Batu

[Jake]

"Absolutely.... the only place I would ever get high - well, maybe not "ever" - would be Canada. Even in Thailand I was turning it down 99% of the time. My wife also has a big problem with drugs since her ex was a shabu-man. I just really had my fingers crossed when we first decided to be farmers that there'd be some exception made for it growing "wildly" on your land in small amounts..... and there's no exception" The above quote from Ekimswish (Mike) reminds me of my dark side when I lived in PI during the 1990's. So I decided to listfrom memory the street name for various drugs that were common, even to this day.BATU in Tagalog literally means rock, but refers to meth amphetamine hydrochloride: crystal, ICE or SHABU -- very nasty stuffDAMO in Tagalog means grass and of course means just that, lucrative harvest in the Benquet area near BaguioGAMOT in Tagalog means medical prescription drugs but has been used discreetly to describe illegal drugs in general Here is an article from GMA news dated last year: http://www.gmanews.t...-Ecstasy-use-up Jake

[ekimswish]

I met some Iranians in Bangkok who I got partying with a little bit, who offered me a job to call some hotels in Japan and book their rooms over the phone, book their plane tickets as well, and then fly with them. They said it was illegal for them to go to Japan (on business?) so they had fake passports. They just wanted me to handle the bookings. They would pay me on the plane, and I could go through customs first, so if they had trouble, I would be clear. Sounded very fishy, lol. I stopped hanging out with them. The same time they were telling me this, one of their guys had just been in a fight with another group of Iranians in Bangkok and had cuts on his hands and head. Nice sales pitch. Almost a drug mule. I sometimes wonder what exactly would've happened had I done it? Would they have snuck something into my bags, just asked me plainly to carry something without saying what it was, tell me the deal, or was it really just coming along for the ride? Would I have got addicted to fast money and free traveling? Gone on steroids and become a goon? Become a master hustler? Or get arrested and spend the next 10 years to life in a foreign prison, from which I could write a book and make some cash? Instead I came back to my Filipina girlfriend in Korea, eloped, and happily ever since.

[Jake]

I met some Iranians in Bangkok who I got partying with a little bit, who offered me a job to call some hotels in Japan and book their rooms over the phone, book their plane tickets as well, and then fly with them. They said it was illegal for them to go to Japan (on business?) so they had fake passports. They just wanted me to handle the bookings. They would pay me on the plane, and I could go through customs first, so if they had trouble, I would be clear. Sounded very fishy, lol. I stopped hanging out with them. The same time they were telling me this, one of their guys had just been in a fight with another group of Iranians in Bangkok and had cuts on his hands and head. Nice sales pitch. Almost a drug mule. I sometimes wonder what exactly would've happened had I done it? Would they have snuck something into my bags, just asked me plainly to carry something without saying what it was, tell me the deal, or was it really just coming along for the ride? Would I have got addicted to fast money and free traveling? Gone on steroids and become a goon? Become a master hustler? Or get arrested and spend the next 10 years to life in a foreign prison, from which I could write a book and make some cash? Instead I came back to my Filipina girlfriend in Korea, eloped, and happily ever since.

Good thing your gut instinct told you otherwise. In spite of the origin of shabu, which made the Japanese underworld of the Yakuzato become the most notorious worldwide, Japanese drug laws are very, very strict. Shabu is very addictive and WILL destroy your life and family.Thanks for sharing your experience -- Jake

[ekimswish]

I met some Iranians in Bangkok who I got partying with a little bit, who offered me a job to call some hotels in Japan and book their rooms over the phone, book their plane tickets as well, and then fly with them. They said it was illegal for them to go to Japan (on business?) so they had fake passports. They just wanted me to handle the bookings. They would pay me on the plane, and I could go through customs first, so if they had trouble, I would be clear. Sounded very fishy, lol. I stopped hanging out with them. The same time they were telling me this, one of their guys had just been in a fight with another group of Iranians in Bangkok and had cuts on his hands and head. Nice sales pitch. Almost a drug mule. I sometimes wonder what exactly would've happened had I done it? Would they have snuck something into my bags, just asked me plainly to carry something without saying what it was, tell me the deal, or was it really just coming along for the ride? Would I have got addicted to fast money and free traveling? Gone on steroids and become a goon? Become a master hustler? Or get arrested and spend the next 10 years to life in a foreign prison, from which I could write a book and make some cash? Instead I came back to my Filipina girlfriend in Korea, eloped, and happily ever since.

Good thing your gut instinct told you otherwise. In spite of the origin of shabu, which made the Japanese underworld of the Yakuzato become the most notorious worldwide, Japanese drug laws are very, very strict. Shabu is very addictive and WILL destroy your life and family.Thanks for sharing your experience -- Jake

The most surprising part in that article to me was that the Chinese are the ones coming to the Philippines to make the stuff, and the Filipinos don't actually know how. I had no idea it was like that. I read a book about methamphetamins in Japan and the Yakuza before, which said due to pressure from the JP government, most of the Yakuza plants were relocated to outside Busan, South Korea. They actually trained the Korean gangsters in that respect. At the same time, one of the biggest Yakuza groups in Tokyo is ethnic Koreans from the old days. After all this time, with a trade secret shared by several countries (Japan, Korea, and China), you think SOMEONE would've leaked how to do it to the Filipinos. Then again, there are other materials needed which will still come from China or India. I suspect the Triads would kill any Filipino attempting to cut them out of the market. Now I'm pissed off over the hostage crises.... Whose holding who hostage? Edited November 12, 2010 by ekimswish