You are a very bad manâŠ
Well, I suppose you ought to know. Those WhatsApps tell a storyâŠ
Too bloody right.
Check out the latest crop
Classy
What can you expect from the scousers
Makes a nice change from the Ukraine thread tbh
(DM @scottyfor details )
The new CBD culture is an interesting one. Initially it was a bright idea from the Thai health minister to encourage tourism which had taken a huge hit from the pandemic. The plan was to make Thailand an international hub for medicinal cannabis tourism. Government approved growers and manufacturers of medical cannabis products, huge government investment of trillions of baht. But of course once the bottle was opened and the genie was out that all took a back seat to recreational use, which has rapidly taken over. Itâs truly bizarre, seemingly overnight Thailand has changed, from having some of the most draconian drug policies and penalties in the world, which was ironic considering some of the most sought after and prized weed was grown there. Now cannabis cafes are springing up all over Bangkok and beyond, shops opening selling product, dealers on every street corner, especially in the tourist areas. Hundreds of prisoners who were serving sentences for cannabis related offences were released overnight. Now of course the generals are starting to realise what they have unleashed and are desperately trying to put the cork back in the bottle, talking about banning recreational smoking. But I fear itâs too late, too much money involved, fortunes to be made, not least in the form of brown envelopes to high ranking police and government officials. This is Thailand!
I lived and worked in Bangkok for 12 years, from 2001 - 2013, and back then it was strictly a no-no, especially for non Thais, something that was made clear to me from the start by other ex-pats. Penalties for possession were severe, gaol time followed by deportation, unless you were in a position to pay a large bribe. It used to be a standing joke that in Thailand you could get away with anything, and people did, even murder, if you paid a large enough bribe. But of course tourists, who were the ones getting caught mostly, werenât in a position to do that, and âBig Tigerâ was full of them. More than a few got caught in one of the classic scams, which involved buying off a street hustler, who was working with the cops, sell the tourist a bag of weed, tip the wink to the cop, who would then bust the hapless tourist a bit further up the road. The hustler would then have the weed returned to him by the cop and the whole merry-go-round would start again. So I mainly steered clear, I did attend the occasional private party where joints would get passed around but total discretion was the order of the day.
I know a few guys who were there in the 1970s and it was completely different then, totally relaxed regarding smoking weed, no big deal at all, anything went. But of course there werenât too many westerners there then. These things tend to go in cycles I suppose. It will be interesting to see how it is now though, I will check it all out at the end of the year and let you know what the score is regarding the CBD situation.
Interesting.
Not ever gonna get back there unless I win the Lottery unfortunately.
Last I heard they have now even banned normal smoking in Public, got caught with the dropping a fag end on the street once which was expensive. Always took my own ashtray / tin around after that!
We await the report!
Off to Lisbon on Wednesday
Be nice to get away from this heat
Ah.
Lisbon.
CaprihinasâŠ
SardinesâŠ
Sigh
LHW T 5 - 20mins from arrival to delivery of full English at Ramseys
There does however appear to be a suspicious lack of plane at the gate
Could I refer you to the Sci-Fi thread where you will be transported to your destination. Thanks.
Let us know if all your party successfully make the transportationâŠwith luggageâŠ
Lady Slowlane and I made the transportation successfully last time but our luggage ended up on Alpha Centauri.
Shouldâve taken The Orville, not The Expanse
We got there - sardines and a pint of vino verde for lunch. Now sipping beers contemplating where to go for pre dinner drinks
Cherry gin - they open at 9am and yes I did
Too many fucking hills not to fortify yourself beforehand
Knocks the edge off of everything
Shame I pass this place at least four times a day
Crete onWednesday for 10 days
Havenât taken more than a week off for almost a year
Knackered
Canât wait
Have you worked more than 10 consecutive days? You were only in Portugal a week or so ago werenât you?
That was a âtripâ - it doesnât count
And the answer to your question is no