How safe is Ice?
 

Leaving Tuesday for our first Asia trip. 3 nites Marriot Resort in BKK , 7 at Kata Beach Resort then on to 3 in Hong Kong. Should we avoid all ice everywhere we go including not ordering all the fun drinks ie pina colada's etc? Or is there areas where we will be OK? I read somewhere that if your ice is small and has a hole in the center then it is safe to drink. With that heat I can't imagine drinking anything warm!

In Thailand, ice that is commercially made (cylindrical, with a hole in it) is made with purified water. I wouldn't opt for ice that has been crushed.

We were also pretty skeptical about drinking anything with ice in it--until we got there and realized, like you said, how refreshing a cool drink can be in the sweltering heat.
Lots of folks on here will advocate against it--it really boils down to what kind of person you are. Do you normally worry about things like this? Or is it just what you've read on here that worries you? Personally, I'm an advocate of being informed, throwing a bit of caution to the wind and enjoying your trip!
As long as it's not crushed--and we only ever saw the cylandrical ice Kathie described everywhere we went--you should have nothing to worry about!

Anybody care for some Taiwanese shaved ice?

Or "red bean ice" in Hong Kong?

:)

OK rkkwan you have me stumped! Know idea what you mean by Hong Kong "red bean ice" or Taiwanese shaved ice. I take it you are suggesting to stay away from ice all together?

Ice with a hole is my rule! Anything else then I just stick with drinks from the chiller.

If you visit Taiwan, you'll see a lot of places that sell shaved ice. They stick a huge piece of ice (like 2' x 2') on a modified platform drill and get shaved ice on a dish. Then you pick the "goodies" you want on ice. Popular stuff for the hot afternoon or dessert. We can get it in many Taiwanese dessert place here in Houston too.

"Red Bean Ice" is a popular dessert in Hong Kong. Cooked red beans, evaporated milk and shaved ice.

Anyways, I have yet to get into problem with food while traveling, so I eat basically everything that they sell or offer, without much thought. :D

Ice is supplied to all bars, restaurants, hotels, not even small places have the 'facility' to produce ice on a scale big enough to serve customers, that is why you see pruified ice being delivered all over the place.
Although buying a bottle of water in a store might cost you 5-7 Baht when purified water is purchased in large supplies it is quite cheap. Again very very few places have the ability to produce ice so they purchase the ice, which is produced from purified water, as mentioned, in the cylindrical shape.

We've been in Chiang Mai for several weeks and have been ordering drinks with ice and have had no problems. It seems safe and certainly the cool drinks taste good. The ice is ordered commercially and I think you are safe. Enjoy!

I have taken ice in drinks of all shapes and sizes and types of establishments in Thailand from street stalls to 5* places over many years and have sufferred no ill effects. If this worries you stick to chilled bottled drinks with no ice as even the the cylindrical shape ice with holes does not guarantee that it was made with purified water.