Sex, drugs: Australian talks of Thailand holiday experience

From prostitutes to a horror injury; this Aussie partied too hard on his debaucherous Thai holiday and is lucky to be alive. Now he’s warning other travellers.

From drugs to prostitutes and a shocking injury; Australian Luke Kennedy ended up partying way too hard on his debaucherous holiday in Thailand and is lucky to be alive.

Luke, 37, who has since become a motivation speaker and author, has recalled his darkest days including his time on the trip in an attempt to guide others onto a better path so they can avoid making the same travel mistakes he did.

His new book Sex, Drugs and a Buddhist Monk details how his fateful and nearly fatal trip ended in enlightenment after a Buddhist Monk forced him to confront his demons.

Depressed, obese and an avid drug and alcohol abuser, he had taken the Thai holiday with his brother Ruben as a final hurrah before joining the navy. However, Luke said his troubles had begun long before that, here at home.

“From 2000-2008 I was an obese alcoholic and drug addict,” Luke told news.com.au. “As one of the head guys in a violent street fighting crew, I was stabbed twice; once in the lung, the other time in the head.

“On the outside I looked strong and confident, even happy at times. On the inside though, I was struggling – depressed anxious, and paranoid. I hated myself. Turning my life around through losing 50 kilos and competing in boxing, I was making some great changes.

“All of the changes I was making though were in the physical, and I hadn’t looked at the psychological or spiritual implements needed for lasting and deeper changes.

“I joined the navy to further the changes in the physical. A few months from going into the navy, I was invited by my brother to go over to Thailand for one last hurrah.

“The first night I’m in Thailand, I partied hard, scored drugs from a local drug dealer, and caused havoc.”

The drug was coke, bought from the main street of Pattaya at 4am.

“I blindly grabbed a satchel out of his hands, took off with my purchase and stuck it between my butt cheeks,” he recalled in his book.

Earlier that night, Luke brought a stranger back to his hotel room for sex.

Stream your news live & on demand with Flash. From CNN International, Al Jazeera, Sky News, BBC World, CNBC & more. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Tourists and Thai ladies in a party district.

“As we walked into the club a petite local woman was leaving, and we caught each other’s eyes and smiled. Nothing was said before we were in each other’s arms,” he recalled.

“When we got back to the hotel I was approached by a staff member. Apparently you had to pay to take someone back to your room. This was money a drunken fool would be happy to part with, a fool like me.”

Then, there was a scare when the condom broke.

“I freaked out, screamed and swore and ran straight for the shower. In the shower in a stupid and urgent attempt to rid myself of any chance of catching something I scrubbed away.”

Sex, drugs and a horror injury, Luke wrote of his time in Thailand. Picture: Luke Kennedy

On another occasion he talked of confusion between him and his brother on whether two women they’d picked up from a bar were prostitutes or not. This was a topic of concern as they had used up all of their money on room service so hadn’t the extra cash to waste on such an extravagance.

Ruben insisted they weren’t prostitutes, however Luke said while his brother was passed out the women has insisted that he had to pay.

“You’re worried about money for room service and you bring two hookers back?” Luke asked his brother, who maintained that they were just “from the bar”.

Luke has turned his life around. Picture: Luke Kennedy

And then came the day of the horror injury.

“I got blind drunk, and then woke up in hospital with no idea what had happened,” Luke said.

It turned out he had severely broken his leg while riding his motorbike at high speed, and had to undergo surgery.

Doctors had to put a plate and bolts in his compound fracture, and both bones had pierced the skin. He was told he was very lucky as he collided with a local taxi, if it was a normal car his head would have hit the roof and he would have died as he had no helmet on.

“Many chaotic things happened in and around my hospital stay – travel insurance wasn’t covering me and the bill at that stage was 19K,” he said. “The lady whose bike I smashed visited me with a large enforcer looking to get their money.

“A lady was wheeled in in a wheelchair claiming when I came off the bike that it hit her and injured her leg. She was seeking compensation but I later saw her walking around perfectly.

“On top of all this, when we were trying to escape the country – I should have been in bed for weeks with my injuries but we couldn’t afford to stay. The morning of our flight, Bangkok Airport was taken over by protesters and we couldn’t get home.

“Another eight days went past with risk of losing my leg due to infection and risk of a mob finding us to get the money that we escaped paying. As all of this went down, I’m visited by a monk I met earlier in the trip.”

These days Luke is an author and motivational speaker. Picture: Luke Kennedy

Luke said the monk showed him the reason all the chaos was happening in his life.

“I was always running away or trying to suppress my emotions and thoughts through distractions, drugs, alcohol, and even sex.

“By running away and suppressing my inner demons, they’d pop out on other areas of my life – anger, fear, impatience, and not being open to love.

“The monk forced me to turn and face it all. Doing so, started my journey of self-discovery and lasting change.”

So, what is life like now for Luke, who is now based in Burleigh Heads, Queensland?

“It’s been 13 years since the trip, and although there’s been many mistakes and lessons along the way, I’m now in a space where I can use those lessons to help others,” he said.

“My whole life is now dedicated to helping our youth, and giving back to a space I took a lot from. I speak at primary schools, high schools, prison, and corporate event, around topics of resilience, mental health, self-awareness, and looking within to make lasting changes.”

And his one parting word of advice for young Australian travellers getting ready to party hard in places such as Thailand: “To respect the people, culture, and beliefs of those places they are visiting.”

“I felt that once I was overseas, the consequences of my actions were less”, he continued. “They are actually amplified as you are dealing with different laws, medical systems, and without sounding too esoteric, you’re dealing with energies and spiritual forces that are beyond anything we’re capable of understanding through the mind.”