ha! They down-voted me apparently. To those that down-voted me: Not everyone can turn the tap on and get clean water. Even if Thailand has it today, they probably didn't have it yesterday. When you drink from dubious sources, unless you die as a child, you gain some sort of immunity. A techie from SF can get sick and even die, but a local can drink from the same source and nothing happens to him /her.

Thais mostly drink bottled water, which is clean. They aren't drinking river water or something. Most of Thailand lacks drinkable tap water. Food hygiene standards are more lax than in the West though.

>> Thais mostly drink bottled water, which is clean. They aren't drinking river water or something.Most of Thailand lacks drinkable tap water.

Thanks for the inside info. But do they brush their teeth with bottled water? Do they wash their dishes, tomatoes with bottled water or with "dirty" tap water?

I'm a techie from EU and have survived to tell the story of multiple tooth brushings with tap water in Thailand.

Sarcasm aside, I'm sure it varies from place to place, but in places I've been to in Thailand (and I live half there, half EU), tap water is fine for washing/brushing and if anything, too chlorinated (and thus not too drinkable). I still drink bottled water (or filtered water; many local friends have filters installed to their tap).

I think most people in Thailand do all of those things with tap water, but there may be exceptions in especially poor, isolated or rural areas. In Bangkok the debate has advanced to whether the water is actually drinkable now (in much of the city the answer is probably yes).

I’m from North Africa, and this is very true. If you haven’t grown up drinking the tap water there, it will make you very sick. But locals drink it without problem.