Sober Thailand is a Great Place to Be

During my first few years in Thailand I was a habitual drunk – I’m not exaggerating here. In those days Thailand was one big bar; this made things difficult for my now-wife who was fighting to get me off the booze. I wouldn’t have admitted it at the time but I was the stereotypical loser ex-pat living among the Thais. I was staying in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, but I may as well have been living in a bus shelter in Dublin for the difference it made to my life.

I stayed in a village in Phitsanulok for almost five years. Despite the fact that this was about 100 kilometers from the nearest thing that could be called a pub I still found drinking opportunities everywhere. Occasionally during that time we would visit Chiang Mai, or sometimes even Pattaya, and for me this would be like arriving in boozer’s heaven. At the end of my drinking though, I no longer cared about travelling to bars; I was happy enough being the village drunk.

Drinking nearly killed me; I was still my thirties and felt too young to die. I cleaned up my act by attending a Thai Detox temple called Thamkrabok; that was four years ago and my life has changed so much since then. I no longer judge places on the availability of booze, and this has meant Thailand has a lot more to offer me. I once believed that this country was all about drinking, but I this was just an absurd notion. Nowadays I sometimes take my family to the beach in Pattaya, and I hardly even notice the bars.

Before getting sober in Thailand I worried about how life here could be enjoyed without the booze. I have since learnt that I there had been no real enjoyment in my life then; how can you appreciate anything when you are numb all the time? Anyone who has had enough of the booze will find that this is a great country to live sober. I have no problem with other people enjoying the pub, that’s up to them, I just know that it has nothing to offer me. It turns out that Sober Thailand is a great place too; in fact I like it a whole lot better.

6 Replies to “Sober Thailand is a Great Place to Be”

  1. Thanks for this great post on thailand links, I was searching for something along the lines of this and in the top 20 results at google, yours was the most informed and well presented. I was wondering, do you think Thai Culture would make a great topic for a future post here? Or did you do that already?

  2. Hi Paul,
    Thank you for your creative work. I would like to know how I can find the music you use in the beginning of your podcast “middle aged Muay Thai” sort of traditional thai instrument ranad sounding but modern with a beat. Can you tell me who this artist is or where I can find more of this music?
    Thank you again,
    Tony, Honolulu, Hawaii

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