I don't know if it's me or am I just imagining it or does the bottled water here in Thailand taste better than bottled water elsewhere in the world?

I know the French are going to have their say on this one,but I have heard it from a number of people.

That water from the vending machines where you take your own container is rank

I always liked the local stuff like Naya in Canada better than the French stuff, but I have to agree that it seems to taste better in Thailand.

Could have something to to with it being several degrees below boiling in the shade though.

My favourite has always been that cheap stuff in the trnslucent bottles thats only 5 or 6 baht.

cv

Eeew, I think the opposite is true!

Namthip isn't too bad but Singha water has got a funny 'tang' to it I think.

I always liked the local stuff like Naya in Canada better than the French stuff, but I have to agree that it seems to taste better in Thailand.

Could have something to to with it being several degrees below boiling in the shade though. 

My favourite has always been that cheap stuff in the  trnslucent bottles thats only 5 or 6 baht.

cv

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Agree with cdnvic, that cheap opaque water bottles are nice, I usually drink 4 or 5 before bed (nothing like a natural wake up call ). The water seems to be a little sweeter here.

I always liked the local stuff like Naya in Canada better than the French stuff, but I have to agree that it seems to taste better in Thailand.

Could have something to to with it being several degrees below boiling in the shade though. 

My favourite has always been that cheap stuff in the  trnslucent bottles thats only 5 or 6 baht.

cv

agreed that stuff is the best, I think it may be the material they use for those bottles, it has less "taint"

Eeew, I think the opposite is true!

Namthip isn't too bad but Singha water has got a funny 'tang' to it I think.

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Gotta go aginst yer there.........I think Singha or Crystal are both nice,although my wife and a lot of customers ask for namthip. That is my third favourite.

agreed that stuff is the best, I think it may be the material they use for those bottles, it has less "taint"

Are all the plastic bottles recycled?

I've got some bottles of Minere (by Nestle) that I was given whilst refueling at Jet and they have recycled logos on the bottom.

But I have always been surprised there doesnt seem to be much

of a market here for sparkling water ( i.e. " with gas " as the Europeans say ).

There are times when fizzy water is nice - apart from Perrier of course but that`s too expensive.....

I prefer to drink soda water. It is much more refreshing and if you add a twist of lime in it, it tastes even better!

I always liked the local stuff like Naya in Canada better than the French stuff, but I have to agree that it seems to taste better in Thailand.

Could have something to to with it being several degrees below boiling in the shade though. 

My favourite has always been that cheap stuff in the  trnslucent bottles thats only 5 or 6 baht.

cv

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EEEeeew! Can't you taste the plastic? I prefer Aura or Nestle Pure Life. I wouldn't dream of paying for Perrier. And I don't like the taste of it either.

NEVER drink water. Fish pee in it.

Speaking of drinking water in Thailand...

Is there anywhere in the country where it is reasonably safe to drink the tap water? My girlfriend convinced me that the tap water in Ubon Ratchatani was safe to drink, and I did drink it during my last trip there. I didn't get sick, but I'm thinking that when I go back I should probably drink bottled water. Then again, I don't want to look like a snob in front of the locals there. Any advice?

Speaking of drinking water in Thailand...

Is there anywhere in the country where it is reasonably safe to drink the tap water? My girlfriend convinced me that the tap water in Ubon Ratchatani was safe to drink, and I did drink it during my last trip there. I didn't get sick, but I'm thinking that when I go back I should probably drink bottled water. Then again, I don't want to look like a snob in front of the locals there.  Any advice?

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I heard that the water here is safe to drink it's just that most of the pipes in most of the houses are old and yukky! So not a good idea to drink from the taps ect..

I've drunk the tap water here before and never suffered any adverse affects

Don't worry about offending the locals, most of them get thier water delivered anyway!

That water for 5 baht a bottle in 7/11 is a rip off, you can buy it for 1 baht 50 satang if you phone the company direct. I used to buy 50 packs of 6 bottles at a time and leave them at the side of my house in Bangkok. I prefer the soda chang, used to get it for 65 baht for 24 bottles, more refreshing in the summer.

Nothing will ever be like the water at 'home'. I used to live in the Scottish Highlands, and when I go home the first thing I do is get a glass tumbler and fill it from the tap and down in one, "cheun jai"(refreshing) as they say here.

I use crates of Singha soda water in glass returanble bottles. 120 baht a crate of 24 bottles, delivered (to 4th floor, no lift). It's probably psychosomatic, but I have never liked water from plastic bottles. The plastic does get absorbed (even though the actual polymers do not break down for 1000 years) Please, no one mention the detergents used in cleaning the returnable bottles, I don't want to get turned off that too.

As I understand the singha water is the by-product of distilling water from the beer, and if so, should be pretty pure.

Edited February 22, 200521 yr by pandit35

Theres nothing nicer than an ice cold bottle of water when you're stuck in the dustyheat of Thailand. One of those rare sensations in life.

Theres nothing nicer than an ice cold bottle of water when you're stuck in the dustyheat of Thailand. One of those rare sensations in life.

Better than a beer hey Professor?

Some of the bottled water here is quite refreshing, yet some of it (Namthip for example) leaves a sort of sticky feeling in the throat and doesn't quench your thirst as well. Perhaps it could be the manufacturers trying to get you to purchase more

We buy the big Nestle "pure life" jugs by the dozen and have them delivered along with other large and non-perishable supplies by the supermarket at Central (free delivery w/ 1000 baht purchase). I think it's a few baht more per jug than the similar Singha ones, but we found that in comparison the Singha water has an odd after-taste. I grew up drinking very good snow-pack water in California (only problem was chlorine taste if not decanted first) and dislike hard or "minerally" water unless it is fizzy.

I hate the vinyl flavor of some PVC bottles, but most of these thin clear bottles (polycarbonate?) do not bother me at all.

Speaking of water, how many "grades" of water do you keep at home? I was teasing my wife that we have 5 grades available: tap water, boiled tap water, filtered water from those machines, boiled filtered water, and bottled drinking water. These get used for purposes like bathing, cooking, making tea, my mother-in-law making her tea, etc. I don't think we actually use plain boiled tap water for anything, but it was more fun to make the list longer...

I've heard Japan has (or had?) different public water systems for drinking and washing. Imagine a sink w/ 5 taps for different purposes!!

Minere is the best!

13 Baht a liter tastes excellent.

Have been boiling tap water at home for years, no problem.

I always liked the local stuff like Naya in Canada better than the French stuff, but I have to agree that it seems to taste better in Thailand.

Could have something to to with it being several degrees below boiling in the shade though. 

My favourite has always been that cheap stuff in the  trnslucent bottles thats only 5 or 6 baht.

cv

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EEEeeew! Can't you taste the plastic? I prefer Aura or Nestle Pure Life. I wouldn't dream of paying for Perrier. And I don't like the taste of it either.

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Most of the bottled water has the plastic smell because the water purifiers expose the water to long to the ozone. The ozone remains in the bottle and this enhances the plastic smell. Nestle Pure life has no plastic taste at all.

...some of it (Namthip for example) leaves a sort of sticky feeling in the throat ...

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I find that if I drink water that is too cold, it thickens the gooey stuff (mucous?) in the throat and makes me cough a lot - gives me a "frog in the throat". A drink of warm water usually fixes it.

We buy the big Nestle "pure life" jugs by the dozen ...

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Yes - 6 litre plastic bottles with good handles. And I fill the empties with tap water (water from the well) for the occasions when either the electric is out - every couple of months - or the well dries up - hasn't happened yet, but the water's coming out really slowly these days