+1. No one warned me and I had a rash for hours after. |
Even in Japan there are places where I've used hole in the floor toilets! Japan has the most advanced toilets I've ever encountered - and some of the worst. I feel like you just need to be prepared everywhere that the toilets might be weird, and there might not be anyplace to really wash your hands. In India, I started carrying tiny soaps with me everywhere and leaving them places in a passive aggressive hope that other people would use them, too. (That said I never got sick eating in India, and I ate all kinds of places - I LOVED the food in India. As a vegetarian, it was a top of the world experience getting to eat so many delicious things, so many places.) |
I appreciate this warning, but why only in certain regions? Doesn’t all tropical fish come from the region regardless of where you eat it? Snapper eaten in dc is not caught locally, no? CDC says never eat barracuda anywhere so i will keep in mind. It is hard when fish is very very often mislabeled in restaurants and even groceries. |
I had no idea you couldn’t flush toilet paper in some places. Wish my husband had warned me before I stayed at my ILs! Also that they didn’t have hot water. |
Especially something like “sea bass” - there are a lot of fish out there with that name, ranging from Mediterranean seabass that in the US is usually called branzino (but will be called seabass in Europe), to black bass, Chilean seabass, and so many more. |
So it is not safe to eat Branzino or sea bass?
In an expensive US restaurant? |
Yes branzino, anywhere, is totally fine! It is a Mediterranean fish not a reef fish. I was just responding to the original person who mentioned “sea bass” as one to avoid, and I was explaining that many many fish have that name and most are NOT reef fish. |
It’s called Ciguatera. The fish you have to avoid is barracuda and moray eel that live around reefs. This is because large, predatory fish that live near reefs, like barracudas, have a greater chance of passing along ciguatera fish poisoning. As its name implies, the poisoning is caused by a substance called ciuatoxin. Though ciguatera fish poisoning can stir up a highly uncomfortable spectrum of symptoms, it's rarely fatal.
These fish are not in the markets because people will not eat them. Some locals will eat these fish but they are not selling them to tourist or restaurants. The people who get sick go fishing, keep the fish(locals, your boat captain or guide will tell you no) and the fish is big. There are places where you can eat barracuda with no problems. Generally the fish are barracuda, amberjack, moray eel, and certain types of grouper. |
Np I thought sea bass was considered fish bot to eaten due to overfishing? |
How precisely do you avoid this? Many restaurants (purposely) mislabel fish they serve. Just avoid fish altogether? |
Deep water fish are fine. River fish fine. Mediterranean fish fine. Shark, salmon, sardines, tuna, swordfish, etc. all fine. |
I can’t believe so many of you travel to hellholes where you can’t open your mouth in the shower or drink anything with ice cubes or you’ll suffer great bodily harm. Good grief, go enjoy the Florida Keys or Santa Barbara, California or Newport or Maine in the summer. |
Not saying those places aren’t stunningly gorgeous places you’ll remember the rest of your life, but you’re missing out on a lot of culture, history, and natural beauty just because you can’t close your mouth in the shower. |
People are different. Madrid is my favorite city in the world and could easily spend weeks there on vacation. |
Yep. Madrid was the most soulless city I've ever been to in Europe. A lot of it reminds me of Midtown Manhattan. |