL hot. That's it, all other showers cold. Anyway, I agree new Babylon is not as good as old, but then again, what is???

Well, the old Babs was sleazy and smelt a bit funny (especially the steamroom), but the layout was great and there was action.

The new Babs has beaten its predecessor to smell. It STINKS now BIG TIME. Everywhere including the Barracks. I don't know, maybe they put a bunch of dead rats in the foundation according to some savage custom. Or maybe they store kitchen trash in the air-conditioning system?

The shower maze downstairs is constantly semi-flooded with soapy water. The only time I went there I spotted something very turd-like merrily floating in one of the shower cubicles. I wouldn't bet though that was not a drowned rat or maybe even a chocolate muffin!

Some restaurant manager from Massachusets told me that he was amazed how immaculately clean the new Babs is. One thing I know for sure: you won't see me dead dining out in Massachusets.

The jaccuzzi is hard to find and maybe that's for better. Normally one look is enough to turn one away from jaccuzzi for the rest of his life. To top it off, the water is cold and -- surprise! -- it smells funky. I can very well imagine Babs staff walking with buckets all the way to draw water from to the khlong between South and North Sathorn Roads.

In fact, there are so few hot showers, that you always end up queueing until cum cakes on you. The locker rooms remind of WWII submarines and the lockers themselves are barely big enough to squeeze in a silk fan and a leather purse. Now I understand what kind of crowd is the new Babs' target group. LOL

It's absolutely true: there's always something closed in the new Babs. It feels like a full size maze for gay lab rats. I don't see any rationale behind it except for trying to keep the crowds as close as possible to paid-for drinks and food. Well, dudes, we understand, you have your bills to pay.

I also felt the staff are embittered and crabby, especially in the Barracks (not all of them though) -- the doorboy is particularly obnoxious. They must be severely underpaid and have unlimited working hours per day or SOMETHING.

The hyped up disco events gather crowds of whopping 25-30 funked out dudes -- you know them, the former DJ Station junkies expelled from the premises for good. I was surprised to se them still alive there. They all seem to gather with the sole purpose of socializing with each other, so don't even bother to distract them from their excited chit-chat, they'll beat you into pulp with their fans and fancy purses.

The pretentious eclectic style with Babylonian sphynxes, concrete gargoyles, mismatched antiques, and chains everywhere is good enough to impress undereducated chintz-loving Americans and provincial European bourgeois travelling to Asia on package tours. The money should have rather been invested in some hygienic equipment.

I agree with flyagain's opinion that a bit of re-laying-out and lots of cleaning up would only do the place good. The gym and the pool area are neat and the building itself is bigger than the old Babs. It has the potential, but as of yet it is just mispllaned, mismanaged and miserable.

Chakran is perfect as a kind of country club for lazy weekends, but it's mostly "sticky rice" and the multi-layer cruising area with the underlit stairs is just dangerous.

The moral of the story us: the sad point of all gay establishments around the world is that the management always take their customers for granted.

Cum cakes? Sounds yummy!

Raebkk
do I understand, you don't like it? :mad:

I can't believe raebkk and I are going to the same Babylon Sauna in Bkk.My impressions are the total opposite of his.I think its a great place;has nevered appeared unusually dirty to me; and the staff are quite friendly.I go at least 3-4 times a month and have been doing so since the original babylon opened in 1986 or 87.

be kind - she must be having her monthlies.

After all this it is hard to believe they are all talking about the same place. I have nothing to compare but the old Dallas baths, but they were a lot of fun although this seems to be more for the older ones the Dallas baths were for the young. So here we all are looking for an old babylon or old Dallas. Well they are gone make the best of it.

Agreed grumpy faces are worse than the cum cakes.

just to add my pennies or satangs worth - i too think that Babs is a poor shadow of its former illustrious self- being one of the most shagged customers in there for many a year i paid a recent visit during the CNY festivities only to find as in many of the previous posts one staff ie the guy handling the keys and bags at the door otherwise all were as pleasant and charming as usual. The toilets are certainly lacking in hygiene as is the area near the showers and whats with keeping half the area closed till 9 - the place was jumping with hot n horny guys all looking for rooms but cos of some stupid senseless reasons the hot action areas such as glory holes cage etc dont opent till 9 - seems like they are wasting a valuable space and depriving customers of decent cruising opportunities
but judging by the number of guys in there the owners dont give a shit and will continue to do just as they like till something better comes along and takes away more of their business hopefully located on sukhumvit closer to a BTS station :p

I always wondered why the Obelisk owners did not start up another sauna, although obviously it would be a Thai Asian affair rather than the farang friendly Babylon. I think we have done to death remembering the old babs . Lets get on with what we have.

Never a one to let sleeping dogs lie, I went back to Babs this evening just to see if we had made any difference; and I have to say I think we have. The staff were going out of their way to say thank you and be pleasant to their customers (except the little thing at the desk who barely looked up from her computer game of patience) and the floors were distinctly cleaner.

However (there's always an however), the music from the live combo was simply awful. The singer was miked to be effective in Madison Square Garden and the piano wasn't miked at all. In the courtyard the effect was simply risible - a lone singer unaccompanied but for a faint wailing from a distant saxophone. I know... I know... we're lucky to have live music at all. Well not, actually, if it's that awful.

It may just be coincidental but if the powers at Babs have got to know about what is being said here, we seem to have had the right effect.

Elgar, blessed are those who bring us the glad tidings of good things! It's a shame the best East-meets-West sauna in Bangkok can't seem to do 2 simple things: rid of the funky smell and move around some partitions so that we can cruise anywhere throughout their office hours. Have they finally done it, or the only improvement is that they started saying thank you for our putting up with all that? :o)

P. S. I'm sorry for inadvertently offending the feelings of "them chintz-loving Ah-Bengs and purported Eurotrash" in my previous post and thus causing their flaming if short-lived outburst. I'll try to be more considerate next time. +big grin+ Fancy a noogie, girls?

I went to Baylon last nght and plan to again tonight. Had a wonderful time and saw nothing wrong with it at all. Of course it was dark and I wan't there as a health inspector taking samples for bacteria. Just for a good time and a a few insect bites I give it an 8 on the good time scale. :)

for what its worth i emailed babs via their website email address and gave them the link to these pages - lets hope that someone somewhere bothers to read and take note - was there again this week thursday - key giving/baggage handler man still miserable (though a different guy!)and the jacuszzi section that opens after 5pm looks decidly scary with the lighting being in the process of repairs - lets just hope that the odd wire doest fall into thejacuzzi or showers - power cut off a few times and it was abit scary making yr way past lots of bods in pitch darkness. Also was attacked by mozzies in a few of the 'resting' rooms. Has anyone seen a comments box? If not it might be a good idea to put one at the counter!
Havent heard much regarding the barracks - anyone wanna share their experiences 'upstairs'?
Regardless of all my moaning i still think that babs offers some of the best facilities in the world - just seems a shame to let standards slip when it has the potential to be so good.
happy cruising.........

Was there last night and could not beleive my luck! Had 4 guys (English, Thai, German and Australian - one at a time!), 6 hot and steamy sessions in 4 hours! Wondering if it was my good sexes or my look that brought me luck! :D Got there at 5:30 pm and after walking around for 10 minutes then an Englisg guy came along. He's only 37 y/o...hummm...and surprise surpise he is leaving for Sydney this evening same time as me but different airlines.

Back to Babylon, it was crowded last night. I did wonder why, but then got an answer this morning when no one's gone to work! Anyway, the shower and pool area was closed last night and I heard a staff told a customer that it's going be closed for refurbishment. Did not really have time to check other areas. Six sessions in 4 hours did not leave me time to do anything else. Got to say it's still the best place for sexes in Bangkok.

Jtrack baby, when that Aussie guy talked to me I noticed he had aussie accent and immediately I hoped that that was you but pity he wasn't!

Thai Guy, I'm practicing my Aussie accent, but now still English...a little almost North Cambridge accent at the moment....didn't go to Babylon last night...I guess I can only catch you at the Amari Airport Hotel pool!! Last night I was busy with this excellent Ubon guy I found at Extreme bar last night. I was looking at him and he was staring at me. He was slim, dark and innocent. He came to my home and stayed till mid morning after cuming 4 times. He seemed to like me as much as I liked him. He even turned off his cell phone as soon as he came in the house! Now that's real class! Certainly a long-term friendship there.
Just to continue off topic a little longer...as this original thread could amble along aimlessly for ever...does a boys ejaculate load decrease in force and quantity after multiple cums, or just force?
I was having a massage the other day and the boy was sitting on my stomach(almost on my penis) and masturbating and when he came, his first spurt went clear over my head and hit the wall hard, behind me. As I'd just been to Home Pro, I had a tape measure with me and the wall was 1.5 meters from his penis. That seemed quite exceptional even for a 20 year old.

Well.. yes yes.. everyone of us is crying for the old Babylon.. but life has to go on... and after the first 6 months of the New Babylon, the guys started to accept the new Babylon as well, so it's apparently - my opinion - still the best place to find a lot of nice non-money boys.. I preferred the Obelisks (less farangs there ;-) ), but this place had to close in December last year... :-(( .. and the Chakran? not bad, but not as many guys there as in Babylon, I think. I even went to the new "Amen"-Sauna in Ramkaenhaeng in December, but I was the only (!) guest there.. would be interested to know, if it's better there now.

And, the Barracks.. well.. I stayed 2 nights in a Babylon Barroness "suite"-room (which has just the size of a big normal hotel room - these Baroness rooms for 3500bt), it's nice, but not worth the money. And I had a look at the Standard rooms.. not good! No bathroom...:-(

That's the idea, Chris26! The fun of staying upstairs is to lurk in the showers, hoping that hunky Thai guy next to you drop the soap! ;)

Enough about the old Babylon. That place would always be a Xanadu that brings back fond memories, like the Continental Baths in NY, or the pre-condom orgies then.

The new Babylon will establish its unique clientele of guys who are hungry for hot wild sex and just looking for a playground. None of that faux-oriental aesthetics and furnishing as it will just detract the Babylon from its intended role of a versatile fuckspace. Hasn't any other regulars here see how hard the crowd, Thai or otherwise, there has become? Less talk/shy smiles there these days, more insolent gropes and brushing offs.

I visited the new babylon about 10 times, but only the last time i found the darkroom behind the disco. Is this new or have i not see the entrance before?

Babylon really should do some repairs of the shower area near the open air bar. As mentioned above, somebody might soon be electrocuted and the place is dirty :eek:

As I understand the owner is very rich, money should not be the reason why repairs are not being undertaken immediately :confused:

Expecting the worst was very pleasantly suprised with Bablyon . Was at last Fri's foam party. Wonderful. Loads of cute young Thais. Only minor complaint is the indentations around the trees in the bar/foam area which are easy to stumble into. Outside of Thailand these would be filled in quickly due to the potential of law suits.

Glad you had your fun a babs. I have to agree with a couple of the correspondents that the place is getting dirty and there is definately some safety issues to be taked care of. Have to say though that some of my friends and others now don't go to the foam parties or participate in them following skin infections.

I know that it's too late to complain but I do so agree with many others that the old Babylon had a great atmosphere, and that the present clientele are definately more insolent, there is less social chit chat as there used to be when you sat in the roof garden area of the old place and the guys would walk up to you and sit and chat or play eye games with you from across the way.

As to the Barracks, well, I have to admit I have never paid to stay there. I have stayed a few nights there with guys I have picked up and I have ended up having some very hot parties at 4,5 6 o'clock in the morning. The weekend atmosphere there is reminisent of the New York and Philbeach hotels in Earls Court in London and Trades in Blackpool. Guys walking around most the night having sex out in the open, guys with their doors open as an invite to enter for some fun. Now that is really cruising for sex! ;)

Ah, the old Philbeach Hotel. I know it well. I can still see the hall light shining into my room because, ooops!, I forgot to close the door in my top floor room. I never did get much sleep there, but had some great times with all sorts of guys. Maybe I'll be there again one day. And I'm still Wilde About Ocsar.

Yes the old Philbeach Hotel. Actually run by a British guy and his Thai boyfriend. My last stay there about a year ago, I thought that the place has got a little run down. Breakfast is very basic, the downstairs bar a bit tacky and full of transvestites. Personally not my sort of bar. Also cupid, you may like this thought, some of the transvestites keep their doors open at night and so that butch number you saw entering the room an hour or so earlier may not be quite as butch as you thought. One thing about the Philbeach I have always liked is the cute Aussie guys at the reception, who will make a room visit after hours.

I do have a fond memory of walking out of my room at 3am or so to visit the loo and stumbling across a group sex session on the landing below the top floor, involving a very chunky Mexican, a Welsh guy who was an excellent cocksucker, a cute guy from Sheffield who was so nervous that his b/f would come out of his room and find him at it, and a couple from Canada and the USA. The fun thing is that guys were coming back to the hotel from their late night partying and didn't bat an eye at the on going fun. :eek: Actually, a meal at Oscars is still good by the way.