Stego's FAQ on India travel (Health 1/1)

Subject:

General advices (some more specific for women).
Health care.
Places to see.

Date: 11 Jul 95

From: "Susan Z. Martin" <ud877@freenet.victoria.bc.ca>

... ...

GENERAL TIPS

You're probably smarter than me so the first thing I'll say is probably completely unnecessary. TAKE YOUR OWN PADLOCK AND USE IT! When my husband and I traveled to Delhi the first time we were foolish enough to lock the door with the padlock given to us by the hotel and to leave my camera and walkman in a locked suitcase in the room (and of course gave the room key back to the front desk as is the custom). My camera and walkman were stolen and the whole incident became very unpleasant (but I won't tell you about it because I realize that it is a wonderful episode for the book I am going to write for LP and if I tell you now you won't buy the book :) ).

All the dire warnings about water and food contamination are worth paying attention to. Take the medications (for malaria etc) advised by your country's travel clinic. Don't drink 'raw' water except in the best hotels. I used to drink the water in average restaurants in Rajasthan but I was there for 5 months and have a cast iron stomach anyway. It is absolutely NO FUN being ill, it can be very dangerous (people have died - not trying to scare you - just telling you the truth) and it can be very frightening especially if you are traveling by yourself and can't make anyone understand what is wrong with you. Anti-travel sickness medications (like what we call Gravol here in Canada) seem to be unknown in India so take your own - you may not consider yourself prone to travel sickness (motion sickness, seasickness, whatever) but you may find yourself suffering in a hot, stuffy bus (especially if your tummy is upset from something else). They double as a mild sedative to and can be helpful for making you drowsy on long bus or train trips (as long as you are not alone - it wouldn't be too good to be so fast asleep that people could steal your stuff).

Women's "stuff" - although various merchants in Rajasthan told me that they were going to reappear on the market when I left in April 1995 tampons were unavailable. I only ever saw one brand - OB by Johnson and Johnson and they were relatively expensive. 26 rupees (about $1.25 Canadian) for 10. There are lots of sanitary napkins but who the hell uses those anymore (98% of the women in India I guess - except for the few who use tampons and the ones that still use traditional methods like cloths). Anti-cramp type medications - never saw any but various strengths and types of painkillers are widely available without prescription.

Sunscreen - totally unknown. Take your own and wear a hat. I have gotten burned across the bridge of my nose and cheeks many times and I am very dark and hardly ever burn. It's just so easy to forget how exposed you are when you are wandering around looking at all this fascinating, new, different stuff.

Tips re: specific places in India

Delhi - interesting. People have commented to me that the poverty and squalor really disturbed them but as I have always visited Delhi after being in rural areas (which I find somehow much more distressing) it always seemed like an oasis of culture and sophistication to me. The one exception to this was when my husband and I went to Delhi in November 1994. We took the train from Udaipur and it entered Delhi through the most incredible slum we'd ever seen. The garbage was piled in mountains by the side of the tracks but what was really horrible was that people were living a few feet from these stinking, steaming piles of trash. And their children were scrambling all over the rotten garbage as if they were playing in a grassy field. But worst of all was the fact that Shyam (my husband) and I seemed to be the only people who saw it (there were only Indians on that particular train and they were completely oblivious - I swear that if you had asked them they would have denied ever seeing it).

The museum in Delhi is excellent and is air-conditioned. Take a tour of Delhi with the Municipal Transport Commission. It's cheap - about 70-100 Rs I think for a half day tour and will take you to most places worth seeing. You can still stay in Paharganj quite reasonably. Aside from the theft our hotel in Paharganj was adequate - a bit grubby but fairly clean bathroom with bucket hot water (it's cold in Delhi in the winter) and a good sized room with double bed for 150 Rs. Again - there is a lot of theft in this area so BE CAREFUL. There is some nice food to be had in Delhi but again - because I usually came to it at the end rather than the beginning of a journey - I enjoyed the change from the routine, boring Indian fare available in smaller places. And of course the chance to eat reasonable facsimile's of western food (pizza, ice cream, pastries etc.)

I wouldn't spend more than 3 or 4 days in Delhi although at the beginning of a trip it can be a good place to sort of ease into India. It's still pretty cosmopolitan but old Delhi is 'the real thing' so you can get a taste of what is coming up when you move into the less urban areas.

Agra - I enjoy Agra quite a bit. I think the Taj Mahal is vastly over-rated but Fatehpur Sikri makes it all worthwhile. Don't miss it. You can no longer see the Taj at anything times but during the day. You can pay through the nose (I think it's 100 Rs) to get in at dawn or dusk but there is no night time viewing as I hear there used to be ages ago. I haven't explored much of Agra - not any of the other things described in the Lonely Planet book besides the Red Fort, the Taj and Fatehpur Sikri. We stayed at a place called Hotel Kamal quite close to the Taj - it was okay, clean, hot water in the pipes (erratic) and double bed for 100Rs (80 Rs earlier in the year when I had been there with my mum).

Do visit Joney's Place when you are there (it's a little hole in the wall restaurant) run by Joney who is very sweet. Last time I saw him his father had just died unexpectedly and he was very sad. If you are willing/interested I'll send you a few pictures and then you could show him my picture and say "Hello" from me and he'd know who I was (although if you mention a Canadian girl with an Indian husband and who had also visited his restaurant with her mother he might remember :) ).

Agra rickshaw wallahs (bicycle rickshaw) are quite the most aggressive, persistent and annoying but the silly place is so spread out that even I, inveterate walker, broke down and used them on occasion. If you are interested in birds do a day trip to Bharatpur but ensure you don't get stranded there (as my mother and I got stranded in Fatehpur Sikri and had to pay an exorbitant price to return to Bharatpur where we were catching a train on to Pushkar for the camel fair) - in fact it might be a better idea to spend a day or two in Bharatpur. It is quiet, interesting and a change from the touristy scene of Agra.

Jaipur - a city of a million come on lines!! You'll hear it all from the 'boys' who work the tourists here. If you stay in the Jaipur Inn (which is a fine place except for rather laissez faire upkeep and tons of mosquitoes attracted by the very pretty greenery) you may even find the list I wrote and put up on the bulletin board of the 10 most popular lines used by the boys in the tourist trade. Lines like "Can I buy you tea and practice my English on you?", "How much does a weeks holiday in your country cost?", "I want to visit your country can you tell me how I get to town from the airport in your city?" Each of these lines will conclude with an effort to get you into their 'uncles' shop. You can get lots of tea and have quite a bit of fun with this if you're not easily put off or annoyed but it does get to be a nuisance. No wonder Pushie (short for Pushpak) the young owner (son of still present but less involved owner) of the Jaipur Inn doesn't allow any Indians into his guesthouse.

Besides this I think Jaipur is highly overrated. Amber Fort is nice but Chitoorgarh is better and has more atmosphere. The Hawa Mahal is - as the books all say - just a facade and not really very interesting. The City Palace Museum is good but expensive (its 25 or 35 rupees). Eating choices in Jaipur are limited but there are some good places on MI road down near the Evergreen Guesthouse that do good things. Do try mawa kachoris here. And go to the Raj Mandir for a Hindi movie. The Museum near the zoo is rather sad it is so threadbare. The zoo is quite good.

If you are up for a bit of a walk try going to Galta Ji which is a gorge in the mountains where there is a rushing fountain of water and everyone gathers to bathe. It is very picturesque - I think you might find something about it in LP otherwise just ask a rickshaw driver to take you to Galta Gate and walk on from there. It is really quite neat.

Jodhpur - I was there for a very limited amount of time but it looked interesting and I would have liked to explore more. The Umaid Bhawan Hotel is amazing. Take the tour offered by the tourist people as it will take you most places and then if you see something you'd like to explore further then go back. Try a makhania lassi in Jodhpur - delicious. When I was there (Nov 93) they were renovating the dorm in the tourist bungalow and it wasn't open - they may have finished by now (things move slowly in India). Some girls I met (Dutch? can't remember) went and stayed for a while at a place called Ossian and had a lovely time.

Khajuraho - first thing is to learn how to say it so you don't embarrass yourself. As far as I can figure out it is pronounced Ka-juh-rou (Ka like in cat, juh like in jug and rou like in round). It's been years since I was there - 1991. It is hard to get to and I hear that hasn't changed. Can you afford to fly there? Otherwise you've got to rely on an unreliable bus - this is fine as LONG AS YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ANYWHERE (for instance an onward bus, train or plane booking). Khajuraho is very interesting but it is just the temples and that is it. Fierce mosquitoes and not much of a village. Really I found it a rather pitiful little place but I haven't been there since 1991. Watching the Indians looking at the erotic sculptures out of the corner of their eyes is most amusing :)

(to be continued)

Subject:

Weather in late July.
Places to see
Avoid diseases.

From: dgupta@buphy.bu.edu (Indranil DasGupta)

Date: 25 May 95

Delhi, Agra and rajasthan are going to be very hot even in late July. Since Manali is on your map, I suggest you start there. kathmandu was a very good suggestion. And if you think Delhi and Rajasthan are too hot for you, maybe you could spend some time in Shimla (On your way back from Manali) and the Corbett National Park.

You might want to fly back from Bombay. Goa is close by, and is great in Monsoons.

Indranil.

PS: Hope you know that you are not supposed to drink the water there. July _ August is great season for hepatitis and gastro-enteritis. Either boil it or carry chlorine-tablets . If you think Pepsi is safe, I must warn you that there are plenty of fake Pepsis going around. Beer is ofcourse the safest drink. My favourite brands are Kingfisher, pinkPelican, Danzburg and Thunderboolt. Don't drink the ones that have 8% alchohol in them.

If none of the above is available drink hot tea. It's a relatively germ free bevarage.

As for food, what can I say. I'll be surprised if you can digest anything outside of the 5 star hotels. carry some anti diarrheal medicines. When in doubt, eat bananas. Bon voyage. Don't die there.

Indranil.

Subject:

Guidebooks
Iteneraries
Train
Avoiding sickness

I spent about 5 weeks in India and Nepal.

My biggest suggestion:

- Buy the book "India: A Travel Survival Kit" which is published by Lonely Planet. ( I may have the name slightly wrong). They also have an excellent one for Nepal, too. The book is entertaining and has information you won't find in other guides, like how to get local's prices for things like taxi rides ( which, in addition to saving *you* money, also saves money for the Indians because it keeps the overall price level down ).

Other Suggestions:

- Visit Nepal. Kathmandu is a lot of fun. Stay at the Vajra Hotel, it has a good location, has a very good restaurant, and is good for meeting other people. It is inexpensive-to-medium in cost, but is a better deal than cheaper places that are smaller and thus don't have the above advantages.

- Get an Indian Rail Pass (probably still called an "Indrail Pass"). The railway system in India is the most extensive in the world, and is a central part of Indian life. You can see a lot of India from the train window, and one of the best ways to meet Indian people is on the train. We still correspond with an Indian whom we met on a train there years ago. If you're lucky, you might still be able to catch a repeat of the recent showing on PBS of National Geographic's "The Great Indian Railway". Anyway, the Indrail Pass makes it all much easier. And, if things haven't changed, you can use the special "Tourist" windows at the train stations in order to get reservations (rather than standing for an hour in line -- although standing for an hour in line is a very typical Indian experience :-) ). First class is surprisingly cheap and comfortable, and if you are travelling overnight, you should probably stick with first class so that you get one of those thin bunks for the night. In second class, you will meet more average people (first class is mostly upper middle class and businessmen). Third class should be avoided, it is VERY crowded - 10 hours without a seat in a foreign land leads to getting sick....

- To avoid getting sick :-) , drink only bottled liquids or tea (you can get "chai" everywhere, a great Indian tea with spices in it - usually the guy making it has been doing only that every day for years, it's pretty good!) and eat only hot just cooked food or fruit which YOU wash and peel. When dealing with street vendors, I always had them cook a new fritter or whatever to order, the previously cooked ones may have had flies on them (and the flies may have previously landed on human faeces of someone carrying some

disease).

- I can't recommend any other specific places, etc. because you weren't specific in why you are going to India instead of London or Hawaii. Knowing that, I might be able to be yet more helpful.

PS Some of the above information might be outdated, but if you get a recent version of "India: A Travel Survival Kit" (and the Nepal one), then it will tell you the latest. I think most of the above is also in this book.

Subject:

Wheather in late July.
Avoid diseases, specially in July and August.

From: dgupta@buphy.bu.edu (Indranil DasGupta)

Date: 25 May 95

... ...

You might want to fly back from Bombay. Goa is close by, and is great in Monsoons.

Indranil.

If none of the above is available drink hot tea. It's a relatively germ free bevarage.

As for food, what can I say. I'll be surprised if you can digest anything outside of the 5 star hotels. carry some anti diarrheal medicines. When in doubt, eat bananas. Bon voyage. Don't die there.

Indranil.

Subject: Preventing diarrhea.

From: jvaidya@netcom.com (Jitendra Vaidya)

Date: 6 Jul 95

regarding diarrhea, here are my suggestions after traveling in India.

Skip the medications, unless you are taking a bus or train ride, or will be unable to get to facilities.

Most of the problem from diarrhea is from dehydration, so drink plenty of water, and here's the trick, you have to take the water as a sugar and salt solution.

You can buy a powder to add to your (purified) water at the "chemist". It is simply a mixture of sugar, potassium salt, and sodium salt (table salt). If you can't find it, sugar and plain table salt does almost as well.

This technique is called ORT, oral rehydration therapy.

Your body cannot absorb the water well unless it has salt and sugar in it. Keep drinking this stuff as long as it keeps tasting good.

If you use this, guaranteed, no cramps, very little weakness will occur from the diarrhea. One of the brand names is "Electral" or something like that.

The other thing with diarrhea is that your butt gets sore.

Consider not using toilet paper, and washing yourself the way the locals do. Fill the water pitcher with your right hand, only. Pour with your right hand and use your left to scrub a little. It is much cleaner than t.p. You kind of get a bath every time you use the toilet, and no irritation from the t.p.

Have fun.

Alicia Woodrow

Subject: Anti-malarials in India/Nepal/Thailand

From: masuk@mpx.com.au (masuk)

Date: 18 Feb 96

In article , PETER.OHMAN@expressen.se (Peter &OUMLhman) wrote:

>In article , kfactor@iafrica.com (Kevin

>Factor) wrote:

>> Can any fellow travelers tell me if the following anti -malaria drugs are

>> readily available in India, Nepal and Thailand

>> CHLOROQUINE(nivaquine;Darachlor;daramel;plasmaquine

>> PROGUANIL(paludrine)

>> If I have so set out for a years trip with the malarials recommended by

>my doc

>> I will have no place left for clothes. I would really like to take the

>minimum

>> and buy along the way. Are they expensive?

>>...

>For thailand: Very few places in Thailand are malaria-infected. And none

>of your anti-malaria drugs gives a 100 % protection. According to my doc

>(a specialist in tropical diseases) you should always question your

>malaria profylactic. CHLOROQUINE only gives a 60-70 percent protection,

>and slows the treatment down if you get infected anyway. Paludrine givs a

>lot of people bad dreams and dizzyness. I, when travelling in SE-Asia, use

>no malaria-profylactic, but long sleeved shirts at night and a mosquito

>repellant.

>...

Good advice.

However, I would add to that. Take a TREATED mosquito net. In Australia it is recommended that nets be dipped in a soloution of Pemethrin (Pyrethrum) and dried in the shade. Sunlight wrecks the solution.

Believe me, getting malaria is rotten, and also life threatening.

I was prescribed Doxycyclin for six weeks. Seems to be good, but it had one side-effect on me. It made my skin sensitive to the sun, and as I was snorkelling a lot, this sort of upset things a bit.

Cheers

Adrian

Subject: Water purification in India

From: Bill Greene

Date: 19 Feb 96

You can certainly buy bottled water, but if you'll be there for linger than a week or so, consider taking along a prtable backpacking water purifier, such as a Pur or MSR unit- they cost about $100.00 but you earn it back with a couple of weeks or use- I used one on a two month trip to India, never got sick, and felt it was well worth it.

--Bill Greene

Subject: Water purification in India

From: Andrew Ferguson

Date: 20 Feb 96

Kevin Factor wrote:

> > How many chroline tablets do I need for a month if I will be travelling around?

Why bother...see below

> Is this a ridiculous question or what? yet I still need to know

(I think so, but only 'cause I think there is a better alternative...) Have you totally discounted using a filter? There are some excellent filters on the market which are small, lightweight, and eliminate all of the pathogens you need to worry about as well as various forms of chemical pollution. Seems much more convenient to me. My personal favorites are the "PUR" brand (make three models which come to mind, basically small, medium, and large), but I'm sure other travellers will have other recommendations.

Also, check with others who have travelled where you intend to go to to see about the availability and reliability of bottled water...my s.o. and I cycled 2 months through some *very* remote parts of eastern indonesia and did not have to use our pump once...were able to buy purified water everywhere (...and more warm soda than you care to imagine...).

Also, re: medical equipment. I would strongly recommend taking at least a minimum amount of stuff...and again, find out what will be available where you are going..."minimum" being a flexible term...IMHO, at least a minimal first aid kit is an essential thing for any travelling into areas where supplies may not be available.

(related to the subject of water: don't forget some rehydrating salts!)

-Andy

=================================================================

Andrew Ferguson [andyf@leland.stanford.edu]

Department of French & Italian

* Stanford University* Stanford* CA * 94305-2010

Subject: Re: india-water purification

From: kalia@sludge.chem.nwu.edu (R. Kalia)

Date: 9 Nov 95

In article <jerb-051195190339@p23.gallium.sentex.ca>, jerb@sentex.nett says...

> >I'm going to rural India for 6 months. I am thinking of buying a

>hand-pumped water purifier. Or I might just by a stove element to boil

>everything. Anybody have suggestions?

> >As well, what kind of elements are there in India? What kind of fuel is

>used? Can it be bought cheaply?

> >Or, is there such thing as a plug-in element to be used if there is

>electricity available?

Boiling is the only guaranteed way to sterilize water. Filters remove larger particles, on the theory that most bugs stick to these particles. Not really true, but you do remove some of the bad stuff, so the water is less harmful than before. Your body always contains some germs anyway, the only thing you can do is try not to swallow more than you can keep under control. So to speak. Anyway, if sufficient electricity is available, a 208/220v large electric kettle or an immersion heater will do the job. (In cheaper hotels, you could trip the fuse.) Immersion heaters--not the little ones for use in teacups, but large ones--are easily available in India, but require an utensil; the kettle (again, not the cup-at-a-time kind, which are useless) must be bought before departure at an export appliance store.

You can also buy a kerosene stove in India and dump it before departure, but carrying the fuel around is a pain. In most hotels, you can easily get someone in the kitchen to boil water for you (you can even provide your own utensil if it makes you feel better; make sure it boils; leave a small tip). You can carry a filter system as backup, or buy bottled water (which is filtered).

Subject: Re: india-water purification

From: kalia@sludge.chem.nwu.edu (R. Kalia)

Date: 15 Nov 95

In article <48bqfs$m5m@larry.rice.edu>, riddle@rice.edu says...

> >We were also under the influence of my Indian-born wife's family, who

>included several physicians who felt they knew something about which

>water supplies could be trusted and which could not.

A mistake to trust local advice, doctors or otherwise. A bit like telling someone who's never had a sip of alcohol that "Oh, one drink won't affect you at all". Of course, it will, sometimes severely (I am thinking in particular of Indians I know who arrived in the US with no experience of alcohol)..

>On the road we would ask waiters in reputable restaurants to fill our

>liter backpacking bottles with boiling water from the kitchen. No

>doubt sometimes we merely got hot water rather than properly boiled

>water.

That's the problem. It's best if you can see for yourself, but not always possible. Being brazen about it and insisting (politely but firmly) to go into the kitchen and watch is not considered rude---Indians will do it when necessary--- although of course everyone at the restaurant may be polite and helpful and say "No problem, don't trouble yourself" etc.

>No doubt on occasion we also got some germs in our food, which

>is much harder to avoid.

Yes, indeed. But it's worth staying somewhere between the extremes of eating everything and being completely paranoid. There is no clear distinction between clean and dirty food; all food (even in the West---look at how food is handled in delis and restaurants) has some bugs, and your body has large populations living in it. Normally your body has the upper hand, but it can start losing its dominance over the bugs if you swallow a few more than usual, or if you are tired from travel and the bugs already in your body start to assert themselves. So it helps to (a) stay generally healthy and not too exhausted---this is extremely important but not generally realized; and (b) try to reduce your germ intake whenever reasonably possible, but never worry about totally eliminating it since it's impossible.

A lot of people claim to know exactly which meal made them sick. They are fooling themselves; it may have sent them over the edge, but the illness is a cumulative result of many factors. Someone else will eat the same food and not feel a thing.

Subject: Attention to salt deficiency.

From: sven.berglund@nts.mh.se (Sven Berglund)

Date: 9 Apr 96

interhes@worldaccess.nl (M.W.M. Hesseling) wrote:

>I'm planning to discover India by bike. I would like to leave mid june

>and stay in India for around a month.

Anyone planning physically demanding activity in hot, humid conditions is seriously setting himself up for salt deficiency: it has happened to me a couple of times both in India and in Africa. It is extremely unpleasant, one may not recognize it for what it is, and it is quite possible to die of it. In addition, someone travelling by bike is not likely to be near a hospital, and even if you are, the staff may not recognize it: locals do not normally behave in ways that put them at risk. So whatever you do, bring salt tablets, and do take a couple as a matter of routine whenever you are sweating heavily and drinking a lot of water.

Have a nice trip!

Sven Berglund

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