Alcohol Obsession By Foreigners In Thailand

[robblok]

I am wondering are foreigners here more prone to drink then in their home countries. I am talking about expats not holidaymakers because those always drink more.

I am asking this because i see posts measuring wealth in beers, and constant complaints and questions about the alcohol sales ban this weekend. I real a lot about getting pissed up ect. Its not just in the pub (part of Thaivisa)

An other explanation is that the majority of posters here is English and they just are a bit more obsessed by drinking then where i am from. For those who did not know im from the Netherlands. That just might be it because i never seen people who let a drink rule their life as much as the people here.

This is a serious question not a flame. I really wonder if its because of Thailand or because of other reasons.

[keestha]

If these people would have migrated to Costa Rica instead of Thailand, would they drink less? Guess many of them just didn't leave their drinking problem at the airport in their home country before boarding a Bangkok bound flight.

[Semper]

Some drink out of boredom. No work, no hobbies..... So drinking does help some people get through the day.

[Shurup]

Youv'e lived in Thailand for too long when you wake up and realize that you have nothing to do and a whole day to get there.

A lot of folks drink because they have nothing better to do.

[pattayadingo]

Drinking alcohol does not rule my life. If it did i would be an alcoholic.

I determine when I want to go for a drink and that is generally after 9-30 in the evening. I do it for social reasons.

When I am out at one of my local places I meet a variety of people from different countries. Sometimes I go out for the music and some fun.

I cannot remember the last time i was drunk either - maybe i was too pissed up to remember ??

I note you mention the English. Ah, yes, it's the English - again. Odd that i see Americans, Australians, Germans, Austrians and many others when I am out.

We British people have been drinking in pubs since before Australia was discovered and colonised Nothing wrong at all with having a few beers, glasses of wine or a wee dram.

What many of us do not like is being told what we can and cannot do be that drinking or whatever.

[cgphuket]

Actually, more expats are likely to become alcoholics after they come than being one before they arrive. I recently wrote an article about this, PM me if you are interested in seeing it.

[thenervoussurgeon]

I am retired ,i dont work but always have something to do ,if your life is so empty that your constantly bored ,then it doesn't make any differance where you live ,if your a drinker you will always do it no matter what.

[rishi]

OP said it himself: "... talking about expats not holidaymakers because those always drink more." ... Lots of "expats" aren't here on anything but extended holidays and aren't doing anything that a holidaymaker wouldn't do - except perhaps continiously extending the holidays longterm.

[gkinbkk]

The Pub in the UK is part of the social makeup of the community. People go there on the way home from work and mingle with other people. Fathers and Sons pop down for a pint before Sunday dinner. The 'local' is a meeting point and integral part of the community.

I am not from the UK but working around Asia has introduced me to this concept and I LOVE IT. I have met many wonderful friends over the last 12 years that I continue to be involved with. Intelligent and articulate people. Try having a decent conversation in an Oz or NZ pub. All the hobbies I have end up with like minded people socialising in....the pub!

I can understand that people get frustrated when the bars are closed for 3 days because during the time they have off work to socialise and relax over a pint, they can do nothing except wander around a shopping centre or stay in the condo.

It has nothing to do with going out and getting blind drunk every day....

[kerryk]

Thais drink more than most foreigners here. Foreigners only drink too much trying to emulate the Thais.

At least the foreigners on Thai Visa.

[edwinclapham]

"An other explanation is that the majority of posters here is English and they just are a bit more obsessed by drinking then where i am from. For those who did not know im from the Netherlands. That just might be it because i never seen people who let a drink rule their life as much as the people here."

"This is a serious question not a flame"!

I would have totally disagree with you there, I dont find the Brits more are obsessed with alcohol than many other nationalities!

I have seen as much alcoholism in the Netherlands as I have in GB to be frank, as well as Sweden etc etc.

To place your statement at the Englishman's door I find inflammatory tbh. and again more very broad generalisations.

Much like saying all Dutch are all druggies!

Edited April 8, 2012 by edwinclapham

[edwinclapham]

The Pub in the UK is part of the social makeup of the community. People go there on the way home from work and mingle with other people. Fathers and Sons pop down for a pint before Sunday dinner. The 'local' is a meeting point and integral part of the community.

I am not from the UK but working around Asia has introduced me to this concept and I LOVE IT. I have met many wonderful friends over the last 12 years that I continue to be involved with. Intelligent and articulate people. Try having a decent conversation in an Oz or NZ pub. All the hobbies I have end up with like minded people socialising in....the pub!

I can understand that people get frustrated when the bars are closed for 3 days because during the time they have off work to socialise and relax over a pint, they can do nothing except wander around a shopping centre or stay in the condo.

It has nothing to do with going out and getting blind drunk every day....

You are totally correct there.. I think Christmas Day and Good Friday are one of the very few days shops are closed for alcohol here in Australia and disorganised people are not happy if they have forgotten to buy their grog beforehand.

[necronx99]

Some drink out of boredom. No work, no hobbies..... So drinking does help some people get through the day.

? The Day helps me get through my drinking!

It's a tough job but....

[Semper]

Some drink out of boredom. No work, no hobbies..... So drinking does help some people get through the day.

? The Day helps me get through my drinking!

It's a tough job but....

....a man's got to do what a man's got to do.

[bangkokrick]

I don't think that this relates to people having drink problems or drink controlling their lives, it is much more to do with socialising. We live in the Land of bars and drink is available just about everywhere you go and at any time of the day, not so in the UK. When foreigners meet up in Bangkok or where ever it usually involves a bar of some description, Beer bar Girly bar, Gogo bar, Sports bar or whatever. It's fairly normal to congregate around watering holes and restaurants in any society.

The difference here is that there are a lot of retired and single men who probably get bored and feel lonely, so feel the need for company, so they go to the bars and why not? Tourists are tourists and will drink on their vacations, as they do in any Country. Spain springs to mind. This leads to another contributing factor and that is the constant hot weather.There is nothing like a cold beer on a scorching hot day and this is something that we rarely get in the UK.

In my village in the UK we had one pub, the girls in the pub wore green outdoor jackets and Wellington's, it was pissing it down most days. Hardly an attraction! To answer your question, I drink much more regularly in Thailand than I did in the UK, due to the above points.

I have to say though that the people that I drink with here in Thailand are of many nationalities, including the Dutch, so it's not just a Brit thing.

[marstons]

Just think the OP has to get out more then he will see his fellow country men out there as fond of a beer as the rest of us. I guess the Dutch only make Heineken for export

[robblok]

Seems i touched a nerve about the Brits drinking a lot. I don't understand how you guys even deny it coming from a culture of pubs and binge drinking. Its does not mean every Brit is like this just like not every Dutch guy is a pot head. Just means that the law of averages shows more Brits are like this.

If people say that more Dutch use drugs i say fine does not bother me because i don't use it. Might be that people who use it feel the need to deny it.

Anyway seems the better weather and the boredom are the contributing factors here then.

[robblok]

Just think the OP has to get out more then he will see his fellow country men out there as fond of a beer as the rest of us. I guess the Dutch only make Heineken for export

Sure we export the bad quality.. Amstel is much better. Im sure there are Dutch out there drinking too. We are not saints that is for sure. I was talking law of averages here but the English seem a bit sensitive.

[edwinclapham]

Seems i touched a nerve about the Brits drinking a lot. I don't understand how you guys even deny it coming from a culture of pubs and binge drinking. Its does not mean every Brit is like this just like not every Dutch guy is a pot head. Just means that the law of averages shows more Brits are like this.

If people say that more Dutch use drugs i say fine does not bother me because i don't use it. Might be that people who use it feel the need to deny it.

Anyway seems the better weather and the boredom are the contributing factors here then.

Hasnt touched a nerve with me at all. Love a bottle of wine with good company but just as happy with a soft drink.

You also come from a culture of booze drinking, pubs (cafes) etc but I couldnt show my ignorance of shall I say arrogance at stating you as a nation had a problem.

Once again on another thread you castigate the Englishman , I would say t'is you that has a problem in your power of observation without looking on your own doorstep.

[marstons]

Just think the OP has to get out more then he will see his fellow country men out there as fond of a beer as the rest of us. I guess the Dutch only make Heineken for export

Sure we export the bad quality.. Amstel is much better. Im sure there are Dutch out there drinking too. We are not saints that is for sure. I was talking law of averages here but the English seem a bit sensitive.

Well the law of averages not to many Dutch people use the forum and the law of averages would say English out number Dutch at least 20-1 if not more here hence more English drinkers. Our nation and the term Bitish is probably the term better to use, has been called a lot of things but sensative is a first. Not to sensative when it comes to helping other countries out when in trouble.

Edited April 8, 2012 by marstons

[robblok]

Seems i touched a nerve about the Brits drinking a lot. I don't understand how you guys even deny it coming from a culture of pubs and binge drinking. Its does not mean every Brit is like this just like not every Dutch guy is a pot head. Just means that the law of averages shows more Brits are like this.

If people say that more Dutch use drugs i say fine does not bother me because i don't use it. Might be that people who use it feel the need to deny it.

Anyway seems the better weather and the boredom are the contributing factors here then.

Hasnt touched a nerve with me at all. Love a bottle of wine with good company but just as happy with a soft drink.

You also come from a culture of booze drinking, pubs (cafes) etc but I couldnt show my ignorance of shall I say arrogance at stating you as a nation had a problem.

Once again on another thread you castigate the Englishman , I would say t'is you that has a problem in your power of observation without looking on your own doorstep.

Actually that other thread made me think of this one. After reading all the stuff about the alcohol ban and people constantly talking about drinking. After that remark i thought of this one. Just wondered why it looked like this.

But you act like you were stung or something. Seems its ok to say bad things about Thais and attributing traits to them but if you do the same about foreigners people act all rattled up.

You can say all you want about the Dutch and i wont respond the way you do i understand statistics and such.

[robblok]

Just think the OP has to get out more then he will see his fellow country men out there as fond of a beer as the rest of us. I guess the Dutch only make Heineken for export

Sure we export the bad quality.. Amstel is much better. Im sure there are Dutch out there drinking too. We are not saints that is for sure. I was talking law of averages here but the English seem a bit sensitive.

Well the law of averages not to many Dutch people use the forum and the law of averages would say English out number Dutch at least 20-1 if not more here hence more English drinkers. Our nation and the term Bitish is probably the term better to use, has been called a lot of things but sensative is a first. Not to sensative when it comes to helping other countries out when in trouble.

I am sure you outnumber the Dutch because i got more English friends here then Dutch. And just found some stats about the UK and drinking. I take it back that you guys drink the most. Others in Europe do. But your king of the binge drinkers.

http://www.ias.org.uk/resources/factsheets/harm_ukeu.pdf

Just started looking up facts after having posted here because i was really curious about this. But some people seem to see attacks everywhere (not you)

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Not sure it's so much the drinking as it is 'going to bars', which of course is a lot more fun in Thailand than just about anywhere else.

Then once in a bar, you consume a beverage. If I didn't drink I would still go to bars. And if I'm not in a bar then I don't drink.

Anyway, I don't think drinking is an 'obsession' on this forum. If anything topics like these always bring out the folks ranting against alcohol, using the opportunity to explain why they're so much better than everyone else.

[marstons]

that's true i checked and Holland is 3 places below the UK, per capita per lite per year. Consider Britain has Scotland factored into it make's English look light weights. I have 2 dutch friends here and 100% truth they are both alcholics who drink every day starting in the morning through the day. 1 now has 1.3 million baht bill from Pattaya bangkok Hospital, which sadly he cannot pay, so if you are feeling benevalent towards fellow country men? the other welll he was in the wine trade most of his working life so i guess he gets a fair excuse reason. Both nice friendly guys though.

Both live around the lake so guess thats why boredom, and they are by no means the only alcoholics around here.

[Payboy]

Don't know about others, but I drink when I'm thirsty.

[robblok]

Not sure it's so much the drinking as it is 'going to bars', which of course is a lot more fun in Thailand than just about anywhere else.

Then once in a bar, you consume a beverage. If I didn't drink I would still go to bars. And if I'm not in a bar then I don't drink.

Anyway, I don't think drinking is an 'obsession' on this forum. If anything topics like these always bring out the folks ranting against alcohol, using the opportunity to explain why they're so much better than everyone else.

But im much better as others. . I haven't had any alcohol for 3 months.. probably wont for an other 3 and then who knows. I could drink half a bottle of vodka b4. Just decided that alcohol does not suit my needs now. (weight loss)

[robblok]

that's true i checked and Holland is 3 places below the UK, per capita per lite per year. Consider Britain has Scotland factored into it make's English look light weights. I have 2 dutch friends here and 100% truth they are both alcholics who drink every day starting in the morning through the day. 1 now has 1.3 million baht bill from Pattaya bangkok Hospital, which sadly he cannot pay, so if you are feeling benevalent towards fellow country men? the other welll he was in the wine trade most of his working life so i guess he gets a fair excuse reason. Both nice friendly guys though.

Both live around the lake so guess thats why boredom, and they are by no means the only alcoholics around here.

I dont like anyone more or less because he is Dutch. I like people for who they are. But i do think that boredom has a lot to do with drinking.

[transam]

I am English and can remember a time when nearly every street had a pub. Very few TV's around, just a radio, so the pub was your entertainment. Beer was cheap and so was talk, us kids sit outside with a bag of chips, happy days where everybody knew everybody which made a community.

The English have drunk beer and mead for centuries as a substitute for contaminated water and of course merry making.

As you mention Brits, l would suggest from my experience here that Scandinavians are bigger drinkers. Funnily enough l picked up a Swede off the floor a few weeks back, legless.

[bangkokrick]

I don't think that Robb was having a go at the Brits specifically, but just stating what he see's. I am British and proud of it, culture and all and yes that does include the pub culture. The thing is that when I was young British men mostly drank beer and the beer in Britain at that time was much weaker than that on the Continent. I think that the binge drinking culture is relatively new and certainly now a part of my generations upbringing. We Brits drink as a matter of course for social and business reasons. I don't think that I ever missed an early evening drink following a hard day at work. The other thing was that if you needed any work doing there was always someone in the Pub that could do it, so a great meeting point.

The Asians will be the next number 1 in the world ranking with drinks like Lao Khaow and the Chinese Pijo not to mention the Japanese Saki. All very strong and mind bending drinks.

[Bangkokhatter]

It's quite simple really, I enjoy the going out ,meeting different people, watching the football, eyeing up the candy that tops up my beer. Not sure it has anything to do with being English, but then I don't care much what you think to be honest.