Smoking Etiquette in Thailand

Though technically illegal, smoking in Thailand is very possible, and in some places downright common. Although everyone has a story about a friend of a friend who was caught with a joint, fined 100,000 dollars and thrown in jail for a couple days, there are even some bars with prominently displayed signs advertising that they can sell to you. It all depends on what areas you’re in.

Generally the best place to buy stuff is smoking bars. In Chiang Mai there is a bar right on the main drag called “THC rooftop bar” and outside a tuk-tuk driver sits waiting for customers. He will happily drive you around the corner to where his stash is, well, stashed and sell you a bag for 500-2000 baht and then return to his stoop and wait for his next client to come along. But be warned: smoking in Chiang Mai or Bangkok is someone sketchy, everyone except your hostel owner will tell you the best place is in your room. Smaller towns are a much safer bet.

In some places like Koh Tao it seems likely that the government knows about the specially designed “Rasta bars” where you can buy and smoke, and in some cases not only turns a blind eye but perhaps even profits from their existence. These places are generally a bit off the beaten path, and require some fortitude to get to. Places like the “Banana Bar” and the “View Point Bar” occupy real-estate at the end of long hilly dirt roads, and will sell you a bag or a joint, and allow you to smoke on their premises.

The View Point Bar in particular is listed as a national view point on the tourist map, and is also the highest point on the islands. There is even a 50 baht charge to enter the viewpoint, as in other government sponsored national parks. The woman at the gate who sold me my nondescript yellow ticket smiled as she informed me that my entrance fee was good for the whole day, and I was welcome to come back later and see the spectacular sunset for free. However, when leaving these areas the bartenders will often warn you to watch out for cops, and to stash your bag between you cock and balls for safe keeping.

With tourism as their number one industry, it seems like Thailand has realized that they can accrue the highest profit margins by catering to both smoking and non-smoking tourists simultaneously. Force the smokers to remote areas so they don’t bother more conservative family based tourism, and you can let people do their drugs and from time to time make some extra cash on the side by arresting stupid people who don’t respect this divide. Or perhaps it is a purely anarchal system that has arisen around the fringes of government surveillance to fill foreign and local demand. More research would be required to know for sure.

There are other areas that are basically reserved for hippies where you can smoke much more freely. 10 km outside of Pai is a joint called the Krazy Kitchen. Painted in rasta colors like most of these bars, this one is run by an elderly woman who will happily cook you a meal and smoke a joint with you. The product here is superior to most in Thailand, and it’s a chill place to wile the night away, In Pai you will receive no warning as you leave with your bag; people can be seen smoking in and around Pai.

In the Rock climber haven of Ton Sai smoking is perhaps even more common still. This is where you will see bars along the main strip openly advertising that they are selling bags, happy cookies, and even mushroom shakes. You will even find groups of locals sitting around smoking bamboo bongs and spliffs all day long, counting their money and cutting up bricks into bags for customers. How it came to be that some areas are completely devoid of police officers and full or hippies I cannot say (is it the dog wagging the tail or the tail wagging the dog), but it seems that there are unwritten rules in place to protect just about everyone involved in the industry.