Post # 2 Bali Belly Baby (a quick word about online travel sites)

Whenever we book some travel, one of the first things I always do is find and follow some Facebook travel sites for our intended destinations. The sites can be an excellent source of real people recommendations and warnings to consider as you’re developing your plans. For the last three months, I have been following a variety of sites for countries in Southeast Asia as a primer for our first visit to the region. 

Any travel site is going to include some degree of “worst case” sharing, but I was not prepared for this particular catalog of scaries. I’m talking cell phone-stealing monkeys, saltwater crocodiles, homicidal tuk-tuk drivers, methanol-laced cocktails, shady masseuses, and a spider the size of one woman’s hand that rode all the way to the airport in a taxi with her. But of all the potential hazards in Southeast Asia, there is one that unquestionably reigns supreme. And I mean a Diana Ross kind of supreme (not the other two). Yes, I mean Bali Belly…and apparently there ain’t no mountain high enough to avoid it.

For those of you blissfully ignorant souls out there, Bali Belly is the nickname for a gastro-intestinal infection that western travelers frequently contract while visiting Southeast Asia. Its symptoms usually include uncontrollable vomiting, severe stomach cramps, and catastrophic (their word, not mine) diarrhea that can only be cured with a full course of antibiotics and several months of psychotherapy. It makes Montezuma’s Revenge look like a welcome mat.

My intent is in no way to disparage the countries we are about to visit and there is not one worry or warning I have come across that would ever prevent me from experiencing this lifetime adventure. In recent years, I’ve had an increasing number of Europeans tell me they no longer want to travel to the US because of our rampant gun violence - and I can’t say I blame them. It serves as a reminder that every country comes with considerations, both perceived and real, and ours is certainly no different. 

So, in the spirit of equality and some light-hearted fun, here is my list of what I think travel sites for the US should be warning foreign visitors to be on guard for:

Things that happened in Vegas but didn’t stay in Vegas, turducken, trying to merge on I-95, Yankees fans, anyone who “didn’t get” Ted Lasso, bars with the word banana in their name, golfers having a bad day, guys named Billy Bob, Market Basket on a Sunday afternoon, killer bees, killer whales, killers, all eighty of the Kardashians but especially Kim, and FINALLY…Taco Tuesday Tummy. 

That’s right, Bali Belly. There’s a new kid in town.

The trip also offers me and my husband a chance for adventure of a more personal nature. After 35 years of marriage, we are fully retired empty-nesters who have settled into an easy routine of the comfortably known. But now toss in the threat of cell phone-stealing monkeys, homicidal tuk-tuk drivers, and the catastrophic diarrhea I’ve been reading about on Facebook travel sites and suddenly you’ve got yourself a party. Hyperbole aside, travel is the one place where Doug and I are consistently shaken out of our comfort zone and offered the opportunity to discover genuinely new experiences as a couple. It has fueled both our deepest discussions and fiercest debates and has provided more roll-on-the-floor laughter than I could ever recount. Truth be told, they are the times when I feel closest to him because we are completely free from the distractions and personal pursuits of our home life and live a fully shared and present life together.