Vacationing with Wegeners

[Jaha]

Carrie,
I'm glad that you are going to take a vacation. Have a great time on the beach and at the wedding. I have no advice so go with the pros. Wishing you all the best!

[Debbie C]

I know something about this... My home is in Washington state, but I'm in the UK right now. I have been here for a month. This is my 2nd trip to the UK in the last 6 months. In the last 2 years, I have been to the Virgin Islands, Cancun, Hawaii twice, Alaska, and in Dec, I'm going to Tahiti.

I am SO jealous of you....I want to travel the way I used to but that was when I worked for the airlines and it was cheap or free ! If you have never been to Tahiti you will love it. I stayed on Papaitee ( sp ?) its about 1/2 ferry ride from Tahiti. But it is like heaven on earth there. It's like you can almost touch the sky. I know you will love it.
There is one thing I heard on "The Drs" tv show that it is good......... turn the air vent over your head away from you...that way airbounre germs ( like sneezing ) will be blown away from you.
Safe travels to all of you...wish I was there !!!!!!!!

[vdub]

We will be in papetee 2 nights and then board a ship for a 10 day cruise to the other 6 islands.

My wife wants to go to Guam, new Zealand, and Australia this spring, but I think well stay home so I can work on my MGA.

[mishb]

Nothing really to be scared about with travelling.
Main thing is to never ever drink the water. The only safe water is what you have been brought up with. Anything else, your stomach probably can't handle.
This also means ice in drinks.
I travelled in a group of 10 to the USA. I used a mask on the plane and the rest of the group didn't - guess who got sick ......not me
If you don't like the thought of using a mask, I also get away with using a scarf around my mouth and nose. This is also something I do everyday when I travel on our trains.

We did take all precautionary medications/measures with us.
Something for diarrhea, something for constipation, headaches, joint pain, cuts, sprains - the works.

Also get a note from your doctor which states what medical conditions you have and what medications you take.

Most of all, go and have a fantastic time.

[vdub]

Main thing is to never ever drink the water.

I have to disagree with that. It might be true for some parts of the world, particularly the orient, Africa, India, and Mexico, but that certainly isn't the case with most of the western world. The water is just fine for US, UK, Canada, the Carribean, Europe, NZ, Oz, Japan, etc. I've been to all those countries many times over and there simply isn't a problem. I haven't been to S. Africa, but I suspect it is just fine, too.

That's not to say you can't get sick or won't get sick, but your odds are no higher than they would be in Auckland or Wellington. It is particularly true if you stay in tourist hotels. If there is a problem with the water, it will usually be marked as "not potable" -- in which case you switch to wine or beer. :-)

If there's a chance the water could be bad, then you can tell immediately by simply looking around at the general cleanliness of the country as a whole.