Look, you can sexualise this as much or as little as you want, but what I’m talking about here is beer — you can literally get it anywhere if you’re willing to pay for it. Also, I’m not suggesting you’ll have to pay a lot of money for it, I’m merely pointing out what has been proven to be a fact, that being that you can get beer anywhere in the world, and by that I mean literally anywhere.
As tourists we try to be respectful of the cultures and ways of life of the local people whose country we’re visiting and God knows I’ve had my fair share of total culture shocks, being a last-minute planner and all that. I mean after all, it is a privilege for you to be allowed into any country you visit, even if something like visa free entry suggests otherwise. So yes, respect the laws, cultures and traditions of the people whose country you’re visiting, but I have to mention again that if you really want beer and you’re willing to pay for it, you can get it.
Of course beer can be taken to be a metaphor for anything else you might want, but I really am just talking about beer in this instance — beer as an alcoholic beverage because it is indeed the alcohol in it which proves to be a problem in some countries. Predominantly Muslim countries in particular generally have a ban on the use of alcohol, but that really doesn’t mean you can’t get some beer if you really want some.
I’m also not suggesting you should be complicit in breaking any laws here, but keeping in the spirit of welcoming tourists and making our stays as comfortable and as close to what we have at home as possible, even the strictest of Muslim countries sort of build-in some “loopholes” in their laws surrounding alcohol which you’re sort of encouraged to accidently discover and exploit to your pleasure — nudge-nudge, wink-wink. The thinking is that you’re the one who is engaging in your vice and not them, so if you choose to do it, then it’s all on you. It’s certainly all on me and I really don’t mind one single bit.
Don’t think the use of alcohol will be openly encouraged though — it won’t be made that easy for you and the digging around you’ll have to do should perhaps be taken as somewhat of an adventure.
So even in the strictest of religious countries where the use of alcohol is all but outlawed, there are some sanctuaries which make for somewhat of a watering hole of sorts, like hotels. Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is one such example where beer flows freely inside the resident bars and restaurants of some hotels and the authorities take an attitude of “what you do behind closed doors is your business” about it all.
In some restaurants however you can also get a cold one (yeah, people seem to drink their beer chilled in many other countries), but you have to ask fervently for it at least twice in order for someone to “make a plan” for you.
