Delicate Balance

It’s hot in much of India. In order to stay feeling my best, I’ve found that I need to stay hydrated. A deliciously cold lemon soda (fresh squeezed lemon juice with a bottle of soda water on the side) works well in addition to the bottles of cold water I consume daily.

Of course, if I’m going to stay hydrated, I must also keep my eye open for an available “toilet”, as they say here. Unless I’m in my hotel room, this usually means a hole in the ground with two porcelain foot pegs on either side. Often it’s an extremely smelly, windowless hovel.

As a result, I’m constantly assessing how much time I may be away from the relative comfort of my hotel room’s “western” style toilet and how much liquid I can safely consume.

Overnight trains are the trickiest as I’m reluctant to get up in the middle of the night, leave my bags unattended (but locked) and make my way to the rocking and swaying squat toilet.

Guys have it much easier - at least the local guys do as they use any wall, tree, bush or blade of grass unabashedly.

In particularly unfriendly circumstances, I hold my breath for as long as I can, breathe into my sleeve and imagine the scent of freshly cut watermelon. That will have to do the trick until I learn how to better balance my water intake and output.

Happy Travels!

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