My Wife Made Me Ask . . .

[Abe]

My wife and I are taking the Viking River Imperial Jewels China land tour/Yangtze River cruise in September.

 

We've read that the bathroom tap water in the 5-star hotels is not safe to drink, brush your teeth with, or shave with.

 

What about soaking in a bathtub??? My wife loves her baths but if the water has unsafe bacteria in it - how safe is it to bathe in? I would think a shower would be okay - but I just don't know about subjecting private parts to long-term exposure. Are we being silly - or is there a reason to be concerned?

[SarasMommy]

We stayed in a hotel in Beijing and were given bottled water to use for brushing our teeth. But I don't think soaking in a bath would be a problem. I have severe stomach problems and wouldn't hesitate bathing in the water in a 5-star hotel. I just wouldn't injest it. Unless I'm really naive, I don't think there's a problem.

[Spikesgirl]

Abe - not a silly question at all. We did a similar cruise on Victoria and our friends did Viking and we both had the same restrictions on the ship and at our hotels. I took several baths with no problems at all. Probably if you have some sort of open wound, that would make a difference, but otherwise your wife should be fine.

 

They don't want you to injest the water or get infected if you nick yourself shaving. It's a bit of a hassle at first, but you get used to it pretty fast.

 

The funniest part was coming home and looking for a bottle of water to brush my teeth with before realizing that it was okay to use our tap water.

 

We absolutely loved out time on the river and in China. What an incredible thing you are going to experience. Wish we could do it again for the first time.

 

Charlie

[Abe]

Thank you for your replies and for not making us feel silly for asking such a question. We're still pretty naive when it comes to traveling away from home - but we'll get better as we experience new things.

 

Again our thanks.

[smeyer418]

even the three star hotels will give you bottled water and boiled water as well. The Chinese use the bottled water too. Its safe to shower and Bathe as long as you keep your mouth shut.

 

We used the boiled water for instant coffee and tea and never had a problem. Some 5 star hotels tell you their water has been filtered....I still would use bottled water- normally your bus driver will have extra for a reasonable amount.

[Philip217]

I have lived in China for 15 years. I have always used tap water for everything. Never any problems.

I only time I had food poisoning was when I visited America.

[Spikesgirl]

The same would hold true for us if we tried to use your tap water, Philip. You're used to the water and your system can accomodate the local bacteria. Ours couldn't and could result in some nasty dysentery. While I don't have a problem eating the food (within reason - nothing raw), we were heavily advised by the hotel, cruiseline and travel guides not to drink any tap water. We ate everything and abided by the bottled water rule and didn't have any problems. But heck, anyone, anywhere can get food poisoning. Dysentery is a little easier to avoid.

 

The other thing you might want to be on the look out for, Abe. Many street vendors sell water and will make a big deal of taking the cap off for you. Refuse those and pick your own. Some vendors fill their bottles from a tap and then sell them as bottled water. Only accept a bottle with an intact cap to be assured that the water is actually bottled and not local.

 

If you'd like to read our travel diary, drop me a line at charliekirby@comcast.net and I'll be happy to send it to you. It covers our 25 days from Bangkok to Beijing.

 

Charlie

[cwc]

There is a Chinese saying "The foreign water & earth is not going well with me" :D

 

When I was little (in Hong Kong), whenever my uncles (from US, Canada and UK) came for a visit, they always get diarrhea for the first few days. So they start to bring a bottle of water with them from their home to drink for the 1st day or so. No more tummy problem.:eek: But I still won't drink from the tap without boiling the water first.

 

Oh, make use you don't drink anything with ice in it.;)

[camNaud]

I always stick to bottled water when visiting a new country - although the tap water may be deemed safe to drink - no tap water is ever 100% bacteria free.

 

Even tap water you drink at home is not 100% bacteria free - the difference is your body (immune system) is used to the local bacteria at home - whereas your body (immune system) will react to the local bacteria in combination with the differing mineral content you will find in a foreign country. Hence the heightend chance of stomach problems.

[camNaud]

another double post - system is really slow tonight.