Never, Ever, EVER Walk Away from Your Drink!
And Leave It Unguarded!
The Perils of Pauline!
Pauline was always a damsel in distress. She was infamous for getting herself into all sorts of trouble. But it’s not only Pauline; it’s many travelers equally as well.
Who among us has not witnessed a girl (or woman) getting up from her table or barstool to go to the restroom, glibly abandoning her drink to anyone and everyone to be potentially tempted to do the dastardly deed as ‘slipping her a mickey‘ (dropping something untoward in her drink), i.e., something as evil as like a date rape drug or God only knows what other incapacitating substance!
Has it every really happened? You betcha! Such goings on have often been reported to have happened to travelers to Mexico, for instance. And it’s certainly not limited to there; it happens at home; it happens everywhere.
Rule #1 (Is strictly common sense): Never, ever, EVER leave a drink unguarded even for a moment!
Pschitt Definitely Happens!
Remember when (some of us) would drink the official American drink, namely, Coca Cola, to ‘cure’ an upset stomach in India or Morocco, or wherever? Seems to have worked. But, let’s face it, you never know what you’re gonna get when you take a drink.
Geez, you can’t just drink any ole ‘Pschitt’ wherever you go and be oblivious to the possible consequences. They say, “You are what you drink,” (and you are what you eat), and there’s an awful lot of truth to that!
Rule #2: For God’s sake, KNOW what you are drinking!
Bottled Water
A corollary to this is that you get what you drink! Just never simply take a chance and drink that bottle water UNTIL YOU CHECK THAT THE CAP IS SEALED!
Bottled water is touted as the be all, end all for drinking water overseas.
They say that bottled water is as pure as a newborn baby. Maybe so. But they also say, “Hey, that’s nothing more than tap water!” Can you be sure you can trust third-world bottled water? Hell, you never know if it is just tap water, but the chances are these days that you can pretty much count on it being purified, with this one caveat, however.
All too often people simply will drink the bottled water without first checking that the bottle is COMPLETELY SEALED!
Rule #3: Make absolutely certain that the cap is firmly SEALED to begin with!
Shower Water
And, finally, here’s another thought about drinking the water. Well, I don’t suppose you think of shower water as something that you strictly drink, do you? But here’s something I’ll bet very few people really think very much about.
When you take a shower, water enters you just about everywhere–EVERY orifice: your eyes, your nose, your ears, your mouth, your skin . . . It can be tantamount to taking a drink. And, let’s face it: it only takes but ONE vermin to give you “Dehli belly,” doesn’t it?
Rule #4: Be aware that shower water in third-world countries CAN do you in!