"It Started With One Drum Circle," Says Researcher Tracking the Spread of the Paihole
By TRENT MACGUFFIN, EDITORIAL INTERN
PAI, THAILAND — It began with rhythmic hand-slapping on a goatskin drum. Now, it’s a social phenomenon.
A Thai social anthropologist from Chiang Mai University, Dr. Chanoknan Srithep, says she first noticed the emergence of what she calls "Paihole Syndrome" during an ethnographic field trip in 2018.
“I saw a man named Gary—shirtless, in harem pants, spinning a crystal on a string and asking passersby about their star alignment,” she said. “He had no plan to leave. He said he was waiting for ‘the energy to shift.’”
Since then, Dr. Chanoknan has tracked what she believes to be a “cascading lifestyle adoption pattern” among foreigners, most of them Western, who arrive in Pai intending to stay a few days and never leave.
At the heart of the trend is a convergence of affordable lodging, permissive visa policies, and what she termed “non-judgmental acoustics”—a reference to the prevalence of unregulated drum circles in guesthouse courtyards.
One frequent participant is Chloe Rain, 35, a self-described "5th dimensional being" who has lived in Pai since 2021.
“I don’t believe in time,” Rain said, during a cacao ceremony at the Sai Yok Riverbank Healing Den. “The body knows when it is ready to heal. That’s why I haven’t gone home.”
She then handed this reporter a QR code for her online tincture shop.
Local officials have expressed frustration. “There are too many herbal colonics,” said one district officer, who asked not to be named. “We need English teachers, not astrologers.”
Economic impacts are mixed. Some landlords report full bookings year-round. Others complain that “long-stay low-spenders” are bad for business.
“It’s not just a phase,” said Rain, gently placing a rose quartz stone on her own forehead. “It’s a portal.”
Dr. Chanoknan is more cautious.
“I call it the Paihole,” she said. “Once you’re in, it’s hard to get out. We’re studying whether it’s psychological, cultural, or fungal.”
When asked what advice she had for those at risk, she paused.
“Just don’t pick up the drum,” she said. “That’s where it starts.”