Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
General precautions
The average traveller to Laos has little to worry about as long as they use common sense and
exercise a few precautions. The changes in climate and diet experienced during travel collab-
orate to lower your resistance, so you need to take special care to maintain a healthy intake of
food and water and to try to minimize the effects of heat and humidity on the body. Excessive
alcohol consumption should be avoided, as the dehydrating effects of alcohol are amplified
by the heat and humidity.
Good
personalhygiene
is essential; hands should be washed before eating, especially given
that much of the Lao cuisine is traditionally eaten with the hands. Cuts or scratches, no matter
how minor, can become infected very easily and should be thoroughly cleaned, disinfected
and bandaged to keep dirt out.
Most health problems experienced by travellers are a direct result of something they've
eaten. Avoid eating uncooked vegetables and fruits that cannot be peeled. Dishes containing
raw meat or fish are considered a delicacy in Laos but people who eat them risk ingesting
worms and other parasites. Cooked food that has been sitting out for an undetermined period
should be treated with suspicion.
WHAT ABOUT THE WATER?
The simple rule while travelling in Laos is not to drink river or tap water. Contaminated
water is a major cause of sickness owing to the presence of pathogenic organisms: bacteria,
viruses and microscopic giardia cysts. These micro-organisms cause diseases such as
diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, typhoid, cholera, dysentery, polio, hepatitis A, giardia and bil-
harzia, and can be present even when water looks clean.
Safe
bottledwater
is available almost anywhere, though when buying, check that the seal
is unbroken as bottles are occasionally refilled from the tap. More often than not, when
checking into a private room, you'll be provided with a bottle of water free of charge. Water
purifying tablets, carried with you from home, are an environmentally friendly alternative
as they help to reduce the number of plastic bottles left behind after your travels.
Chinese
tea
made from boiled water is generally safe, but travellers should shun
ice
that
doesn't look factory-made. Some of the fanciest hotels have filtration systems that make
tap water safe enough to clean your teeth with, but as a general rule, you're best off using
purified or bottled water.
Stomach trouble and viruses
Most travellers experience some form of
stomach trouble
during their visit to Laos, simply
because their digestive system needs time to adapt to the local germs. To deal with travellers'
