A few general Questions for those who have done the tour...
Thanks in advance for any info you can provide. We're heading to India/Nepal! A few quick questions:
Did you use more Rupees or USD? For example at Bizarres or when making purchases, did you exchange money and use local currency?
Did you bring extra $1 for the kids? I heard, that the children will recite the US Presidents or States/Capitals for USD? Did you encounter this and if so, would you advise against it or encourage it? I co-worker said they will swarm you if you even give a hint of giving something away.
I plan on bringing non-conforming clothes, even for yoga...some dresses are sleeveless due to the weather, but using a scarf almost all the time to cover shoulders. Any other tips?
Rumor has it, mosquitoes are at record high this year. Did anyone else encounter this?
Finally, the thought of not having any "fresh" food for almost three weeks is ugh...I know even in Africa, at some resorts we were told the lettuce or fresh veggies were ok to eat. Did you find this at any resorts in India? Or did you stick to the peel it, cook it or toss it rule?
Appreciate your tips!
Comments
We did this tour in Feb/March 2017. Things may have changed a bit but they are probably essentially the same.
We did exchange some USD for Rupees for incidentals, tips, Tuk-Tuk cabs etc. We usually get cash at an ATM at the airport but we arrived in the middle of the night and it was hectic. We decided to get cash at an ATM the next day in Delhi. At the time I believe there was some issue with smaller bills in India. The next day it took us several attempts at various ATM’s to find any that had cash. Also, as soon as we left the hotel grounds, we were approached by many “locals” who offered to help us. We were followed by a few of these “helpful locals” for quite a while. As light skinned westerners we stuck out like sore thumbs. Although I never felt physically threatened it was a bit disconcerting to be followed around.
The only time we encountered mosquitos was when the bus we were on from Agra when we stopped at a rest stop. Other than that, we did not encounter any mosquitos.
As far as the food…all the hotels and restaurants that Tauck will take you too are pretty safe as far as the food. We were told to just drink bottled water and even brush our teeth with bottled water. We were also told it is also a good idea to keep your mouth closed when taking a shower. That being said, there were about three quarters of our group, myself included, who at some point during the tour who had stomach issues or Delhi Belly of varying degrees
There was an issue with ATM’s on our tour, when people tried them most did not work.
I can’t recall how many had stomach issues except that our Tour Director did and had to go and get an IV and left us with the local guide, or maybe it was the driver, again I can’t recall, in charge one morning. The tour director stresses that if you get the diarrhea, you should let them know immediately and get you treated before it becomes a real problem.
Never give money to anyone begging, don’t even make eye contact with them. Tauck pays people to keep the beggars at bay in some places.
Just a tip on Delhi Belly…..I was reading that if you take colostrum before each meal, it prevents problems with digestion. Has anyone ever tried that?? Having had issues in Egypt, Laos, and on the plane home from Madrid, and then also on the plane home from Turkey…….I think I am prone to this stuff. I’m going to try the colostrum during my next trip. Also, I always pack some type of antibiotic as many times the stomach issues are E. coli. Unfortunately it has become part of travel to certain areas…..but I refuse to let it stop me.
Marla, Colostrum, do you know what colostrum is? Personally, I haven’t produced any for forty years.
Actually, Indian mothers typically don’t feed their newborn colostrum, it’s seen as being dirty. So maybe it’s available in India,
The tour directors strongly discourage any self treatment before seeking local help in India.
Here is what the Mayo Clinic says about treatment for E. coli including that antibiotic don’t work for it.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/e-coli/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20372064
Is it possible the atm’s took colostrum?
My experience with colostrum was on the farm. When a dairy cow gave birth, the first "milk" was actually colostrum for the calf. I don't remember how long we had to wait until we could start milking again. Colostrum was important for the calf, to provide antibodies from the mother.
That was a lot of years ago so I may be off a bit.
I had no idea you could purchase colostrum at a pharmacy.
When I got my Delhi Belly we were on the Nepal part of the tour in Katmandu. A woman in our group had it quite bad and had the hotel call for a Doctor. Since the Doctor was already in the hotel I had him visit our room. I had Pepto Bismal and a prescribed Z-Pak that we had, and I could have self treated. The Doctor gave me another antibiotic, some anti-nausea pills and some other vitamins. All this was less than $50 USD. It wasn’t even enough for me to bother filing an insurance claim.
The Doctor had his medical training in the UK so he was familiar with our weak western stomachs. He said it was fairly common for us tourists to get this.
Thanks British, for the education on e.coli and it’s treatment. I think it can be common on any buffet or if a food handler passes it along? Hard to totally avoid any of these bugs when traveling. And always good to only use bottled water and no ice anywhere other than home! And yes, I do know what colostrum is, produced from cows.
Hi Marla, my comment was about humans, we produce colostrum which is why I thought wow, it must be expensive if you can even get it as it is produced in extremely small amounts for just a few days. The prem baby units would likely be scrambling for it too. So sorry you are so prone to stomach issues, I assume you read that if you take regular meds for gastric reflux you can be more prone to things like Delhi bellly. If that. Is you, it might be good to talk to your doctor for advice.
British, I do take a proton pump inhibitor for reflux and that could be a large part of it. I have a trip planned for the Taj, a day tour of Delhi and then a week in safari camps for next year. I have insurance…and plan to speak with my doc way ahead!