When in Asia, Drink Anything but the Water!

Coming from Australia, where you can safely drink the water, it is very hard to get used to the fact that in most other countries, this is just not possible. In Asia, especially, just don’t do it. Even the slightest drop can make you sick. You even have to brush your teeth with bottled water.

This bottled water is, of course, readily available at 7-Eleven or grocery stores and only costs about 45 baht, which is approximately $2, so it’s not really a problem. However, the owners of the apartment buildings have gone one step further to help and have centrally located and installed a machine like a vending machine to dispense filtered water.

How convenient is that you may ask? You take your empty bottle and put your coins in, and it fills with cold, fresh drinking water. Easy, you say? Well, once you know, yes, it is. My first visit to the vending machine was a bit of a learning curve. I put my coins in the machine, 20 baht to be exact, and stood back to watch my bottle fill. It kept filling and then overflowed all over the foyer floor. The cost of refilling the 6 litres from the machine was 5 baht (22 cents AUD). It was embarrassing But hey, life’s an adventure, and we learn from our misadventures. Now, I’m a certified vending machine hydration expert. Love Mylifestyle