I was somewhat surprised to be offered a home-grown joint upon checking into my accommodation on the island of Koh Lanta. 

Much has changed in the 30 years since I was last in Thailand. There is even more traffic in Bangkok, despite the construction of an impressive rapid transport system comprising Skytrains, underground metro lines, and fast airport rail links.

There are more elevated highways, more high-rise blocks. And everyone — in public transport, in the cafés, in front of the countless massage parlours — is cradling a smartphone. (What did people ever do without them?) 

But perhaps the most evident difference has been the legalisation of cannabis. As hash, marijuana and all their derivatives, including drinks, spiked chocolate brownies and cannabis ice cream, the drug is sold openly on Bangkok pavements and in shiny professional boutiques all over the country proudly brandishing a Green Leaf logo. 

Bangkok though was not my primary destination. I was in transit to explore some parts of southern Thailand, so after eight days in the capital, I headed back to the airport to board a flight down to Phuket from where I would head across Phang Nga Bay to Krabi and the island of Koh Lanta.

EasyLife Bungalows is a verdant, hippy-like establishment on the outskirts of Koh Lanta’s Old Town. It was created ten years ago by Man, a smiling Muslim of 53 who runs the place bare-chested with his lovely wife Fa. The compound contains nine wooden cabins on stilts (the ‘bungalows’) and 13 tents, shaded by trees or palm fronds and most of them (though not mine, alas) on platforms well above ants and stony ground. 

The idyllic setting includes a large pond supplied by Man’s own well, where clients may swim among lily pads and lotus flowers as if in a painting by Monet. Roaming the grounds are a menagerie of cats and a friendly male goose that lost its mate two years ago. (Man is planning to find him a replacement.) Also, a flock of hens with noisy roosters whose body-clocks haven’t told them not to start crowing before dawn. 

For the tents, and three of the cabins, sanitation is very primitive (no hot water, showers with no showerheads, and lavatories to be swilled with pans of water from a tub). But hey-ho, although I foreswore camping after my time as a Boy Scout, the alternatives in high season were few and expensive. And anyway, it was an adventure . . .

And the adventure started with Man offering me a joint before taking me and my luggage to my totally unluxurious tent. (No, I told a friend who thought I was glamping: absolutely not. This was far less glamorous.) 

Man is a devout Muslim, waking to the call of the local mosque to morning prayers at 5.30am before watering his tropical garden, where he grows mangoes, coconuts, jackfruit, avocados and strawberries. And of course, cannabis, which he advertises on the roadside as ‘organic weed’.

As in many establishments in southern Thailand, which has a large Muslim population, you can’t get alcohol at EasyLife, even for a high price under the counter in a cardboard beaker (as I was able to do on a multi-island tour from Krabi). But Man feels no compunction selling, consuming and sharing weed, which Islam also forbids.

“I don’t smoke to get high, or to fly,” he explains, as his naked two-year-old son clambers onto his knee. “I just smoke it to feel peaceful, happy.” Let’s hope Allah finds his sophistry acceptable. 

Man makes joints for his clients and one evening brewed me a mug of cannabis tea made of freshly picked leaves. “It will help you sleep,” he said. And as I dozed at his desk from the effects of wacky baccy and the cannabis tea, he tried to convert me to his religion by showing me videos about the prophets and on several Christian clerics turning to Islam. 

Tourist interests have scotched attempts to roll back the legalisation of cannabis, though that doesn’t really affect Man because he admits to having grown, smoked and sold it before it was legal. Cognoscenti tell me — I’m not an expert — that his price of 250 baht per gram is extremely competitive. Unlike Bill Clinton, I did inhale, and the smoke was sweet. 

Apart from cannabis, Man grows other medicinal herbs (he runs guided tours on that subject). He and Fa give four-hour cookery courses – Fa’s massaman curry is acclaimed by all residents – and Man’s sister offers massage. You can go fishing with a cousin and cook your catch, learn to make your own coconut oil, or have a mud spa treatment. 

When you tire of this private Eden, you can hire a motorbike from Man for a modest 250 baht per day and drive around the island – to the fine sandy beaches on the other side, or to the National Park with its one-hour walkway full of rare trees, plants, birds and monkeys. 

Although the lovely old town of Lanta is within walking distance of EasyLife, you can also use your motorbike to stock up with beer at the 7-Eleven store. But check your watch first, because alcohol can only be sold from stores in Thailand between 11am and 2pm, and between 5pm and midnight.

And you can use your motorbike to go souvenir-hunting in the handicraft stores in the main street or enjoy one of the excellent bars and restaurants that protrude into the sea on stilts. Unfortunately, the local museum down near the pier was closed for renovation when I was there.

I survived four days of EasyLife before returning to Phuket with a van company operated by another of Man’s relatives. Great memories, but I’ll definitely upgrade to a more comfortable bungalow with private facilities if I visit again.

Images: © David Lewis