ICE TO HAVE OR NOT HAVE THAT IS THE QUESTION.

ICE TO HAVE OR NOT TO HAVE ?
First of all I need to apologise to Mr. William Shakespeare. OK I feel better now that is out of the way.
It's a real problem, a total dilemma, for so many travelers and even Expats living in SE Asia, should I have ice in my drink, should I eat anything made from ice.

a fantastic fruit shake in Vientiane, Laos.

Well let's look at what you're missing.
Well probably the most obvious use is ice cubes in your drink, well honestly being in such a hot climate your drink will rapidly warm up and taste disgusting. A cooling refreshing drink is essential, even water is a real must, actually so much better for you than a fizzy sugary drink. Although a fizzy sugary drink is good for you to prevent dehydration, but all in moderation, go more for water and less for coke.
You'll also miss out on a strange SE Asian habit of having ice in your beer, for you beer drinkers this a really great way of keeping your beer really cool and very drinkable.
Fruit Shakes for me personally, this is one of the best things I've discovered since moving here, an amazing selection of icy fruit drinks, a fantastic way of keeping cool and having a really nice healthy drink too, watch out for Thai heavy hands when it comes to adding sugar.You can get them with milk added too really yummy, but watch your waist line.
Tea and coffee are really amazing when we add ice, so iced tea or iced coffee goes down a treat in the hot afternoon. Iced Black Coffee is really great, but the milky icy coffee is a really nice treat.
Desserts often contain ice, there are dozens of Thai Desserts, some of the most simple desserts , a really cool dessert is shaved ice , it's so refreshing and cooling, there's a really strange blend of textures too, ranging from cooling ice to bread and some crunchy fruits. All combined with a very sweet and colourful syrup.
One amazing coconut based desert, is a fantastic combination of coconut, coconut milk, sweet green noodles and ice. This looks a little odd because the noodles are green in colour and they sort resemble baby snakes, but they are sweet noodles! and the whole dessert is so cooling, sweet and tasty it's a fantastic dessert to savor.

an amazing iced dessert on JJ Market in Bangkok, Thailand.

OK so this is a little sample of what you are missing. If you don't eat ice, it's so much more than just ice cubes in your drink. You'll be missing out on a whole part of Thai Cuisine and infact SE Asian cuisine. I always think if the locals are eating it, well it can't be that bad !
I've lived here for nearly 8 Years and I have always taken ice as do all of my Thai friends and Laotian Friends, and I have never been sick. But that alone is no recommendation.
How is the ice made and where does the water come from. For sure it's NOT made in little ice cube trays in the cafes fridge and they go down to the river and fetch the water, that does not happen.
Generally the ice is made by local businesses who specialize in the production of ice.They have modern facilities to produce bulk ice and they then deliver the ice either chopped into ice cubes, or in a big cube, a mini iceberg.
The modes of transport they use is really impressive and very amusing too, from motorbikes to pick up trucks to refrigerated trucks.

Ice being delivered in Bangkok.

Three wheeler motorcycle ice delivery in Bangkok.

The water they use is filtered water and cuts out all the nasty bugs you find in tap water.
So why do people still get sick, because they do, so do I. But it isn't usually the ice that's to blame.
Perhaps it's the result of eating some dodgy food or eating too much chili, chili is a real culprit when it comes to people getting the runs or a bad stomach ache or worse,but usually that will disappear after a very short period of time.
I have seen some people have ice in their drink let it melt, leave in the sun and heat and then slurp the remains, this can be a problem.
People often don't drink enough water, usually they do drink a lot but it's usually beer, then you will get sick very sick if you get dehydrated.
So all in all it seems that the humble ice cube gets the blame for many other things, but you always need to be careful and be aware, but it doesn't mean you have to be too cautious and miss out on all of the amazing culinary delights that await you in SE Asia and are based on ice or contain ice. Go on try them and see, oh and if you do get sick, don't blame me.
Being adventurous always involves an element of risk, maybe that's why you're here in SE Asia and not tucked up safe and sound at home, enjoy exploring and discovering with lok8rboutique.