Anyone else poisoned by the ice in a Pattaya bar ?

[loppylugs1]

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?

...the paste itself may have a sterilising effect. once experienced Delhi belly or any other infection,no more risking ,the immune system gets weakened with age too,when the effects could be shrugged off in youthful years not so later middle age.The slice of lemon always used when having fish dish,in fact asking for one more (slice)

Those peanuts taste foul too ,boiled not roasted,just damned soggy,can see them rapidly cooled in a bucket too.

The Thai GF always after a shower uses a pint or two of bottled water to finish a shower,that is how concerned she is with contamination. Your health,your life

Yes lived in India too,used to come down with belly ache more than a few times,there could get treated cheaply,think of the hospital bill here lying in bed on a drip for a day or two

Edited October 12, 2014 by loppylugs1

[infinity11]

I would consider the OP lucky it does not happen more often.

There are way too many factors.

After eating most anything and everything i am coming to the conclusion it is the tainted stuff not the old stuff that is the more harmful.

If indeed it was the ice, it proves my point.

[infinity11]

I have also read some liquors are VERY impure, something added for a cheap but dangerous buzz.

Could be WHAT you were drinking.

[paddyjenkins]

I've been ill about three times in twenty years of visiting Thailand. The last time was a couple of months ago and I believe it was ice. After a few hours of a couple of drinks I stuffed stomach cramps and diarrhea. Nothing major, but I think it must have been ice as I ate much earlier and I had ice with soda water, nothing else.

[Brit_Doggie]

Frequented all the sois that are considered good places to imbibe and always drink the thai rum on the rocks with no side effects other than falling over and i don't put that down to the ice,overindulgence i think it's called.

But i do cheat on my gf bc she drives me to drink and i let her think i walk home but i get a motorbike taxi.

[MrWorldwide]

I have also read some liquors are VERY impure, something added for a cheap but dangerous buzz.

Could be WHAT you were drinking.

OK - gf threw up again this morning after a few more drinks at the same bar - one crazy little guinea pig but she seems to have the stomach for it. The Thais just seem to take things like this in their stride - I guess when you grow up with Mehkong whiskey and Lao Khao the odd bout of food poisoning doesnt seem that bad.

This was the sequence of events on Friday Thursday night - make of it what you will -

- we both drank San Miguel Light, as we usually do, with a slice of lemon/lime - it seems to vary from one night to the next

- our host provided glasses with ice when it became apparent that the beer was too warm

- the ice was the 'round with the hole in the center' variety, not crushed ice - never put ice in beer in Oz but it's different here and I havent had a problem before

- overall, I drank more San Mig over the course of the evening than my gf, but neither of us were even remotely 'hammered' when we got home at midnight

- between 5pm and midnight I ate a chicken kebab and some noodles, both of which I got to see in dramatic fashion from about 2am onwards

No liquers. no Thai whiskey, no wine or dairy products beyond some sour cream on the kebab.

Last night I drank nothing other than water and coca-cola, and insisted on both being supplied straight from the bottle - no glasses, no ice and no lemon - and I was 100 per cent fine this morning. The gf is OK now and she's convinced that the problem originated in one bar - I'm not sure that some of her 'symptoms' were entirely physical, but the throwing up was real enough. The issue is simple - no-one is going to risk what little business is currently walking into their bars by admitting that they have a bad batch of anything or that their hygiene is less than ideal.

From this point forward, it's pretty simple for me - if it's not ice-cold straight out of the bottle I wont drink it and they can keep the lime regardless of the beer temp. As others have pointed out, this could simply be the luck of the draw - fair enough - but it's not an experience I'm keen to revisit. Thanks for all the feedback.

Edited October 12, 2014 by MrWorldwide

[petercool]

One other factor - if it hasn't already been mentioned - is the method of cleaning glasses in some bars.

Dirty water and simple rinsing of multiple glasses in the same water/container can contaminate glasses.

[1BADDAT]

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,

Wouldn't a more plausible explanation be that the water is normally contaminated? You really don't need to come up with an explanation that defies the laws of physics.

[1BADDAT]

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.

Your explanation makes sense in that they are using proper equipment to make ice, but it doesn't mean they are using a filter. But chances are they would be more likely to filter the water as well.

[loppylugs1]

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,

Wouldn't a more plausible explanation be that the water is normally contaminated? You really don't need to come up with an explanation that defies the laws of physics.

No I think not.Agree the water is polluted 24/7/365 but as soon as an inference of this the Whinging Police come out of the woodwork The place is a dump,polluted to high heaven,so there, no physics intended

[irishsmile]

Never ever have or trust ice anywhere in Thailand if you treasure your health!

[ToddinChonburi]

I ate at McDonald's a few weeks back and thought I was going to die but no problem with ice.

[bartender100]

It was the chicken kebab not the ice, most likely.

Chicken is notorious for salmonella.

Reasons probably are poor food handling by the vendor, do they really know not to use same utensils for cooked and raw chicken?, no big turn-over so the cooked meat is in the"danger zone" for a long period, driving the cart (if thats were you brought it) around Pattaya, down second road right now perhaps!!

[davethailand]

It was the chicken kebab not the ice, most likely.

Chicken is notorious for salmonella.

Reasons probably are poor food handling by the vendor, do they really know not to use same utensils for cooked and raw chicken?, no big turn-over so the cooked meat is in the"danger zone" for a long period, driving the cart (if thats were you brought it) around Pattaya, down second road right now perhaps!!

Agreed, I brushed my teeth, gargled and sometimes drank the water there but even after 12 and a bit years I was still wary of st Chicken kebabs.

Ice wise if its round (ie ice machine) then never normally a problem.

One thing I used to do was not let them put the lime inside my San Mig bottle, I used to squeeze it inside, I've seen the limes rolling around on counters etc before

.

[NanLaew]

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.

There's formaldehyde's in most beers. The cheaper the brew, the more formaldehyde hence the bigger headache.

I used to drink Schincariol beer in Brazil but would start getting headaches by the time I was on the third large bottle and not even pissed yet. It was explained to me by a bartender that was the formaldydes working!

Edited October 16, 2014 by NanLaew

[infinity11]

'There's formaldehyde's in most beers.'

1-Based on what please?

It certainly tastes that way, except maybe leo, one of the the least dry tasting beers imho.

I stopped drinking chang ages ago because that was the rumor about chang AND just one always gave me a headache.

Now they have chang draft or export, in cans only, which does not.

2-Is the original chang formula the same as 5 or 10 years ago?

3-Why does chang have one of the, if not the, highest alcohol content and why did the other companies reduce their's?

Most of them are all down to 5%, or less even, which was NOT the case previously.

[ryro88]

I got really sick one time and tracked it back to the particular drink I was drinking in the bar. It was a spirit baileys to be exact. It had sat in the bar for years in the pelting heat building up bacteria. I was drunk and had 3-4 glass before I caught on. Ended Up in bed for a week. Just be careful.

[MrWorldwide]

Other than the usual bar fables, does anyone actually know of Chang causing blindness in small doses ? I've heard this from two expats now - cant say that Chang rates terribly highly with me anyway but it seems to have a mythology all unto itself. Anyone ?

[WitawatWatawit]

"Hey, some guy in a bar told me..." I think the blindness scaremongering can be put to rest. That is just a bit too bizarre - were there any substance to it, I think it would be widely known in drinking circles. A myth, just like formaldehyde, a rumour that is believed to have begun during the R n R days by Americans and Brits not used to the strength of Singha.

[tropo]

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.

If you've been eating so much shit all your life (all over the world) your intestinal bacteria (the good guys) must really be doing it tough. You may want to look into consuming pro-biotics on a regular basis. Most people who die once thought they were invincible too.... even before they discovered they had bowel cancer.

I cannot figure your logic. You stated that you consumed street food on the day you got sick, yet you seem to think it was the ice that got you. It's the last thing I would suspect on any day I consumed street food (which I do not eat no matter how hungry I am). Ice is made at below freezing temperatures, so that on its own offers some protection.

The incubation period for food poisoning can vary from a few hours to as long as several weeks (even up to 90 days) depending on what and how much is consumed. 1 to 3 days is the average incubation period.

[tropo]

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.

Someone concluded that a girl died from ice in a Thai kitchen. She didn't eat any food?

Talking about rats, I saw a rat the size of an average cat running around one Thai restaurant a few nights ago. Do they keep them as pets? Considering its size It has been a resident of this particular restaurant complex for years. I couldn't imagine any cat would be game to tackle it.

[Tokay]

It could be something as simple as the person serving you had dirty hands from not cleaning them after using the bathroom and doing a #2.

It could also be the crushed ice. ALWAYS avoid crushed ice to be safe. It doesn't always come from the same sources as the drinking water comes from, and is delivered in the back of a pick up, uncovered, and handled by guys with hands that are carrying germs from lord knows where.

It is also possible Visine or a like substance, or even a laxative was dropped into your drink. When I lived in Pattaya I used to "see" a girl who worked behind the bar at one of the bars on Walking Street. She told me horror stories of things they did to customers for laughs. It would be foolish to assume such things only happened in one bar.

[rhythmworx]

Crushed ice freshly crushed for you on the dusty floor or in a dirty pick up truck/yute of a Soi Bukhao car park.

[94tegsi]

My brother and I were there in early September. We ate at The Hardrock Café, had a couple of cocktails there. Then a few San Miguel Lights during the evening and Jack Daniels and Coke.

Later that evening, back at the hotel (Marriott), within minutes of each other we were projectiling out of both ends until the morning. We compared what we consumed and the only real conclusion we came down to was the ice also. We could be wrong, but that's the impression we got.

[tropo]

My brother and I were there in early September. We ate at The Hardrock Café, had a couple of cocktails there. Then a few San Miguel Lights during the evening and Jack Daniels and Coke.

Later that evening, back at the hotel (Marriott), within minutes of each other we were projectiling out of both ends until the morning. We compared what we consumed and the only real conclusion we came down to was the ice also. We could be wrong, but that's the impression we got.

You both ate at the Hardrock Cafe, so why were you so convinced it wasn't the food? Were there no common food items which both of you consumed?

Edited October 20, 2014 by tropo

[94tegsi]

Well there were about 10 of us eating there and we were the only two that were ill. Plus as you say, we ate nothing in common.

[ToddinChonburi]

If you ate chicken on the street ? WOW !!! look out i see those venders at 6 am with yesterdays chicken ready to sell today. No refrigeration and just reheat a little . My Thai girl friends will not eat most street vendor food . she seems to watch the vendor to see how they operate . I just see all the food sitting there and wonder how many hours sitting in the heat until someone eats it.

[tropo]

If you ate chicken on the street ? WOW !!! look out i see those venders at 6 am with yesterdays chicken ready to sell today. No refrigeration and just reheat a little . My Thai girl friends will not eat most street vendor food . she seems to watch the vendor to see how they operate . I just see all the food sitting there and wonder how many hours sitting in the heat until someone eats it.

Yeah, and at a very favourable temperature to facilitate bacterial growth.

[Tolley]

I eat gai yang regularly off the street so to speak.

Had some today in fact. Never had a problem.

I like the people who do the whole chicken on the rotisserie on soi boukow 150baht for a whole chicken very deiicious

[tropo]

I eat gai yang regularly off the street so to speak.

Had some today in fact. Never had a problem.

I like the people who do the whole chicken on the rotisserie on soi boukow 150baht for a whole chicken very deiicious

LOL. Sometimes you may be literally eating off the street... when they accidentally drop the food and then pick it up and sell it later on.