What did my friend drink?

[banglassie]

Hi all, I'm not sure this is the right place to place this thread. But I can't seem to find where there right place else would be. So sorry if it's wrong.

Anyway, my friend recently was in Thailand. He traveled to some small islands not too far from koh Samui, however I could be wrong on the location. They where supposed to only go for a day-trip, since there where no accommodation on the island really, only local homes. However there was a wedding at the island when they got there, and they, including the guides got drunk and fell asleep under some palms...

Next day however, they where hanging around with the local fishermen (eumm, or I have no idea if they where fishermen really...) and after laying on the beach recovering and chewing some kratom with the locals one guy took a bottle. Inside the bottle something that looked like (in his view) slized bark of a palm-tree or other tree where filled in the bottle, and on top of that they had added some Lao-Khao or other strong, cheap, disgusting alcohol and let it sit for a day-week-month?

He was offered to drink this bark-drink and had a few sips. Awhile later he found himself completely out of motor skills and unable to stand up, like more or less paralyzed. Since I'm describing what someone else described to me it may not make much sense at all. However ethnobotanics used to be a strong interest of mine, and I can't for my life imagine what this would be. I'm not interested in getting my hands on the paralyzing drink.. Only to find out the latin name of the tree and to know what it was he drank, since it apparently made somekind of impression on him (since I have heard this tale more than once).

I should also say that it was my friends first trip in Thailand. However, he is well aware of what Kratom is since we have loads of it in Europe as well. And this had nothing to do with it. Apart from that I've never heard of some other southern intoxicating drinks, if you don't count the toxic hybrid of boiled kratom/mosquito spirals/cough syrup/anything else u may find... Which is a teenage thing, and not something u would suspect to find the elders on an remote island doing... I would love to know where this was as well, too bad my friend is a ignorant Polish <deleted> and don't really care for the details, he's more in it for the party..

Well, if anyone has a clue let me know. If you know the name in Thai please let me know. I speak and read Thai quite fluently.

Been asking Thai friends as well, but they are clueless, and about as ignorant about the details as my dear polish friend/co-worker.

[Sheryl]

Usually the stuff you describe is just rice wine or other locally made fermented stuff. But that would not usually produce the effects you describe.

And since your friend appears not to have woken up robbed, unlikely that something was intentionally added to the brew to incapacitate him (not unknown to occur here).

I'm moving this to then General where you may get more replies.

[historyprof]

Ya Dong

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

dont delude yourself that 4x100 is exclusive to teens. poor folk of all ages will do anything to stop thinking.

[EyesWideOpen]

Whatever it was , I hope to god the lady boys of Pattaya never find out about it.....

A paralyzing drink ?? The mind boggles.....

[MegaRanter]

I have seen the tree barks in bottles for sale in mukdahan. I have seen ones with alcoholic drinks added being consumed around Thailand. Even in Bangkok. I have always being told it's medicinal but I assume most take them for the high. It's commonest one is called yaa dong.

You see peddlers in Bangkok and around, they all look weathered like fishermen. But could be the yaa dong working from within.

[banglassie]

Well, Yaa dong is just alcohol with added herbs, no? usually everything from ginseng to many herbs I'm less familiar with. I havebought yaa dong powder some times and made my own. Health benefits or not I'm not that convinced. From personal observations I think it's more used as an excuse to get drunk anytime any day... My father-in-law always goes for a 20 baht shot while we are out eating in Bkk. He really likes his alcohol...

However, I have never heard of a Yaa dong that will give you a sedating/paralyzing zombie feeling until you hardly can open your mouth or speak? The guy is a 100% proud Polish national, and drinks vodka like water, so it would surprise me if any normal Yaa dong would bite on him like that? Then again we are all different and can react different to any herbs, but it just all seems weird to me...

Might be he's sensitive to the Kratom and then had some Yaa dong on top of that and it made him like that. But it just doesn't make sense since Thai Kratom is pretty darn stimulating, very much like coffee, compared with it's Indonesian counterpart.. And that the person in question is used to it suggest it has nothing to do with it. Might also be that the yaa dong was spiced with diazepams or any other benzos.. Which to me seems likely on the description. But not a practice I've heard much of there.

No, no one tried to rob him, they where all sharing the bottle and passing out together. (however, 2 weeks later he went to Phils and got drugged for real with the purpose of scamming him of cash, which ended with an almost TV worth story of running, hiding, people he thought he could trust that would later tell on him to those who tried to catch him etc. But that's another story, and not my story.

I bet there are loads of toxic trees you could get F-ed up with, but that the majority in this world would avoid. That said, Thais drink mosquito spirals to get high (without any effect more than the health hazard...) So, who knows..

[nisakiman]

Is it a coincidence that you, with a username of banglassie (bhang lhassi, as sold in India?) is asking about an intoxicating drink infused with herb / bark?

I was quite partial to a cup of bhang lhassi myself when I was there in the late 60s...

[barrybankruad]

Here in Issan I have seen locals kill a takarp the poisonous centipede and then put the dead creature into a bottle of lhao kow which they then let ferment for a few days before drinking it. I've no tried it but I'm told it gives a knockout punch.

[mengfarmer]

Ya Dong

The correct answer is given by : historyprof

Ya Dong for sure...

[Indrid Cold]

sleeping under palms on a jungle island exposes you to a lot more then just what you digested, it could be that your friend got this effect from more factors then just the drink. Many times herbs/natrual ingridiens are added just for add/hide flavour. It could allso be that the local fishermen drinks this every morning and are well past the paralyzing state.

[banglassie]

Is it a coincidence that you, with a username of banglassie (bhang lhassi, as sold in India?) is asking about an intoxicating drink infused with herb / bark?

I was quite partial to a cup of bhang lhassi myself when I was there in the late 60s...

haha, I did write that I used to be quite interested in Ethnobotanicals However, I haven't smoked any weed for years now, I simply grew tired of being tired all the time...

but yea, there was a time I was fresh backpacker flying in from Europe to South- and South-east Asia, and at that time I was fairly in to psychedelics. But I was more interested in their effects than in to actually take them (since it can be a quite painful experience for those who know, as well as magical). Anyway, it led me to research a lot. Which makes me wonder why I never heard of this. Can add that most of my friends in LOS are from Nakhon Si Thammarat, and are in the "Pak Kiow" (green party) -club.. Most of them musicians Reggae/peua chiwit), so I think I should have heard of this for sure.. But since I haven't my friend might simply be deluded by the look of yaa dong. Or he run into something fairly unknown, which is not very common..