Water, Water, Everywhere in Thailand

My friend Tuti, a Muslim from the Gambia, has been fasting for the month of Ramadan. I am not qualified to try to explain anything about this holiday except that it requires (with a few exceptions) fasting from sunup to sundown. For me, the lack of food would be quite tolerable compared to the lack of water.

The temperature during the day tends to average around 90° F with typical humidity around 70-80%. We lose a ton of fluids without even realizing it. We have already had one (minor) hospitalization due to dehydration.  My first investment in Thailand was a water bottle. That was easy. The difficult part came when I tried to find drinkable water to fill it with.

In Thailand, you cannot drink the tap water. Around campus, we are fortunate to have water coolers provided by the university set up at various points. It has been difficult breaking the habit of filling up a cup from the tap whenever I feel thirsty. As there is no community water cooler on the third floor, life in the penthouse is a constant battle between thirst and laziness. For those of us who are not observing Ramadan, thirst tends to win out.

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FYI: If you’re interested in reading other Thai Studies student blogs here at Payap University, you can go to our Intercultural Understanding website and scroll down to “BLOGROLL.”