[cokLoolioli]

I watched Mom Don't Cry, and was amused by the fact that this man was drinking so much. I live in the USA and was shocked that people drink like this. I don't mean anything negative because I know every country has a few drinkers. The reason I am so curious is because the heat and humitity. When it is extremely hot in the USA many people don't drink nearly as much alcohol because it makes a person hot so much faster, and a person sweats alot more in the sun after they have been drinking.

So my question is basically for those who live in Thailand... If you do drink, do you drink less on the really hot days? If you don't drink so much, do you tend to avoid it on hot days? If you don't drink at all, I can appreciate your stance, but I am not looking for personal opinions as to why. I only want the question answered by those who are not offended by having a drink now and then please.

[strmini]

Thais are now amongst the top five drinking nations of the world.
The foreign tourists here also help bum the alcohol consumption figures right up.
Does the temperature affect Thais drinking? Na.....that's cause Thais mostly drink cheapo imported scotch whiskey, as for the local drunkards they stick to their rice whiskey.

Then on top of that the Thais enjoy mixing their drinks with loadsa soda and water. The Songran festival is at the height of the Hot Season and the upcountry Thais drink non-stop for three days, i'd say it's part of the tradition. One time of the year when it's all right to be completey 'off-yer-trosh'.

Sure, Thais do drink beer but nothing in proportion to Farangs. A lot of farangs can sit around on bar stools in Pattaya drinking beer from midday til midnight and still walk home. Most Thais would be flat on their backs after say six small beers.

[goldcigarettes]

From what I have seen personally, Thai's are not only heavy drinkers but heavy cigarette smokers.

[ChrisGoldstein]

Thais seem to have a completely different sense of temperature. farangs would say it's hot today, it's up to 28-30 degrees out in the sun now. but nighttime temperatures are down to around 15-17, so ALL my colleagues have caught a cold, sneeze and shiver all the time, and sport heavy jackets and it's much worse up in the mountains.
so, my logic would say many of those who drink do so to keep themselves warm in the "cold" season

But that is exactly the reason that you shouldn't drink if it is cold,,alcohol expands the blood vessels and you might feel a little warmer for a bit but you are losing a lot of heat and will end up colder in the long run...

[strmini]

Just writing in regards to what Faranginphetch said about Thais having alcohol in their genes and their alcoholism etc...

Now, where i come from in Farangland the problem is just as bad if not worse.

Go for a night out back in London and you are gonna come across a whole load of drunkards looking for trouble, a fight and any innocent foreign tourist to curse at. I'd like to side with Thai guys in this matter and say that they are, in no ways any worse than their Farang counterparts.

Go to a bar and you'll here loadsa stories from the girls regarding 'alcoholic' former husbands etc.... The girls there just love spreading gossip to the ears of Farang men and these men in name just lap it up and use it as an excuse to demine Thai men while walking around thinking how wonderful they are in contrast to Thai guys. Gimme a break!

What makes me laugh is the fact that there are loadsa drunkard Farang hanging around on holiday who act a whole lot worse than any Thai guys.

Just go to any beach resort in Thailand and you'll find bunches of Farang guys 'off their heads' and being completely load-mouthed. (Dont see the girls complaining about them!!)

Ive seldom had any problem with drunk Thai guys. In fact i have had more problems with drunk Farangs throughout my duration of stay in Thailand. Give Thai guys a break, us Farang are just as bad.

[Assunkkensatt]

no problems over here. only that I cannot think in degrees F, I have no idea whatsoever.

To convert Farenheit to Centigrade (aka Celsius) subtract 32 and then divide by 9 and multiply by 5.

To convert Centigrade to Farenheit divide by 5 and then multiply by 9, finally adding 32.

The two main points are that freezing is 0 Centigrade, 32 Farenheit, and boiling point (of water) is 100 Centigrade, 212 Farenheit.

Easy really.

68 F is about 20 C. and 0 F. is about -30C so -70 F. would be about -100C I would think, I will have to get the conversion tables from the net. and start using C due to the fact that is what is used here,, but in the states no one understands C.

Using my above formulae you can work out that whilst 68 F is exactly 20 C your two other conversions are quite wide of the mark.

0 F is actually only -18 C (actually 17.78 C), -30 C is -22F

and

-70 F is only -57 C (actually 56.67 C), -100 C is -148 F!!!

The inacuracies would be caused by the conversions not being relative as you either have to add or subtract 32 before doing the relative part of the math.

David

[Mappaindy]

Not to discount the truth that the country in general has a high per capita consumption.
But to be fair, like anywhere else in the world you will find many many people that don't drink or smoke.
The government has a strong anti smoking program, I don't know of an anti booze campaign.

[ChrisGoldstein]

I have not seen many Chinese that drink, But I have seen them as drunk as skunks too, I looked for the genetic thing and it was mumbo jumbo to me,,But I did find this,,,

as traditional beliefs decrease, they tend to experience more drinking problems. Some have suggested that Chinese may limit their alcohol intake to avoid discomfort associated with the "Oriental flushing reflex," of which the primary manifestations are facial reddening, rapid breathing, itching, and other discomfort. A majority of Chinese (as many as 85%) experience the reflex, whereas as few as 3% of Caucasians do (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 1993). However, flushing is only slightly associated with reduced alcohol use. Furthermore, because it is physiological in origin, the reflex cannot explain differences in alcohol use over time or between generations.

The cultures that are most successful in preventing alcohol abuse are those whose members tend to view alcohol as a natural, normal part of life about which they have no ambivalence; to teach their young by example how to drink in moderation; to encourage drinking among family and friends rather than in same-gender settings; to discourage heavy, episodic drinking; to sanction negatively and promptly any unacceptable drinking behaviors; to respect the decision of those who choose not to drink and not pressure them to drink; and to be free of the belief that alcohol can solve problems, signify adulthood, grant power, or confirm manhood.""""

But I do know as one tends to drink as a maintenance drinking alkie, they will only have so much and maintain that level all day and as your drinking increases also your tolerance to alcohol increases, so you can drink all day and nite,, but then when you pass that stage then it takes less and less to smash you..
I will be glad to discuss alcohol with anyone, I might have some personal exp. to answer ..

[exschke]

no problems over here. only that I cannot think in degrees F, I have no idea whatsoever.

[ChrisGoldstein]

Thanks guys, I just never looked it up,,but working out in -70F it might as well be -148,,overproof rum will get slushy in the pocket of your parka,,I know that..

[exschke]

sure, but it warms you up in the short run. one of the reasons why something like 90% of the homeless are heavy drinkers back home. (well, it's not personal experience.... I'm told so.... I have drunk about half a litre of alcohol altogether in my life.) was just trying to get a new perspective.
by the way, I'm surprised how cold it is here in Chiang Mai! didn't expect it.

(IGNT, sorry about threadjacking)

[Qeiafib]

Its freezing! Even with doors and windows shut it still feels like there is an air conditioner behind me everywhere I go.

[ChrisGoldstein]

Steve, In reply.
I never said that Thai have alcohol in their genes, what I did say was,,

Thai do seem to be about like the American Indian, they must have the gene that causes alcoholism,,if they drink, they get drunk, and the only way to prevent this is just do not drink. Easy as that.

[quote]''Go to a bar and you'll here loadsa stories from the girls regarding 'alcoholic' former husbands etc.... The girls there just love spreading gossip to the ears of Farang men and these men in name just lap it up and use it as an excuse to demine Thai men while walking around thinking how wonderful they are in contrast to Thai guys. Gimme a break!""

OK, I have never been to a bar while I have been in Thailand since a 1974 trip.And then I was drunk and sure didn't talk about drunken husbands. ,, but the women I have quoted are friends of my wife and live and work around here, not in bars,,,,But I did say,,
""But Thai seem to drink alcoholically very easily, I have talked to a lot of women that are divorced because of a drunken husband, my wife is one, he husband layer around drunk most of her 20 year marriage to him and she worked and was the sole support of the family for the last 10 years that she was married to him.
One woman said that she would like to get married again, but not to a drinking man, she was married for 15 years and a "river of beer flowed thru my life for those years"""

I do not think that Thai are any worse than farang, if as bad as farang about showing their A** when drunk. but then I never go around anyone that is drunk because they all get out of line and I put up with that and was as bad or worse than most for to many years to have to do it now.
But anyone that gets smashed every time that they drink is, to my opinion, an alcoholic. To get drunk and sick daily or every time that you have a drink is not normal behavior to me.

I have never had a real problem with any drunk since I have been here as I just don't go around them and places where they hang out.

[exschke]

Thais seem to have a completely different sense of temperature. farangs would say it's hot today, it's up to 28-30 degrees out in the sun now. but nighttime temperatures are down to around 15-17, so ALL my colleagues have caught a cold, sneeze and shiver all the time, and sport heavy jackets and it's much worse up in the mountains.
so, my logic would say many of those who drink do so to keep themselves warm in the "cold" season

[rarpAcconavox]

thats bad! ahh..

[jdynwa]

The Nation newspaper reported the other day that the numbers of regular beer and liquor drinkers (at least 20 days per month) has increased to 11.9 million, up from 8.4 million two years ago. The survey also found that the average age of first time drinkers has dropped to 11 or 12 years of age. The youngest first-timer was 4 years old who was apparently drunk during the interview.

[exschke]

thank you for the maths :-)

the genetics part, in Taiwan I was told that the Chinese have different metabolism regarding alcohol, they break it down differently (or maybe they don't break it down, it just passes through? something like that), and on the whole it does not damage them so badly as it does whites. my boss could definitely drink lots of whiskey without getting drunk in the traditional sense, like, no talking nonsense and walking zigzag and hangovers and mental degeneration after ten years of heavy drinking. maybe it's similar with Thais? I think SiamJai would be the right person to ask about this. but the genetics bit is not out of the blue, or how you say it in English.

[ChrisGoldstein]

There is that guy that stops for a couple and then goes home, mows his lawn, has dinner with the family, plays with the kids and watches a little TV and never even thinks of having another beer, that guy ain't got the problem.

Then there is the guy that stops for a beer and has one right after another and closes the place up,,thats the kind of drinker I am and I sure had a problem, always saying it will not happen again, but it does, everytime I drank, I got drunk..

One time we were working on Bonneville Second powerhouse construction in bonneville washington, my drivers license had been suspended again , this time for 5 years, I rode with my partner on the job and said "Well Snuffy, lets stop here at the town pump and have a beer" to which he says "you silly Bast**d , you never had -A- beer in your life" which was right.

If you think you are drinking a little to much and want to see if you have a problem,,Quit for 2 weeks or a month,,I mean QUIT, then go out and have 1 or 2 and see how you feel, try this a few times and if you don't feel like having another drink after having a couple and can make the rest of the day without thinking of a drink,,then you pobly OK, but if you think of MORE BEER and are not truly comfortable,,you might have the same problem as I do,,but no big deal, you can do as I did and still do after 24 years since my last drink..

[kennyguitar]

when i visited my cousins in thailand, they told me they drank everyday.

i like beer. but only at social events. like football.

[ChrisGoldstein]

I do know something about drinking, what it does to you, and how people handle it. No disrespect to anyone.

But Thai seem to drink alcoholically very easily, I have talked to a lot of women that are divorced because of a drunken husband, my wife is one, he husband layer around drunk most of her 20 year marriage to him and she worked and was the sole support of the family for the last 10 years that she was married to him.
One woman said that she would like to get married again, but not to a drinking man, she was married for 15 years and a "river of beer flowed thru my life for those years"

My bro. in law is a very nice man, but when he drinks, he gets drunk and wants to fight everyone and anyone, and he will not stop drinking until he is smashed and passes out, and if he gets up while still under the influence, he will continue drinking.

Anyone that does this is bound to be an alcoholic, someone that is not will have a drink or two and not get completely out of control.

Thai do seem to be about like the American Indian, they must have the gene that causes alcoholism,,if they drink, they get drunk, and the only way to prevent this is just do not drink. Easy as that.

There is a distillery in my back yard, they make the sato, and then still it and a lot of guys are around here wanting to trade labor for booze. or just getting a free drink.http://public.fotki.com/KevinN/thailand_pictures/