I live in the restive province of Narathiwat in the Malay Muslim deep south region, next to the Malaysian border.

Some 7/11s sell alcoholic beverages, but certainly not all. Even in the main residential areas, if a convenience store is owned and operated by Muslims, which most are, there will not be alcohol, or pork for that matter, on the shelves. No matter the location (near schools etc.) of the branch.

 

It never bothers me as I don't drink alcohol myself, and pork can be bought at Buddhist-owned establishments, but it may be something to keep in mind.

On 3/29/2023 at 12:30 PM, Menken said:

 

No shortage of booze in south. Malay and Thai Muslims drink

Guess you've never been to the deep south, meaning Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, and the easternmost four districts of Songkhla. Very few Malay Muslims drink alcohol here.

In fact, most people are REALLY conservative and 90 percent of Muslim women and girls wear only long-sleeved clothes. The hijab is worn by virtually all females, even many little girls or newborns, with some women opting for niqab.

During this current month of Ramadan all Muslims are fasting. It really is another world here compared to other regions.

On 4/3/2023 at 4:03 PM, MarcelV said:

Guess you've never been to the deep south, meaning Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, and the easternmost four districts of Songkhla. Very few Malay Muslims drink alcohol here.

In fact, most people are REALLY conservative and 90 percent of Muslim women and girls wear only long-sleeved clothes. The hijab is worn by virtually all females, even many little girls or newborns, with some women opting for niqab.

During this current month of Ramadan all Muslims are fasting. It really is another world here compared to other regions.

This is a pretty good description. As a fellow beer lover who has spent considerable time in the Deep South (anything South of Kanchanawanich Road that runs from Songkhla Town to Sadao), I have had a few experiences when it was difficult to find beer down there, but with a bit of advance planning it always seemed to work out. I guess it's easier if you are in a car or pickup, since you can just keep a cooler full of ice-cold ones...

16 minutes ago, phuketsub said:

This is a pretty good description. As a fellow beer lover who has spent considerable time in the Deep South (anything South of Kanchanawanich Road that runs from Songkhla Town to Sadao), I have had a few experiences when it was difficult to find beer down there, but with a bit of advance planning it always seemed to work out. I guess it's easier if you are in a car or pickup, since you can just keep a cooler full of ice-cold ones...

Border towns all have more than enough booze and babes for the thirsty Malaysians. In the provincial capitals you find karaoke bars for the policemen and soldiers, which also sell alcohol.

In smaller towns and villages in the countryside, it is more difficult, but

if you really wanna get drunk (or high), there are always ways to do so.

 

Fyi, I don't drink or do drugs, or monger, so I'm not missing out anyway.

Having completed a 16 day road trip on my motorbike  around the rural roads of the southern provinces of Thailand (Not larger towns or cities) and predominantly small Muslim communities villages  I can attest to the fact it was virtually impossible to find anywhere that sold beer let alone 7/11 's  , I sure did miss my beer fix after a long hot  day on the saddle  

10 hours ago, banglay said:

Having completed a 16 day road trip on my motorbike  around the rural roads of the southern provinces of Thailand (Not larger towns or cities) and predominantly small Muslim communities villages  I can attest to the fact it was virtually impossible to find anywhere that sold beer let alone 7/11 's  , I sure did miss my beer fix after a long hot  day on the saddle  

The joys of Islam ????

17 hours ago, banglay said:

Having completed a 16 day road trip on my motorbike  around the rural roads of the southern provinces of Thailand (Not larger towns or cities) and predominantly small Muslim communities villages  I can attest to the fact it was virtually impossible to find anywhere that sold beer let alone 7/11 's  , I sure did miss my beer fix after a long hot  day on the saddle  

Not the best time of the year to make this trip. It is the fasting month of Ramadan and any food or drink is harded to find now, let alone alcohol.

20 hours ago, banglay said:

Having completed a 16 day road trip on my motorbike  around the rural roads of the southern provinces of Thailand (Not larger towns or cities) and predominantly small Muslim communities villages  I can attest to the fact it was virtually impossible to find anywhere that sold beer let alone 7/11 's  , I sure did miss my beer fix after a long hot  day on the saddle 

Talking about Thailand in general, I miss the cafe's in Spain and Portugal. When it's 40C degrees it's great to be able to sit in comfort and choose from a selection of draught lagers anytime between 6am and midnight (or later). Cheese and ham tostie always goes down well with it!

On 4/14/2023 at 7:31 AM, MarcelV said:

Not the best time of the year to make this trip. It is the fasting month of Ramadan and any food or drink is harded to find now, let alone alcohol.

I didn't have a problem finding food to eat...   most places would cook me something fresh ,, it was the locals that couldn't eat during daylight hours , and they didn't make me feel awkward for asking , I  picked ramadan  because I thought there was  less chance of conflict over a religious period  I was advice only twice at military checkpoints  not to stop in certain locations for my own safety 

You should write up your trip, would be nice to have a positive story about the deep south. 

22 minutes ago, Stocky said:

You should write up your trip, would be nice to have a positive story about the deep south. 

Not a write up as such   but here's a short vid I did  of part of the trip ,, I didn't have a problem with 99% of the journey  but I did feel uneasy in some places  ,