Water - home and away

No Fieldgate – Your not important enough to me to stalk ;-) – Someone else pointed out to me that you were still “Flogging Your Dead Horse” on anther part or the tree.

Have I gone too far – IMHO, No, After all it isn’t me that is questioning, both medical opinion as well that of other Regular visitors to Nepal on the other threads.

Maybe I touched a raw nerve, maybe you do think that people on this part of the tree that know you better will back you up on what the others on the Nepal part of the tree think of as dangerous advice.

Are we “Biased” over there ?? (Your answer indicated that you think we are ??)

And how have I spoiled this thread ?? – The only way that I can see is that as you didn’t stipulate a Where in your original question, that you would (Quite rightly) get a variety of answers – As an example, I myself drink from mountain springs in Crete (Lefka Ori and Samaria Gorge to name two) and from hundreds of springs in Spain when walking Camino’s – But that doesn’t alter the fact that I wouldn’t even think of doing the same in Nepal as different countries require different actions.

Best Regards
Rob

Rob,
I'm still surprised by your very first post here, not being sure what brought you to this branch. It just looks too odd to me.
I'll stop wondering, however, and I'll leave it at that.

To get back to the question. My criteria is usually the same as Nutrax, although my plan of attack is usually quite cautious as I no longer have unlimited time away and the last thing I need is to be ill. I start with bottled for the first couple of days until I am over my journey and any upsets along the way, then move to coffee made with local boiled water, then onto tap water. Other places where it is acknowleged that the hygiene or the treatment of the water or the taste is not good - usually bottled or soda (but Nutrax - I try to check for foreign bits in the bottom of the glassware as I too have heard of others who have also had more protein in their drink than they would wish for).

I haven;t had many prblems with bottled water in the bits of southeast Asia I've been to, including Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. I drink boiled tap water in my wife's village in Java, but the people who live there do as well.

I used those disgusting tasting water purification tables in India in 1988. I was still ill the whole six weeks I was there. Has technology advanced since then?

There have been a number of cases reported in the local news media/blogs of groups of swimmers,picnickers in some popular clear forest mountain waterfall streams in Malaysia comming down with severe cases of leptroperosis(?)and other serious bacterial infections suspected to have been caused by infected rat,monkey or civet cat urine which a in few cases resulting in death.
Better to drink commercially bottled water or at least well boiled tap or mountain steam water.Some village well water might also be doggy and smell a bit muddy but should be ok if boiled and flavoured with coffee or tea,etc.

Has technology advanced since then?

There have been a lot of advances in filters. The problem is that most filters still don't get some viruses.

There are also new chlorine disinfectants out there. Not bleach, which you can still use, but something called chlorine dioxide which is flavorless.

severe cases of leptroperosis(?)

Leptospirosis

You get it by contact with the water, not by drinking it. There are annual deaths in Malaysia.mostly in people who swim in lakes or rivers in parks.

There was a "multisport endurance race, held in Malaysian Borneo August 21–September 1, 2000. Three hundred four athletes from 26 countries and 29 U.S. states competed in the 10-day endurance event. Segments of the event included jungle trekking, prolonged swimming and kayaking (both in fresh and ocean water), spelunking (caving), climbing, and mountain biking." A number became ill.

The US CDC did a followup. They were able to contact 189 of the competitors. Of these, 80 were found to have contracted leptospirosis during the competition. Swimming in the Segama River was the most likely cause.

Nutrax(#15) Think last year or early this year there were also a few cases which occured in Pahang or Selangor state and even in Penang island in Peninsular Malaysia.

Oh, yes. I just found that one interesting.

In 2010, there were 8 deaths of people "who were among a search and rescue group looking for a drowning victim in a recreational area in eastern Pahang state." Also that year, 3 people who picnicked at Lata Bayu on Penang got leptospirosis. One died.

Interestingly in Namibia the water from the tap is safe.

To be fair to OP, he isn't actually giving any opinion here, just asking people for their opinions, however opinionated he might have been on another branch...