It's a while since I've driven the porcelain bus, but I wasnt laughing by the time it got down to the dry-retching stage. My Thai accomplice has a dose of the same and she believes it was the ice in our drinks from a bar on Made In Thailand. We've both got cast iron guts and we've both had much bigger nights in terms of our alcohol intake - in any case, this is much nastier than simply throwing up some booze. We know the lady looking after the bar and I'm keen to find out if she also came down with the same symptoms - they buy their ice from a guy who delivers large bags of it. Granted, it could have been street food or poor hygiene in the bar - just wondering if anyone else has had food poisoning symptoms as a result of the ice in their drinks ? It's something I was leery of in Cambodia but I never give it a second thought in Thailand.

One thing I found out years ago is the high incidence of bacteria in peanuts normally found in some bars.

That could be a cause ?

One thing I found out years ago is the high incidence of bacteria in peanuts normally found in some bars.

That could be a cause ?

Did you see the movie “ Along Came Polly “ with Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston? That's exactly what his character in the movie - Reuben Feffer was very fussy and emphatic about.

Good way to pebbledash the bathroom if eaten in the right quantities.

Not just Pattaya,worldwide advice to ditch the ice. Pattaya town water is tainted,ever tried keeping an aquarium filled with it?,fish die.

Only natural for the ice supplier to use the cheapest method of producing it

I take your point loopy but I've been ingesting local ice and cleaning my teeth with the tap water here for 6 months without issue. No whole peanuts at any stage of the evening, although I'm sure there were some in the Pad Siew I had a lunchtime - it's hardly a case for CSI, but my suspicion still centers on the ice.

Crushed ice?

I've heard the crushed ice is to be avoided.

Not just Pattaya,worldwide advice to ditch the ice. Pattaya town water is tainted,ever tried keeping an aquarium filled with it?,fish die.

Only natural for the ice supplier to use the cheapest method of producing it

Fish don't like excessive chlorine.....

I take your point loopy but I've been ingesting local ice and cleaning my teeth with the tap water here for 6 months without issue. No whole peanuts at any stage of the evening, although I'm sure there were some in the Pad Siew I had a lunchtime - it's hardly a case for CSI, but my suspicion still centers on the ice.

It is something to very careful of. A friend of my sister in law actually died from the ice in a thai kitchen. It is common practice for a youngster to bring steel cups with ice when you sit down. The conclusion was that she took ice from a box of bottles that were being chilled by ice. The cause of death was identified as bacteria originating from rats and this was the only plausible explanation.

Something like that could go on for some time without anyone realizing.

I trust you weren't putting ice in beer ?

Anyone who does that deserves a dose of something nasty.

I've heard from my wife that they put formalin in the ice to keep it last longer.

Can't vouch for it, but if it is true, I have many doubts if they can control the quantity they put in.

Again don't know if that can poison you.

I have been using this ice for years now and nothing ever happened to me.

But again.......we are all different.

The way one often sees the ice delivery man handle his product often leaves a lot to be desired. I wonder how often bar or shop owners clean the inside of the insulated boxes the ice is stored in? I've never seen one do it.

I trust you weren't putting ice in beer ?

Anyone who does that deserves a dose of something nasty.

Actually most of the "beer" here is lager..........................and yes I have ice in lager always, without a problem- but back home in blighty I never have ice in my beer

could have been a virus instead of an ingested bacteria. Had one going around at work that had people puking for one night only then back to normal, super contagious

I've heard from my wife that they put formalin in the ice to keep it last longer.

Can't vouch for it, but if it is true, I have many doubts if they can control the quantity they put in.

Again don't know if that can poison you.

I have been using this ice for years now and nothing ever happened to me.

But again.......we are all different.

I heard a similar rumor about it being in Singha over 15 years ago. Still checking it out but no conclusive results.

could have been a virus instead of an ingested bacteria. Had one going around at work that had people puking for one night only then back to normal, super contagious

Excellent point - I'm hesitant to point the finger at the ice guys when it could be something else, but I still havent checked with the bar to see if anyone else succumbed to whatever it was. Fortunately my sidekick had a much milder case - undoubtedly helped by her lifetime exposure to a host of bugs and her relative youth. Right up to the age of 45 I thought I was invincible - the last 10 years have shown me just how far off beam that belief was.

Over the years i have had various guts problems in Pattaya and the hospital specialist here has warned that one major cause is from ice in drinks, which it is recommended to avoid.

Probably heavy rain last few days would have contributed to contamination of water mains.Surface water ponding over existing leaking water supply,entering the system,thus used for ice making.

probably could get away without getting poisoned most times,

Edited October 10, 201411 yr by loppylugs1

Always have ice in all my drinks in thailand and can't say that its ever given me a problem in 12 years.

Always have ice in all my drinks in thailand and can't say that its ever given me a problem in 12 years.

As I have I for some 20 years as a weekend warrior - living here only increased the chances that my luck would eventually run out in relation to food poisoning. My sidekick is now pointing the finger at the beer itself - something about cycles of warm to cold being repeated after a fridge was accidentally turned off. I'll try to find out more tonight without making this a face issue - if I'm told that no-one else reported a problem I'll leave it at that - if it is something that could still be lying in wait to leave some other poor bugger dry-retching at 4am, I'll let you know. On the basis of this thread, I would think that if it was the ice someone would have been hammered at a 7-11 or restaurant - those guys do a lot of deliveries.

(skeptical on the beer explanation - I'm not proud of it, but I've drunk warm beer with cold pizza on more than one occasion and it's never left me a quivering mess on the bathroom floor)

Crushed ice?

I've heard the crushed ice is to be avoided.

Why is that?

I take your point loopy but I've been ingesting local ice and cleaning my teeth with the tap water here for 6 months without issue. No whole peanuts at any stage of the evening, although I'm sure there were some in the Pad Siew I had a lunchtime - it's hardly a case for CSI, but my suspicion still centers on the ice.

bloke down our way died the other week................

Crushed ice?

I've heard the crushed ice is to be avoided.

Why is that?

If the ice is solid blocks pieces with a hole through the middle it means the Ice is safe and have been through the correct filter systems and machine.

As for crushed ice, it is something any Joe blogs could produced it.

I take your point loopy but I've been ingesting local ice and cleaning my teeth with the tap water here for 6 months without issue. No whole peanuts at any stage of the evening, although I'm sure there were some in the Pad Siew I had a lunchtime - it's hardly a case for CSI, but my suspicion still centers on the ice.

bloke down our way died the other week................

From ice in a Pattaya bar ? I'll need a little more info than the fact that he died, as tragic as that is.

If you have been there for 20 years surely you have noticed the varying cleaning practices of the glassware.

I wouldn't rule that out.

Might not have been the ice. I was hit by a horrendous dose on Thursday and only just recovering now with my guts still aching. Chronic lack of hygiene with relation to any food production in Thailand is the usual cause with simple points such as washing hands after going to the toilet being the culprit. I got it from Oishi delivery (curry rice and a side) that I had delivered on Thursday to the office after the staff group ordered and I thought I would join in.

If you have been there for 20 years surely you have noticed the varying cleaning practices of the glassware.

I wouldn't rule that out.

Sure, but as a weekend warrior, flying in and out every 6 or so months, I wasnt exposed to said cleaning practices on a weekly basis. My brother works for one of the big councils in Sydney and he can tell you some real horror stories about the 'cleaning practices' in many of the late night eateries across that monster city, and I've eaten my way from Jakarta to Guilin without serious incident. Up until Cambo, I'd begun to think I was some kind of intestinal superman - two days of hell in a PP hotel room dissuaded me of that belief.

Went back to the main bar in question last night and I was met with plausible deniability but last night's downpour resulted in a pungent stench from the toilet, much to my host's chagrin - if the water supply has been tainted and they're washing those glasses in said water I'm guessing that it wont be long before a few more cases start popping up. Conversely, it may simply be my turn on the porcelain bus - in any case I now refuse to drink anything that I dont see emerge from the fridge as an unopened bottle. Glass with 'ite' ? Mee chai.

I take your point loopy but I've been ingesting local ice and cleaning my teeth with the tap water here for 6 months without issue. No whole peanuts at any stage of the evening, although I'm sure there were some in the Pad Siew I had a lunchtime - it's hardly a case for CSI, but my suspicion still centers on the ice.

bloke down our way died the other week................

That happens to people sometimes!

I take your point loopy but I've been ingesting local ice and cleaning my teeth with the tap water here for 6 months without issue. No whole peanuts at any stage of the evening, although I'm sure there were some in the Pad Siew I had a lunchtime - it's hardly a case for CSI, but my suspicion still centers on the ice.

"I take your point loopy but I've been ingesting local ice and cleaning my teeth with the tap water here for 6 months without issue."

You have a higher Risk Tolerance than I do.

By the way, was said ingested ice the cylindrical kind with the hollow middle?

There's no rhyme or reason. When I arrived on these shores 25 years ago for a 2-week sojourn while on my way to England (I will get there one day), I had just spent 3 months in India. Naturally thought I was bullet proof in the gut department, having had a couple of doses there. Day two on Khao San as I was getting ready to head to Pai, I doubled over. Four days of confinement, and several more days to get the strength back. Many said it was the ice. So there you go. Since that time, only one more dose of Bangkok Belly, So I wonder if it's as bad as many say it is. Weren't the locals here in Pattaya praising the quality of the water recently?