Can You Bring Sheesha To Thailand

[madjbs]

Is it ok to bring a sheesha pipe and tobacco through the airport into thailand? I know they had a crackdown quite a few years back but how are things these days? Is it still "banned" or should it be ok?

Thanks

Jake

[chevykanteve]

Is it ok to bring a sheesha pipe and tobacco through the airport into thailand? I know they had a crackdown quite a few years back but how are things these days? Is it still "banned" or should it be ok?

Thanks

Jake

At the risk of sounding like a fool --a total idiot-- what is a sheesha pipe? I would be interested if it's a good substitute for PVC. The plumbing here is terrible. Enlighten us.

[markr]

Its a big pipe/bong type contraption used to smoke flavoured wood chippings* in, to me it seems quite pointless but some folk love it!

Can also be used for marijuana and crack

*tabacco

Edited April 28, 2007 by markr

[chevykanteve]

Its a big pipe/bong type contraption used to smoke flavoured wood chippings* in, to me it seems quite pointless but some folk love it!

Can also be used for marijuana and crack

*tabacco

I know, I figured it was a "hash (HASHISH)" type pipe or a traditonal Arab water-pipe. I was joking about the PVC. Cheers!

[ColPyat]

Its a big pipe/bong type contraption used to smoke flavoured wood chippings* in, to me it seems quite pointless but some folk love it!

Can also be used for marijuana and crack

*tabacco

I know, I figured it was a "hash (HASHISH)" type pipe or a traditonal Arab water-pipe. I was joking about the PVC. Cheers!

I love to smoke a shisha once a while, very relaxing, with a cup of mint tea. Lots of places in the back alleys of Soi 3/1. It's perfect after a lovely Arab dinner.

[pumpuiman]

Sheesha or hukkha pipe

Edited April 28, 2007 by pumpuiman

[markr]

Its a big pipe/bong type contraption used to smoke flavoured wood chippings* in, to me it seems quite pointless but some folk love it!

Can also be used for marijuana and crack

*tabacco

I know, I figured it was a "hash (HASHISH)" type pipe or a traditonal Arab water-pipe. I was joking about the PVC. Cheers!

I love to smoke a shisha once a while, very relaxing, with a cup of mint tea. Lots of places in the back alleys of Soi 3/1. It's perfect after a lovely Arab dinner.

Is it not like smoking about twenty cigs at once though ColPyat? my GF enjoys occasionally but I cant stand the stuff

Mark

[Clipped]

tobacco isnt allowed into the country, personal consumption yes, for reselling no...i love sheesha

[ColPyat]

Its a big pipe/bong type contraption used to smoke flavoured wood chippings* in, to me it seems quite pointless but some folk love it!

Can also be used for marijuana and crack

*tabacco

I know, I figured it was a "hash (HASHISH)" type pipe or a traditonal Arab water-pipe. I was joking about the PVC. Cheers!

I love to smoke a shisha once a while, very relaxing, with a cup of mint tea. Lots of places in the back alleys of Soi 3/1. It's perfect after a lovely Arab dinner.

Is it not like smoking about twenty cigs at once though ColPyat? my GF enjoys occasionally but I cant stand the stuff

Mark

I'm on two packs a day anyhow, not much difference

[bina]

in our neck of the woods, it is very very popular among the kids (and i mean kids as in even preteens) so we, the parents had a no smoking edu week for the bar mitzva kids group (boring boring i know) and then we were told what goes in the tobacco lumps that the kids like to use (apple flavoured, cherry flavoured, pina colada flavoured )in the narghilas (the name it is called herre in the middle east ) : camel dung was one of the ingredients... i wont even list the others....

it is just too much association with illegal substince that i wouldnt even risk bringing one in to thailand: woould be very easy to give u a prison stay based on that looking likeu have hashish on u cause u have a narghila...

[madjbs]

Dont you think if they thought you looked like you had hash on you that they might search your bags not just send you to prison because you "look" like you might have drugs on you? Where do all the sheesha pipes in soi 3 come from anyway, are they thai made or imported?

[mpdkorat]

Dont you think if they thought you looked like you had hash on you that they might search your bags not just send you to prison because you "look" like you might have drugs on you? Where do all the sheesha pipes in soi 3 come from anyway, are they thai made or imported?

I don't think it would be a problem bring one in. I believe you can even buy one around the Soi 3 Arab area, a friend of mine recently did.

[Kerryd]

Lots being used (and sold) in the Arab section of Pattaya as well (around and behind the Marine Plaza hotel). I imagine if you look around you'll be able to find the tobacco on sale locally as well.

[bina]

to tell the truth, even here i'm paranoid about driving with one in the car; the association of narghila with the 'younger crowd' and hashish is here in israel even if there are narghila bars all over the place. a guy with long hair and a narghila are more suspect then 'karrim barhum' from jamila and a narghila. i would think that a western 'hippie type' tourist carring one in looks more suspect then a bunch of saudi arabians bringing theirs' in.

[Maigo6]

to tell the truth, even here i'm paranoid about driving with one in the car; the association of narghila with the 'younger crowd' and hashish is here in israel even if there are narghila bars all over the place. a guy with long hair and a narghila are more suspect then 'karrim barhum' from jamila and a narghila. i would think that a western 'hippie type' tourist carring one in looks more suspect then a bunch of saudi arabians bringing theirs' in.

Hi Bina, what is the situation in Israel with Hash smoking, is it a thing that an Israeli would be jailed for, or is it accepted ?

Many Israeli guys I have met in the past never drank a lot of alcohol, yet liked a puff or two.

Edited April 29, 2007 by Maigo6

[Johpa]

to tell the truth, even here i'm paranoid about driving with one in the car; the association of narghila with the 'younger crowd' and hashish is here in israel even if there are narghila bars all over the place. a guy with long hair and a narghila are more suspect then 'karrim barhum' from jamila and a narghila. i would think that a western 'hippie type' tourist carring one in looks more suspect then a bunch of saudi arabians bringing theirs' in.

Wasn't the national song Hava Narghila?

As a tourist, long ago before the hatred settled upon the landscape, we would buy our hashish (homer nefesh) by the Damascus Gate where the old men sat and smoked their narghilas in the small cafes just inside the gate.

[sbk]

Certain posts have been deleted as we're getting dangerously close to veering off into topics that will get this thread closed and posters warned.

Lets keep it legal and on topic. So far, only one poster has tried to answer the OP's question. Is sheesha legal to bring into Thailand?

Since it is tobacco wouldn't it fall under the same customs duty/restrictions as cigarettes and other tobacco related products?

[Mai Krap]

Comparing Shisha to drug use is just way off topic. Its about as close to saying cigarette smokers are opiate users and coffee drinkers are speed junkies. It is tobacco mixed with fruit and molasses, No there is no camel dung mixed in it but I would expect most Israelis would throw in a insult directed at Arabs any chance they get.

To directly answer the question, Shisha is illegal in Thailand, but so is prostitution and that never stopped anyone I know from getting a hooker. Currently there is a 1,000 baht fine per box but it is a fine used as a revenue for local police in order to sin tax Muslim businesses around Thailand. Up until a few years ago it was completely overlooked by the police until someone figured out that Halal food vendors being not involved with gambling, prostitution, nor alcohol sales were off there pay for play radar and were failing to provide weekly envelopes of Black Label fundage. This caused quite a outrage for a short time and then when someone figured out all the Shisha tobacco was being flown in from the Middle East for a mix of Arabs, Mercenaries, Expats and Foreign Correspondents all helll broke loose and Shisha was declared evil and outlawed once and for all according to all Thai legal documents as it is pure Middle Eastern Debauchery, Not Thai Culture.

This gets us back to reality, Today Shisha is still openly smoked in many places behind Soi 3 and around Bangkok. The places serving food are mostly good Egyptian and Persian restaurants. The little dives that sell beer and offer the pipes are mostly little Thai places and tend to be pretty sleazy after midnight. During the day and till 10pm its fine but late at night Soi 3 can be a dodgy area with a weird mix of the odd futball hooligan, lost drunks from Nana Plaza, Arabs, Persians, Africans, Expats, and kids who's parents work for the embassies that hang around since its close to the condos where they live.

The current situation is one where Thais who are known traders frequently flying back and forth to Dubai and were the main importers have pretty much given up on the business. They were getting hit hard at the airport and having their Shisha confiscated only to have the police resale it to the restaurants for 100% profit and there was a rumor that one restaurant refused to pay tea money and was ruffed up and heavily fined by the police, I'm pretty sure its a true story. There is a great Shisha shop in the duty free area of the airport at Dubai, thats where I get mine anyway. If you want to bring in 2 or 4 boxes for your personal use you should not have any hassle at all. For that matter if you want to open a shop selling it by the pipe the police will be more than happy as long as you pay a little every week. I have only heard of one misunderstanding and that took place at a very small Lebanese restaurant next to a police station on a resort island. The misunderstanding was cleared up with one phone call and since the smoking was more of personal nature and not a business venture because of the few customers the police just came by and enjoyed the occasional smoke and no tax ever changed hands, in the end everybody was happy, well at least till Lebanon got bombed in June 2006 but thats another story all together.

I'm happy to say that just tonight me and a friend from London had a good pipe of Mint Shisha as we sat on the porch and watched yet another Thai drink fest go off in the distance including full stage with dancers and singers. For those who live in Bangkok I wouldn't bother with anything but going out for smoke around town at a public place as its a very social event along with a good tea or coffee. Anyone who smokes up country, if you got it, smoke it, have no fear, the local police love the stuff.

Edited April 29, 2007 by Mai Krap

[jamesc2000]

Of course its ok to bring Sheela, a pipe and tabacco to Thailand.

But Thailand has so many very nice Sheelas that its a bit like bringing coals to Newcastle!

And after you are done with the Sheelas, the pipe and tabacco comes in very handy!

G'day!

[jEFFREYk44]

Settle for a Cohiba

[bina]

quick route to jail.....

they just like to do it in other countries at the risk of being in indian or thai jails...

but the regular apple flavoured narghila tobacco stuff is very very popular now among teenagers (dont really know what the big attraction is...) the thought of inhaling the saliva of someone else... go figure...

and most cops here if they see a narghila in your car, assume that u must bbe doing more extreme things also UNLESS u are an arabic guy in which case it 'belongs'. if u look shanti rasta with a narghila, u will have more hassles... so i figure thailand must go along those lines also.... was just speculating

[jamesc2000]

No point risking it unless you don't mind a spell in the Bangkok Hilton.

You are on holiday and you want a good time, the last thing you need is to be banged up abroad!

Travel safe.

[madjbs]

I myself dont really think Isreal is a good comparison to Thailand. And the reason the police there dont like people with shisha pipes is probably because they are at war with the arabic world, and as shisha is an arabic thing, well.....

[Mai Krap]

quick route to jail.....

they just like to do it in other countries at the risk of being in indian or thai jails...

but the regular apple flavoured narghila tobacco stuff is very very popular now among teenagers (dont really know what the big attraction is...) the thought of inhaling the saliva of someone else... go figure...

and most cops here if they see a narghila in your car, assume that u must bbe doing more extreme things also UNLESS u are an arabic guy in which case it 'belongs'. if u look shanti rasta with a narghila, u will have more hassles... so i figure thailand must go along those lines also.... was just speculating

If you want to take a piss on Arabs and Muslim culture by all means go for it, please do not bother to mask it as your concern for tourist. I very much doubt if you sincerely have concerns over the exchange of spittle amongst tourist and it seems a little light in subject matter if one were to take on the topic of exchanging fluids in Thailand. Furthermore how many over smoked Arabs have ever spit their drinks into the face of Thai staff and ended up dead on the floor in a Sheesha restaurant? If one wishes to speculate I believe he would be better to speculate that Alcohol is more important to avoid than smoking tobacco of any flavor or packaging. While both can have long term health effects the morgue tends to have a chilling short term result for alcohol abusers here in the LOS "Land Of Sheesha!"

[Mai Krap]

No point risking it unless you don't mind a spell in the Bangkok Hilton.

You are on holiday and you want a good time, the last thing you need is to be banged up abroad!

Travel safe.

I challenge you to find one single case of anyone ever spending a night in jail for having or smoking Sheesha in Thailand. There have been a few people stopped at the airport and fined but in every single case that I'm aware of there were entire suitcases of the tobacco involved amounting to hundreds of boxes. In regards to the original question it would be the equivilent of saying

"Hey I know a guy who just got busted for bringing thirty cartons of cigirettes to Thailand without a proper tax stamp, If I was you I wouldnt take even one pack through customs unless you want to risk spending your holiday in prison"

Which is entering the twilight zone. Most of the comments that have been made here are posted by people who have little to less than zero experience with this subject matter anywhere much less within Thailand or the Middle Eastern Quarter of Bangkok which sales it openly all hours of the day and night closing only from 4AM to daylight when the pipes come right back out for the hardcore breakfast smokers and guys like me who who enjoy it with caffeine on business trips for a quick start on a long day.

[frenchfarangjomtien]

Hi,

It seems ok to bring Sheesha to Thailand as they checked my back in the Xray machine few months ago and the Shisha was clearly inside, but with few tobbacco boxes.

So now I wonder where to buy more flavoured Sheesha tobacco in Thailand ? Please don't reply Soi 3 or Arab area in Sukhumvit and Pattaya, because I can also guess, but i want a shop name or location if possible.

Thank you so much.