Travel is not all about seeing new places, eating interesting foods and meeting new people. As with all the good things in life, it also comes with the bad things in life. Stomach bugs.
I had previously written about how I discovered seasickness on my travels and the time I got eaten alive by mosquitoes in the Alps. Here, I want to take you on the wild adventures of stomach bugs.
Those of us with sensitive stomachs, travel prep is a mixed bag of excitement and also some thoughts of “here we go again”. It’s the fear of having to move towns or cities whilst ill, being stuck on public transport or simply finding yourself in a foreign country and knowing that it’s going to be harder to seek help or medication.
Let’s start off with the tale of Delhi belly. I was a young lass when I went to India (in my early 20s). Delhi belly is a thing for a reason. Although this bug didn’t affect me when I was physically in Delhi, a few days later on our trip around cities in Northern India, it hit. The only thing I could eat was plain rice and luckily there was plenty. Fortunately, my stomach wasn’t agreeable right after I ate so toilet adventures were not had. The bug passed in a few days and there were no other symptoms and I was back on the curry for breakfast train again. With all the delicious food available, you don’t want to have too many days off.
Amber Fort In Jaipur
Next trip, I blame the 3 flights in 24 hours to get me to Prague. I really think it’s something to do with the air travel that gets me sick immediately once I reach my destination. I was on my first grocery shop only a few hundred metres from my airbnb and wasn’t feeling so good. I made it a quick trip and ate the blueberries I had gotten once I got back to my room. And those blueberries came right back up again. Luckily, I was in my room so went to bed and slept it off. Did not get sick again for the entire trip. Weird!
John Lennon Wall in Prague
Another ‘just got off the plane’ sickness. I’d landed in Mexico City and aside from jetlag, was ready for my first tacos. The next morning, I was eating a banana in the hotel room when I started to feel alittle off. The banana didn’t stay in my stomach for long. The most painful part was that I had already booked tickets to the Frida Kahlo museum later that day. These tickets need to be booked weeks in advance so there was no way, I was letting this pass. Morning activities were cancelled whilst I slept some more. By afternoon, I had some strength and travelled on the metro and walked stopping to catch my breath and potentially throw up on some gorgeous street trees. I made it, without fertilising any trees along the way and got to enjoy the museum and gardens with some resting in between. I was fine the next day (bizarre!).
First tacos in Mexico City
Have you had your fair share of stomach bugs on any of your trips?
Lingo in Transit 
Leave a comment