I'm staying at Korat but right out in the country. The reason I'm there for is my wife is getting her mothers house totally renovated so she can sell it. It needs a lot of work as it's been vacant for 25 years. That aside, her cousin is totally bed ridden, he can't move, walk or even talk. He lays on the bed 24/7 naked expect for a Donald Trump diaper. He's only 60 years old and it's really taking it's toll on his wife. She told my wife that around 20 years ago she took took him to a special hospital for alcoholics in Bangkok. The specialist told her his condition cant be cured and it will get progressively worse until he dies. Further more as Lao Khaow is 40% over a long time period it reduces the blood to a persons brain. I've seen 2 people that were dead in my time, my mum and my best mate but they looked nothing like this guy. There's another of my wifes cousins in the same predicament, he was a big strong guy who was a builder, he's now around 30kg's the same as the first cousin mentioned. My wife told me that this condition is rife in and around Isarn. Has anybody seen this happen else where? All I can say it must be extra good s**t.

Sounds like the best thing to do is keep him well fed with Lao Khaow and it will end quicker.

Usually it's a combo with yaba for the younger ones

My young cousin (on the Thai side) died a couple of months ago...only 50...his day consisted of Lao Chaow.

I'm 81 and nearly the oldest bloke in our Isaan village.

I couldn't give a ratz about him but I do feel very sorry for his wife. She's 60 yo now and has stuck with him through thick and thin, all for nothing. It's easy to see why these ladies go to Pattaya to look for a partner as the guys up here treat females like s**t even though they give them 3 or 4 kids.

3 hours ago, carlyai said:

My young cousin (on the Thai side) died a couple of months ago...only 50...his day consisted of Lao Chaow.

I'm 81 and nearly the oldest bloke in our Isaan village.

And I dare say the smartest. I've been coming up here for 25 years. I noticed years ago that even the educated ones which is rare up here can make very rash decisions. That's why so many people lose their lives up here. Especially motor accidents, domestic violence and other things that we would consider trivial.

Edited June 6Jun 6 by Rams86

It's common to see guys and the occasional girl do a few shots at 8am before starting work and then continuously there after at every break. How the hell do they do it!

I tried Lao Khaow once in the 90s. I'm very pleased to say it tasted awful, and I had to go outside because I thought I was going to be sick.

Why pleased? Because from that day forward, I've NEVER been tempted to try it again!

Looking at the effects it can have, I reckon I dodged a bullet!

On 6/6/2026 at 1:52 PM, Rams86 said:

I'm staying at Korat but right out in the country. The reason I'm there for is my wife is getting her mothers house totally renovated so she can sell it. It needs a lot of work as it's been vacant for 25 years. That aside, her cousin is totally bed ridden, he can't move, walk or even talk. He lays on the bed 24/7 naked expect for a Donald Trump diaper. He's only 60 years old and it's really taking it's toll on his wife. She told my wife that around 20 years ago she took took him to a special hospital for alcoholics in Bangkok. The specialist told her his condition cant be cured and it will get progressively worse until he dies. Further more as Lao Khaow is 40% over a long time period it reduces the blood to a persons brain. I've seen 2 people that were dead in my time, my mum and my best mate but they looked nothing like this guy. There's another of my wifes cousins in the same predicament, he was a big strong guy who was a builder, he's now around 30kg's the same as the first cousin mentioned. My wife told me that this condition is rife in and around Isarn. Has anybody seen this happen else where? All I can say it must be extra good s**t.

Lao Khao is absolute garbage and responsible for many deaths and illnesses here. My girlfriend works for the government and goes to all the funerals in her 15 village district. I have gone with her many times when I was visiting her, more funerals than I'll ever go to back home.

Many of the deaths are vehicle crashes, but many more are people dying from cancer, some from eating the raw fish but many from stomach and esophageal from drinking that crap for decades.

Every shop I enter in any village in Isaan has a bottle sitting on the counter, shots for 10 baht, farmers coming in after or before work for a "pick me up". Sadly this garbage is used by many. I see it at every funeral and wedding we've gone to, and the bottle quickly disappears.

Many of the deaths are people in their 40's to 60's, and quite a few I knew from before, acquaintances of my girlfriend through her job or village. The main problem is the addiction to this drink, and them not eating while drinking it. Methanol poisoning causes blindness and organ failure, which is the reason for many of those deaths. What's worse is the fake crap that's sold here, which is moonshine by percentage.

2 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Methanol poisoning causes blindness and organ failure, which is the reason for many of those deaths. What's worse is the fake crap that's sold here, which is moonshine by percentage.

I remember when I worked in Saudi, people would distil something called "Siddiqui" which was moonshine by any other name. The company produced a booklet called The Blue Flame which is apparently(?) the colour the still's flame needs to be to create Ethyl alcohol (safe for human consumption) as opposed to Methyl alcohol (highly toxic)

I tried "Sid" a few times but you really drank it for effect rather than enjoyment!

14 minutes ago, VBF said:

I remember when I worked in Saudi, people would distil something called "Siddiqui" which was moonshine by any other name. The company produced a booklet called The Blue Flame which is apparently(?) the colour the still's flame needs to be to create Ethyl alcohol (safe for human consumption) as opposed to Methyl alcohol (highly toxic)

I tried "Sid" a few times but you really drank it for effect rather than enjoyment!

I've heard that name, likely living in New Jersey, which is a melting pot of all nationalities, and was around many Middle Easterners working. I tried Lao Khao to be hospitable with a few of my girlfriends friends a few times, but no more for a long time, and I talked her out of drinking it anymore also, as I didn't want her to get sick.

1 minute ago, fredwiggy said:

I've heard that name, likely living in New Jersey, which is a melting pot of all nationalities, and was around many Middle Easterners working. I tried Lao Khao to be hospitable with a few of my girlfriends friends a few times, but no more for a long time, and I talked her out of drinking it anymore also, as I didn't want her to get sick.

I always thought that Siddiqui meant "my friend" and I have met several Pakistani people in UK and ME with it as their name.

However, an AI search produced:

Siddique (also spelled Siddiq) is an Arabic masculine given name and surname that translates to "truthful," "sincere," or "righteous". Rooted in the Islamic tradition, it is used to describe someone who is exceptionally honest and unwavering in their faith.

Kind of ironic, wouldn't you say?

49 minutes ago, VBF said:

tried Lao Khaow once in the 90s. I'm very pleased to say it tasted awful,

Probably depends on how much sugar they toss in.

I tried it once at a neighborhood wedding party, it tastes sweet.

Would I drink it again? Nope.

Once is enough.

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt

My Issan GF lost her father when she was eight. He, together with a friend, brewed their own rice spirit, and he drank himself to death. She also lost her husband 7 years ago to drink and drugs. It makes my consumption of beer look tame. I avoid all spirits now and just enjoy beer over ice and red wine.

50 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

I've heard that name, likely living in New Jersey, which is a melting pot of all nationalities, and was around many Middle Easterners working. I tried Lao Khao to be hospitable with a few of my girlfriends friends a few times, but no more for a long time, and I talked her out of drinking it anymore also, as I didn't want her to get sick.

Everybody has to disrespect Jersey!

1 hour ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Everybody has to disrespect Jersey!

I miss it. It's a great state. Good people, hunting, fishing, beaches, attractions, food, and events. Weather is great April through October, but after that, cold too long. Wish I had a house there to travel to in those months.

1 hour ago, fredwiggy said:

I miss it. It's a great state. Good people, hunting, fishing, beaches, attractions, food, and events. Weather is great April through October, but after that, cold too long. Wish I had a house there to travel to in those months.

Tomato pies! Cannoli! Jersey tomatoes, peaches (beats Georgia's), corn. My father & I used to park by a farmer's fence and eat that beautiful corn raw right off the cob!

3 hours ago, Jaggg88 said:

My Issan GF lost her father when she was eight. He, together with a friend, brewed their own rice spirit, and he drank himself to death. She also lost her husband 7 years ago to drink and drugs. It makes my consumption of beer look tame. I avoid all spirits now and just enjoy beer over ice and red wine.

I just do the hard stuff which is much healthier if you know your limits. Beer and red whine are nice but don't enjoy the gut :)

8 hours ago, VBF said:

I remember when I worked in Saudi, people would distil something called "Siddiqui" which was moonshine by any other name. The company produced a booklet called The Blue Flame which is apparently(?) the colour the still's flame needs to be to create Ethyl alcohol (safe for human consumption) as opposed to Methyl alcohol (highly toxic)

I tried "Sid" a few times but you really drank it for effect rather than enjoyment!

I did a brief stint in Al Khobar in the mid 90's. They regularly had 'Sid' at the compound parties along with homebrew beer brewed from the non-alcoholic beer you could quite easily come by. I had a few shots of 'Sid' once at a party and the next morning most of my foot had turned purple. Can only assume it was down to the 'Sid' so never touched it again.

We could quite easily source bottles of spirits but even in the 90's these were setting us back around £100 per bottle. We used to get tipped off that the police were doing a raid a day or two later so used to bury the booze on desert land nearby. Once the raid had been carried out we'd go and dig it up again and have a party.

Weekends used to head across the causeway into Bahrain where booze was legal. We used to get stopped and searched several times along the causeway on the return journey searching for contraband. We often had packets of bacon wedged inside the car door panels.

6 minutes ago, Keeps said:

I did a brief stint in Al Khobar in the mid 90's. They regularly had 'Sid' at the compound parties along with homebrew beer brewed from the non-alcoholic beer you could quite easily come by. I had a few shots of 'Sid' once at a party and the next morning most of my foot had turned purple. Can only assume it was down to the 'Sid' so never touched it again.

We could quite easily source bottles of spirits but even in the 90's these were setting us back around £100 per bottle. We used to get tipped off that the police were doing a raid a day or two later so used to bury the booze on desert land nearby. Once the raid had been carried out we'd go and dig it up again and have a party.

Weekends used to head across the causeway into Bahrain where booze was legal. We used to get stopped and searched several times along the causeway on the return journey searching for contraband. We often had packets of bacon wedged inside the car door panels.

All very familiar 👍

The "large oil company" I worked for had a separate section in the commissary for non-Muslims resident on the main campus only. Just sold pork products.

1 minute ago, VBF said:

All very familiar 👍

The "large oil company" I worked for had a separate section in the commissary for non-Muslims resident on the main campus only. Just sold pork products.

I was there in my role for the UK based Global Insurance Broker who placed the Insurance program for that "large oil company". I was offered a longer stay but turned it down.

I was told that some Americans hadn't left that main campus for over 10 years in some instances. The campus had all they needed. Don't know if it was true or not.

The compound I stayed on had an ice skating rink and a tenpin bowling alley. Lovely to go and lay on the ice in just my undercrackers after a day in the stifling heat.

4 minutes ago, Keeps said:

I was there in my role for the UK based Global Insurance Broker who placed the Insurance program for that "large oil company". I was offered a longer stay but turned it down.

I was told that some Americans hadn't left that main campus for over 10 years in some instances. The campus had all they needed. Don't know if it was true or not.

The compound I stayed on had an ice skating rink and a tenpin bowling alley. Lovely to go and lay on the ice in just my undercrackers after a day in the stifling heat.

I was there for 3 years and earned enough to buy my flat in UK. also, courtesy of some of the more-experienced crew, I was introduced to the delights of Bangkok and never looked back. 😉I can attest to some Americans literally arriving from the airport, straight to the compound and only leaving it when they went back to the airport to leave!! My boss was one-such boring buffoon!

A group of us used to go to Al-Khobar on a Thursday night (logical Saturday) for a Pakistani meal accompanied by "near beer".

We'd time it to arrive just after the first evening prayer and get locked in when the second prayer got called giving us a couple of hours for a relaxed if sober meal. Delicious food and nice people running the place.

Edited June 8Jun 8 by VBF

10 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Tomato pies! Cannoli! Jersey tomatoes, peaches (beats Georgia's), corn. My father & I used to park by a farmer's fence and eat that beautiful corn raw right off the cob!

Once a friend and I were driving around and saw some corn in a field. We went and grabbed some, making a hasty getaway, only to find out after we cooked the supposedly Jersey Sweet Corn, that it was cow corn and tough as leather.

Possible/probable early death from organ failure if consumed daily. Dangerous stuff. Apart from that the hangover is brutal.

Any strong 40 degree alcohol consumed daily from dusk till dawn will end up killing you. Go to Russia and see the Vodka drunks....same picture.

Whilst not defending Lao Khao I have never seen any scientific evidence that it is worse than any other 40 degree spirit. A bottle of Gin , Tequila or Vodka every day will have the same effect. It is excessive consumption leading to alcohol addiction that is the killer.

If you want to save yourself , all alcohol should be taken in moderation.

It used to be believed that clear spirits were safer than colored spirits. Here are the debunking facts.

https://www.foodandwine.com/are-clear-spirits-really-healthier-than-dark-spirits-11938448

The main takeaway from this article is :

“The most important factor is the overall amount of alcohol consumed,” says Argosh.

“The healthiest drink is the one you have less often and in smaller amounts.”

18 hours ago, VBF said:

I tried Lao Khaow once in the 90s. I'm very pleased to say it tasted awful, and I had to go outside because I thought I was going to be sick.

Why pleased? Because from that day forward, I've NEVER been tempted to try it again!

Looking at the effects it can have, I reckon I dodged a bullet!

There used to be only one brand of Lao Khao available , which indeed smells and tastes like terps. This one

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSzkLSG32RdeFIVgD5i5e0ry4OmEW26pciSZw&s

Now there are many and in varying strengths right down to 28 degrees ( very hard to find ). Most of the new ones are similar to Vodka in as much as they have no strong odour or flavor and the taste will depend on what you mix it with. I tried a new one last year that both smelt and tasted like sherry ??? Weird. Not widely sold.

I sometimes have a 30 degree proof tipple of Lao Khao ( new type ) mixed with tomato juice , worcester sauce and a sprinkle of pepper.

Delicious .Moderation in all things.

Strangely enough I just cannot drink any Thai beer at all. Don'r care for lager as it gives me a beer belly and gerd.

Only drink beer back in the UK

13 hours ago, Keeps said:

I did a brief stint in Al Khobar in the mid 90's. They regularly had 'Sid' at the compound parties along with homebrew beer brewed from the non-alcoholic beer you could quite easily come by. I had a few shots of 'Sid' once at a party and the next morning most of my foot had turned purple. Can only assume it was down to the 'Sid' so never touched it again.

We could quite easily source bottles of spirits but even in the 90's these were setting us back around £100 per bottle. We used to get tipped off that the police were doing a raid a day or two later so used to bury the booze on desert land nearby. Once the raid had been carried out we'd go and dig it up again and have a party.

Weekends used to head across the causeway into Bahrain where booze was legal. We used to get stopped and searched several times along the causeway on the return journey searching for contraband. We often had packets of bacon wedged inside the car door panels.

I've not been to any Arab country where my host didn't offer me imported spirits! Muslim hospitality.

3 hours ago, trucking said:

Any strong 40 degree alcohol consumed daily from dusk till dawn will end up killing you. Go to Russia and see the Vodka drunks....same picture.

Whilst not defending Lao Khao I have never seen any scientific evidence that it is worse than any other 40 degree spirit. A bottle of Gin , Tequila or Vodka every day will have the same effect. It is excessive consumption leading to alcohol addiction that is the killer.

If you want to save yourself , all alcohol should be taken in moderation.

It used to be believed that clear spirits were safer than colored spirits. Here are the debunking facts.

https://www.foodandwine.com/are-clear-spirits-really-healthier-than-dark-spirits-11938448

The main takeaway from this article is :

“The most important factor is the overall amount of alcohol consumed,” says Argosh.

“The healthiest drink is the one you have less often and in smaller amounts.”

British expert Dr David Nutt believes that we should be restricted to one drink a year, alcohol is that debilitating.

3 hours ago, trucking said:

Any strong 40 degree alcohol consumed daily from dusk till dawn will end up killing you. Go to Russia and see the Vodka drunks....same picture.

Whilst not defending Lao Khao I have never seen any scientific evidence that it is worse than any other 40 degree spirit. A bottle of Gin , Tequila or Vodka every day will have the same effect. It is excessive consumption leading to alcohol addiction that is the killer.

If you want to save yourself , all alcohol should be taken in moderation.

It used to be believed that clear spirits were safer than colored spirits. Here are the debunking facts.

https://www.foodandwine.com/are-clear-spirits-really-healthier-than-dark-spirits-11938448

The main takeaway from this article is :

“The most important factor is the overall amount of alcohol consumed,” says Argosh.

“The healthiest drink is the one you have less often and in smaller amounts.”

In Nepal, we had a rice based spirit called rakshi. It was stronger than sake but not as strong as lao kao and delicious. In Laos, I met a man at a wedding who had buried huge clay jars of lao kao under his house to age. This was no rotgut, quite fine.

3 hours ago, trucking said:

There used to be only one brand of Lao Khao available , which indeed smells and tastes like terps. This one

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSzkLSG32RdeFIVgD5i5e0ry4OmEW26pciSZw&s

Now there are many and in varying strengths right down to 28 degrees ( very hard to find ). Most of the new ones are similar to Vodka in as much as they have no strong odour or flavor and the taste will depend on what you mix it with. I tried a new one last year that both smelt and tasted like sherry ??? Weird. Not widely sold.

I sometimes have a 30 degree proof tipple of Lao Khao ( new type ) mixed with tomato juice , worcester sauce and a sprinkle of pepper.

Delicious .Moderation in all things.

Strangely enough I just cannot drink any Thai beer at all. Don'r care for lager as it gives me a beer belly and gerd.

Only drink beer back in the UK

Don't you miss Kloster bier? Only good thing the Nazis did.

In our village I am seeing roughly two deaths a month directly related to Lao Khow. Recently a 39 year old woman, most of them in their 50's to 60's.

My F.I.L. used to drink it at 7 in the morning, get ratted,sleep until about 2 p.m. then start again until about 7 p.m. He is teetotal now after his kidneys started to fail. He has monthly hospital visits, and takes a bucketful of medicine every day. Maybe he dodged a bullet, but he still smokes like a chimney.

I often wonder why the government does not tax it more, maybe because it would drive sales uderground, or maybe they see it as a type of culling of the aged population.

22 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Don't you miss Kloster bier? Only good thing the Nazis did.

22 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Don't you miss Kloster bier? Only good thing the Nazis did.

22 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Don't you miss Kloster bier? Only good thing the Nazis did.

Kloster beer garden. Gone but not forgotten. A great place for Kloster with nibbles and a few hours of people watching.

The only beer I liked was draft Amarit but not seen that around for a long time. Interestingly , 45 years ago , you saw Hong Tong and Saeng Som sold in ' Gaks ' ( cute quarter sized bottles ) As society became wealthier these were scrapped and the smallest size has been a ' baen ' ( flat half bottle ) for ages. Now I notice that as many Thais are feeling the pinch and going through hard times , the Gak has reappeared.