Portrait of India Vaccinations

sontjes

We are going on Portrait of India, January 16, 2019. We have all of the vaccinations recommended for India by the CDC except for optional ones for Cholera, Japanese Encephalitis and Rabies. Can anyone shed light on the necessity for these vaccines for Tauck travelers. We understand that these are risks that everyone has to assess for themselves, but would appreciate any guidance from those who have made or are planning to make the trip.

Sealord

I worked for Air India many years ago. I know Tauck will only take you to the nice places, but much of India is pretty rough. I made a point of not going out on the streets of Bombay (Mumbai) early in the morning for a number of reasons. I think the cholora vaccination would be a good idea, but I don’t have an opinion about the others. Do cobras get rabies?

sontjes

Sealord, thanks for your input. Based on your recommendation, we may go ahead and get the Cholera shots for India. Cobras with rabies? What would you recommend for that?

Sealord

The first time I flew to Madras (Chennai) after I parked the airplane the agent did not show up to drive me to the terminal to file a flight plan and get a weather briefing. I got tired of waiting so I walked across the ramp to the terminal, filed a flight plan, got a weather briefing, and walked back. Then the agent arrived to drive me to the terminal. I told him I had already been. He asked, “How did you get there?” I said I walked. He asked, “Didn’t the cobras bother you?” They seek a warm place at night and the aircraft parking ramp retains a lot of heat. So that’s where the cobras go at night. Yes, they have cobras in India. I don’t think it matters much if cobras get rabies. They have other issues. The next time I waited for the driver. (;-)

joycesw

We had what I perceived to be every shot known to mankind by the time we went on this trip, except cholera which was never suggested nor did it cross our minds. We had no intestional issues ( “ born again” hand-washers) except feeling overly full most of the time from eating so much wonderful food! What we did not count on beforehand was a horrible respitory thing that felled our merry band one by one! One indiscriminate cougher started the chain, and I personally ran through my supply of medications ( that I always throw in “ just in case”) pretty quickly. For me, it was not “ doctor worthy”, although, for some it was. On a positive note, when I called down for cough syrup at the Oberai in Agra, it arrived with a lovely bouquet of flowers and a get well card! And, Sealord, your experience gives this snake-phobic the willies! Fortunately, the only ones we saw were in baskets which was bad enough!

BKMD

Sealord - Ever consider writing a sequel to "Snakes on a Plane?"

Sealord

joycesw wrote:

We had what I perceived to be every shot known to mankind by the time we went on this trip, except cholera which was never suggested nor did it cross our minds. We had no intestional issues ( “ born again” hand-washers) except feeling overly full most of the time from eating so much wonderful food! What we did not count on beforehand was a horrible respitory thing that felled our merry band one by one! One indiscriminate cougher started the chain, and I personally ran through my supply of medications ( that I always throw in “ just in case”) pretty quickly. For me, it was not “ doctor worthy”, although, for some it was. On a positive note, when I called down for cough syrup at the Oberai in Agra, it arrived with a lovely bouquet of flowers and a get well card! And, Sealord, your experience gives this snake-phobic the willies! Fortunately, the only ones we saw were in baskets which was bad enough!

The wonderful Indian food, which I also like, gets that way because of the spices. And the spices are there to kill the bacteria and help preserve the food. I’m sure Tauck only uses eateries that have been checked out. But through much of India the hygiene issues are significant. Hand washing is paramount. During the year I spent working in India, the food either came in a plastic wrapper, or it came from a ‘select’ group of restaurants, all of which were in my hotel. I never had a problem. I actually never ate the food on the airplane that was catered from India. I’m sure if I was a passenger I would have eaten that food. But since I was flying the plane, the problem was ‘different’. You may or may not know that the pilots are not allowed to eat the same meal on the plane, nor at the same time. And at the airlines I worked, we were never served fish. I waited until we got new catering in Dubai or Bahrain.

No sequel to “Snakes on a Plane”. (;-)

orchidlady

Did anyone have a problem with the air quality?

James Brown

India is a great country. I already had a trip to India. it was fantastic.

MarvinF

We did this tour 2 years ago over New Year's. It is a fantastic trip. A word of caution however. India is a very dirty country.
A few people did get sick--some gastrointestinal issues from overindulging in the very spicy food when they weren't used to it. I and a few others had respiratory issues. Luckily there were doctors on the trip. I now carry inhalers on these trips--ProAir and an inhaled corticosteroid.