I will be spending the next year as an exchange student in
Thailand. I will be attending school and living with a host
family, likely in a small town. The thing is, I keep getting
warnings that I shouldn't drink the water or eat from street
vendors. Today I went to get my innoculations done and they
told me that plus I shouldn't swim in lakes or rivers and I
shouldn't wear sandals. This doesn't really seem realistic
if I'm going to be living there for a whole year. What
should I do?
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i would strongly suggest hepatitis A vaccine. Its a series
of two shots at a price of about US$55 each. In the US it
is know as Havrix. Hepatitis A is rampant in SE Asia and is
can have very serious consequences, such as liver damage and
death. It won't protect you from food poisoning or
parasites, but those can usually be cleared up with
medicines.
KJ,
As a rule, all of the bottled water you buy in Thailand is
safe. If a river or lake looks clean, it's probably OK to
swim in. I don't think I'd swim in the Chao Phraya, but
lakes and reservoirs have been OK for me for the last 6
years. As far as the sandals go, if you're not going to wear
sandals in Asia, you'd better stay away from the rice, too!
You can wear sandals, shorts and short sleeve shirts, too.
And if you get bit by a bunch of mozzies, chances are the
worst you're gonna get is a bad nights sleep. Good luck,
have fun and if you have any more questions, feel free to
email me.
Billy Z
If you avoid the street stalls I think you might miss some
great food. If you are staying with a host family it is a
safe bet you'll be eating street stall food anyway as it is
very common for Thais to stop off at several stalls to pick
up the fixings for dinner. Don't worry. The food in
Thailand is generally safe to eat, even though the
surroundings appear to be suspect. Sure, you'll get the
very occasional case of runny bum, but you can always go to
the pharmacy and they'll sort you out.
As for footwear, comfortable and breathable is the ticket.
I personally hate the Teva style sandals, but scads of
folks swear by them.
Enjoy Thailand. The weather is great, if you like hot and
wet, the people are for the most part friendly and
attractive, and the food, to me anyways, is the best on the
planet.
is relative except the water. Drink bottled water.
Millions of people wear sandals--just get some comfortable
ones from stores in Bangkok or other big cities. Please eat
from the street vendors--it is often the very best food.
Always fresh, you can often pick the contents, and cheap.
Come to Burma
Thais are bastards and the King is a Male Whore
Who's telling you this stuff---a doctor whose never been
far away from a tour bus, his office assistant whose never
been outside your home town....You need to qurestion the
espertise of your sources and where they get their info. Do
you live in the Southern US or some remote part of a
European country or Aust---these folks sound like "yahoos".
x
Reliable info on innoucluations you can get from other
parts of this site, with links to the US Centers for
Disease Control, WHO, etc.
x
There are parts of Thailand where river flukes are
common----you can get liver cancer and other horrible
diseases from swimming in these waters. Most places like
this are in the Northeast. The local provincial public
health office can advise you about this.
x
Bottled water is available everywhere and it's what the
Thais generally drink.
x
I spent 5 years working in Thailand (3 in full-time
residence) and wore sandals everyday---I can't figure what
this is about unless it's meant to keep you safe from
tentanus--junk abounds on the street..
Don't touch the tap water. You'll get sick. The bottled water's fine. So is the water at any small cheap restaurant or stall - they all use purified water from large containers. I'd suggest street food away from cars or dusty roads. Night markets are a great way to safely try interesting new food.
Good advice above, except for whatever Kyaw is. One thing
that will save you baht in the long run is a water filter,
so you don't have yo buy water. It's a modest investment
that lets you have ample water even on a remote trek.
(the only exception involves Chillies)
and you'll be ok
5 weeks around Thailand, I tell you its the way to go.
I have recently returned from this wonderful country which
was one of the most culturally challanging experiances of my
life.
Bangkok is fantastic and very fast, you will be absorbed
within the aromas of the streets and taken in by the
hospitality of the locals.
Beware, though they are well aware of the tourist dollar and
wont assist you in making wise decisions so this is
educational to say the least.
The highlight of my trip I would always recomend is Sokathai
and lampang and then onto Chang Mai, these people who exist
within hill tribes and so resistant to western influence,
are welcoming and so willing to teach and share with you a
hole way of life.
On my home stay here the hole town came to welcome us and
sing and play their instruments for us.
The Islands of Phuket and Koh Samui are tourist driven,
locals can be over bearing and in your face.
These islands are suited to tourist that wish to be waited
on and panpered in a western way.
The tourism has rid the islands of traditional ways and
south east asian pure culture.
There is always an ambiance of relaxation and something so
special about Thailand that draws me back, and allows these
wonderful memmories to remain clear and precious.
I just want to say thanks very much for all the advice. You
have confirmed my suspicions about the advice I'd gotten so
far. It's nice to know I should be fine as long as I do as
my host family does.
Rich - I'm on the east coast of Canada and that was the
advice I got from the local travel health clinic where I got
my vaccinations. I did get the feeling that the nurse had
never left the province, let alone country, especially after
she told me that Thai men "have no use for women" and thus I
should be careful of AIDS - I'm still not sure exactly what
she was trying to get at but any way I add that up it comes
out as insulting.
.....that you were told that by people who should know
better!!! Listen to rich, he always takes the words out of
my mouth, nothing to add really except that at a push you
would probably even get away with drinking hotel tap water
if nothing else was available.
I and many people I know living there (not Thais) have done
that with no ill effects. I'm certainly not recommending
that you drink it of course, I'm only pointing out that if
you had to, you would probably get away with it! JIM.
Any water the that you will be offered by your host family
or their friends should be safe. Most families boil their
own water and store it in bottles, so I wouldnt worry about
it.
You poor travelers...
There are a few secrets hidden so well here that even the old
Bangkok or Thailand hands like Rich or Robert or even Happy
Crapper don't know.
Swim the Chao Praya if you may. Do it upriver anywhere north
of Rama 9 Bridge all the way to Ayuthya - the current is a bit
strong at times especially at the moment when the rain swells
the banks. Join the kids at any public or private landings for a
good dip. If the River of King looks too majestic with jetsam and
floatsam, go to side klongs. The best time to swim our big river
is now. Fast flowing rivers do not harbour life-threatening
water borne diseases unless you are really unlucky.
Drinking water - contrary to popular belief, our tap water is
drinkable. I wonder why the Water Works boys don't drive
home this point - maybe they feel sorry for bottled water
business which is blooming all over the country. As Jim said
above, you can drink it. As a native, I trust my tap water as
much as I trust the bottled one. How can you tell what is really
'bottled'? Most probably, it's the same tap water. If you are still
doubtful, go to the Water Work Authority on Larn Luang Road
(not too far from KS slum) and ask to see the water quality chart
which is produed every week.
Thai joke about our own drinking water is " We trust the water
but we wonder about the tap!"
Water, water everywhere. Not a drop to drink..."
Yeah, it's funny. Everyone you see drinks water from a
plastic bottle, both locals and farangs. I wonder how many
clean their teeth with bottled water or tap water? I admit
to the latter with no ill effects. But still...I don't
know. The amount of plastic bottles that end up in the
waste stream is frightening. Not to mention the energy that
is wasted lugging those heavy glass bottles of water you
see at most restaurants.
Swimming? Loads of kids swim in the khlong that runs in
front of my apartment in Chiang Mai and they don't seem to
suffer any ill effects.
Just returned from SEA and here is what I was instructed to
do by locals: 1)drink only bottled water and only if the
seal is intact 2)eat at food stalls and restaurants where
the food is prepared and cooked, not stored in a hot box
3)stay away from milk (canned sweet milk is ok, just ask for
it) 4)join the crowd, if a stall or restaurant has lots of
customers it is probably both safe and good.
If you do get the squirts, Cipro and Lomotil work well, if
you have a fever see a doctor. and don't panic..it is a
great place, the locals are as concerned as you about
health.
A couple more bits of advice...
If you still want expert opinion and can get to a large
city, one of the big university teaching hospitals should
have a travel clinic to help with stuff like this. If
you're near the US border, places like U of Wash, mayo
Clinic, and Harvard are leaders in tropical medicine and
may have particularly well informed clinics.
x
You might contact PLAN, Oxfam-Canada or other Canadian NGOs
about the preparation they give aid workers who go to
Thailand or other SE Asian countries. They will be more
realistic than your Foreign Office or Embassy as they work
in the field and may be involved in public health efforts.
They also might be able to hook you up with people posted
in Thailand. Folks like this are good sources of help
interpreting the local culture (Peace Corps and VSO fols
can help with this, too--you might see if any are around)
and provide an opportunity to hear a familiar accent, speak
in your home slang and idioms and indulge in Canadian pop
culture. As great as life overseas can be--it's nice to
have these familiar moments in your life.
i'm sure the water leaving the water works is sooooper. now
is the holding tank in the basement clean and is the roof
tank clean. see that is the problem, that's where the germs
breed that give you so much bathroom tiling inspection time.
and what about the vegetables and flies and and..... the
truth is you need to be as sensible as you can without being
daft. anyway after a couple of tile inspection sessions you
will start to build up your resistance to the particular
brand of bug in your host's water.