Happiness is a State of Mind
Drugs in Laos and Thailand are always around. Those who want to indulge always seem to be able to find a connection. The Golden Triangle (the northern area of Thailand and around borders of Laos and Myanmar) is known for cultivation of drugs..and still routinely sold to traders passing through. Of course, taking, transporting and selling drugs in either Laos or Thailand is strictly against the law, but in some areas there is lots of looking the other way and drugs are accessible. One of the small informational pieces in my travel book I found interesting and wanted to share. It is called "Happiness is a State of Mind"
"'Don't worry, be happy' could be the national motto for Laos, but in a growing number of backpacker centers the term 'happy' has taken on a wholly different connotation. In the TV bars of Vieng Vang and the riverside bungalows of Si Phan Don seeing the word 'happy' in front of a 'shake', 'pizza' or anything else does not, as one traveller was told, mean it comes with extra pineapple. The extra is usually marijuana, added in whatever quantity the shake maker deems fit.
"For many travellers this might seem obvious enough, but there are others who innocently guzzle down their shake or pizza only to spend the next 24 hours somewhere near the outer reaches of the galaxy paranoia, with no idea why. So if you'd prefer not to be nine miles high for your tubing trip, then avoid the 'happy' meals and steer clear of anything described as 'estatic'. If you do fancy floating down both literally and figuratively, then at the very least please wear a life jacket."
"'Don't worry, be happy' could be the national motto for Laos, but in a growing number of backpacker centers the term 'happy' has taken on a wholly different connotation. In the TV bars of Vieng Vang and the riverside bungalows of Si Phan Don seeing the word 'happy' in front of a 'shake', 'pizza' or anything else does not, as one traveller was told, mean it comes with extra pineapple. The extra is usually marijuana, added in whatever quantity the shake maker deems fit.
"For many travellers this might seem obvious enough, but there are others who innocently guzzle down their shake or pizza only to spend the next 24 hours somewhere near the outer reaches of the galaxy paranoia, with no idea why. So if you'd prefer not to be nine miles high for your tubing trip, then avoid the 'happy' meals and steer clear of anything described as 'estatic'. If you do fancy floating down both literally and figuratively, then at the very least please wear a life jacket."
posted by Tracy at
8:51 PM
