food? potassium permanganate?

wonderwomanusa

Yes, it's very well thought out BUT.... if your train is delayed, you will miss the meal stops, which is why you should always carry some snacks with you.

I usually get a few hard-boiled eggs, fruit, biscuits .. whatever looks good... plus a couple of bottles of water.

Zeppy

This brings me to a question I've always wondered about. It's all very well to avoid tap water, ice cubes, etc.(the standard caveats), but can't unboiled tap water be in just about anything? I put tap water in my coffee if too strong, water in my gravy if too thick, water in my rice if it sticks, water in my oatmeal if too thick, and so forth and so on. In some cases this water boils up again, but seeing to it that it boils is not something I pay a lot of attention to. Tap water is many things: frostings, gelatines... If I add tap water here and there when I cook, doesn't the next cook do that too? Aren't dishes washed in tap water? It seems impossible to avoid untreated water entirely.

machadinha

That sums it up rather neatly. Some people drive themselves nuts avoiding freshly rinsed plates etc. On the other extreme I have good friends who drink the local water as I already mentioned somewhere because they feel it ups their resistance, a thought I don't subscribe to but they certainly survived.

I tend to take the middle road and just be (a little, you don't wanna worry all the time) sensible about what you do. Worked for me so far, in other countries too (knock on wood).

I don't know if it was on this thread or another but like I said there are many who will tell you to avoid any street stalls etc., my take on it is that it takes away half of the fun however. I'm a sucker for little quaint snackies and whatever and it's very much a part of the experience to me. Moreover we could start a separate restaurant thread where no one will agree with each other but I'll generally settle for a cheap but delicious meal with the locals over some uninspiring but nonetheless overpriced and snotty place any day.

This is, of course, all a matter of personal taste.

ps Apart from this going for fresh and preferably warm stuff is a good advice, meaning that any water in it will likewise have been boiled. Well theoretically anyway. Perhaps. Maybe

and pps Taking care with lassies, milk and fruit juices and the likes (ice cream!) is sound advice however, I'm not criticizing anyone over this. Street ice cream can easily be molten and refrozen again, you wouldn't want this at home. Just use common sense. My best lassies were at a popular street vendor's in Paharganj (Delhi) however and my were they good!

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machadinha

and nb Simple things for instance like shaking off any water off that freshly rinsed plate or banana leaf or wiping with your own shirt (note comment on the dreaded towel on this or other thread) will certainly not do you any harm. Drinking chai (tea) you can ask the wallah (vendor) to shake out the water from the cup before pouring for instance. Etc.

Nick-H

Spot on Zeppy!

It is impossible to avoid completely. If we get that paranoid it would take all the fun out of being here.

Just take all the care that one can reasonably take, the rest has to be left to luck and our immune systems.

And, as someone commented before about food, there is a difference between ingesting a few bacteria, eg in a few drops of water, and drinking a whole mug-full of them.

Take all reasonable care, and don't worry

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