I have many amazing stories of Thailand, of beautiful beaches and diving with amazing marine life. However, on my last trip to Thailand, I visited the beautiful town of Pai in the north and received a much different story to tell. I have been drug searched, searched in airports random checks and pulled over by random stops by police before. Never had any trouble, might I add. However, my drug search in Pai was unexpected and extremely vigorous.
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A Sudden Blockade by Police, Pai, Thailand
Returning from the outstanding Tham Lod Cave, along a quiet secondary road I was stopped at a roadside police checkpoint and thoroughly searched. I had a head cold at the time and had plenty of medication on me for my various symptoms. I also had a very random – I’m talking dealer-sized amount – of fish food pellets on my person. Weird, right? Tham Lod Cave had codfish you can feed. I don’t usually take a pet fish traveling with me.
Pills and pellets were the least of this officer’s, and the few others, concern though. Including the commanding officer, sporting a shiny gold and holstered pistol. They were searching for marijuana. If I were carrying anything illegal on me, which of course I was not, there was no hiding it.
Every compartment of my bike and bag were gutted. After patting my body down completely, with stern fingers and a gentle squeeze my searching officer checked my groin area. And I do mean the whole area. Aside from inserting illegal goods into my body, there was nowhere to hide. This all happened on the side of the road. It was immediately clear only locals were allowed to pass, while every tourist was stopped and checked in this manner.
Was this Drug Search in Pai, Thailand, some sort for trap?
While the officer who checked me over was nice enough – he even apologized for the groping and prodding – it did raise questions. These questions I didn’t ask as I drove away as quickly and calmly as possible – even though I had nothing to hide, I did just get “handled”.
I began to ask myself what would I be subjected to if I were female? Because I saw no female officers at the roadblock. I was laughing about my whole experience to myself and others at my hostel that night, but if I were the opposite sex, I may have felt quite different. Could you refuse without being detained? I honestly don’t know.
As I drove onwards to my last stop for the day, the beautiful Yun Lai Viewpoint for sunset, the trap began to unveil itself. My first encounter was a local lady run onto the road and started to shout at me. Still dazed and confused, she startled me. It didn’t dawn on me until she gestured a sideways peace symbol to her lips and yelled “smoke?” did I realize that she was offering me weed – the very drug I had been so vigorously drugged searched for just down the road. This lady was followed by six or seven more ladies on the short 10-minute drive. After getting drugged searched on a back road of Pai only a few kilometers away, it sounds a little fishy to me, right?
Reflection of being Drug Searched in Pai, Thailand
I’m not one for drugs, especially in a country with a severe penalty for even the possession of weed. I thought many people would be the same, but it didn’t take me long at all to find a friend from the hostel who very nearly got caught up by the police roadblock. While only having a small amount on him, it would have been enough for some serious jail time and/or fines. At the time of writing, up to 15 years imprisonment.
I heard from the much reliable hostel grapevine that instead of jail time, your sentence can be paid out at 350 Baht ($14 AUD) per day. For 15 years, this roughly equals 1.9 million Baht, ($78,000 AUD). Now, this is speculation no doubt, but bribes aren’t unheard of in Asia. While there were absolutely zero hints during my checks of anything shady with my encounter, I can’t help but believe a tiny whiff of this rumor.
Pai Drug Search Conclusion
Personally, I think if you want to smoke, go for it. If you do it sensibly and don’t cause harm to others, why would I care? There are much worse drugs out there for you that are legal (damn, I’m drinking a beer as I type this!) but I feel, at the very least, like there’s a time and place.
A country’s laws are still laws, and your respective embassy most likely won’t be able to provide much assistance if you get caught up in something illegal in a foreign country – whether or not it is legal in your home country is irrelevant.
I know Pai in Thailand has an extremely large backpacking crowd, and I caught the scent of weed more than once in my three days in the beautiful town.
This post is merely a warning to those that do seek it out, that I got a thorough drug search in Pai, Thailand. Keeping it concealed from the police search wasn’t going to be easy.
So in the end, is it really worth it? In my mind, no, it isn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the tiny town of Pai. It was a highlight of my entire Thailand travels. For some amazing suggestions of Pai activities, check out my three-day itinerary of Pai. Or a scenic day-trip drive to the stunning Tham Lod Cave!
Do you have a similar story while on the road around Thailand, or the rest of Asia? Did it feel slightly suspect like my encounter? As always, question or concerns, leave me a comment below 🙂
If you’re looking for a fantastic hostel in Pai, Thailand, I can personally recommend two, Common Grounds and SpicyPai. They are both really great value and a super relaxed setting.
Thanks for reading!
Happy and safe travels,
Ben – Horizon Unknown
2 Comments
Hello,
I like to add some details to your adventure in Pai. To simplify there are 2 hotspots in Pai and around. 1st better known as WatMoPeng village and it’s Waterfall where you saw the Ladies.
In that part of Pai surroundings is a kind of no law zone where people sell and other people buy various kind of drugs (soft: weed to medium:red pills jaba & opium to hard: Chinese white)
In between Pai and the waterfall are the police checkpoints. They operate morning and afternoon. And yes it’s a wired, frightening experience to get filthed, and I couldn’t describe it better then you. If you hide sth go full body (inside)or don’t.
If you show signs of anxiety or panic and they still don’t find anything they might threaten to take you to the hospital for a pee check.
Refuse it, politely but firmly as they will put on any argument they find…insist and refuse. Always stay polite. As finally they can’t take you by force. It’s a bluff.
I insist on that detail as you might be smoking at home(whatever it is and as it stays in your body, depending, short to long time. Long enough to be still positive in Thailand..
Being just positive will cost you around 25.000thb/600€/660$ roughly!
Getting cought with a small amount of hard substance adds up to 100.000thb to …prison
Whatever the case as long as they propose you to pay , you can feel lucky and you should not, never, by any means reject the One time offer!
Anything else would mean that the case glides into a judge authority which means you are done.
If not enough money well force yourself, move Heaven and Earth and Hell if necessary, put your pride away call your parents, as the alternative ..is a no go by any means. Right?
The 2d hotspot where you were checked is the main road between MaeHongSon and Chiang Mai. It’s also the main road between Myanmar (one of the biggest heroin and co. producer in the world. Also tons of jaba pills (crystalmeth)are imported from there (but also produced and imported south from the north of Thailand in secret labs.
Well all this traffic added to human traffic and you name it passes through that main road and along the 1000 curves road to Chiang Mai.
There for the military checkpoint at 60km from Pai.
They check mostly human trafficking and locals have to show their IDs. Tourist get rarely bothered by military.
But there is always an exception to any rule and it’s always the exception which will get you caught if one is not aware of it.
North of Thailand is not the best place to relax with a joint in your hand or strolling half stoned through the tourist spots.
Also and even in hotels there is always a threat. If locals or the owner smells sth abnormal it’s not abnormal for then to call the cops. Who knows they might get a reward or have sth to settle down with the police themselves.
Oh the Ladies and check points. Personnaly I have never heard or seen of ladies beeing checked like guys do. There is still a respect and a good behaviour rule existing. Unless the girl/girls bought something and the dealer betrayed them by calling the police and giving a description. I imagine even then they won’t filth a Lady..but much easier they will take her to the hospital to get checked there. Insisting , refusing won’t work as the handling would be a lot more harsch then what you described.
For those who absolutely insist and still want to try… Easy!
Go at night…or at daytime drive there, park your bike ..become anonymous, (no plate number or other description which might betray you)
Then do what you can’t resist doing then head to a restaurant terrasse near by inside that same village and stay there until it’s night and dark. Become invisible..
At some point everybody goes to sleep …and you can head home peacefully having a story to tell and I hope a lesson learned.
Now most people will find it exaggerated and still try to ignore warnings. It might work, but I wouldn’t play with that option the price being way to high.
Morality : if you do sth unlawful do it 1000% prepared and aware or leave it. Anything in-between and you can only blame yourself.
There are loads of more interesting things to do in Pai and around. I spoke only about the darker things happening here as it was the subject, wasn’t it.
Kind regards
A witness and night visitor (too)
PS: The other reason for this complementary article is that I have witnessed and heard too many of these sad endings where teens or elderly got caught .
Most very naively and stupidly, having no experience as they could have “easily” avoid the worst experience in their life. A life destroying one..nothing good can rise from that adventure.
Giving some keys even if not the best and moral way to do is sometimes the only way to avoid way to harsh, totaly abused sentences of actions which might be totaly legal and natural to do at home.
These are Keys for a kind of a second chance
PS2: I hope you can do sth with what I wrote you. Up to you to add it or not, to take only part of it or all. I know some parts of my writing are subject to discussion but regarding the harsh reality of Thai prison I just don’t want anybody to go through this ordeal. If people have a problem the Thai way to handle it will never bring any healing. I hope on that final point we all agree.
Hi Vince! Thank you so much for the in-depth comment on the drug situation in Pai! This is a lot of new information to me, and the whole experience makes more sense now!
I will be updating the post soon so it’s great to have new information, from a different traveller and their experiences.
I also 100% agree with it not being worth risking time in a Thai prison!
Once again, thank for your thorough comment! It helps others that read this become more informed of the risks certain activities have when travelling overseas!