Exploring Pai on a Magic Mushroom Drink

Thailand is a funny place. Drug laws on the books are pretty strict, but make your way to any island or hippie community, and with a little druggy intuition, you can find yourself with a spliff or mushroom drank in hand.

I spent a month traveling Thailand and partook in the not so underground drug scene. At Banana Bar on Koh Phi Phi you can buy a spliff for $7 and smoke it on the third floor, enjoying the island view. At Reggae Bar in Koh Tao, you can groove to live music while inhaling some pretty green. (Pretty much any “Reggae Bar” you can find “some smoke”). And you can find mushroom drinks on Koh Lanta, Koh Phangan and in Pai.

The former are islands and the latter is a mountainous town with hippie roots. I was told I had to visit Pai. Its a place with beach vibes plopped right in the mountains. Getting there involves swerving back and forth around more than 700 turns, so take a motion sickness pill if you take the van, or better yet, rent a motor bike and get there on two wheels.

Though Pai might have passed its hippie days prime, like other towns when they suddenly appear on the tourist map, it still has something to offer the backpacker traveling through.

I stayed at a hostel a little out of town, with incredible views of rice paddies and tree filled mountains. The vibe was in-authentically hippie, hipster millenials trying to be peace loving hippies, but not knowing how to do it without raving to EDM and getting wasted. The chill hippie vibe I was expecting wasn’t quite what met me, but I rolled with it. Maybe I’m just old.

I did meet a few people who truly personified the chilled out, thoughtful hippie vibe that I was looking for, and one happened to be a fire throwing, long-hair cladden, yellow vest wearing older gentleman named Shiva, who I’m pretty sure was my mushroom fairy godfather throughout my trip.

Don't be that guy

It all started with a failed attempt to get my hands on some of the liquid gold I’ve heard so much about at Sunset Bar. Making my way down the dirt road, I found the bar. Pro tip: don’t go up to the bar and ask for a “mushroom shake”. I made this unfortunate rookie mistake, looking like a stupid narc, and was denied while the guy after me asked for “a drink” and was promptly served. Feeling like the uncoolest of kids in school, with my tail between my legs in shame, I connected with a hostel-mate friend and headed to Paradise Bar, another spot known for serving mushroom drinks. Knowing how to order them like the cool kids, I confidently walked in.

Let the journey begin

Paradise Bar is big, open air with a few bamboo canopies covering some tables and a pool table. There is a little lake sitting to the right. The physical bar sits in the middle of about a dozen, wall-less bamboo huts with hammocks. Neon colored art covers the wall. A big dirt area that looks like a stage is the place where people practice fire dancing for the show later that night.

With my mushroom mate, after seeing someone else successfully get a drink, I walk up to the bar and order a “happy drink.” He gives each of us a paper cup with a plastic lid and straw, reminiscent of the medium sized, fountain drinks you can find at your neighborhood 7eleven.

The blue mystery liquid is filled almost to the top. The man serving the psychedelic drank tells us to drink it fast, or else it won’t work. But I’m not about to chug a mystery mushroom drank, I’m not so sure it works that way.

We start sipping and find a place to sit on a long bench carved from a huge tree trunk with a view of a flower garden. An older, long haired man in a yellow vest and flowy pants walk by. We talk about him to each other, wondering what his story was.

As if summoning him over with our curious thoughts, he comes our direction and introduces himself, shaking our hands while looking deep in our souls. Shiva loves the Paradise Bar and is in the fire dancing show. He acknowledges the obvious drinks in our hands and gives us an approving smile.

He begins to ask my friend when her birthday is, what time she was born and where. He makes some declarations about her that seem to resonate and asks how her relationship with her dad is. This seems to bring on some emotions, as she explains it’s not so good, but getting better. Shiva reassures her that it’ll only get better. She goes a little silent, as the thoughts fill her head, seemingly at the same time as the mushroom drink is kicking in.

Then Shiva moves on to me. After giving him my info, he smiles and says, “wow, you’re a wild one” while letting out a little chuckle. He asks how my relationship is with my mom, I say it’s good, not wanting to give him too much information. He says its great, isn’t it? I confirm, saying she’s the nicest person in the world and we do have a wonderful relationship. He asks if I have enough love in my life, and I say I think so, but I want more. “Everyone wants more,” he replies with a grin. Then, as quickly as he came, he left. Leaving behind some thoughts for us to chew on.

After some conversation and laughs, we decide to see if our legs work well enough to wander around. We walk past some of the open bamboo huts - one guy is playing a guitar, one guy a drum. A few people are lounging on hammock just staring into space, while groups of people are laughing together. Most of them with the magical paper cups in hand. We explore some of the art work laying around, and peruse a rack of sequined costume clothes that seem to be out of place. We finish our drink and decide to start walking toward town.

Paradise Bar is a 15 minute walk down a dirt road through trees, rice paddies and small wooden, one-room homes with horned oxen and chickens roaming about. The sun is setting behind us as we’re walking, colors exploding. We stand and stare at the beauty around us. The drink is kicking in a little more.

We get to the paved road and decide to go left towards the river. It was New Years Day and there were a lot of fireworks going off that night. But not the organized fireworks shows, just locals shooting them off whenever and wherever they pleased. We found a wooden raft that was tied to the river’s shore and plopped to watch the show just across the water. With each explosion, I felt it in my chest. The colors were vibrant. The current of the river, the water flowing over the rocks looked like something out of a Normal Rockwell painting. The little rapids seemed to blur together, fading into each other. We stared and sat for who knows how long, feeling the cold, hearing the running water, peering into the night sky at colorful explosions.

Eventually, my friend had the urge to be alone and chill out back at the hostel. We walked up to the road and went separate ways, sharing a hug and thanking each other for sharing this experience. I went left, over the bridge and turned onto Pai Walking Street, a pedestrian street lined with vendors hawking all things from fruit, pancakes, shoes, and jewelry, to mystery meat on a stick, tours, art and clothes. Its a sensory overload experience on a normal day, and after a mushroom drink everything was extra sensory.

I could feel a grin locked permanently on my face as my dilated pupils tried to take in everything happening on all sides of me. I find a local artist who uses a black ink pen to draw intricate, merging, trippy designs on 5x7 pieces of paper. I spent about 15 minutes perusing the rack of art before landing on my favorite three to buy. Happy with my find, I continued my journey down walking street.

Feeling parched, I walking into a small corner store to grab a small water. And who do I see at the register? Shiva. He asks how I’m doing and where my friend went. I excitingly show him my art finds, he smiles a genuine smile and bids adieu. I feel warm and secure to run into friendly face, that if I needed any help, Shiva was there. I keep walking, absorbing the sounds, colors, smells and sights of Pai.

Just as I was heading back to my hostel, I pass a familiar face - it’s Shiva walking towards me from the opposite direction. We locked eyes, smiled and gave a knowing nod to each other as we passed. Some final warmth and protection from my mushroom fairy godfather, who I felt was there guiding and protecting me through my journey.