Water is Life

In 2018, I wrote an article about how water health and safety may be the most significant (and overlooked) issue facing the planet today. Ever since the recent train derailment in Ohio, and subsequent contamination of soil and water, I keep thinking back to the article I wrote 5 years ago.

According to many sources, the Ohio train derailment contaminated at least 15,000 pounds of soil and 1.1 million gallons of water. The repercussions of this will likely be seen for years to come. The 38 derailed train cars were carrying many toxic substances, the most dangerous being vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene. All of these substances could have damaging and perhaps lasting effects on humans, wildlife, and the environment.

I now find myself leading one of my tour groups in India, and again, my thoughts keep going back to the situation in Ohio. Fortunately, our hotels each have their own water treatment facilities, but especially outside of the hotels, we only drink filtered water. I keep wondering how many years the United States may have until we face similar water issues experienced by other countries.

What we seem to take for granted in America is that water is precious. Water is life. And certain things once done to our supply cannot be undone. While it may be difficult to place a universal price tag on the value of water, it is interesting to note that in Dubai, water is more expensive than oil.

Much of my thoughts on this issue stem from my own travels around the world, and the experiences I have had in different countries. On safari, you see instantly the relevance and importance of water on all life, such as the crowded water hole right in front of our lodge in Tanzania, where the animals jockey daily for space.

In Egypt, we learned how the Nile river was truly the lifeblood of Egypt. It was essentially what gave Egypt its strength and power.

In India, we visit the ancient city of Varanasi, which draws Hindu pilgrims who bathe in the Ganges River’s sacred waters and perform funeral rites. Again, it is all about the Ganges—water is the lifeblood of their faith, their way of life.

Yet, the water is undrinkable for most visitors coming to these countries. In the USA and Canada, are we taking our most prized resource for granted, and are we destroying it? It takes minutes to pollute a lake or river and possibly lifetimes to heal.

However, there is hope. On my current trip to India, we stayed at the beautiful Six Senses Fort Barwara Resort near Ranthambore National Park, visited by most tourists who desire to see its famed tigers on safari. Six Senses has a tremendous focus on sustainable travel, and we certainly experienced this while staying at Fort Barwara.

The 700-year-old fort-palace and temples have been responsibly restored using traditional building techniques used in Rajasthan sensitively incorporating efficient design elements such as rainwater collection tanks and solar panels to complement rather than detract from the beautiful and historic architecture. The hotel is working to protect the wider Barwara community, nearby lake, and landscape, minimizing negative impacts and maximizing positive ones. Through thoughtful planning, Six Senses Fort Barwara is conserving, cleaning, and protecting local water sources, and with the education of local communities, creating lasting change. I love that we can see the majestic Bengal tigers while at the same time contributing to the community.

And of course, environmentally responsible tourism goes far beyond water conservation and preservation. As travelers, we can do our part by commending hotels like this that are making a difference, and in fact, patronize such places above others.

Ten Travel Habits to Develop Now

Ten Travel Habits to Develop Now

International travel has changed a lot over the past few years, and as with all changes, it is up to us to adapt. With that in mind, there are a number of healthy habits that one can develop to make “post-Covid” travel as relaxed and comfortable as possible.

1. Photograph everything. I am not talking about taking pictures of beautiful sceneries, or creeper pics of hot Brazilians in Rio de Janeiro. I am speaking about taking pictures of things like your luggage tags, and your luggage in general, as well as a picture of your passport, vaccination card and other important documents so that if any of these things ever go missing, it becomes much easier to acquire them.

2. Bring a mask and antibacterial gel even after Corona. One of the lessons that Corona taught me is the importance of having a mask handy as well as antibacterial hand gel. If and when Corona is ever a thing of the past, I am still going to bring these things on my travels. There have been so many times in the past where I have been seated by a passenger who was sick, but I didn't have any tools with me to avoid the germs. Now I'm going to have a mask in my travel carry-on at all times. I already was bringing antibacterial hand gel on all of my trips, and now I am just going to make sure that I always have it handy.

3. When buying your plane ticket, get in the habit of checking all classes of service before actually purchasing the ticket. People assume that coach is always much cheaper than business or first, and sometimes this isn't the case. Taking the extra step to check all of the options may reveal that business or first are not that more expensive than coach for that particular journey. You don't know until you look.

4. Related to number two, get in the habit of washing your hands often and thoroughly. On our Zoom Vacations tours, every time we sit down to a meal, I jokingly tell everyone that as their mother I am reminding them to wash their hands. There is actually no joke about it. This is probably the easiest way to avoid getting sick, and staying healthy while traveling. I see tourists all the time who have been out and about seeing the sites and touching handrails and foreign surfaces and then pop in to a local restaurant and immediately dip their hands into the bread basket. If you've ever been sick while traveling, the habit of washing your hands is something you will always do from that point forward.

5. Get in the habit of always bringing something to do to entertain yourself, whether it be a tablet loaded with your favorite shows, or a book you've been dying to read. Do this even when you have a short flight. You never know when you will have a travel delay or when your plane could be stuck on the tarmac for hours, and having things to do can transform a stressful or frustrating situation into a relaxing and pleasant one.

6. Following on number five, always bring a snack with you. A habit that I started a couple years ago is that I always have a protein bar in my carry-on bag at all times. If you're like me and you let yourself get hungry, you're less likely to think clearly when a situation requires a solution, and it's easier to get crabby if your stomach is empty.

7. It's great to get in the habit of providing loved ones with your contact information to reach you while traveling, especially if traveling somewhere with no cell phone coverage. You should never rely on having cell phone coverage, and always have the back up plan with local contact information for where you're staying that you can provide to people back home in case of emergency.

8. Get in the habit of reconfirming your flights sporadically before your trip, and especially the day before and day of. Airlines are making changes to flights more than ever, and it is very easy to miss a flight change notification. We have seen peoples' flights change from one day to the next, and if you weren't checking these things on a regular basis, you could miss it.

9. One of the best and most enjoyable habits that one can develop is learning basic phrases in the local language of the place you're visiting. You definitely want to learn how to say "thank you," with bonus points for learning "good morning" and "good evening."

10. This last habit may be the most difficult to develop, but it is such a good idea to get in the habit of packing early for your vacation. There are several reasons for this. If you wait to the night before to pack for your trip, you may not realize that items that you were considering to pack may be in your dry cleaning bin, or you may pull at an item to pack and it may have a large hole in it. Plus, packing in haste right before your trip increases the odds that you are going to either forget something or pack things that you don't really need because you are in a rush.

Bonus: 11. Arrive at the airport a little earlier than before for international flights. Since airlines now have to check vaccination cards, Covid arrival requirements, PCR certificates, other health forms, and QR codes, it’s best to allow extra time for this. And if you follow number five above, if you end up with extra time, you can always use a book, Ipad or phone loaded with entertainment to start your trip on a relaxed mode.