Sofa King - That was one of the best posts I’ve ever read on this board. Well done sir. Well done.
Hmmmm…Rhum…
Well while on holiday we stopped in Chang Mai in Thailand for a week and spent it doing the temple/hill tribe thing during the day and every night on the beer. A couple of 12+hrs sessions were involved in that week. Over the 3 week holiday we drank 5-10 beers every night at least. This is more than I would drink at home but I do drink(avg. 6 pints) probably 3-4 times a week.
People may view this as a lot but to me and my friends it kinda normal. If I don’t have the money/inclination to drink I don’t and it doesn’t bother me in the slightest so I don’t think I have a “problem”. My liver may have something else to say in the future however 
Anyhoo I say if you want to drink drink but keep within you limits so you don’t end up making a tit out of yourself.
Sorry. I know, not funny. :o
Where? Which one? Upscale, moderate, or cheap?
At a mid-level, not too expensive all-inclusive resort you will want to befriend a couple of bartenders. The key is to quickly find the ones that you like and tip up front. The employees are not making much money, so $10 up front can ensure excellent drinks all week. Most employees (where I have been) work six days a week so you will see a lot of them. If you find that the drinks are lacking at say the beach bar, don’t be afraid to ask for a stronger drink in a nice way. If the bartender accommodates you, give him or her a fiver when you get your next drink.
Note that you should still tip even if the resort’s policy is no tipping. It won’t cost that much since you are not tipping per drink only once or twice. Make sure to get the bartenders name and give them yours. If you have a bartender who really takes care of you, then tip again at the end of the vacation. But make sure to ask when their day off is so you don’t feel bad when you can’t find them on your last day.
If they have a casino, be careful gambling while drunk.
True, unless it makes you more depressed or suicidal! I assume that you are not taking anti-depressants – if you are, be careful because many if not most can increase the effects of alcohol and / or screw up your judgment. The same goes for some so-called “natural” supplements. If you take anything let us know.
Ah, an amateur! In this case, keeping a nice buzz shouldn’t be a problem. You will probably want to keep to moderate drinking as you suggested. Pay attention and don’t over do it or you may find yourself with an unpleasant morning. And make sure to take advantage of those three free meals a day.
Another thing to do is to stay active and participate in any activities that the resort offers such as water aerobics (not just for women), water games, and beach volleyball. Just watch out for the drinking games.
As long as you don’t drink yourself into alcohol poisoning or the point of nausea, you should have no problems.
A final point about water / ice quality. I don’t worry about it myself. Many resorts have water filtration systems and I have never had a problem other than at most half a day of the “explosions”. Just be aware that this varies a lot by individual and how you react may vary by whether you have a cast iron stomach or not. “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” You do need to be more careful if you go into town in a second / third world country to have drinks or dinner.
Have fun and be safe.
Dude, that was Sofa King poetic.
Many thanks to Qagdop and others for their contributions as well.
The Palladium Grand on the Riviera Maya south of Cancun. This is the first real upscale vacation I’ve ever taken.
I didn’t even ask, but the literature indicates no casinos nearby.
No, though I was amazed that one of my coworkers suggested I get some kind of anti-depressant prescription for the trip. She’s taken them since she was a teen, and has actually offered them to me once when I looked especially “bad” one day. Psychoactive drugs are things I fear, though lord knows it makes no sense as I popped all kinds of mystery crap in my 20s.
The travel agent tells me she has personally been there, and the water and ice are both “filtered”, and I shouldn’t have any stomach problems.
Is your typical Mexican water beastie subjectable to filtering? I worry that there is no vicious sounding chemical added to the water to actively KILL the little bastards. Are we taking about toxins, baceria, viruses(sp), what?
Most Cancun resorts are on a water treatment system, and you should be fine. If you are outside of Cancun, ASK. You do not want to be caught with your pants down, if you know what I mean.
That means, if the water is not treated, you might avoid brushing your teeth in tap water, eating fruit with edible skin that has been washed in that water, and salads.
I was under the impression that the “buzz” was not due to alcohol per se but acetaldehyde that it is metabolized into. I don’t have a cite but according to the Merck Index (sixth edition) chronic acetaldehyde exposure has symptoms similar to chronic alcoholism. Also apparently methanol causes blindness by metabolizing to formaldehyde in the retina?
I’m not up on the latest research in the field, and I admit my sources are about 50 years old.
For the record, my grandfather is 87 and for most of his life he’s been an alcoholic (until he outlived my grandmother).
I think you’re thinking of hangovers, which are caused by acetaldehyde, indeed.
http://www.thevirtualbar.com/Hangover/Explanation.html
The buzz is caused by EtOH itself.
Let us hope jim is at one of the methanol-free resorts. I think you are right about the formaldehyde connection, definitely right about blindness, but I trust wood alcohol is not much of an issue for today’s recreational drinker.