Don’t Drink the Water
You’ve probably heard it countless times: Don’t drink the water!
As obvious as it may seem, it bears repeating. When traveling in undeveloped countries, use bottled water, in SEALED containers, for drinking, brushing your teeth, and washing your face. Take precautions to make sure no tap water, that may be contaminated, enters your system.
A further extension of this precaution is to avoid fruits and vegetables that may have been washed. Lettuce and other salad vegetables are frequently overlooked as possible contamination sources. If purchasing produce, wash it yourself using your own bottled water.
When purchasing bottled water, make sure that the container is sealed. A burgeoning cottage industry is developing refilling water bottles with tap water.
Finally, wash your hands frequently. Tap water is okay, as long as you use hot water, lots of soap, and lather for at least one minute.
While I’m not a fan of over-using antibacterial hand sanitizers, they do come in handy in these travel situations. Tuck some in a purse or tote to use only when soap and water is not available.
You can travel far and wide, with minimal complications, if you just don’t drink the water.
Tags: b5media, flight+attendants, flyaway-cafe, Hotels, travel, vacationRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Food & Beverage, Hotels, Travel Tips
4 opinions for Don’t Drink the Water
Astroprof
Sep 10, 2006 at 2:34 pm
But you can drink the beer, right?
;)
Mary Jo Manzanares
Sep 10, 2006 at 2:54 pm
It’s ALWAYS okay to drink the beer!
cityguy travel blogs
Sep 11, 2006 at 3:24 am
This reminds me of something funny. Went to Tunisia a number of years ago with the family, and someone had told my parents that because it’s on the edge of desert, water is scarce there.
…so they brought a suitcase full of bottled water!
Some of which burst open during flight and transit.
Anyway..the next day we were there and went walking around town. Almost every little shop sold water, and at about 10 times cheaper than we’d paid for it in the UK.
Moral of the story…check that the place you’re going sells bottled water…otherwise you’ll end up looking like an idiot. :)
Mary Jo Manzanares
Sep 11, 2006 at 6:11 am
Cityguy: That is a very funny story!!!
Checking on availability of supplies seems like a very good idea.
The other morale of your story is that you can’t believe everything you hear. You need to research and check things out for yourself.
Thanks for reading!
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