Question for the well traveled: Where did the food make you sickest?

[Anonymous]

Kenya.....it was brutal.

[Anonymous]

Mexico.

Oooff. I was so sick.

[Anonymous]

Kenya

[Anonymous]

Concepts around hygiene are different in India. Very different. And with a billion+ people, germs can move around very quickly.

[Anonymous]

London. Worst food poisoning of my life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:London. Worst food poisoning of my life.

Should mention I've been to India three times and China twice, as well as traveled extensively in SE Asia, Central America, and Europe and have always been completely fine until I had smoked salmon in London. Ugh.

That being said, My (now) husband got terrible food poisoning in Nepal from undercooked chicken, and now he orders beef medium well :/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is India worse than other third world places?

B/c people on DCUM love to bash India. I am not Indian but I have been there 6 times for work.
I have never gotten sick. The first time I was super careful. Now I brush my teeth with tap water and still have never had an issue.
Stay in a nice hotel. Eat in reputable places and you will be OK. it is a beautiful country that gets such a bad rap on this site.

[Anonymous]

I have been to India several times, both for work and pleasure. I have never gotten sick but I did take precautions - never ate street food, always had antibacterial wipe, never ate food left out in the open such as dishes of nuts in the hotel bars. Never ate fruits or anything raw. Always drank bottled water, including for brushing teeth.

But I know plenty of people, including on the trips with me, who got very sick from food in India. It's not a question of wanting to specifically bash India - people do get food poisoning very often in India. Even the Indians will tell you they get it every now and then.

And India is still a complicated country. I loved my trips to India and saw many wonderful things but the poverty and chaos and indifferent standards are still hard to take. I can easily see why people would be troubled by India. It's not just the poverty but the lack of concern or indifference towards safety you see all around you. A perfect example is watching a seven year old child fix the motor in a car, which is certainly interesting, until you realize the motor is running. Or watching people brush their teeth in the filthy lake waters and a dozen feet away other people are squatting in the streets and relieving themselves. That's India, just as much as the palaces and forts and modern skyscrapers of Mumbai.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is India worse than other third world places?

B/c people on DCUM love to bash India. I am not Indian but I have been there 6 times for work.
I have never gotten sick. The first time I was super careful. Now I brush my teeth with tap water and still have never had an issue.
Stay in a nice hotel. Eat in reputable places and you will be OK. it is a beautiful country that gets such a bad rap on this site.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Concepts around hygiene are different in India. Very different. And with a billion+ people, germs can move around very quickly.

Last time I was there they had billboards up about hygiene and germs. I specifically remember one about potty training/handling diaper/cleaning a toilet and then washing your hands. Trying to get that engrained in with the masses I guess. From what I saw on many streets, that is the least of their worries. No running water, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been to India several times, both for work and pleasure. I have never gotten sick but I did take precautions - never ate street food, always had antibacterial wipe, never ate food left out in the open such as dishes of nuts in the hotel bars. Never ate fruits or anything raw. Always drank bottled water, including for brushing teeth.

But I know plenty of people, including on the trips with me, who got very sick from food in India. It's not a question of wanting to specifically bash India - people do get food poisoning very often in India. Even the Indians will tell you they get it every now and then.

And India is still a complicated country. I loved my trips to India and saw many wonderful things but the poverty and chaos and indifferent standards are still hard to take. I can easily see why people would be troubled by India. It's not just the poverty but the lack of concern or indifference towards safety you see all around you. A perfect example is watching a seven year old child fix the motor in a car, which is certainly interesting, until you realize the motor is running. Or watching people brush their teeth in the filthy lake waters and a dozen feet away other people are squatting in the streets and relieving themselves. That's India, just as much as the palaces and forts and modern skyscrapers of Mumbai.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is India worse than other third world places?

B/c people on DCUM love to bash India. I am not Indian but I have been there 6 times for work.
I have never gotten sick. The first time I was super careful. Now I brush my teeth with tap water and still have never had an issue.
Stay in a nice hotel. Eat in reputable places and you will be OK. it is a beautiful country that gets such a bad rap on this site.

+1 to the top post. India is complicated, scary, incredible. You feel completely alive when you're there but for so many reason- some very sad. It's a tough place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is India worse than other third world places?

They'd be bashing Bangladesh if they had any business in there. I'm surprised so many people have had to go to India. Wouldn't pay me to go there, not that I'm bashing India. so many things wrong with the place, hygiene is the least bothersome thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is India worse than other third world places?

They'd be bashing Bangladesh if they had any business in there. I'm surprised so many people have had to go to India. Wouldn't pay me to go there, not that I'm bashing India. so many things wrong with the place, hygiene is the least bothersome thing.

We travel there to meet with the offshore teams we hire for our company. Many large corporations have teams in India...cheaper labor pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is India worse than other third world places?

B/c people on DCUM love to bash India. I am not Indian but I have been there 6 times for work.
I have never gotten sick. The first time I was super careful. Now I brush my teeth with tap water and still have never had an issue.
Stay in a nice hotel. Eat in reputable places and you will be OK. it is a beautiful country that gets such a bad rap on this site.

So objectively saying that India is where you got the most sick is "bashing" the country?

You have an odd way of looking at the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been to India several times, both for work and pleasure. I have never gotten sick but I did take precautions - never ate street food, always had antibacterial wipe, never ate food left out in the open such as dishes of nuts in the hotel bars. Never ate fruits or anything raw. Always drank bottled water, including for brushing teeth.

But I know plenty of people, including on the trips with me, who got very sick from food in India. It's not a question of wanting to specifically bash India - people do get food poisoning very often in India. Even the Indians will tell you they get it every now and then.

And India is still a complicated country. I loved my trips to India and saw many wonderful things but the poverty and chaos and indifferent standards are still hard to take. I can easily see why people would be troubled by India. It's not just the poverty but the lack of concern or indifference towards safety you see all around you. A perfect example is watching a seven year old child fix the motor in a car, which is certainly interesting, until you realize the motor is running. Or watching people brush their teeth in the filthy lake waters and a dozen feet away other people are squatting in the streets and relieving themselves. That's India, just as much as the palaces and forts and modern skyscrapers of Mumbai.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is India worse than other third world places?

B/c people on DCUM love to bash India. I am not Indian but I have been there 6 times for work.
I have never gotten sick. The first time I was super careful. Now I brush my teeth with tap water and still have never had an issue.
Stay in a nice hotel. Eat in reputable places and you will be OK. it is a beautiful country that gets such a bad rap on this site.

+1 to the top post. India is complicated, scary, incredible. You feel completely alive when you're there but for so many reason- some very sad. It's a tough place.

+2 to the top post, well said. India is a very complicated place and truly a shock to the senses in a lot of ways.

[Anonymous]

Tibet