Yes, of course, the people in Thailand do it to survive.
I was thinking more along the lines of first-world people, especially children. E.g. exposing "European children on holiday in Thailand" to what I stereotype as the fetid waters off the coast of third world countries.
It may be a stereotype, but that doesn't mean it's not true. I'd venture that the phrase "sewage treatment plant" is not part of the vernacular there.
