Number of drinkers in northern region highest in Thailand

[ginjag]

Can I just point out that the 'American colonists' were actually British.

That would not be totally correct. f tMany were Dutch(New Amsterdam), German(Pennsylvania), French(Displaced Acadians) etc. I prefer not to give the British too much credit.

You forgot the Irish and the Chinese who did all the laundry for good business,

lol...yep the irish and the chinese did the laundry....but most of those irish guys ended up being policemen. the chinese are still doing the laundry.....

Forgot the space/ after the Irish haha----most Irish were here working in the paddy fields---guess this joke is a sign of my age .

[Issangeorge]

The first 15 years coming to Thailand I spent almost all my time on Koh Samui. I even bought some land there planning on building my retirement home. Koh Samui changed and I changed and decided it was too busy for me. When my wife took me to her home in a small village in Isaan, I decided I liked it there and would build our retirement home there. It was the best thing I ever did. As for being close to the wife's family, a lot of them live with us and they are my family. My wife and I both married late in life and have no children of our own. My wife's brother who lives with us has three kids and they are like my grand kids. They give me joy everyday and the most pleasure I have is when I'm with them.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited June 29, 2013 by Issangeorge

[mikemac]

"It's all to do with the QUALITY of the booze. Good quality booze in LaLaLand is too expensive for the average Thai.".....Wow, real heart of gold, this guy !

[OldChinaHam]

I doubt AA (alcoholics anonymous) would help, because of the reliance on God. I think if there was something like AA, but using the Dhamma teachings of the Buddha, it could save a lot of Thai lives from alcoholic misery or death.

Don't you also feel that drinking to get sloshed every day may be symptomatic of a gradual erosion and breakdown of community life as it once existed? I doubt these people were continual drunks 60 years ago.

[Payboy]

Number of drinkers in northern region highest in Thailand

Number of drinkers in other regions of Thailand also get very high, I think.

[MaxYakov]

Every foreigner i know, who lives in the provinces drinks alot. I think it is about boredom. There is nothing to do. Especially in the villages. No stimulation. They all get drunk or drink alot. How very boring in itself, if you ask me.

I say your 'boredom' hypothesis may have some weight, but that is a symptom and not a root cause, IMHO.

I cite the environment and that particular Thai culture (indigenous native) as the two primary root causes.

Did the American colonists, when faced with a similar isolation in the newly-colonized North America resort to alcohol as an escape mechanism from what could have been a similar boredom?

NOTE: I offer the above as a rudimentary hypothesis, as opposed to any kind of formal theory. I have purposely limited my time in remote Issan settings for fear of ... boredom due to the huge cultural gap between me and the indigenous (native) population, not to mention a host of other issues.

I have personally observed a similar cultural gap between indigenous people/culture (Piute indian) and caucasian (farang) farmers and settlers in northern Nevada. I'll spare everyone the details, but drinking among the Piute community was definitely a factor.

Can I just point out that the 'American colonists' were actually British.

And French and Dutch and Spanish and Portuguese (SA) and Russian and ... When I used North American, I had omitted Central and South America, huh? There's always the 'New World' or 'Americas', I suppose. I did not use 'USA colonists', at least. I get your point though - you're British.

Edited June 29, 2013 by MaxYakov

[Farangdam]

north side is more cold compare to the other side of los. booze make you warm and nicer taste if you are upnorth.... feeling like drinking in moscow...

[Bagwan]

Can I just point out that the 'American colonists' were actually British.

That would not be totally correct. Many were Dutch(New Amsterdam), German(Pennsylvania), French(Displaced Acadians) etc. I prefer not to give the British too much credit.

Of the first 10 US Presidents only one does not have a British name. You are obviously not a student of history or you might change your preference. Maybe you'll learn to love the Latinos when they take over.

[movsrus]

What one can gain with an alcohol in life?

You can get a hangover.

[kristophon]

it always gives me a bit of a chuckle when NON drinkers have a pop at people who drink... drinking is fun.. you cant beat a beer on a hot sunny day...

so what if folk die from it... its like.. if you dont drink you are going to live forever!!??!!!..

sorry NON drinkers... I`ve got news for you.....

1. Are you in your cups? The point is about people drinking to excess. Nothing wrong with a daily tipple in moderation. I'm certainly not a killjoy. Didn't some guy yonks ago turn water into wine?

2. One of my mantras is that God helps those who help themselves, a practice that I, and others who are in touch with reality, follow.

In answer to your initial question. NO. That was a story....

Secondly - in my opinion - anyone who believes water can be turned into wine with a snap of 'some guys' fingers, is not in touch with reality....

Edited June 30, 2013 by kristophon

[spidermike007]

There is nothing to do upcountry than drinking ? BS !! If they would do an effort to get a laptop and an internet connection (with satellite you can get it in the bush bush) then they have things to do for 24 hours !

That is so lame !!! Up country has mountains, rivers, long stretches of scenery (try Loei) plenty of shopping. Laos is nearby...and darn good people. It is everything Pattaya is not. That why we love it. Some of us enjoy the quiet family life and outdoor work. We have long outgrown the need to sit in a bar with sad lonely men who stare at 18 year old girls. Pity you more. Just because we do not have high balconies ....we still would not be so lonesome and sad as to jump off them. Good people here.....not anything you would know about.

Point well taken. When I have been up north, I have run into some very kind and sincere people.

[Nowisee]

it always gives me a bit of a chuckle when NON drinkers have a pop at people who drink... drinking is fun.. you cant beat a beer on a hot sunny day...

so what if folk die from it... its like.. if you dont drink you are going to live forever!!??!!!..

sorry NON drinkers... I`ve got news for you.....

Doesn't beat the decision to hire a backhoe the following day That made me laugh out load

I agree, enjoying a delicious craft beer while eating roasted peanuts talking with my friends or gf is fun. So is suffering riding up a monster hill on the mtb. It's a state of mind.

I'm guessing they're not so much non drinkers as they are alcoholics that couldn't drink responsibly.

I wonder what they do for fun now.

[kimamey]

If you were witness to the number of 4oyo men - drinkers of rice whiskey - who die of liver failure in our (far Northern) village you wouldn't find this article such a laughing matter.

Sorry to make light of a serious subject but what can we do about it? My bil comes from Phayao although he's here in Mahasarakham at the moment doing some building work for us. I think he might have liver problems and I know it's very common up there and of course elsewhere in Thailand. I've tried the moonshine myself. I think my wife's father died of it and her first husband's death was due to an accident with a truck and I think he'd been drinking. His daughter who's now 18 doesn't even remember him as she was so young.

As I said what can we do? I could make a comment about getting drunk being against their Buddhist religion that we're told to respect and that they are stupid and irresponsible as their death and any that are caused by their drinking ruins lives. There I've just said it but will it make any difference; no. Will I be told it's nothing to do with me and and it's their decision; probably yes.

My wife doesn't like drinking for obvious reasons but she knows that I only drink in moderation most of the time.

[NoshowJones]

If you were witness to the number of 4oyo men - drinkers of rice whiskey - who die of liver failure in our (far Northern) village you wouldn't find this article such a laughing matter.

It's not a laughing matter but heavy drinkers who drink all day and every day who die of liver failure have only themselves to blame, but my sympathies go out to their families.

[NoshowJones]

50% of all thai males I know are alcohoholic. first glass of liquor in the morning, even at work with colleages, whiskey concealed in a bottle of oishi tea, etc.

Land of smiles, true, but only when there is boose around. Once a year (for some buddhist thing) they don't drink a couple of days. no smiling then, only whining. Alcohol intoxication is a substantial part of this thing some people call "thai-ness". It's more easy to mai bpen rai when drunk or feel "happy" (and repeat it non-stop, mee kwamsuk, mee kwamsuk). A blurred mind keeps people passive and smoothes their daily frustrations. Take away the boose and the country gets set to fire.

I refuse to believe that going by percentages, Thai men are worse than expats.

[NoshowJones]

Every foreigner i know, who lives in the provinces drinks alot. I think it is about boredom. There is nothing to do. Especially in the villages. No stimulation. They all get drunk or drink alot. How very boring in itself, if you ask me.

Apart from myself, I don't know personally any Farang who does not drink alcohol.

[kimamey]

Every foreigner i know, who lives in the provinces drinks alot. I think it is about boredom. There is nothing to do. Especially in the villages. No stimulation. They all get drunk or drink alot. How very boring in itself, if you ask me.

I say your 'boredom' hypothesis may have some weight, but that is a symptom and not a root cause, IMHO.

I cite the environment and that particular Thai culture (indigenous native) as the two primary root causes.

Did the American colonists, when faced with a similar isolation in the newly-colonized North America resort to alcohol as an escape mechanism from what could have been a similar boredom?

NOTE: I offer the above as a rudimentary hypothesis, as opposed to any kind of formal theory. I have purposely limited my time in remote Issan settings for fear of ... boredom due to the huge cultural gap between me and the indigenous (native) population, not to mention a host of other issues.

I have personally observed a similar cultural gap between indigenous people/culture (Piute indian) and caucasian (farang) farmers and settlers in northern Nevada. I'll spare everyone the details, but drinking among the Piute community was definitely a factor.

Can I just point out that the 'American colonists' were actually British.

Hang on a minute. Don't just blame us Brits there were French and Spanish as well as others.

[NoshowJones]

it always gives me a bit of a chuckle when NON drinkers have a pop at people who drink... drinking is fun.. you cant beat a beer on a hot sunny day...

so what if folk die from it... its like.. if you dont drink you are going to live forever!!??!!!..

sorry NON drinkers... I`ve got news for you.....

We all die from something, even if it's just lack of breath, I don't believe that because I do not drink or smoke, that guarantees I will live to a very old age, but it will give me a better chance, and I won't suffer regular hangovers, or go about coughing and spluttering all the time.

[NoshowJones]

As for the Thai and their heavy drinking? Hate to sound cynical, but not my problem.

true, until they run over you with their pick up or u get hit by a lost bullet...

(the last happened behind my corner 2 weeks ago after some "local" dispute. 1 girl who had nothing to do with it got hit and died).

You are dead right, I take back the "like" I gave to Just1voice.

[NoshowJones]

Every foreigner i know, who lives in the provinces drinks alot. I think it is about boredom. There is nothing to do. Especially in the villages. No stimulation. They all get drunk or drink alot. How very boring in itself, if you ask me.

I get plenty stimulation in the village I live in and I only drink at the weekends

That might change if Hearts end up like Rangers.

[NoshowJones]

it always gives me a bit of a chuckle when NON drinkers have a pop at people who drink... drinking is fun.. you cant beat a beer on a hot sunny day...

missing the point, are we?

consumption of a beer (or two) is NOT the same as drunk.

drunk = vomiting, fighting, crying, falling, pissing your pants, talking loud/nonsense, thinking u're 20 and athletic when u're actually 65 and hugely overweight, etc.

drunk = believing that a 22 year old cute bargirl actually fancies you (a 65 hugely overweight farang).

btw. me thinks you can't beat a glass of cold soda water on the rocks with a slice of lime on a hot sunny day. De gustibus...

Have you not read the latest health warnings about soda?

If you believe in all those health warnings over the years, you may as well just stick to drinking water.

[NoshowJones]

Every foreigner i know, who lives in the provinces drinks alot. I think it is about boredom. There is nothing to do. Especially in the villages. No stimulation. They all get drunk or drink alot. How very boring in itself, if you ask me.

I say your 'boredom' hypothesis may have some weight, but that is a symptom and not a root cause, IMHO.

I cite the environment and that particular Thai culture (indigenous native) as the two primary root causes.

Did the American colonists, when faced with a similar isolation in the newly-colonized North America resort to alcohol as an escape mechanism from what could have been a similar boredom?

NOTE: I offer the above as a rudimentary hypothesis, as opposed to any kind of formal theory. I have purposely limited my time in remote Issan settings for fear of ... boredom due to the huge cultural gap between me and the indigenous (native) population, not to mention a host of other issues.

I have personally observed a similar cultural gap between indigenous people/culture (Piute indian) and caucasian (farang) farmers and settlers in northern Nevada. I'll spare everyone the details, but drinking among the Piute community was definitely a factor.

Can I just point out that the 'American colonists' were actually British.

Hang on a minute. Don't just blame us Brits there were French and Spanish as well as others.

But the British have a far worse history than any other country, don't forget that we ruled two thirds of the world only a century ago.

[slipperylobster]

Can I just point out that the 'American colonists' were actually British.

That would not be totally correct. Many were Dutch(New Amsterdam), German(Pennsylvania), French(Displaced Acadians) etc. I prefer not to give the British too much credit.

Of the first 10 US Presidents only one does not have a British name. You are obviously not a student of history or you might change your preference. Maybe you'll learn to love the Latinos when they take over.

1. Your statement was......'American colonists' were actually British.......that's incorrect. Many were not British at all. If 9 presidents had British names....that still would make your premises wrong. Here is a link that might educate you more...http://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/outlines/chapter-5-colonial-society-on-the-eve-of-revolution-1700-1775/

[Markaew]

I assume the survey didn't include foreigners/expats or else those numbers would change.

We should be included as well! I believe with a little effort we can win this competition for Bangkok!!

No, no mate, Bangkok is in the beginner class compared to us in the North, we've held the championship for years and the prices are lower too! Fancy a drink?

Frankly, I take that as a challenge. And I take that as a insult to veteran drinkers in Bangkok so it's time to put up or shut up. We have the numbers and I think we can take your fragile title in a sweep! What are the rules pray you!

[nachiket]

What one can gain with an alcohol in life?

You can get a hangover.

We always talk about progress and developments. And, this is a real non productive thing... LOL

[bangkokfanatic]

What exactly is the supposed reason for adding insecticide to moonshine? I'm trying to wrap my head around that one.

They add it so you get the added benefit of not having to worry about getting Dengue fever when you are drinking yourself to death... you can't drink as much when you have Dengue..

[gemini81]

I assume the survey didn't include foreigners/expats or else those numbers would change.

We should be included as well! I believe with a little effort we can win this competition for Bangkok!!

Apparently you have spent little or no time going beyond BKK. Its a crisis in rural areas.

[Markaew]

I assume the survey didn't include foreigners/expats or else those numbers would change.

We should be included as well! I believe with a little effort we can win this competition for Bangkok!!

Apparently you have spent little or no time going beyond BKK. Its a crisis in rural areas.

Actually I have in Buri Ram and many of them are drunk around the clock drinking on rot-gut alcohol.

Bangkok has a concentration of population which could sway the "competition".

[kristophon]

it has become a major problem

we used to live in the wifes village when I first moved the wife back to thailand. about 10 years ago. rented a small house. i liked it. i liked the feeling of being away from it all. but i wasnt there all the time.

there was a lot of drinking going on back then and I would join in fairly often but at the time I was in and out of thailand.

there was a lot of drunkeness, the odd accasion where you`d see blokes sleeping in the middle of the road or under a bush or staggering down the road with a bottle of low cow in hand. but it didnt seem overly excessive at the time.

eventually we moved to Udon. mainly because i wanted my child to have at least a half decent education. (the village school was rubbish)

these days things are out of control in the village. i don`t go back anymore but the wife continued to go back quite often with the kids.

she has pretty much stopped going mainly because of the kaos now in the village due to the excessive drinking and yah bah problem and then of course theirs the cards/gambling problems. i used to wonder how they managed to keep going for so long on the pop. sometimes partying for 3/4 days at a time. its not amazing stamina or a pint of M150. its the yah bah thats keeping them going.

shes says they have formed drinking gangs and basically spend there time bouncing around venues getting mashed, playing cards according to who has any money at the time.

kids are growing up now and wifee doesn`t want them exposed to it. i think she will go back at new year but only for a day or so. she avoids it now during songkran becasue its to dangerous.

Edited July 2, 2013 by kristophon

[iancnx]

There is nothing to do upcountry than drinking ? BS !! If they would do an effort to get a laptop and an internet connection (with satellite you can get it in the bush bush) then they have things to do for 24 hours !

That is so lame !!! Up country has mountains, rivers, long stretches of scenery (try Loei) plenty of shopping. Laos is nearby...and darn good people. It is everything Pattaya is not. That why we love it. Some of us enjoy the quiet family life and outdoor work. We have long outgrown the need to sit in a bar with sad lonely men who stare at 18 year old girls. Pity you more. Just because we do not have high balconies ....we still would not be so lonesome and sad as to jump off them. Good people here.....not anything you would know about.

Point well taken. When I have been up north, I have run into some very kind and sincere people.

SPIDERMIKE you said at the beginning of this thread:

Quote//

Every foreigner i know, who lives in the provinces drinks alot. I think it is about boredom. There is nothing to do. Especially in the villages. No stimulation. They all get drunk or drink alot. How very boring in itself, if you ask me.//

Make your mind up there's a good chap, or just stay quiet if you have little or nothing to say.

Generalisations about the drinking habits of expats ANYWHERE is obviously a very pointless discussion. It is no different in the North to what we have all witnessed in the 'farang' centres all over SEAsia and beyond. For goodness sake get a grip people.

I enjoy a drink most evenings.... That is my choice. When I was younger I used to go out on the binge with my mates.... Regularly. Nothing wrong with any of that. I suspect those few against expats having a drink above have had bad experiences in their lives at some point. The OP is about Thai's and their alcoholism.... Poor bast:-:s.

So if you have nothing to add get back to your weekly meetings and stop talking drivel about those who choose a rural existence with their loving families!