Let's be real now, getting a case of diarrhea at home is unpleasant but at least you are close to home or in a worst case scenario, you are near a restaurant or some other place that has a reasonably clean bathroom.
Getting a case of diarrhea when traveling is a person's worst nightmare. You are in unfamiliar territory, possibly in a country that you don't know the language, you are ill-equipped and don't want to embarrass yourself.
Even worse, you might have to use a bathroom like this one. This is the bathroom in a bar we stopped at in Ooty yesterday.
It reminded me of the classic scene from the movie "Trainspotting" (I almost posted a link to the scene, but I'll spare you the hysterical, yet incredibly disgusting vision. Google it if you want.)
India is notorious for it's overall general uncleanliness and EVERYONE I've spoken to has told me that it's not a matter of IF, but WHEN I will get sick. When I went to see a travel doctor, when he asked me where I was going and I said India, he simply shrugged and said "I'm going to give you an anti-biotic and anti-diarreahal." Check please.
In third-world countries, the drinking/tap water can be suspect. They might treat their water supplies but it's generally a good idea not to drink it.
This obviously poses a problem. Water is necessary for survival. Bottled water adds up in cost if you need to constantly buy it. In Turkey in 2011, we found a grocery store and bought a case of bottled water instead of buying it individually at stands. 36 bottles of water cost the same as 3 bottles from the street vendors. And what if you run out and need to drink? Do you risk drinking the tap water and whatever water-thriving pathogens might be in it thus exposing yourself to salmonella, e-coli, cholera, giardia, and all those other little bastards that are waiting to open up your colon like Iguazu Falls?
You should ask yourself the same question before drinking from the crystal clear mountain stream that looks perfectly safe... except for the moose that took a crap in it 100 yards upstream from you.
Even the hotels want you to feel safe here. They give you a large, 1.5 liter bottle of water every day.
Since I was going to be here for so long, I decided to take the power back. I brought with me a Sawyer travel water filter ($20 on Amazon) and 2 UV water purifiers. One made by Camelbak (Free using REI points, retail $99) and one made by Steripen ($40 on eBay, retail $120).
After 2 weeks, I'm happy to announce that I have yet to get sick! At least in the normal sense of the term diarrhea.
When I first arrived, I only purified my water using the Camelbak bottle. I noticed the water though had a slight chlorinated taste. So I started filtering it first with the Sawyer filter, then purifying it, which took the chlorine taste out completely. It takes a little longer, maybe 5 minutes per bottle, but since I brought 3 empty water bottles with me, I just do them all at the same time and I always have a fresh bottle of water ready, even if I drink one.
The process is simple. Fill up the bag that comes with the filter with water (can be tap water or mountain moose poo water or whatever water source you're trying to filter). Screw on the filter, remove the end cap, flip it over, and fill up your bottle (or you can drink straight from the filter like it was a big Capri Sun.)
I choose to fill up my bottle. Screw on the UV filter top, push down the blue power button for 2 seconds and the lamp turns on, and starts counting down 60 seconds. They tell you to "agitate" the water by turning the bottle upside down a few times so it all gets nuked.
Once the 60 seconds is over, the light turns off and the screen tells you it's done! Voila! filtered, purified water!
Getting a case of diarrhea when traveling is a person's worst nightmare. You are in unfamiliar territory, possibly in a country that you don't know the language, you are ill-equipped and don't want to embarrass yourself.
Even worse, you might have to use a bathroom like this one. This is the bathroom in a bar we stopped at in Ooty yesterday.
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India is notorious for it's overall general uncleanliness and EVERYONE I've spoken to has told me that it's not a matter of IF, but WHEN I will get sick. When I went to see a travel doctor, when he asked me where I was going and I said India, he simply shrugged and said "I'm going to give you an anti-biotic and anti-diarreahal." Check please.
In third-world countries, the drinking/tap water can be suspect. They might treat their water supplies but it's generally a good idea not to drink it.
This obviously poses a problem. Water is necessary for survival. Bottled water adds up in cost if you need to constantly buy it. In Turkey in 2011, we found a grocery store and bought a case of bottled water instead of buying it individually at stands. 36 bottles of water cost the same as 3 bottles from the street vendors. And what if you run out and need to drink? Do you risk drinking the tap water and whatever water-thriving pathogens might be in it thus exposing yourself to salmonella, e-coli, cholera, giardia, and all those other little bastards that are waiting to open up your colon like Iguazu Falls?
You should ask yourself the same question before drinking from the crystal clear mountain stream that looks perfectly safe... except for the moose that took a crap in it 100 yards upstream from you.
Even the hotels want you to feel safe here. They give you a large, 1.5 liter bottle of water every day.
Since I was going to be here for so long, I decided to take the power back. I brought with me a Sawyer travel water filter ($20 on Amazon) and 2 UV water purifiers. One made by Camelbak (Free using REI points, retail $99) and one made by Steripen ($40 on eBay, retail $120).
After 2 weeks, I'm happy to announce that I have yet to get sick! At least in the normal sense of the term diarrhea.
When I first arrived, I only purified my water using the Camelbak bottle. I noticed the water though had a slight chlorinated taste. So I started filtering it first with the Sawyer filter, then purifying it, which took the chlorine taste out completely. It takes a little longer, maybe 5 minutes per bottle, but since I brought 3 empty water bottles with me, I just do them all at the same time and I always have a fresh bottle of water ready, even if I drink one.
The process is simple. Fill up the bag that comes with the filter with water (can be tap water or mountain moose poo water or whatever water source you're trying to filter). Screw on the filter, remove the end cap, flip it over, and fill up your bottle (or you can drink straight from the filter like it was a big Capri Sun.)
I choose to fill up my bottle. Screw on the UV filter top, push down the blue power button for 2 seconds and the lamp turns on, and starts counting down 60 seconds. They tell you to "agitate" the water by turning the bottle upside down a few times so it all gets nuked.
The Steripen is also a UV purifier and works the same way, except it's supposed to be portable. I keep it in my bag at all times. You just pop the top off and put it into your bottle. The body is rubberized so you don't drop it but hold on tight anyway. The 2 silver prongs are sensors so as soon as you put it into the water, the UV lamp turns on. A green LED blinks on the backside also for 60 seconds. Stir it around a few times and once treatment is complete, the UV lamp turns off.
Of course, there is no telling whether or not I would actually get sick drinking the tap water but considering everyone has told me I would and the hotel even give me bottled water, I would like to think these products work. Regardless, I'm sold and I'm going to keep treating my water in this fashion and I will continue to bring these 3 items with me to any other third-world country I visit.
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