Pats vs Raiders in Mexico on November 19th (Week 11)

[Tony2046]

What concerns me more is the elevation of Mexico City 7,382, 2,000 ft higher than Denver. Then there is the smog..

Food should not be an issue, when I travel in Mexico have even eaten off of the food trucks... but never drink the water.

Exactly. Any country I go to I simply ask someone I'm working with which food trucks/street vendors are good to eat from. You get the best food for cheap dollars. But yeah stay away from the water I screwed up in Indonesia and drank some tap water. Kaboom, I'll be I set a world record that weekend.

 

[Tony2046]

As for "intestinal trauma," I've been to Mexico City many times. Never got sick there. In fact, things have gotten progressively better in the Tourist areas of the city in recent years.
Follow a few simple rules when it comes to eating and drinking: no water that doesn't come out of an unopened bottle of Branded water; no ice cubes in your drinks; cola instead of coffee if you need a caffeine hit in the morning; no uncooked vegetables; no street food; eat at a well-known hotel or well-known restaurants.

Then, follow the same rules you'd follow in any large city anywhere: be careful where you go, especially at night.

"Psychological trauma?" Huh? It's a big, amazing world. Get out and see some of it.

I agree. I was given some advice about street vendors which is to ask the locales which one is good to eat from. The reasoning was that street vendors need to earn a living from their food and the good ones last while the bad ones fail. Anyways I've eaten from street vendors in China, Hong Kong, Poland, Indonesia and Taiwan and have not had a problem. You end up getting great food for cheap as most vendors specialize in one thing or another. But I did drink the water once accidentally and that knocked me out of commission for about ten days.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I agree. I was given some advice about street vendors which is to ask the locales which one is good to eat from. The reasoning was that street vendors need to earn a living from their food and the good ones last while the bad ones fail. Anyways I've eaten from street vendors in China, Hong Kong, Poland, Indonesia and Taiwan and have not had a problem. You end up getting great food for cheap as most vendors specialize in one thing or another. But I did drink the water once accidentally and that knocked me out of commission for about ten days.

Your comment got me thinking about street food and I remembered that the best tacos I ever had were at a hole-in-the-wall that was a favorite of Mexico City Taxi Drivers. But, I went with a local guy, who knew what he was doing...the only advice he gave me was to drink the beer out of the bottles and not out of the grimy glasses. So, yeah, if you have local friends or colleagues, your options really open up and you can safely experience the "real" food of the city. I wouldn't rely on advice from strangers on the street, though.

And, yeah, you're clearly well-traveled. I had my own "ten days" problem once in India...before I knew not to take ice in my drink. You can drink all the bottled water you want, but if you put ice cubes made from tap water in your drinks, it's all over (same thing with brushing your teeth...bottled water only).

The only good thing is that an experienced traveler can recognize that s/he made a mistake in an hour or two when you get that familiar "bad feeling" in your stomach and gut...we all know what it feels like. After that trip, I started calling my doctor and getting a prescription for a ten-day course of Cipro that I took with me in my travel kit whenever I went to a Third World country. If you start taking it as soon as you "know" you've consumed the wrong thing, it'll knock it out in 24 hours. Now, I guess it would be a Z-pack.

 

[Tony2046]

Your comment got me thinking about street food and I remembered that the best tacos I ever had were at a hole-in-the-wall that was a favorite of Mexico City Taxi Drivers. But, I went with a local guy, who knew what he was doing...the only advice he gave me was to drink the beer out of the bottles and not out of the grimy glasses. So, yeah, if you have local friends or colleagues, your options really open up and you can safely experience the "real" food of the city. I wouldn't rely on advice from strangers on the street, though.

And, yeah, you're clearly well-traveled. I had my own "ten days" problem once in India...before I knew not to take ice in my drink. You can drink all the bottled water you want, but if you put ice cubes made from tap water in your drinks, it's all over (same thing with brushing your teeth...bottled water only).

The only good thing is that an experienced traveler can recognize that s/he made a mistake in an hour or two when you get that familiar "bad feeling" in your stomach and gut...we all know what it feels like. After that trip, I started calling my doctor and getting a prescription for a ten-day course of Cipro that I took with me in my travel kit whenever I went to a Third World country. If you start taking it as soon as you "know" you've consumed the wrong thing, it'll knock it out in 24 hours. Now, I guess it would be a Z-pack.

Getting a round of Cipro before leaving is a great tip. Never thought of that.

 

[PP2]

Your comment got me thinking about street food and I remembered that the best tacos I ever had were at a hole-in-the-wall that was a favorite of Mexico City Taxi Drivers. But, I went with a local guy, who knew what he was doing...the only advice he gave me was to drink the beer out of the bottles and not out of the grimy glasses. So, yeah, if you have local friends or colleagues, your options really open up and you can safely experience the "real" food of the city. I wouldn't rely on advice from strangers on the street, though.

And, yeah, you're clearly well-traveled. I had my own "ten days" problem once in India...before I knew not to take ice in my drink. You can drink all the bottled water you want, but if you put ice cubes made from tap water in your drinks, it's all over (same thing with brushing your teeth...bottled water only).

The only good thing is that an experienced traveler can recognize that s/he made a mistake in an hour or two when you get that familiar "bad feeling" in your stomach and gut...we all know what it feels like. After that trip, I started calling my doctor and getting a prescription for a ten-day course of Cipro that I took with me in my travel kit whenever I went to a Third World country. If you start taking it as soon as you "know" you've consumed the wrong thing, it'll knock it out in 24 hours. Now, I guess it would be a Z-pack.

My "10 days" finally caught up with me in Cairo. Came all the way home with me byways of London. Ugh.