Be carefull out there

[Guest]

Reading from another thread, I thought the box would be a more appropriate place for this piece of advice..

If any you guys planning on going over to LOS, and dabble in the odd pill or pot, chances are, although slim, you might be asked to piss in a cup at your local club or go-go..Just remember,,traces of extacy and pot will stay in your system for many weeks prior to visiting Thailand.
A frightening thought and would hate to see my plans go haywire..and we just dont need that shit...

BK

[BAM]

They seem to be looking mostly for Methamphetamine also known in Thailand as Yabba.

[Mai-Kee]

They are happy to arrest you for whatever trace they find in your piss - wether you've taken it 1 hour or 3 weeks ago in your country!

MK

[stogie bear]

Well - the advice is sound, but it's oversimplifying things a bit.

Farangs will usually be offered a chance to leave the club before the testing is carried out. If you are obviously drunk or high then this little 'get out' clause will/might not be available.

The police will not target farangs. But anyone who wants to mix it up with the boys in brown is in for a world of hurt. Drug raids are carried out for a multitude of reasons by police and partygoers are often not the targets that the police wish to inconvenience!

But oftentimes it IS the ravers and kids who are being targeted for drugs etc. When this is the case the raids are very well orchestrated and planned.

I have heard of farangs being tested but almost always the police will simply say "Go home!" Take this advice and don't hang around waiting for your chums either! And don't act drunk or provoke a policeman. Cops in Thailand are not traditionally helpful in Thailand, but neither are they hellbent on making foreigners feel bad. But if they are provoked then you'll never win a fight with them.

And DO NOT (yes, stupid I know, but I have actually heard of this done by a source I trust) offer to pee for someone who you know is high!

Asian countries are hostile to any kind of illegal drugs and we all know that, but still time after time I see people falling foul of the law and getting into trouble for it.

[fancylighters]

This is an opportunity for me to slip in a question I've been wondering about - - bribing (er, "tipping") the police.

Down in Mexico, it's pretty well known that if pulled over for a traffic violation, or otherwise when encountering the local police, a gratuity, or "paying the fine on the spot" will get you out of trouble. What about in LOS? Is it acceptable, or is it a fast route to big trouble?

[stogie bear]

Yes you are right about the easy going 200 Peso fines in Mexico. I have been pulled over several times and a quick $20 does the trick. The line usually goes "Pay now or follow me to the station!"

In Thailand NEVER offer to bribe a policeman. ALWAYS wait till you are asked for money. Most Thai cops don't speak a lick of Thai so if you are pulled over (as I have been) or stopped for any reason for Gods sake don't start speaking in Thai! Look confused and speak in English (or your mother toungue!)

Once you have been arrested the process of 'negotiation' begins at the station. This is usually an informal chat with the cops, the person whose nose you broke and yourself. (Although you aren't invited to contribute much!)

The police and the offended will go backwards and forwards in a kind of Banana republic informal court session. After about an hour you'll be made an offer. If you're smart you'll quickly accept the offer and get the fuck out of there. If not you may be there for hours playing this game and in the end be only marginally better off.

It's a surprisingly friendly routine and not intimidating at all. You dun wrong - you gonna pay - it's just a question of how much!

These related events are from my own personal first hand experience and actually happened. As they say, though... conditions may vary!

[Mai-Kee]

Well - the advice is sound, but it's oversimplifying things a bit.

Farangs will usually be offered a chance to leave the club before the testing is carried out. If you are obviously drunk or high then this little 'get out' clause will/might not be available.

The police will not target farangs. But anyone who wants to mix it up with the boys in brown is in for a world of hurt. Drug raids are carried out for a multitude of reasons by police and partygoers are often not the targets that the police wish to inconvenience!

But oftentimes it IS the ravers and kids who are being targeted for drugs etc. When this is the case the raids are very well orchestrated and planned.

I have heard of farangs being tested but almost always the police will simply say "Go home!" Take this advice and don't hang around waiting for your chums either! And don't act drunk or provoke a policeman. Cops in Thailand are not traditionally helpful in Thailand, but neither are they hellbent on making foreigners feel bad. But if they are provoked then you'll never win a fight with them.

And DO NOT (yes, stupid I know, but I have actually heard of this done by a source I trust) offer to pee for someone who you know is high!

Asian countries are hostile to any kind of illegal drugs and we all know that, but still time after time I see people falling foul of the law and getting into trouble for it.

Again different experiences - I really should stay on your side of the fence when I'm over there, Stogie

I experienced a raid twice. Once when they raided the whole Soi 2 at Silom (where DJ-Station is). The lights went on, the music off, we all had to pee, no exception for farang at all and they arrested maybe 30 or 40 people (big time X of course!) and anothertime at the famous Babylon Sauna the brown boys had big fun checking out the naked guys and they even took some with them, also farang and still half naked......
Believe me - that was no fun at all!!!

MK

[Guest]

So depending on the mood of the cops that night, you might be offered a wayout before things get a little nasty?

Not a predicament I would like to face, and having a misses that looks more thai than the thais look,,is why I have copies of her Aust passport which she carries all the time.might come in handy..

Bribery....
Its rampant here in Indonesia, and I consider myself quite a negotiater when it comes to getting out of sticky situations,,,although I pay, but it usually takes me no longer than a few seconds and Im on my way..

That said, I would take Stogies advice and be calm, go with the flow and try your negiating skills..

Bribery in Bali...
Only last month I was driving on the outskirts of Kuta and decided to take short cut up a oneway st.
2 cops pulled me over and as soon as they got near me I asked in sarcastic terms. How much is this going to cost me?
and pulled out a bill = $5. No license on me and driving up a oneway st, I not only had one problem he pointed out I had 2 problems, peeled of another bill, handed it to them and promptly drove away in the same direction..
Bribery !!!! I love it,,,that exercise could have cost me $300 in Australia..

BK

[post-op lover]

And even if you pass a piss test, how honest do you think the cops are with the results? In shady places, I wouldn't trust the cops to not spike a test.

Mai-Kee's experience sounds like just the kind of fun I don't need to have.

[olekunde]

i was in a motorbike accident with a thai guy, and the thai was to blame. but since he got the scratches i ended up paying 1000b, after negotiating it down from 2000b. the cop that came along just muttered thousand ok. this was at the entrance of soi 6 from 2nd rd, and i was going for a st, so this was my most expensive st trip to soi 6 ever.

[Guest]

I'm getting anxious reading these. I'm a newbie, would never drive in Asia, but piss tests in bars, en mass, shake-downs by the Authorities?!?, and I don't do drugs, but, perhaps a bit of pot, but this seems potentially ruinous to a vacation?
Would a two week vacation in LOS entail one or two of these Raids?
Targeting Yanks? Long-haired? 40-ish, greying Rocker types?
All the good, Great times posted, never seem to touch on this Inconveenience???
I hope these raids are not De Riguere.

[Guest]

I've been going to bars here for 4 years now, a bit too steadily. Never been in a raid yet, but have seen a few, say about one every 6 months or so. So I think it's more on the rare side, but that is irrelevant, it's just being in the wrong place at the wrong time whether they happen once a decade or once a week.

I have paid bribes several times, before going to the station, and it was all quite non-threatening, but that was for traffic violations, not pissing tests. Average was 300 baht. Two LBs in Cascades tested positive and went to jail about 6 months back.

There is zero doubt - do not fuck with Thai cops. You will lose every time, and your embassy won't care a whole lot. That being said, they don't care what u look like. Thais are less judgemental that way. So long hair, tatoos, I think, are less of a target here. It is more if you go at them verbally or physically that trouble starts...and I've seen farangs go after them in Phuket, and let's just say those farangs regretted it in a really big way.

[stogie bear]

Most Thai cops don't speak a lick of Thai so if you are pulled over...

Eh... What a wanker!

Oh, hang on. That was me!