Kaya Reggae Bar – Yangshuo

On my last afternoon in Yangshuo, when I had literally worn my wallet down to its last few dollars, all I could afford to do till I made my way to the airport was walk around the streets and spend no money at all. But then I found Kaya Reggae Bar. Even in a small ass town like Yangshuo there was a few rasta’s who got together and opened up a reggae bar. I figured this would be a sweet spot to cut a few hours.

I walked in and was stoked to see the set up of the bar. Although it was afternoon and there was no real crowd in there, it just warmed my heart to see a well stocked bar that looked like a hut, in Yangshuo, a small ass town in China. It was a better set up than the local reggae bar in GZ even.

I was fortunate enough into a couple of the proprietors as well. I met not 1 but 2 Chinese Rastafarians in Yangshuo, a small ass town in China. I cannot explain to you how elated I was to find that the Spirit of Bob and the message brought with him have found its way to a place that even Christianity has not managed to take root. And although you may argue that it is not the Spirit of Bob that these young men have found, I will like to explain further that it is His music that first touched them. But since then they also have opened their eyes and minds to new things. We sat and talked, even had a small jam session. You see Rasta in many of our eyes is not about Haile Selassie or the belief that we all got to smoke marijuana. Rasta has come to represent the simple ideas that Bob and other Rastafarian musicians conveyed through their music. Love, unity, peaceful coexistence! And meeting other likeminded individuals on this particular afternoon really made my day.

Although the downstairs area of Kaya Reggae Bar in Yanshou may seem a little small, they have a massive chill space on the second floor with some chairs set up on the balcony as well. It is while I was resting there that I made the acquaintance of an International Rasta. This cat comes from the land I admire least and has spent many years wandering around Asia and other parts of the planet. We sat and talked, even sang songs we knew over cold beers and some whiskey I had left over from my ride in. If the Chinese tourists were getting a kick out of posing for pictures with me, you can only imagine the ruckus this cat stirred while walked up the street. It has been ages since I got sucked in so deep to a conversation I literally forgot what time it is. But 3 hours flew by soon enough I had to git. But the next time I am back in Yangshuo I already what my chill spot is going to be. Plus I promised the boys at the bar a Djimbe.