Alcoholism

[soundman]

Hi guys and gals,

Just a little poll (no you don't have to answer this one Kan ) about personal drinking habits for those who live in Thailand or spend extended time in the country.

I drink more now I am living in Thailand than I previously did.

I drink nearly everyday, usually about 5 drinks per session, however, only occasionaly go overboard and get really drunk.

Do I consider myself an alky? Not really. Does my drinking affect my work. No. (sometimes enhances it )

Could I easily stop drinking tomorrow? Probably be reasonably difficult - however not impossible.

Please take the time to vote in the poll & maybe post a few experiences.

Cheers & thanx.

Soundman.

[garro]

I think that Thailand is a great place to become an alcoholic or further your addiction.

Luckily, it's also a great place to quit addictive behaviour.

[Thaddeus]

I like a drink every day, but in moderation..... some of the chaps here open their first of the day as soon as their feet are out of the bed.... we are all alcoholics though, it's just a matter of degree.

[mrt273nva]

don't normally drink but as soon as the beer hits the lips then i can't stop. "1 beer is too many and 100 isn't enough"

[chavy]

Definately drink more now than back in the UK. However, that's probably because it's cheaper here & more cash in the old sky rocket......drink far too much that's for sure...especially when your paying Soundman

[uptou]

" 5 drinks per session",is that big or small ones?

I usually just have the one large Chang of a night,as if i do more than that i get the girlfreind sulking who also hates sitting in bars,& doesnt drink.

I'm very aware of how easy it would be for me to go from one to two to three per night,which maybe a good reason (i knew there was one) to go back to the uk to work again..........although saying that i guess 7 beers on a friday night in the uk is quite common.

[PhilHarries]

No, I do not drink more in Thailand when comparing like for like in terms of lifestyle. Nowadays when I'm in Thailand I am on holiday and tend to drink more than when I am working. When I was working in Thailand I drank about the same as back in the UK maybe even slightly less.

Wherever in the world I am working I will always have a few beers evenings after work and maybe I'll have a couple straight after work, go home and shower and change and then go out for a few more. Saturday nights I'll generally have a good scoop but very rarely so many that I am staggering drunk and if that happens it's usually just a short distance to home. Sundays it's usually a few in the afternoon followed by a few more in the evening.

When I am on holiday I do not drink to the clock nor do I drink until I can drink no more. If I am up and about early morning and fancy a beer whilst reading the Bangkok Post I will have that beer or beers. I do not care nor even note the reactions of people passing by, they are irrelevant. I tend to have a few beers then walk around the town, the shops or whatever for a few hours then have a few more depending on how I feel.

I don't believe the above makes me an alcoholic and if there are those who disagree that is their perogative and they can go to hel_l. There was a period when I was working in Thailand when I had a bit of a drink problem but it was nothing to do with the country nor the people it was a combination of personal and work problems that I mishandled, both are now solved .

Personally I don't think Thailand itself makes people alcoholics but the numbers of p1ss artists around the tourist areas provides a ready supply of drinking buddies and it's that atmosphere that leads people of little willpower astray.

[soundman]

" 5 drinks per session",is that big or small ones?

I usually just have the one large Chang of a night,as if i do more than that i get the girlfreind sulking who also hates sitting in bars,& doesnt drink.

I'm very aware of how easy it would be for me to go from one to two to three per night,which maybe a good reason (i knew there was one) to go back to the uk to work again..........although saying that i guess 7 beers on a friday night in the uk is quite common.

While I don't know what an exact measure for a standard drink would be - I'd think a large bottle would be considered close to two standard drinks.

I think it is easier to drink a little more one intends to in Thailand & lots of personal restraint (as other posters have hinted at) must be employed if one imposes a daily limit on one's imbibing.

Cheers.

[huggybear]

Hi guys and gals,

Just a little poll (no you don't have to answer this one Kan ) about personal drinking habits for those who live in Thailand or spend extended time in the country.

I drink more now I am living in Thailand than I previously did.

I drink nearly everyday, usually about 5 drinks per session, however, only occasionaly go overboard and get really drunk.

Do I consider myself an alky? Not really. Does my drinking affect my work. No. (sometimes enhances it )

Could I easily stop drinking tomorrow? Probably be reasonably difficult - however not impossible.

Please take the time to vote in the poll & maybe post a few experiences.

Cheers & thanx.

Soundman.

During the week 2-3 drinks is typical, some nights I'll not drink at all.

The weekend is a different story, with my buddies we'll go through 8-10 rounds, but then, I do not have to be up in the morning to go to work and also it's fun to throw back drinks and carry on with my mates.

[freitag1]

I drink less than ever before. I used to drink until I couldn't remember what I did the next day but really learned to be more moderate here. I drink once every two weeks and then until my limit (which is 4 big beer). Its just hard to stop at this point and that is what I'm working on. If I stay within this limit I just feel a bit more tired the next day without a hangover. If not I won't remember things and will be f#cked up the next day.

I was really drunk twice a week when I was 13 though, 13 and 14 were also my worst years in terms of drug use... but well I was hanging out with older people at that time.

[GuestHouse]

I certainly drink more in Thailand than I do in here in Saudi Arabia.

[naka]

Never trust a Teetotaler

Naka.

[pampal]

I definitely drink more in Thailand

[PhilHarries]

I certainly drink more in Thailand than I do in here in Saudi Arabia.

Is that the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth GH?

You have obviously avoided the joys of Sid (Sidiki), most of the guys I know who have worked in Saudi said it almost turned them into alkies. When I hear some of the stories about the Sid production plants it's a wonder anything ever gets built in the place.

[soundman]

Well, its 5.00pm. Beers o'clock. I'm off to buy some beer.

BTW GH - if drinking is out in SA - what does one do for their kicks?

[GuestHouse]

No its absolutely true PH - and you know me from old - I like to party.

But we have regular D&A Testing here and the role I have puts me right in the line of fire if there is a problem.

Two of our staff where fired [fire not demobbed] before Christmas for drinking (as covered in Clause 'x' in the contract), so I'll give it all a miss thanks.

Odd thing is I don't actually miss having a drink while I'm here, its sort of out of sight and out of mind.

Though .. I can't say the same about my wife.

[ade100]

I have always believed that there are many acute health hazards associated with not drinking. I always give pretty stern advice to anyone I meet who practices this dangerous custom of not drinking.

I lived for many years on the Mediterranean where people will normally have wine with most meals, even lunch. They are mostly healthy, active, not over-weight and live to…a certain age.

However in Thailand, as wine is so expensive I drink less. Cocktails, I believe, should only be drunk during the cocktail hour at weekends. As for getting decent Champaign in this country, I have just given up.

[intumult]

I drink more here than in the UK ( prices ).

At least 3 nights a week out and on average 1/2 a bottle ( or so) a time with pepsi

When you add to that the amount of parties I attend it can often go up to 5/6 nights a week

One thing I have heard many comments about though, is that I do not drink alcohol in the mornings or afternoons, even when I am offered a drink. Personally, daytime drinking is not something I have really liked and also drinking 'at home' alone ..... erm, not that I am at home often enough to drink there

[Monkeypants]

Yep normally, 3 0r 4 big Leo's a night for me.

No daytime drinking though, I don't like it in the daytime, Doesn't taste the same.

[Neeranam]

When I moved here I drank a lot more than I had been drinking. My average in Scotland was a bottle of vodka a day plus a few beers. In Thailand it was 2 large bottles of Saeng Som('whisky") plus some Chang beer A DAY. There were days when I didn't drink but needed very large doses of sedatives to keep the DTs away. Luckily for me, I managed to quit in 2000.

Thailand attracts alcoholics - it's a wonderful place for them - cheap booze plus over the counter medication.

Many people say it's impossible for an alkie to quit in Thailand - I say it a lot easier than where I come from.

So , yes when I moved here and no now.

[pop_corn]

I drink usually on friday or saturday when I go out... (I just go out once a week)

uhmm then I guess maybe 6 glasses... it can be more, it can be less? depends.. and yeah I think I drink more here than back in my country, dont really know why...

[ImageDude]

I couldn't possibly drink any more, no matter where I am . .

[Gary A]

I go to my favorite watering hole 2 or 3 times a week. I normally drink 3 or 4 big bottles of beer. I'd like to drink more but my old body just won't tolerate it. Actually 4 big bottles is pushing it because I do suffer some the next day. I can't handle drinking 2 days in a row. It just doesn't taste good.

[draggons]

Drink a lot less than when I was in Scotland, would think nothing of sitting with a couple of mates and necking a bottle of whisky then going out !

Dont have the time to go out on the pop here just now and limit myself to a couple of small tins at night.

[uptou]

I had a couple of whiskeys along with the large beer tonight.Thanks alot people you've made me feel alot better about my drinking.

[Tatler]

Does drinking more here in Thailand have anything to do with the ease to buy it anytime anywhere?? I think it might have something to do with it, at my last house it was a 10 minute drive to the nearest watering hole so this put me off late night binges. Now my new house is a minute walk from the shop hence the reason why i've put on 20 pounds in the last 18 months

[britmaveric]

Only a social drinker - don't like drinking alone, and rarely do it unless I am out with my mates.

[Tatler]

Does drinking more here in Thailand have anything to do with the ease to buy it anytime anywhere?? I think it might have something to do with it, at my last house it was a 10 minute drive to the nearest watering hole so this put me off late night binges. Now my new house is a minute walk from the shop hence the reason why i've put on 20 pounds in the last 18 months

had to edit due to the Leo beer

[soundman]

I had a couple of whiskeys along with the large beer tonight.Thanks alot people you've made me feel alot better about my drinking.

Hence the reason for the topic.....

I can see from the interim poll results that I am sitting smack bang in the middle.

From the results so far, most people drink on a fairly fulltime basis & have more than a few, however, only occasionaly over do it.

Thanx people for taking the time to vote & please feel free to keep voting for all future readers of this topic.

To Neeranam and Garro - I agree that Thailand can also be a place where getting over an addiction of sorts is accomplishable. I, too went through a phase of my life where serious substance abuse was going to lead me on a road into a sewer. Thailand, through a variety of reasons actually fixed that.

Cheers,

Soundman.

[Jingthing]

My New Year's resolution was to drink 2 drinks everyday, and also to never drink more than that. This is supposed to be very good for the heart, 2 drinks for men, 1 for women. It feels good, but with that amount of booze, I never feel very drunk, and I miss that feeling (which I used to do a couple of times a month). So definitely drinking more. Cheers!