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- Don't eat street food. Yes, I know you and your cousins have eaten shady looking street food from all over the world without getting sick for over 30 years, and that the only time you got sick was from eating at a four star hotel, but that is you and not everyone else. I have gotten ill from eating street food and avoid them like the plague. I have never gotten sick from eating in proper restaurants on my travels.
- Wash your hands frequently especially before you eat, and keep small sani hand lotion bottles with you.
- Avoid drinking water from tap in certain countries. I use water bottles to brush my teeth even.
- Avoid getting in arguments with locals.
- Avoid places warned by US state department website travel advisory.
- Never carry expensive items on you like flashy jewelry and lots of cash. Normally, carrying wallets with a chain on it makes you look like a dork loser, but overseas who cares, it offers another level of peace of mind.
- Never carry expensive items on you like flashy jewelry and lots of cash. Normally, carrying wallets with a chain on it makes you look like a dork loser, but overseas who cares, it offers another level of peace of mind.
The latter can work, agreed. What I do is keep my wallet in my front pants pocket, and if I'm concerned about possible pickpocketing in the surroundings, my hand goes in my pocket right onto the wallet. Nothing goes in my back pockets that I care about losing (tissues, wipe packets, etc.).
Im flying out tomorrow and wondering about masks and wipes.
Can you take wiples with you through TSA security? Its sort of liqued and all that.
I think I would feel stupid with a mask and yet, I got sick when I travelled in Nov and I hadn't been sick in forever. Flu is really kicking *** here and yes I got the worthless flu shot for all the good it will do me. So contemplating the mask
I bring a travel pack of Clorox wipes in my carry-on bag every trip. They are usually in a zippered side pocket. They show solid during the x-ray. It’s never been a problem with my other items that are in the clear pouch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lieqiang
This is silly, if most locals don't drink the tap water then you shouldn't drink the tap water. Drinking contaminated or chemically polluted tap water doesn't make you a tough guy or someone who's getting a more authentic local experience, and you cannot count on developing immunity to pathogens like some people have who spent an entire childhood battling diarrhea.
But miss out on good local food?
I have agree about local water. It’s one thing when traveling in the US, where it’s common for restaurants to use filtered water (and depending on the restaurant, I may still not drink the water), but traveling to other countries is playing a dangerous game. You didn’t grow up there to have your immune system developed for what the locals drink. People come back from traveling with all types of ailments from “bravely” drinking local water. I usually say no ice as well.
And I’m eating local food when I’m in another country. What would be the point of going if I miss out on getting their cooking? That’s part of the experience for me.
The latter can work, agreed. What I do is keep my wallet in my front pants pocket, and if I'm concerned about possible pickpocketing in the surroundings, my hand goes in my pocket right onto the wallet. Nothing goes in my back pockets that I care about losing (tissues, wipe packets, etc.).
I agree with avoiding being flashy. I don’t wear a lot of jewelry when traveling overseas. I leave my wedding and other favorite real jewelry at home. My travel jewelry consists of crystal stud earrings, a band with a crystal, one or two simple bracelets, and a watch. All items I don’t care if I lose or not.
As a woman, I invested in an anti-theft small backpack by Travelon. It’s light, small, and yet roomy enough for me to carry my essentials, snacks, and bottled water. The zippers end in clips that hook to anchors that are hidden away and the straps are slash proof, so a pickpocket would have to snatch the entire bag from both my arms if they really want it. I’d feel it if they were trying to go into a compartment. It’s so ordinary looking and brings little attention to itself. Very comfortable for all day exploring as well.
Still, nothing beats general awareness. It’s always good to never look like you don’t know where you’re going and to be aware of your surroundings no matter how public of a place you’re in.
I just got back from the Philippines last night so here's my input:
I take Emergen-C packets starting 10 days before I leave. I think it works for me. I've been to the Phils 3 times in 2017. The one time I did not follow this protocol before leaving, I got sick upon return.
Wiped down the tray table, armrests and touch screen in my seat area. I saw kids putting their feet on the tray tables in other seats last night, and I heard that people use those trays to change their kids diapers. Also, I do not touch my face while on the plane unless i've just washed my hands.
Don't drink the local water!! About 4 days ago, I put local water into an electric tea kettle, thinking that the fast boil would kill everything. Later that night (at 3:30am to be exact) my eyes flew open and I was in full panic mode and barely made it there
edit: I ate 98% local while I was there and did not encounter any food issues (and I ate intestines and all that other great stuff lol)
and I also agree with others who said not to dress flashy, carrying around flashing expensive electronics, and the like. Opportunists will spring upon any chance given. Good luck and safe travels everyone
Wow! Thanks for all the replies. It’s interesting to hear what everyone does. We aren’t overly paranoid but after contracting swine flu years ago while traveling I do the basics. And the one other time I didn’t I managed to get pneumonia in a foreign country. Not fun.
This is silly, if most locals don't drink the tap water then you shouldn't drink the tap water. Drinking contaminated or chemically polluted tap water doesn't make you a tough guy or someone who's getting a more authentic local experience, and you cannot count on developing immunity to pathogens like some people have who spent an entire childhood battling diarrhea.
Not true. There are two reasons the locals do not drink tapwater. One, because a generation or two ago, the tapwater was not safe to drink, and people grew up avoiding it. But nowadays, virtually every public water supply in the world is treated for pathogens. Two, the reason they do not drink tapwater has nothing to do with pathogens. Is is usually treated only for pathogens, and often contains heavy metals and/or other components that make the water taste unpleasant. The heavy metals are harmless to a traveler drinking the water for a week or two, but can be tragic over a lifetime of exposure. There is also a third reason -- the heavy advertising campaign by the bottle water marketers.
Do you think most Americans drink bottled water because of pathogens in public drinking water? Of course not. It's because tapwater doesn't taste good. It tastes even worse in a lot of third world countries, sometimes even brackish, but is perfectly safe to drink. If you got sick in the third world, it's much more likely from pathogens from your hands or from food preparation.
I’ve heard several different approaches and am curious what others do. I clean the airplane or train seats with Clorox wipes and take emergen-c immune plus. And try to drink lots of water. What do you do?
I just got off a plane Sunday night and my anxiety level was through the roof until today. I heard people coughing and sneezing and it made me so nervous. I also have used Purell wipes on the tray and the armrests. I took On Guard and used the roll on, and I've also been dosing with Black Elderberry. I do my best to take all of my normal everyday vitamin regiment as well.
Next up Disney in a couple weeks...can you imagine what my anxiety level is for that??
And of course...I am constantly washing my hands whether with soap and water or hand sanitizer. But this is no different than my everyday life. I am a total germaphobe.
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