If you are travelling through South East Asia make a stopover in the Thailand‘s neighbouring countries! They are all beautiful, but the scene is rather small. It is not as underground or full power any more as it used to be a decade ago, but this is actually a global tendency. Still, if you wanna find a good party, you will find one, just dig deeper! 🙂 Occasionally there are parties in Singapore which are fully psychedelic but due to law limitations don’t last so long, e.g. at the Home Club.
Malaysia has a small scene as well and this season saw the first 3 day festival near Kuala Lumpur which was nothing but stunning! Organized by Epic Tribe from KL, Belantara was a beautiful family style party in an original location in the middle of the jungle but still easily accessible from Kuala Lumpur. Belantara will take place again in 2014, probably by the end of January! Epic tribe hosts Psytrance nights in Kuala Lumpur as well!
Cambodia has seen some parties already too, the biggest one being Totally Resurrected Festival which took place for the second time this year near Ko Kong (close to the Thai border) but due to many problems its unlikely it will happen again next year. Still Sihanoukville has seen smaller parties since actually 11 years (as some guys from the UK and myself threw a 3 day party for the Khmer New Year) but its actually strange that not more is happening there as the beaches are beautiful, the government flexible and thus the police quite easy going 🙂 I hope that Cambodia and as well Burma will attract some people willing to organise events as both countries have everything a perfect Psytrance party needs! In addition the Meta House in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Phen throws smaller events from time to time (funnily supported by the German Goethe Institute!) and Anjuna Villa in Siem Reap is as well the perfect place for smaller parties and for hooking up with your fellow mates.
One thing you have to keep in mind is that the laws regarding drug use are very strict! Be careful, better check your bags twice before you go to a party or hit the road and make sure you don‘t consume anything in public! Every year dozens of people are busted and the punishment can be quite hard. Not seldom people go behind bars for years just because of small amounts of substances, so be careful: safety first! In Malaysia and Singapore you still have the death sentence for drug trafficking, so once again, better be careful. Cambodia on the other hand has a very relaxed policy regarding especially smoking weed. A decade ago you could even find weed on the local markets but due to the pressure of western countries this is no longer the case…still, you can easily find what you are looking for and normally, nobody cares what you inhale or consume. Mushroom Shakes are widely available as well, so are actually all other substances…still, with regard to the law, all of this is illegal, so keep your common sense switched on to fully enjoy these amazing countries!
Websites
Cambodia
Malaysia
Singapore
facebook.com/groups/6392061961
purplehexagonrecords.com
Text:
DJ Boom Shankar
BMSS Records / Transition / SUN Festival