Traveller says getting cocaine was like 'ordering a plate of fries' at world's first coke bar

A traveler has experienced an evening first-hand in the 'world's first cocaine bar', and apparently ordering the drug was as easy as 'getting a plate of fries'.

Of course, we're all aware of the fact that the Class A drug is illegal in many parts of the world, including the UK, but that hasn't stopped an illicit cocaine bar from operating in La Paz, Bolivia.

The notorious bar is an open secret among tourists and locals alike, who share its name freely among each other, but even if you know it's called Route 36, you'll be hard pressed to find it.

This is because the bar's location changes every few weeks to get around the fact that cocaine is very much illegal in the country.

But if you happen to find a taxi driver who knows the location at that point in time, then you may well get to visit what's been dubbed the 'world's first cocaine bar'.

Cocaine is in plentiful supply in the country, and Bolivia is the third largest cocaine producer behind Columbia and Peru - although it is worth noting that the majority of the time, the drug is produced for legal purposes.

When a correspondent for The Daily Beast somehow managed to find the elusive Route 36, they wrote that despite its frequent location changes: "It actually looked like a legitimate dive bar."

The journalist explained that they went with a group of friends to the bar and after getting a drink, one of them went to negotiate the price of the drug, with the writer noting that they were shocked at how casual it was.

Alamy / Keith Leighton

"That's when I spot it, right on the counter in front of me: four, neatly packaged in folder up paper, grams of cocaine on a small plastic blue plate," they remembered.

"Cocaine. Right there in front of me, like we had ordered a plate of fries.

"I'm still shocked to see how easy and nonchalant it was to score an illegal drug from behind a bar."

"But it was actually kind of sad watching this girl cut rows up on a plastic plate in this rundown basement bar."

The seriousness of the situation that the group had willingly walked into, the journalist explained, only became apparent when they took a photograph and were immediately told off.

This photograph was then shown to staff to prove it did not feature the drug or any identifying features of the bar's location.

"I have a bad feeling all of a sudden and I look around and I think my group does, too," the writer wrote. "This isn't fun - we're in a place where illegal activity is taking place and we're party to it.

"We decide to get the hell out of there."

The group explained that the staff initially didn't want to let the group leave because there were eight of them, something the writer admitted 'looks bad' to anyone outside.

Alamy/RioPatuca

"I nervously wait downstairs just wanting to go go go, hoping they're not keeping us hostage for any other reason than flagging down cabs," they revealed.

"The DJ starts to become hostile, telling us not to touch his stuff even though no one did."

Thankfully, the group were able to eventually make it out the cocaine bar in one piece, even if it meant getting into a taxi knowing that the driver was 'overcharging us'.

Cocaine comes with a number of dangers and the NHS stresses that it is a 'highly addictive' drug that provides a stimulus that's not only 'short lived' but potentially fatal if taken with other substances like alcohol.

If you or someone you know is struggling with drug addiction, click here to gain access to a number of crisis support helplines and contacts

Topics: World News, Drugs

Emma Guinness