Post deleted by Mat Sklansky

[WhoIam]

Legal drugs in Thailand

I’m sitting in my hotel room in Laos feeling a little loopy from cold medicine and the little bit of Xanax I took to chill (the xanax I mean, the cold medicine is for my cold) and feel like doing some writing. Maybe I’m inspired by the ghost of Hunter S Thompson who spent so much time here in Vientiane after the fall of Saigon.

As someone who likes to indulge in occasional chemical recreation, I thought this might be useful to similarly-minded people traveling to Thailand. Most of the gaps in my knowledge were filled in by a Bangkok-based expat I met here in Vientiane.

Non-fun drugs
This includes things like antibiotics, birth control pills, and Viagra.
Just walk inside and ask for what you want. This is really nice because if you know you have strep throat or pink eye, you can buy some antibiotics or eye drops without the hassle of seeing a doctor first. If you ever have any stomach pains or diarrhea, immediately go to the pharmacist and take whatever they give you. There’s no reason to feel miserable for a few days when you can just spend $4 on some medicine.

Stimulants
Not gonna happen. No amphetamines, no Adderall, no Ritalin. I’m not sure about modafinil, not even the big pharmacies I went to had heard of it. Red Bull is really cheap, though.

Opiates
Also not gonna happen. I think you can get tablets with small amounts of codeine since the dose that suppresses coughs is far less than the recreational/pain relief dose. Taking 20 or 30 pills is way too degenerate for me and I’m also not a big fan of pain killers. All of my attempts at getting codeine cough syrup were unsuccessful. This is unfortunate because I’m a big fan of chopped and screwed music. You can get a prescription for morphine tablets but you have to be seriously, seriously [censored] up in order to qualify. NTB’s gf badly dislocated her arm and was in a lot of pain but the doctors only gave her Tylenol.

Benzodiazapams (Benzos)
This includes drugs like Xanax and Valium. I don’t think they’re technically supposed to give them to you, but I’ve never had a problem. I’m not really a fan, but they’re nice to occasionally chill out with on nights you don’t feel like drinking. I find xanax a useful occasional sleep aid. Addiction is possible with these and withdrawal is really nasty, so take it easy.

Steroids
If you meet me you’ll realize this is obviously not my thing. From what I’ve read you can sometimes find a shady pharmacy or easily find a shady doctor to hook you up.


Possibly useful fact: all pharmacists speak good English. I assume this is because they often need to read information on dosage, side effects, interactions, etc that my only be available in English. If you need directions or need to know where the nearest ATM is or something, stop into a pharmacy.

[WhoIam]

[ QUOTE ]
when you use the atm, make sure you take your card with you. today, the farang infront of me left his inside the machine, and i think i almost did this too when i first arrived. some machines spit the cash out and take 3 or 4 seconds to spit the card out.

[/ QUOTE ]
Some more ATM advice: I find my ePassporte debit card to be much better than my US one. epass gives me a decent exchange rate and there are no fees either from them or at the ATM. This means I can take out 2 or 3k baht as needed instead of walking around with several months' salary for most people in my pocket.

[NewTeaBag]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
when you use the atm, make sure you take your card with you. today, the farang infront of me left his inside the machine, and i think i almost did this too when i first arrived. some machines spit the cash out and take 3 or 4 seconds to spit the card out.

[/ QUOTE ]
Some more ATM advice: I find my ePassporte debit card to be much better than my US one. epass gives me a decent exchange rate and there are no fees either from them or at the ATM. This means I can take out 2 or 3k baht as needed instead of walking around with several months' salary for most people in my pocket.

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't forget to throw in the e-pass warning though about month long account lockouts for foreign withdrawals.

[WhoIam]

NOTIFY EPASSPORTE IF YOU ARE TRAVELING. SERIOUSLY

[Schmitty 87]

Anyone been to Koh Chang (or surrounding islands)? I figure that would be a nice place to go shortly before I return since it's close to Bangkok.

Right now I'm planning on a few days in Bangkok, a week in Chiang Mai, 3 weeks at Koh Phangan, and I have about 2 weeks left. I'm thinking about Krabi, Koh Tao, or Koh Chang.

[KJS]

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone been to Koh Chang (or surrounding islands)? I figure that would be a nice place to go shortly before I return since it's close to Bangkok.

Right now I'm planning on a few days in Bangkok, a week in Chiang Mai, 3 weeks at Koh Phangan, and I have about 2 weeks left. I'm thinking about Krabi, Koh Tao, or Koh Chang.

[/ QUOTE ]

The islands in Trang and Satun Provinces are the best. Better than Chang by a longshot. Look for: Ngai (aka Hai), Muk, Boulon, Lipe and others nearby those.

KJS

[edfurlong]

It's really hot here and nobody seems to speak spanish. WTF?

[WhoIam]

OK, I am officially an idiot. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized "holy [censored], I never went to the embassy to get my 60-day visa." It's closed on the weekends and I was planning on coming to Bangkok from Laos on Tuesday. I wouldn't have time to pick up the visa if I went on Monday. I've gotten two 30 day visas already and if I go back now this would be my third. Would I then be able to get a 60-day visa from a foreign consulate or would I be [censored] for 3 months? I did a quick search on this and didn't find anything conclusive. I'd appreciate a quick answer in case I have to reschedule my flight.

[NewTeaBag]

[ QUOTE ]
OK, I am officially an idiot. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized "holy [censored], I never went to the embassy to get my 60-day visa." It's closed on the weekends and I was planning on coming to Bangkok from Laos on Tuesday. I wouldn't have time to pick up the visa if I went on Monday. I've gotten two 30 day visas already and if I go back now this would be my third. Would I then be able to get a 60-day visa from a foreign consulate or would I be [censored] for 3 months? I did a quick search on this and didn't find anything conclusive. I'd appreciate a quick answer in case I have to reschedule my flight.

[/ QUOTE ]

You already know the answer! If you reenter on another 30 day visa, you MUST stay out for 90 days regardless of whatever visa you would use to reenter.

[WhoIam]

[ QUOTE ]
You already know the answer! If you reenter on another 30 day visa, you MUST stay out for 90 days regardless of whatever visa you would use to reenter.

[/ QUOTE ]
I was 90% sure about this but I was hoping I was wrong. I saw a guy earlier who looks exactly like a 55-year-old version of you. I wish I had my camera.