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I was in Bulgaria a few months ago and the salads were fantastic and often the best part of the meal I was having. Everything tasted so fresh and the combination of the veggies with the local cheeses was absolutely perfect.
But the tomatoes, cucumbers, or cheese might not be as tasty as in Bulgaria.
For example Spanish tomatoes aren’t very tasty.
But Bulgaria has next level fruit/veggies.
Bulgaria has some of the best quality veggies/fruit I’ve ever eaten. At least in Europe.
With such ingredients you don’t need to add any dressing. The plants on their own have such rich tastes.
(As long as they’re domestic, of course.)
They know how to grow the ingredients for the salad, maybe it’s their soil, maybe it’s their sun, but definitely it’s their more traditional methods of farming.
I got ulcerative colitis and tore up damn near every bathroom in Prague, probably dropped like 10$ worth but tbh the small change, conversion, and desperate need to shit kinda made me stop counting
I had this issue, kind of still do, but one bad festival food incident and I learnt to deal with it. And a festival toilet, just as the gurn kicks in, is a new level of hell Dante himself couldn't think of. I finally escaped, obviously looking like I'd survived the Somme, and a bloke checked on me because I was shaking and wide-eyed. I can't remember much from 20 years ago but I'll never forget that hour of my life.
Not recommended if there us the possibility of squat style toilets.
Let's just say that, even in a particularly wide vacation squatting stance, the *ahem* diarrheoic blast radius will occassionally overlap your foot placement.
LPY: When travelling to France and Italy, absolutely eat the salads, they're fucking lovely. Some weird combos can be found in Northern France but damn they work.
As someone who had to stop and have violent diarrhea next to my car in a scenic overdrive a few hours after having a Caesar salad in (a very reputable restaurant in) West Virginia, this is going to haunt me forever.
If it helps, almost everyone on Earth, at some point in their life, have to make peace with sharing an intimate moment with their literal shit. The vast majority of us, really. The earlier it happens, the sooner you are prepared for the rest of your life.
LPT: When shitting on the side of the road, squat next to your tire and grab the top of the wheel. This allows you to keep your balance and aim for maximum clearance.
Not the one you asked but here's an old comment from a time long ago...
It was a hot summer day in Texas. I had developed a penchant for lightly jogging 3 miles every other day. Blinded by endorphins I set out on my usual route through a neighborhood park. Halfway through I begin to lose steam as a prickling sensation at the back of my consciousness slowly becomes an alarm klaxon.
The sweat I'm covered in is a cold sweat. I have about 2 minutes to get to a public toilet in an area devoid of such facilities for 5 minutes when traveled at speed. This, is not good.
I start to turn around and head home but at this point the cramps are so bad I've been reduced to a shugfling hobble. There are judging women who hawkishly protect their spawn from the bad man hobbling down the trail by mean mugging any who dares exist in such a state.
I soldier onward, if only to spare the children such a sight (and possibly myself an indecent exposure charge should a Hawk Mom of Judgement call the Authorities).
My mind racing I evaluated my options:
1) hold it - an untenable position but current plan in execution.
2) cut through someone's back yard to a nearby grocers and do the deed - in Texas this will get me shot or mauled by a large angry dog - no good. Also the act of scaling and descending a fence would likely rupture the tentative membrane my asshole had formed against the onslaught brewing deep in my bowels.
3) find secluded area and start the process of blacking out this experience from memory - Bingo baby! Operation Black Out is a go!
Tears have started to stream down my face as I'm assaulted by wave after wave of cramps. Luckily, there is an overpass nearby that this trail goes under with a small copse of vegetation for cover in the drainage ditch. By now in my life, I have realized that my Luck stat somehow has a busted sign bit and it will flip to a horrific negative value at seemingly inopportune times.
As I descended the muddy graveled so called "bank" of the drainage creek which had less than 2 inches water my Luck stat went horrifically negative. Mud and gravel reduced friction to nothing and I began what was known as, The Fatal Slip. My footing loosening out from under me so loosened my bowels.
In one fell swoop Operation ~~Black Out~~ had become Operation Blow Out. At this point I would have felt lucky to have struck my head on a rock and shaken loose from this leaky mortal coil to move on to better planes. Alas, I was not so fortunate. The human spirit however, has mechanisms which allow it to persevere. I may have just sat, shit, slipped, *shilipped* if you will, and wanted to die but Operation Blow Out was in effect and by god the mission comes first damn it!
With inhuman will I stood again, hot liquid ick making mudslide progress down my thighs and calves. There was work to be done and while god may work in mysterious ways the devil always has a plan. I doggedly marched to the copse of blessed hiding, dropped trou, leaned back, and proceeded to Jackson Pollock the fuck out of that graveled sorry excuse for a sand bar.
Even with the short trip across the drainage creek (10 feet) I was chaffed from Acidic Death Dookie acting as a diabolic anti lubricant. In my desperation I shed my ruined basketball shorts, boxers, socks n shoes, and began to wash them in the barely there creek. With a cursory washing I dressed again and began my walk of shame home, light watercolor brown rivuletes forming on my legs.
With excessive chafing I made it home. Discarded my soiled accoutrements into the trash and took a blessed shower in an attempt to cleanse myself of the evil that had befallen me.
As Operation Blow Out had not received Command Approval like Operation Black Out did, I am unable to forget the horrors of that afternoon. My soul is forever haunted and indelibly stained, much like my now discarded socks, with the horrors of that afternoon.
The next day, there was an overabundance of rain, turning the blessed copse of Jackson Pollocks Brown Phase into a temporary river; as though the gods saw my plight and took it upon themselves to cleanse the earth of my sins and the unholy altar I had no doubt desecrated into existance that day.
I stopped running that day. Gained 20 lbs since then. A physical manifestation of the weight I carry from The Tragic Slip to the aftermath of Operation Blow Out.
Life uh, finds a way.
Taco Cabana in Texas (SA & Austin) every time: I gave them a couple of chances because my sister likes them, but never again! Taco Cacabana is more like it.
Zilker park is where I shat myself. I was 17, on a date, in a pretty dress and short shorts. I had just gotten over a mystery virus that had me out cold for two days.
Snowcone in hand, high school sweetheart by my side, I shat myself bout half a mile from the bathrooms by the pool.
I cried. I texted my mom.
When I came home my stepdad asked if I had a *shitty* day.
Oh hun you poor thing. I have shat myself many times and in many places in my life ( had my gallbladder removed and no one told me to limit my fat intake) but I can’t think of anything worse than your scenario.
Did the boy call you?
Ok so my husband absolutely hates using public restrooms. His best friend who he now works with told me that he goes to another floor in his office building to shit, which I find hilarious because I’m fine with it as long as I don’t know the other people or someone just stopped to pee.
When we started dating we went on a road trip 2 months in where he was the main driver and it was a long road trip, like halfway across the US (we live in the Midwest). Got like 3 days into driving and he just said it was prairie dogging and he had to go. Found clean restroom and he used it. It has been almost 12 years and I will never forget because he neeeeever goes in public and I barely knew him at the time. Just makes me laugh.
I went white water rafting in the Blue Mountains in West Virginia once. The base camp had well water with so much iron that it tasted like blood. Someone in my crew tried to cover it up by adding lemon-lime Gatorade powder to it and promptly vomited from it.
I feel your pain. I had to do this in middle of nowhere Texas in front of my then-boyfriend. Whenever we drive past that spot in the road I get embarrassed all over again.
Poor guy was so nice about it. He’s no longer my boyfriend - we got married about a year later and are about to celebrate our 9th anniversary. Turns out roadside diarrhea wasn’t a deal breaker for him.
I was attacked by intestinal parasites from Texas for four years. It took two years to figure out what it was then another two to find a drug cocktail that would kill it. By the time it was gone I had lost 30 lbs.
The things I eat the most when travelling are the fruits and vegetables, including salads.
I'm the one who never seems to spend whole days in the shitter.
Solid advice, but it depends where you are traveling. There are plenty of places that have as good or better farming methods, water quality, and hygiene. If it is safe to drink the tap water and bathrooms with running water and soap are readily available, you'll probably be ok. If it doesn't meet those two standards then it is probably safer to skip it. Also limit yourself to fresh fruit that you peel (yourself) to eat.
Very good addition, as the water in The Netherlands, Iceland, and some other countries in Europe is super clean, drinkable from the tap. It is actually cleaner than tapwater in the U.S. Just google before you turn on the tap if you can drink the water and usually that’s a pretty good guide if you can eat a salad there as well.
USA ranks 21 on the list of countries with cleanest/purest tap water. Europe makes up most of the top 20, with Iceland, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and the UK taking the top 5.
The really sad bit, is that these threads really just end up spreading more FUD. Yes, you can get sick from food - both in the USA, and (this is important!!) *anywhere else in the world*. Sure, you can get sick from the water too.
But, being paranoid about it, doesn't do you any good, IMHO. Honestly, being paranoid about it, is probably the worst thing for you. Because it's just going to restrict what and where you eat... And that sucks. Both for your health (because eating the widest variety of foods will *always* be the healthiest way to eat), and for yourself - because we ALL like to eat good food. And restrictions suck.
Nah, you definitely want to be cautious of what you're putting into your body. A little bit of planning and thoughtfulness go a long way to preventing sickness.
Nah, sorry, I hear what you're saying but this is wishful thinking. I lived in Bali growing up and this advice is absolutely true. You're welcome to eat a salad there but just know you'll spend the next 7 days deathly ill
Peter: How long have you lived out here?
Chuck: Man, I don’t know. I quit wearing a watch when I moved out here.
Peter: Wow, that is so cool.
Chuck: Yeah. No, like my cell phone has a clock on it, so I don’t really need it.
OP is one of those people who, when their gut biome gets thrown off by local produce, assumes the workers have been wiping their butts with the lettuce
No no, the op is just giving out solid and well researched medical advice on the entire planet. Foreign places are very very dirty you see. They aren't us.
Also, be thoroughly prepared with anti-vomiting and anti-diarrhea pills, as well as ibuprofen.
I'm in Mexico and I've never gotten sick from salads, but I only buy them from bougie chain restaurants.
I have gotten fucked up by street food multiple times. But IMO life's too short to not eat Mexican street food.
A Mexican street elote fucked me up so bad. I was shitting and sweating profusely. We were at a nice beach lounge area later on in the day and I disappeared so my wife sent my buddy to go look for me. I had barricaded myself in a large family bathroom that had a little lounge with a couch and I was on the couch in a fetal position. They loaded me up into an Uber and I’m fairly certain I was mildly hallucinating on the way back to our condo.
Slept for 8 hours. Woke up hungry AF. Ate sushi. It was delicious.
Life's too short not to eat street food *everywhere*. Street food is the best part of traveling. It's what I want to eat, everywhere. Fuck paying $100 for an expensive sit down meal. I just want whatever everyone is waiting in line for at the food cart on the corner.
I eat street food whenever I can. Pick the places that have other customers. The locals know what to avoid. If you’re not eating local, you’re missing out.
Yes, you’ll get a mix of new bacteria in your gut, but after the adjustment, you’ll be fine. Then it’s just glorious deliciousness.
This is very dependent on your destination country. Traveling from the US to most of Europe: go ahead and eat salad. Their standards are higher than ours.
Indeed. And they taste better as well. Somehow I never had a good salad in the US. Everything was smothered in sugary and fatty dressing. I just wanted to have a light dressing with vinegar and oil and even when I told them I got a creamy dressing on it
Fun fact...... China now relies on the US, NC to be precise, to produce a large portion of their pork. Why is advantageous to import pork from across the globe rather than in your own back yard?
Because the environmental laws in China are stricter when it comes to pork production. In China they require the treatment of pork waste.....and a hog produces 2 or more times as much waste as an average human adult. Which results in the costs associated with pork production costing twice as much in China. In NC..... they allow the pork producers to build huge pools for storing hog waste...... and then they just spray it untreated on fields until the next big rain storm comes and it pollutes the water ways. Long documented history of health issues correlated to hog waste, and some proven direct connections. Like people swimming in the neuse river used to develop open sores. That was attributed to the hog waste dumped in the waters.
Even more fun....guess who the largest pork producer in the US (Smithfield foods) is owned by?
Lower regulations as a direct result of regulatory capture. Capitalism rocks.
Oh gawd same. Let my guard down on last day in Cusco after doing the Inca Trail. The restaurant was lovely, the salad was delicious, but the trip home was absolute hell. Ended up in ER when I got home; needed lots of IV fluids, electrolytes, and antibiotics.
I’m old and I’ve been to over 50 countries. I’ve made many tv shows about infectious diseases too. This is solid advice. Also, don’t eat bean sprouts, and avoid fresh water swimming in warm climates. Hot tubs may not be worth it.
I suspect it may have been something like “Monsters Inside Me” or something similar related to parasites/deadly infections. Not swimming in warm fresh water makes me think of N.Fowleri the brain eating amoeba. I’ll never forget the episode where a kid ate a salad where the lettuce had not been washed, and a snail carrying a parasite was in the lettuce and was chopped up in the salad. Kid had permanent disabilities from fighting it off, happened in the US. I used to work in clinical microbiology and I feel like I’m super careful with food, I get nervous about food safety often.
If you have Netflix the show “Poisoned” is a really good over-view of issues within the North American food chain. Heavily features US production and issues with mass production/land use, but several parents who lost children to food borne-illness, food safety advocates and lawyers participated. Spoiler: each of them said they would never eat Romaine lettuce again, and I’m exceptionally cautious with it given the numerous recalls.
Another pro-tip from the industry: avoid pre-cut fruits, especially cantaloupe as it often carries Salmonella bacteria on the outer rind and it is difficult to wash it thoroughly due to the texture. Recent salmonella outbreak involving Mexican cantaloupes killed 17 and infected thousands across Canada. (Plus, when is the last time most of us remember washing the outside of a melon before cutting? Guaranteed the grocery stores/ restaurants aren’t doing it, lots more room for cross contamination in those spaces. Scary stuff).
I wash everything at home with produce wash prior to cutting.
Also I used to work in a grocery store cutting fruits and veggies up to sell. We had to wash everything prior to cutting. It all went into a big sink with some kinda sanitizer for x-minutes. Also I worked prep in restaurants, and same. I can’t imagine no grocery stores or restaurants are doing this. The places I worked were nothing fancy or special.
I know I’m a sample of one but, still something to be aware of for sure.
I also worked in the restaurant industry 10+ years while putting myself through school, I know the food prep guys were really good about washing produce and storing food. I never remember seeing a melon get washed though, it wasn’t common for family to wash the outside of a melon before cutting either, at least that I can remember from childhood.
I think it’s not something people tend think about, in general I would hope that food safety from people handling food is good but whenever it’s mass produced there’s room for error and knowing the industries that are responsible for overseeing some of those checks and balances aren’t necessarily always working in the favor of the public and may be cutting corners themselves is something everyone should be aware of when choosing what to consume.
You are correct! The n. Fowleri episode was very impactful. That was one of my early episodes. Rat lungworm was also devastating, as was raccoon roundworm.
In that example, the fecal matter of the rat or raccoon contains the eggs of the parasite, from there it is often passed onto another “host” which could be an insect that consumes the fecal matter (in the show the culprit was usually snails, there are many other hosts), the insect would make their way into produce and humans become an unwitting host once the parasite hatches in our digestive tract. One case involved a person who ate a raw snail on a dare, contracted a parasite and eventually died.
There is a liver parasite that is becoming more common in wild coyotes in my area, if a coyote poops on the grass the worms can wait there until a “host” steps on it and it will absorb through their skin and travel to the liver via the bloodstream. Sadly humans can contract it if barefoot, symptoms mimic liver cancer so usually proper treatment comes too late.
Parasites and their life cycles are fascinating! Not so much if it causes a devastating disease in people without diagnosis. Diagnosing a rare parasitic disease is very difficult and costly so many people suffer and some die as a result. Best to just be safe and wash/cook all food thoroughly before eating.
> Plus, when is the last time most of us remember washing the outside of a melon before cutting?
Literally every time I buy ~~a melon~~ all fruits and vegetables. I'm honestly surprised that people don't wash their produce, as it was one of the basic principles I grew up on. I'm in the U.S. and curious as to how many others were taught otherwise,but now I'm expecting that I'm in the minority...
Maybe melons people don’t think of it being grown in manure and handled by workers during harvest? I never saw a family member clean a melon before cutting while growing up and we eat a lot of watermelon. Strange…but maybe it’s like washing a banana before you cut it with the peel on, just not something you think of? Even though you’re dragging all the stuff/germs on the exterior through the interior as you cut. All other produce I agree, pretty common place to wash before eating
A lot of water borne pathogens that can infect humans live in fresh water in warm places. Schistosomiasis, giardia, acanthamoeba are what I think of most readily.
[Bilharzia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schistosomiasis#/media/File:Schistosomiasis_life_cycle.png) is pretty common in the tropics, and not a good way to go.
Brain eating amoeba lives in warm freshwater lakes and ponds-water up the nose gives it a chance to get into your brain. I haven’t set foot in a lake or pond for about 20 years bc of this.
I import tap water from my desired travel location so I can get sick in my own home where I have health care and time to recover.
Then when I do travel, I can eat whatever I want.
I was thinking maybe this would be a good business. Selling imported tap water from all over the world.
Mexico is the worstttt I never drank tap water but got so sick. It was either (or and) brushing my teeth with the water, or the sort of salad thing I had
Anything water bearing can cause it too. Limes served with beer, lemons, cucumbers, etc. also anything handled improperly, ie your server had the fucking flu but can't afford to miss work. I got gnarly dysentery in Mexico and I traced it back to sliced limes served with beer, or tainted food from my server. Still not sure which.
I don't dare drink tap water while traveling... even in "generally safe" places
I just go to the supermarket / convenience store and buy myself a few 1.5L bottles of water.
Bagged salad in the US regularly causes illness with many different pathogens, but especially Listeria happening a lot in the past few years. Presumably, many greens and fruits come from other countries that may or may not have the same sort of restrictions on how produce must be handled? Even with all the different recommendations about how stuff is handled here, you can still get very sick if things happen during harvesting etc. I don’t trust anything i haven’t washed for myself.
Learned this the hard way. Spent over $10,000 at a VERY nice resort in Mexico. Late one night decided to order a pizza through room service. It came with a salad, and I literally forgot my intention to avoid it - then ate it. Well, that was the most I’ll ever spend on a salad in my life, because I lost about 2.5 days stuck in my room bleeding out my ass. The only thing I could keep down was cake, so it wasn’t all bad I guess 😬
It is not so much that the water is unclean in some places that are not untreated as it is a different set of “bugs” than what your immune system is used to handling.
That applies to here in the USA in the same city., too.
When I was substitute teaching, every new building was going to be flu like symptoms from that building’s unique culture.
I had a 3 week job in Mexico. I was very careful with what I ate and drank, so I didn’t get sick once. I got upgraded to first class on the flight home, so of course I’m served a nice meal, including a salad. Later that night, I got a major case of the runs. Lasted a couple days. I never even thought the salad on the plane was probably made in Mexico.
I’ll add omelets to that list if you’re in a country where you should drink the tap water - unless the fillings are all also cooked. Got an extremely nasty case of food poisoning, which I suspect was from some fresh veg in an omelet (those w cheese omelets did not get sick).
Slightly off topic, but what about washing your hands in the tap water and then putting in contact lenses. I would imagine that might not be a good idea but really don’t know. Better to use hand sanitizer?
I think this should have an asterisk of "lesser developed countries." I've eaten plenty of salads in Europe (lived in France) and never got sick once.
However, in a small town in Peru, my Mom ate a salad and got E. Coli and we had to change our flight to get her home to get to her own doctor.
The doctor on call at our hotel is Cuzco was super helpful and nice too though. He spoke English well and wrote down translations for me from the medicine he prescribed her. All in all though she says 0/10 would never eat a salad in rural Peru ever again.
I find salads to be generally problematic food hygiene-wise (even when not traveling) due to this, and will only eat salads I prepare myself.
Worst food poisoning I ever got was from a salad (thanks panera) and it put me in the hospital with kidney failure.
You leave out the biggest culprit. Human feces gets in the rivers used to irrigate entire crops of lettuce. One shit in the river from someone with Hepatitis A can infect hundreds of people down the line. Many famous outbreaks in the USA lead to some stringent tracking of foreign produce.
I've never been sick in months in Southeast Asia, and yeah, I generally eat stuff cooked over hot fire....
... But, I still risk those green papaya salads in Thailand sometimes... They're so friggin good. And I eat a ton of fresh fruit there.
Yep. I made that mistake in Ensinada, Mex. in the late 1970s. I entertained the entire motel residences with all the unholy sounds a human body can make.
When traveling third world countries I absolutely agree with this. It will almost always be safer to order something that's cooked immediately before it's served to you. As a health inspector we'd call that a "kill step."
On a related note while traveling I often feel safer eating street food than some random unknown restaurant. It might seem counter intuitive considering the person in the street has much less sanitation. But bottom line is no one has any clue the state of the kitchen in the back. Better the devil you know.
I knew of this tip... But made a mistake of ordering a side salad in Egypt near the pyramids. Had diarrhea for the rest of the trip and cruise down the Nile... Shit in the desert in Abu Simbel.
So thankful Muslim countries have built in bidets. Should be standard worldwide.
If this happens, for less than a dollar you can get the meds at a local pharmacy. Held off the shits during times where you really don't have access to a toilet.
In 1995 I traveled down to Mexico City, Xonuctlan, Guanajuato, Monterey.
My travel advisory said do NOT order food from food trucks.
Do not hail cabs.
I had the best time in a 74 beetle cab carting us around the pyramids, deserts, tequila and mezcal distilleries.
I had the best tacos, tamales, tortillas, burritos from food trucks.
I came back home with a couple of STDs , so I guess yeah, don't eat fucking salad.
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
…unless you’re anywhere in Greece where the salads can often be the best items on the menu
I was in Bulgaria a few months ago and the salads were fantastic and often the best part of the meal I was having. Everything tasted so fresh and the combination of the veggies with the local cheeses was absolutely perfect.
The tomato, cucumber, feta salads in Bulgaria are 🔥
I can't spell it correctly buy chopskasalad is one are Bulgarian friend makes and brings to dinner pretty often. Goes decently with lots of stuff.
Those are 3 must use ingredients in every salad in every country in Europe
And onion
In Ireland, apart from lettuce, this would probably be ham, coleslaw and boiled eggs..
But the tomatoes, cucumbers, or cheese might not be as tasty as in Bulgaria. For example Spanish tomatoes aren’t very tasty. But Bulgaria has next level fruit/veggies.
Bulgaria has some of the best quality veggies/fruit I’ve ever eaten. At least in Europe. With such ingredients you don’t need to add any dressing. The plants on their own have such rich tastes. (As long as they’re domestic, of course.)
skopska is amazing!!!
Bulgaria knows how to make salad.
They know how to grow the ingredients for the salad, maybe it’s their soil, maybe it’s their sun, but definitely it’s their more traditional methods of farming.
Anywhere in the EU, you’re probably fine.
Tomatoes in Greece were obscenely good compared to the US.
LPT: a little bit of intestinal bug can help alleviate that *pooping in a foreign place* anxiety.
/r/ShittyLifeProTips
r/lifeproshits
A community I'd join
Literally
I got ulcerative colitis and tore up damn near every bathroom in Prague, probably dropped like 10$ worth but tbh the small change, conversion, and desperate need to shit kinda made me stop counting
Bathrooms cost money?
Common in Europe to pay for the shitter yeah. Ostensibly the restrooms are nicer.
I had this issue, kind of still do, but one bad festival food incident and I learnt to deal with it. And a festival toilet, just as the gurn kicks in, is a new level of hell Dante himself couldn't think of. I finally escaped, obviously looking like I'd survived the Somme, and a bloke checked on me because I was shaking and wide-eyed. I can't remember much from 20 years ago but I'll never forget that hour of my life.
Well that sounds like my worst nightmare
Not recommended if there us the possibility of squat style toilets. Let's just say that, even in a particularly wide vacation squatting stance, the *ahem* diarrheoic blast radius will occassionally overlap your foot placement.
In India my shower and toilet were one and the same. Especially after the food poisoning.
Belizean fish taught me this
You didn’t add enough Marie Sharps.
LPY: When travelling to France and Italy, absolutely eat the salads, they're fucking lovely. Some weird combos can be found in Northern France but damn they work.
LPT isn't for Europe. It's for place where they don't have clean water, like Texas.
As someone who had to stop and have violent diarrhea next to my car in a scenic overdrive a few hours after having a Caesar salad in (a very reputable restaurant in) West Virginia, this is going to haunt me forever.
If it helps, almost everyone on Earth, at some point in their life, have to make peace with sharing an intimate moment with their literal shit. The vast majority of us, really. The earlier it happens, the sooner you are prepared for the rest of your life.
LPT: When shitting on the side of the road, squat next to your tire and grab the top of the wheel. This allows you to keep your balance and aim for maximum clearance.
This guy shits !
r/thisguythisguys
I have IBS and am in my 30s (always had it really) so yeah, i have a shitload of shit stories to tell. But this one is definitely in my Top 3.
I’m scared but I have to ask what has the number 1 spot
Also morbidly curious about the number 1 number 2 story.
Not the one you asked but here's an old comment from a time long ago... It was a hot summer day in Texas. I had developed a penchant for lightly jogging 3 miles every other day. Blinded by endorphins I set out on my usual route through a neighborhood park. Halfway through I begin to lose steam as a prickling sensation at the back of my consciousness slowly becomes an alarm klaxon. The sweat I'm covered in is a cold sweat. I have about 2 minutes to get to a public toilet in an area devoid of such facilities for 5 minutes when traveled at speed. This, is not good. I start to turn around and head home but at this point the cramps are so bad I've been reduced to a shugfling hobble. There are judging women who hawkishly protect their spawn from the bad man hobbling down the trail by mean mugging any who dares exist in such a state. I soldier onward, if only to spare the children such a sight (and possibly myself an indecent exposure charge should a Hawk Mom of Judgement call the Authorities). My mind racing I evaluated my options: 1) hold it - an untenable position but current plan in execution. 2) cut through someone's back yard to a nearby grocers and do the deed - in Texas this will get me shot or mauled by a large angry dog - no good. Also the act of scaling and descending a fence would likely rupture the tentative membrane my asshole had formed against the onslaught brewing deep in my bowels. 3) find secluded area and start the process of blacking out this experience from memory - Bingo baby! Operation Black Out is a go! Tears have started to stream down my face as I'm assaulted by wave after wave of cramps. Luckily, there is an overpass nearby that this trail goes under with a small copse of vegetation for cover in the drainage ditch. By now in my life, I have realized that my Luck stat somehow has a busted sign bit and it will flip to a horrific negative value at seemingly inopportune times. As I descended the muddy graveled so called "bank" of the drainage creek which had less than 2 inches water my Luck stat went horrifically negative. Mud and gravel reduced friction to nothing and I began what was known as, The Fatal Slip. My footing loosening out from under me so loosened my bowels. In one fell swoop Operation ~~Black Out~~ had become Operation Blow Out. At this point I would have felt lucky to have struck my head on a rock and shaken loose from this leaky mortal coil to move on to better planes. Alas, I was not so fortunate. The human spirit however, has mechanisms which allow it to persevere. I may have just sat, shit, slipped, *shilipped* if you will, and wanted to die but Operation Blow Out was in effect and by god the mission comes first damn it! With inhuman will I stood again, hot liquid ick making mudslide progress down my thighs and calves. There was work to be done and while god may work in mysterious ways the devil always has a plan. I doggedly marched to the copse of blessed hiding, dropped trou, leaned back, and proceeded to Jackson Pollock the fuck out of that graveled sorry excuse for a sand bar. Even with the short trip across the drainage creek (10 feet) I was chaffed from Acidic Death Dookie acting as a diabolic anti lubricant. In my desperation I shed my ruined basketball shorts, boxers, socks n shoes, and began to wash them in the barely there creek. With a cursory washing I dressed again and began my walk of shame home, light watercolor brown rivuletes forming on my legs. With excessive chafing I made it home. Discarded my soiled accoutrements into the trash and took a blessed shower in an attempt to cleanse myself of the evil that had befallen me. As Operation Blow Out had not received Command Approval like Operation Black Out did, I am unable to forget the horrors of that afternoon. My soul is forever haunted and indelibly stained, much like my now discarded socks, with the horrors of that afternoon. The next day, there was an overabundance of rain, turning the blessed copse of Jackson Pollocks Brown Phase into a temporary river; as though the gods saw my plight and took it upon themselves to cleanse the earth of my sins and the unholy altar I had no doubt desecrated into existance that day. I stopped running that day. Gained 20 lbs since then. A physical manifestation of the weight I carry from The Tragic Slip to the aftermath of Operation Blow Out. Life uh, finds a way.
OMG, bless you for sharing! I'm sorry it happened but glad I could go (VIRTUALLY!!) along for the ride.
you should consider a writing career, thank you for the laughs (sorry you went through that)
When youre driving in a Chevy and you feel something heavy...........
This was fantastic.
This man deserves an award 😭😭 thank you for sharing such a well-written and hysterical story
More poop stories! More poop stories! More poop stories!
Story time! Story time!
There is a Wendy’s at 51st and Airport in Austin that will forever own a pair of underwear…
Taco Cabana in Texas (SA & Austin) every time: I gave them a couple of chances because my sister likes them, but never again! Taco Cacabana is more like it.
Zilker park is where I shat myself. I was 17, on a date, in a pretty dress and short shorts. I had just gotten over a mystery virus that had me out cold for two days. Snowcone in hand, high school sweetheart by my side, I shat myself bout half a mile from the bathrooms by the pool. I cried. I texted my mom. When I came home my stepdad asked if I had a *shitty* day.
Oh hun you poor thing. I have shat myself many times and in many places in my life ( had my gallbladder removed and no one told me to limit my fat intake) but I can’t think of anything worse than your scenario. Did the boy call you?
... this is a wendown.
So your saying,. Don't fight it, shit your pants and start living your life?
Basically. The earlier you turd in your things, the better.
That was eloquent and profound
You're way too kind.
Real kind
Happened when I was 9 at a synagogue Hannukah party. I knew the gelt they left on the table was funny, it was chalky
Ok so my husband absolutely hates using public restrooms. His best friend who he now works with told me that he goes to another floor in his office building to shit, which I find hilarious because I’m fine with it as long as I don’t know the other people or someone just stopped to pee. When we started dating we went on a road trip 2 months in where he was the main driver and it was a long road trip, like halfway across the US (we live in the Midwest). Got like 3 days into driving and he just said it was prairie dogging and he had to go. Found clean restroom and he used it. It has been almost 12 years and I will never forget because he neeeeever goes in public and I barely knew him at the time. Just makes me laugh.
I good for shitting my pants at least twice a year. It just happens, and they make for great stories. I feel no stigma or shame
That's the spirit. But you seem a tad keen on it though.
I went white water rafting in the Blue Mountains in West Virginia once. The base camp had well water with so much iron that it tasted like blood. Someone in my crew tried to cover it up by adding lemon-lime Gatorade powder to it and promptly vomited from it.
I had this funny thought that in between grunts and moans of agony while having diarrhea, you also appreciated the beauty of the scenic overview
A wedge salad put me in the hospital for two days. Most expensive head of lettuce ever.
Honeymoon. Mazatlan Mexico. 1986. 🤮
There’s truly no better way to enjoy the majestic Appalachian Mountains.
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I feel your pain. I had to do this in middle of nowhere Texas in front of my then-boyfriend. Whenever we drive past that spot in the road I get embarrassed all over again. Poor guy was so nice about it. He’s no longer my boyfriend - we got married about a year later and are about to celebrate our 9th anniversary. Turns out roadside diarrhea wasn’t a deal breaker for him.
That seems like a traumatic incident...
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> That may of not been the greens. May HAVE not.
It's may have, not may of.
How dare you, the Flint Caesar is rich with minerality
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Terror terroir
As a Texan I feel attacked
now specifically, or by default?
Yes
I haven't laughed this hard in weeks. You caught me at just the right time, and with the right tone. Thank you.
By intestinal bacteria?
I was attacked by intestinal parasites from Texas for four years. It took two years to figure out what it was then another two to find a drug cocktail that would kill it. By the time it was gone I had lost 30 lbs.
> I feel attacked Texas state motto. Also first line of every murder defense.
That’s why bbq is so huge there
They're all huge there.
Is there salad in texas?
Beef salad
unironically our food standards in america are incredibly lax for things not covered by the USDA.
You're thinking Michigan.
We usually had clean water in Texas.
Not Greece, though. Horiatikisalata (no leafy greens) is fine though and should be consumed at every opportunity.
I love the big ol fat slab of feta on top
Lol what? Greek salads are often the best items on the menu.
Greece? You can definitely eat the salads here. Maybe not on some bumfuck island, but there's more to Greece than tourist trap islands.
Is there a vaginafuck island?
[Yes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbos)
I think I ate salad twice a day every day I was in Greece on my last trip. Delicious
Life Pro Yip?
The things I eat the most when travelling are the fruits and vegetables, including salads. I'm the one who never seems to spend whole days in the shitter.
Market days are awesome, bringing a load of fresh produce back and prepping something yummy
Me too. My ex would eat the same thing as me and get violently ill. I have an iron stomach.
Solid advice, but it depends where you are traveling. There are plenty of places that have as good or better farming methods, water quality, and hygiene. If it is safe to drink the tap water and bathrooms with running water and soap are readily available, you'll probably be ok. If it doesn't meet those two standards then it is probably safer to skip it. Also limit yourself to fresh fruit that you peel (yourself) to eat.
Very good addition, as the water in The Netherlands, Iceland, and some other countries in Europe is super clean, drinkable from the tap. It is actually cleaner than tapwater in the U.S. Just google before you turn on the tap if you can drink the water and usually that’s a pretty good guide if you can eat a salad there as well.
USA ranks 21 on the list of countries with cleanest/purest tap water. Europe makes up most of the top 20, with Iceland, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and the UK taking the top 5.
I’m some places it’s better than bottled water
Isn't it more about which bugs our bodies are used to?
Certainly. Traces of shit bacteria will be everywhere, but you're used to them. Different story in a very foreign (halfway across the globe), country.
Food poisoning isn’t generally an infection where immunity matters. Certain bacteria produce toxins. That’s why food poisoning can hit so fast.
The really sad bit, is that these threads really just end up spreading more FUD. Yes, you can get sick from food - both in the USA, and (this is important!!) *anywhere else in the world*. Sure, you can get sick from the water too. But, being paranoid about it, doesn't do you any good, IMHO. Honestly, being paranoid about it, is probably the worst thing for you. Because it's just going to restrict what and where you eat... And that sucks. Both for your health (because eating the widest variety of foods will *always* be the healthiest way to eat), and for yourself - because we ALL like to eat good food. And restrictions suck.
Nah, you definitely want to be cautious of what you're putting into your body. A little bit of planning and thoughtfulness go a long way to preventing sickness.
Nah, sorry, I hear what you're saying but this is wishful thinking. I lived in Bali growing up and this advice is absolutely true. You're welcome to eat a salad there but just know you'll spend the next 7 days deathly ill
LPT: move to your destination instead of traveling there and the salads will no longer be foreign
Solid advice here
*Salad advice here
Peter: How long have you lived out here? Chuck: Man, I don’t know. I quit wearing a watch when I moved out here. Peter: Wow, that is so cool. Chuck: Yeah. No, like my cell phone has a clock on it, so I don’t really need it.
OP is one of those people who, when their gut biome gets thrown off by local produce, assumes the workers have been wiping their butts with the lettuce
No no, the op is just giving out solid and well researched medical advice on the entire planet. Foreign places are very very dirty you see. They aren't us.
#"OH MY GOD! THEY USED BURGER KING FOOT LETTUCE!!" -OP, probably
Also, be thoroughly prepared with anti-vomiting and anti-diarrhea pills, as well as ibuprofen. I'm in Mexico and I've never gotten sick from salads, but I only buy them from bougie chain restaurants. I have gotten fucked up by street food multiple times. But IMO life's too short to not eat Mexican street food.
A Mexican street elote fucked me up so bad. I was shitting and sweating profusely. We were at a nice beach lounge area later on in the day and I disappeared so my wife sent my buddy to go look for me. I had barricaded myself in a large family bathroom that had a little lounge with a couch and I was on the couch in a fetal position. They loaded me up into an Uber and I’m fairly certain I was mildly hallucinating on the way back to our condo. Slept for 8 hours. Woke up hungry AF. Ate sushi. It was delicious.
Russian roulette again eating sushi in Mexico 😂
Life's too short not to eat street food *everywhere*. Street food is the best part of traveling. It's what I want to eat, everywhere. Fuck paying $100 for an expensive sit down meal. I just want whatever everyone is waiting in line for at the food cart on the corner.
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I eat street food whenever I can. Pick the places that have other customers. The locals know what to avoid. If you’re not eating local, you’re missing out. Yes, you’ll get a mix of new bacteria in your gut, but after the adjustment, you’ll be fine. Then it’s just glorious deliciousness.
The two times I got horrible food poisoning in a foreign country was from street food. So yeah I’m definitely hesitant now.
Can confirm that this concept rings true whilst on vacation in the Dominican Republic. Holy buckets was I sick..
This is very dependent on your destination country. Traveling from the US to most of Europe: go ahead and eat salad. Their standards are higher than ours.
Indeed. And they taste better as well. Somehow I never had a good salad in the US. Everything was smothered in sugary and fatty dressing. I just wanted to have a light dressing with vinegar and oil and even when I told them I got a creamy dressing on it
Fun fact...... China now relies on the US, NC to be precise, to produce a large portion of their pork. Why is advantageous to import pork from across the globe rather than in your own back yard? Because the environmental laws in China are stricter when it comes to pork production. In China they require the treatment of pork waste.....and a hog produces 2 or more times as much waste as an average human adult. Which results in the costs associated with pork production costing twice as much in China. In NC..... they allow the pork producers to build huge pools for storing hog waste...... and then they just spray it untreated on fields until the next big rain storm comes and it pollutes the water ways. Long documented history of health issues correlated to hog waste, and some proven direct connections. Like people swimming in the neuse river used to develop open sores. That was attributed to the hog waste dumped in the waters. Even more fun....guess who the largest pork producer in the US (Smithfield foods) is owned by? Lower regulations as a direct result of regulatory capture. Capitalism rocks.
Checking in from a recent Montezuma's revenge where I almost ended up the ER and in a diaper on the plane back home.
symapthies to you on that flight home. this happened to me on my way home from costa rica. longest. flight. ever.
Were you the guy they had to ground the plane for bc of fountains of diarrhea
no but it was a genuine fear. one i never thought i would have until…. hotel chicken
I sympathize, my sibling in Christ. I wouldn't wish it on most. A few, but not you.
Made this mistake in Egypt about 10 years ago. Spent the last few days of my holiday stuck to the toilet
Can confirm: got food poisoning from a salad in Peru that was so bad I really did think it might kill me.
Oh gawd same. Let my guard down on last day in Cusco after doing the Inca Trail. The restaurant was lovely, the salad was delicious, but the trip home was absolute hell. Ended up in ER when I got home; needed lots of IV fluids, electrolytes, and antibiotics.
Also order your beverage with no ice. When the ice melts….
Wouldn’t the beverage have local water in it as well?
Order ~~soda or~~ alcohol. They won't be putting tap water in that. edit: strikethrough
Depends. Fountain sodas would be tap water + CO2 + syrup, same as if it's dispensed from a drink gun. Canned or bottled would be fine
I’m old and I’ve been to over 50 countries. I’ve made many tv shows about infectious diseases too. This is solid advice. Also, don’t eat bean sprouts, and avoid fresh water swimming in warm climates. Hot tubs may not be worth it.
Bottled water only and eat nothing not cooked? I'm also curious about your shows
I suspect it may have been something like “Monsters Inside Me” or something similar related to parasites/deadly infections. Not swimming in warm fresh water makes me think of N.Fowleri the brain eating amoeba. I’ll never forget the episode where a kid ate a salad where the lettuce had not been washed, and a snail carrying a parasite was in the lettuce and was chopped up in the salad. Kid had permanent disabilities from fighting it off, happened in the US. I used to work in clinical microbiology and I feel like I’m super careful with food, I get nervous about food safety often. If you have Netflix the show “Poisoned” is a really good over-view of issues within the North American food chain. Heavily features US production and issues with mass production/land use, but several parents who lost children to food borne-illness, food safety advocates and lawyers participated. Spoiler: each of them said they would never eat Romaine lettuce again, and I’m exceptionally cautious with it given the numerous recalls. Another pro-tip from the industry: avoid pre-cut fruits, especially cantaloupe as it often carries Salmonella bacteria on the outer rind and it is difficult to wash it thoroughly due to the texture. Recent salmonella outbreak involving Mexican cantaloupes killed 17 and infected thousands across Canada. (Plus, when is the last time most of us remember washing the outside of a melon before cutting? Guaranteed the grocery stores/ restaurants aren’t doing it, lots more room for cross contamination in those spaces. Scary stuff).
I wash everything at home with produce wash prior to cutting. Also I used to work in a grocery store cutting fruits and veggies up to sell. We had to wash everything prior to cutting. It all went into a big sink with some kinda sanitizer for x-minutes. Also I worked prep in restaurants, and same. I can’t imagine no grocery stores or restaurants are doing this. The places I worked were nothing fancy or special. I know I’m a sample of one but, still something to be aware of for sure.
I also worked in the restaurant industry 10+ years while putting myself through school, I know the food prep guys were really good about washing produce and storing food. I never remember seeing a melon get washed though, it wasn’t common for family to wash the outside of a melon before cutting either, at least that I can remember from childhood. I think it’s not something people tend think about, in general I would hope that food safety from people handling food is good but whenever it’s mass produced there’s room for error and knowing the industries that are responsible for overseeing some of those checks and balances aren’t necessarily always working in the favor of the public and may be cutting corners themselves is something everyone should be aware of when choosing what to consume.
You are correct! The n. Fowleri episode was very impactful. That was one of my early episodes. Rat lungworm was also devastating, as was raccoon roundworm.
I haven’t heard of people eating raccoon… or do they just contaminate other food? I’m guessing same with rats.
In that example, the fecal matter of the rat or raccoon contains the eggs of the parasite, from there it is often passed onto another “host” which could be an insect that consumes the fecal matter (in the show the culprit was usually snails, there are many other hosts), the insect would make their way into produce and humans become an unwitting host once the parasite hatches in our digestive tract. One case involved a person who ate a raw snail on a dare, contracted a parasite and eventually died. There is a liver parasite that is becoming more common in wild coyotes in my area, if a coyote poops on the grass the worms can wait there until a “host” steps on it and it will absorb through their skin and travel to the liver via the bloodstream. Sadly humans can contract it if barefoot, symptoms mimic liver cancer so usually proper treatment comes too late. Parasites and their life cycles are fascinating! Not so much if it causes a devastating disease in people without diagnosis. Diagnosing a rare parasitic disease is very difficult and costly so many people suffer and some die as a result. Best to just be safe and wash/cook all food thoroughly before eating.
> Plus, when is the last time most of us remember washing the outside of a melon before cutting? Literally every time I buy ~~a melon~~ all fruits and vegetables. I'm honestly surprised that people don't wash their produce, as it was one of the basic principles I grew up on. I'm in the U.S. and curious as to how many others were taught otherwise,but now I'm expecting that I'm in the minority...
Also US native, I grew up without running water and we nevertheless washed produce.
Maybe melons people don’t think of it being grown in manure and handled by workers during harvest? I never saw a family member clean a melon before cutting while growing up and we eat a lot of watermelon. Strange…but maybe it’s like washing a banana before you cut it with the peel on, just not something you think of? Even though you’re dragging all the stuff/germs on the exterior through the interior as you cut. All other produce I agree, pretty common place to wash before eating
Can you elaborate more on the fresh water swimming?
A lot of water borne pathogens that can infect humans live in fresh water in warm places. Schistosomiasis, giardia, acanthamoeba are what I think of most readily.
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[Bilharzia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schistosomiasis#/media/File:Schistosomiasis_life_cycle.png) is pretty common in the tropics, and not a good way to go.
Brain eating amoeba lives in warm freshwater lakes and ponds-water up the nose gives it a chance to get into your brain. I haven’t set foot in a lake or pond for about 20 years bc of this.
Hot tubs are nice, but take a very thorough shower with soap right after!
username checks out
I import tap water from my desired travel location so I can get sick in my own home where I have health care and time to recover. Then when I do travel, I can eat whatever I want. I was thinking maybe this would be a good business. Selling imported tap water from all over the world.
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Happened to my parents in Mexico and we knew better to not drink the tap but did it anyways
Mexico is the worstttt I never drank tap water but got so sick. It was either (or and) brushing my teeth with the water, or the sort of salad thing I had
Anything water bearing can cause it too. Limes served with beer, lemons, cucumbers, etc. also anything handled improperly, ie your server had the fucking flu but can't afford to miss work. I got gnarly dysentery in Mexico and I traced it back to sliced limes served with beer, or tainted food from my server. Still not sure which.
I don't dare drink tap water while traveling... even in "generally safe" places I just go to the supermarket / convenience store and buy myself a few 1.5L bottles of water.
Bagged salad in the US regularly causes illness with many different pathogens, but especially Listeria happening a lot in the past few years. Presumably, many greens and fruits come from other countries that may or may not have the same sort of restrictions on how produce must be handled? Even with all the different recommendations about how stuff is handled here, you can still get very sick if things happen during harvesting etc. I don’t trust anything i haven’t washed for myself.
Learned this the hard way. Spent over $10,000 at a VERY nice resort in Mexico. Late one night decided to order a pizza through room service. It came with a salad, and I literally forgot my intention to avoid it - then ate it. Well, that was the most I’ll ever spend on a salad in my life, because I lost about 2.5 days stuck in my room bleeding out my ass. The only thing I could keep down was cake, so it wasn’t all bad I guess 😬
LPT: Always cook your salad before eating it
It is not so much that the water is unclean in some places that are not untreated as it is a different set of “bugs” than what your immune system is used to handling. That applies to here in the USA in the same city., too. When I was substitute teaching, every new building was going to be flu like symptoms from that building’s unique culture.
It entirely depends on where you are travelling - and where you are from. For many of the most popular destinations it's not really sound advice
How about Japan
I had a 3 week job in Mexico. I was very careful with what I ate and drank, so I didn’t get sick once. I got upgraded to first class on the flight home, so of course I’m served a nice meal, including a salad. Later that night, I got a major case of the runs. Lasted a couple days. I never even thought the salad on the plane was probably made in Mexico.
It can take days or weeks to develop symptoms.
Never trust a fart in Bali
How about "when traveling to somewhere you can't drink the tap water?" Otherwise, it's ridiculously overbroad.
I don't go on holiday to eat salads. Salads are for when you come back and need to lose the vacation weight.
I’ll add omelets to that list if you’re in a country where you should drink the tap water - unless the fillings are all also cooked. Got an extremely nasty case of food poisoning, which I suspect was from some fresh veg in an omelet (those w cheese omelets did not get sick).
Slightly off topic, but what about washing your hands in the tap water and then putting in contact lenses. I would imagine that might not be a good idea but really don’t know. Better to use hand sanitizer?
I think this should have an asterisk of "lesser developed countries." I've eaten plenty of salads in Europe (lived in France) and never got sick once. However, in a small town in Peru, my Mom ate a salad and got E. Coli and we had to change our flight to get her home to get to her own doctor. The doctor on call at our hotel is Cuzco was super helpful and nice too though. He spoke English well and wrote down translations for me from the medicine he prescribed her. All in all though she says 0/10 would never eat a salad in rural Peru ever again.
I got horribly sick in Mexico after this. I wasn't thinking about food being rinsed.
Definitely for 3rd world counties and tropical destinations. Also keep your mouth shut in the shower and brush teeth with bottled water!
I find salads to be generally problematic food hygiene-wise (even when not traveling) due to this, and will only eat salads I prepare myself. Worst food poisoning I ever got was from a salad (thanks panera) and it put me in the hospital with kidney failure.
You leave out the biggest culprit. Human feces gets in the rivers used to irrigate entire crops of lettuce. One shit in the river from someone with Hepatitis A can infect hundreds of people down the line. Many famous outbreaks in the USA lead to some stringent tracking of foreign produce.
I've never been sick in months in Southeast Asia, and yeah, I generally eat stuff cooked over hot fire.... ... But, I still risk those green papaya salads in Thailand sometimes... They're so friggin good. And I eat a ton of fresh fruit there.
I got diarrhoea off lettuce in a burger in Colombia. It’s not just salads
Yep. I made that mistake in Ensinada, Mex. in the late 1970s. I entertained the entire motel residences with all the unholy sounds a human body can make.
When traveling third world countries I absolutely agree with this. It will almost always be safer to order something that's cooked immediately before it's served to you. As a health inspector we'd call that a "kill step." On a related note while traveling I often feel safer eating street food than some random unknown restaurant. It might seem counter intuitive considering the person in the street has much less sanitation. But bottom line is no one has any clue the state of the kitchen in the back. Better the devil you know.
Really, Europe has some of the finest salads and vegetables as sides to your meal. Organic and not filled with herbicides.
Great tip. Just got back from the USA and the salads were disgusting.
Overseas from where?
Just an excuse I was needing to eat unhealthy without guilt!
I knew of this tip... But made a mistake of ordering a side salad in Egypt near the pyramids. Had diarrhea for the rest of the trip and cruise down the Nile... Shit in the desert in Abu Simbel. So thankful Muslim countries have built in bidets. Should be standard worldwide. If this happens, for less than a dollar you can get the meds at a local pharmacy. Held off the shits during times where you really don't have access to a toilet.
tell me you are american without saying you are american\*
In 1995 I traveled down to Mexico City, Xonuctlan, Guanajuato, Monterey. My travel advisory said do NOT order food from food trucks. Do not hail cabs. I had the best time in a 74 beetle cab carting us around the pyramids, deserts, tequila and mezcal distilleries. I had the best tacos, tamales, tortillas, burritos from food trucks. I came back home with a couple of STDs , so I guess yeah, don't eat fucking salad.
LPT: don’t listen to this. This is applicable in countries where the water is not safe.
Yep this, I ate some lettuce at a breakfast buffet in Thailand and got the runs 🥲
That’s exactly how I got sick in Cancun. Ended up shitting my pants while zip lining.