ONE of the most tedious things about backpacking around the less developed nations is the ease with which you can fall ill. Although you can guard against the serious, it is the mundane stomach upsets that can have the most profound effect on your enjoyment.
You may have moaned about your mother’s cooking for 18 years but, however bad it may be, it is unlikely to give you dysentery. Meals on the road, however, are likely to give you the chance to find your “inner self” in a literal way.
Before you set off there is much you can do to cut the risk of coming home with something more than a suntan. Give your doctor a list of the countries that you intend to visit and in return he will present you with a list of eye- watering injections that you should have.
They vary in pain, cost and necessity: whereas it is a condition of entry to some parts of the world to prove that you have been inoculated against yellow fever, if your budget is tight, you may decide that shelling out more than £120 for a full course of rabies jabs is not money well spent.
This, however, is prime emotional blackmail territory. A rundown of nasty diseases on offer and a sob story of how you cannot afford the jabs should see your parents cough up. You should start your jabs at least six to eight weeks before travelling.
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Make sure that you sign up for some solid travel insurance. Shop around and take a good look at the small print; excesses and maximum payouts can vary greatly between insurers. You may find it useful to check with friends who have been to similar parts of the world which insurers are least likely to leave you in the lurch.
When you are abroad, the most important thing to keep an eye on is water. If you are going to be in a hot climate, increase your intake to avoid dehydration. But beware: the cities in many developing nations may have decent sanitation systems but outside the metropolitan areas — and to be safe inside them — bottled water is a must, even for brushing your teeth.
Always check the seal to make sure that the bottle has not been refilled with tap water. Purification tablets are widely available for those who crave the taste of swimming pools. Avoid ice and purveyors of home-made ice-cream. Be wary of salads and do not eat fruit that you have not peeled yourself.
Despite all this, remember that, however careful you are, you will at some stage become ill. Short of wrapping yourself in clingfilm and living off digestive biscuits, there is no way to avoid some sort of stomach upset.
When you are stuck in some sub-continental squatter with your head on your knees, inches from the u-bend, smile: you have paid thousands of pounds for the experience.
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PATRICK FOSTER