61–70 of 103 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bad advice. The body doesn't adapt to hepatitis, salmonella, spoiled meat and the like. Don't think the locals are not getting sick and dying either. They are. Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death in the developing world.
why don't you get a hepatitis vaccine?
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It's a farce to say you can't afford it. I backpacked through India for two months and spent a total of $1,534.00 (excluding airfare to and from the country). I was well fed, sheltered, and had a blast. Many occidental countries and developed countries in general, can be pricey if you resort to convenience. What's really funny, is, a hippie german couple I befriended in India came to travel through the US a year late…
It's nice that you have an employer who will let you leave for two months. Most people don't.
I've been long-term traveling and running my startup at the same time for the past few years (in fact just today I set up an incomplete map of my travels for the past few months at my site, turkeysandwichindustries.com), and I can attest that everything in this article is true. What makes me sad sometimes is that traveling the world for a few months to a year doesn't even cross the minds of many of my fellow American…
1. If you live in the UK and you want sunny weather or a ski trip, you'll need to go elsewhere in Europe. If you live in the US, you can probably get away with a local flight.
2. It's easier to justify and amortize the time to travel to a far-off destination for Europeans who have double the number of vacation days. South Africa is a 22-30 hour trip from the US, the number of US tourists is on the low end[3]#, while US tourists to Brazil are 2nd only to tourists from neighboring Argentina[4].
[1] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_transport/trave... p. 90
[2] http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/view/m-2009-O-001/index.html
[3] http://www.southafrica.net/sat/action/media/downloadFile?med...
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Brazil
# Anecdotally, I notice more North American tourists in Cape Town than other nationalities, although this may have more to do with the volume of the average American voice.
I have lived in 3 continents (Africa [Nigeria], Asia [India], and North America [US]) and vacationed a few times in Europe [mainly England and Switzerland]. This, IMO is good advice. Contrary to popular belief, people around the world are good. They are willing to help you out and are less likely to take advantage of the fact that you are new there. There is also a sense of curiosity - about who you are, where you ar…
There are lots of vague hypotheses like this floating about, but IMHO[1] they're pretty flimsy. The fact that you don't have immunity to various foreign bugs doesn't imply (at all) that your immune system is "weak".
There's better evidence that sanitary conditions could increase allergy, which is an overactive immune system, not a weakened one.
Pollution, which you mention later in your comment, has nothing at all to do with immunity.
All that aside: boil it, peel it, cook it, or forget it!
[1] - Also not a doctor, but I am an epidemiologist.
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From my experience, you can not avoid getting ill. Sooner or later (probably sooner) it is going to hit you. Therefore my advice is, to jump right into it. Eat what the locals eat. Do what the locals do. By this you have at least a bit fun until you have to spend your time sitting and sh *ing. The human body is great in adapting to those situation. On my first visit to an development country I took more pictures from…
Bad advice. The body doesn't adapt to hepatitis, salmonella, spoiled meat and the like. Don't think the locals are not getting sick and dying either. They are. Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death in the developing world.
Why do so many travellers get sick first time they enter a country with different hygienic standard, where the local population has no problem?
btw: I lived 2 years in central Africa, just returned from a 'local meal' in Luanda/Angola.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a farce to say you can't afford it. I backpacked through India for two months and spent a total of $1,534.00 (excluding airfare to and from the country). I was well fed, sheltered, and had a blast. Many occidental countries and developed countries in general, can be pricey if you resort to convenience. What's really funny, is, a hippie german couple I befriended in India came to travel through the US a year late…
It's nice that you have an employer who will let you leave for two months. Most people don't.
I have lived in 3 continents (Africa [Nigeria], Asia [India], and North America [US]) and vacationed a few times in Europe [mainly England and Switzerland]. This, IMO is good advice. Contrary to popular belief, people around the world are good. They are willing to help you out and are less likely to take advantage of the fact that you are new there. There is also a sense of curiosity - about who you are, where you ar…
"Living in a very sanitary environment like the US can (potentially) weaken your immune system." There are lots of vague hypotheses like this floating about, but IMHO[1] they're pretty flimsy. The fact that you don't have immunity to various foreign bugs doesn't imply (at all) that your immune system is "weak". There's better evidence that sanitary conditions could increase allergy, which is an overactive immune syst…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bad advice. The body doesn't adapt to hepatitis, salmonella, spoiled meat and the like. Don't think the locals are not getting sick and dying either. They are. Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death in the developing world.
Thought this would be obvious: I was not talking about stuff that makes everybody ill. The body does not adapt well to many other things, but still you can get used to many things that make people ill on first contact. Why do so many travellers get sick first time they enter a country with different hygienic standard, where the local population has no problem? btw: I lived 2 years in central Africa, just returned fro…
I just got back from a month in China and didn't get sick despite eating many things that'd make a typical westerner puke. I lived in China for several years previously and had learned the hard way about food safety.
My wife and I took 4 months off to travel around southeast asia (Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand), and had a great time. Managing to stay just connected enough to read and keep up with goings-on back home, and disconnected enough to not worry about our eMail gave us a great change of perspective and energy about coming back to San Francisco, ready to go build something. Favourite travel tips: - Kindle's Inte…
Ick! That'll give you all sorts of unpleasant side-effects - it's much better to eat raw garlic or raw onions every morning. You'll adjust to the local organisms better and you won't get sick at all.
To each his own on taking electronics/phones/etc... When I go backpacking I prefer to take the "no itinerary" approach, leaving technology at home so I'm not in the Western Bubble wherever I go.
I have lived in 3 continents (Africa [Nigeria], Asia [India], and North America [US]) and vacationed a few times in Europe [mainly England and Switzerland]. This, IMO is good advice. Contrary to popular belief, people around the world are good. They are willing to help you out and are less likely to take advantage of the fact that you are new there. There is also a sense of curiosity - about who you are, where you ar…
I got sick a few times from street-vendor food in 3rd world countries. It turned out that they often reuse oil for too long. I now avoid deep-fried food, dirty or tap water, and things like ice-cream. I've been fine on my travels since.