Any meal that takes you down isn't fun. Having it happen in a foreign country can be downright scary.
I'll spare you the details, but one of these royally messed me up: yoghurt on a ferry from Macao to Hong Kong, a fast food burger at the Kowloon pier, smoked pork belly and apples served in a jar at a world-renowned bar or late-night sliders at the top-floor bar of a luxury hotel.
I'll never know the culprit, but I did learn some important lessons.
Everything seemed fine. I got ready for bed but couldn't fall asleep. As the night wore on, I started sweating.... then shaking... then OMG.
Around 7:00 on a Sunday morning, I called down to the front desk to see how I could get medical assistance. Was there a hospital near? A clinic open on a Sunday morning?
Luckily, I was in a big city and the front desk immediately patched me through to a doctor on call. I described my symptoms and he said he'd be there shortly. By 9:00 the doctor arrived, examined me and had prescription pills on hand for cramping/dehydration and nausea.
I didn't even know a service like this existed. The cost? A lot. Like a tasting menu at a 3* a lot. But just as I "splurge" on a meal, I felt I needed to splurge on this. I didn't have unlimited time in HK and I wanted to try and salvage the trip.
By that afternoon I had enough strength to shuffle the streets. Although I felt awful, I was getting better as each hour passed. I canceled my dinner reservation and instead ordered room service spaghetti, a roll and berry sorbet. And damn it, if it wasn't the best meal ever because I knew the following day I'd feel even better.
Since you've hung in there through this entire debacle, here are my travel tips for protecting your health:
First, a disclaimer so you don't die and your estate sues me: If you have a medical emergency, go to the nearest hospital for treatment or call emergency services.
1. Purchase international travel insurance as a supplement to your regular health insurance. This is NOT when you check the insurance box from your travel provider. That's for trip cancellation. This is in case of sickness and accidents. You also want something that covers medical evacuation, X-rays, ambulances and even surgery.
Will they pay out on everything? I don't know. But it costs less than you'd think and does contain important coverage.
2. Pack a "sick kit" in separate toiletries bag. I never knew or thought about this before traveling internationally, but medication ingredients vary from country-to-country. You could seriously hurt yourself guessing or trying to communicate with a pharmacist in a foreign country.
My kit contains:
- a thermometer
- decongestant
- anti-histamine
- cough suppressant
- anti-diarrheal
- prescription anti-nausea
- band aids
and I go through the kit once a year to replace anything that's expired
3. If you have a non-emergency as I did, call down to the front desk to see if they have a doctor-on-call program, or where the closest clinic is. I was embarrassed at first, but they get these calls ALL the time. Odds are, they have a procedure manual to assist sick guests.
If you're staying in hostel or Airbnb-type situation, print out copies ahead of time where you can get help if needed.
These are tips for population centers. If you're in a remote area, give some thought before you leave home about what you'd do if you were sick and needed help.
Hopefully you'll never need assistance while traveling. But with some small planning in advance, you can have some peace of mind if something does happen.
Safe travels!