Drinking water in Thailand – is it safe?

Drinking water in Thailand is a topic that is actually quite controversial. If you are from the Western world, you may have your friends, family, and even your doctors scaring you about possible water poisoning before you arrive in Thailand. It’s true that water poisoning is a terrible, sickening and painful experience that should be avoided at all costs. But how much does it need to be avoided in Thailand?

It’s Not as Bad as You Think

If you ask a doctor in a Western country if it’s ok for you to drink water in Thailand, they will err of the side of extreme cautiousness. While the water in Thailand is actually said to be safe by the he Bangkok Metropolitan Waterworks Authority, your doctor will not want to be responsible if there is one case of sickness and it happens to be you.

It is perfectly fine to brush your teeth with the water straight from the tap, touch your face or eyes after you’ve washed your hands, clean your pots and pans with the water, etc. It’s totally fine to do these things. It’s also safe to have ice in your drinks. Don’t be concerned if your water or even your beer has ice in it. You’ll feel even better knowing that if the ice has a shape and isn’t just chipped off a block, it is manufactured in a factory.

Drinking Water in Thailand

While the BMWA says that it is safe, the locals tend to not drink the tap water so you might as well play it safe and stick to bottled water. Bottled water in Thailand is so cheap to buy on the go wherever you are, but if you are concerned about wasting too much plastic (Thailand is not adept with recycling), nearly never condominium has a water filtration system where you can put in one baht and fill up a bottle with fresh, clean drinking water.