What is a tuktuk
 

My husband and I are traveling to Thailand and Hong Kong this coming March. We are traveling with a group of Plumeria/Frangipani collectors and will be visiting several nurseries and gardens. We have been vaccinated for all the recommended diseases. The nurse told us not to eat any type of shrimp, lobster, crab, etc. Is there a danger in eating fish as well? I am a little worried about other meats and especially poultry. Also, is it ok to have drinks with ice? I'm sure we will drink bottled water but what about ice.

What is a tuktuk?

Thanks for any tips and guidance.

Sue-A tuk tuk is a three-wheeled vehicle that zooms through traffic. It's sides are open and you are exposed to the wonderful air. It's name comes from the sound the small engine makes. Cabs are air conditioned and generally cheaper when they use the meter ( you must insist. A tuk tuk is a novelty, but wears thin quickly.

It's best to see a picture.

Go to Google.com, click on "image", and then search for "tuk tuk".

I think avoiding shellfish is being a little overly cautious. But, that's just my opinion.

As regards eating, beliefs differ widely. Mine are that you can pretty much eat everything at 4 and 5 star hotels as well as good restauarants. This includes shell fish. BBQ prawns are wonderful. Crab and lobster are also great. I might avoid oysters, but they are tricky everywhere. Normal fish is a great treat in Thailand. We ate deep fried fish almost every day with different sauce, e.g., chili, tamarind, curry. Again, with chicken, good restaurants are fine.

Having said all that, you should do whatever you're comfortable with. There's no reason to raise your anxiety level because of some anonymous poster on Fodors.

There are varying opinions on street food. Some tourists never eat it and others (my son for instance) gorge on it. I've eaten some and never had a problem. Do that which makes you most comfortable.

sounds like your nurse recommended you eat nothing! What's left, berries and seeds? ;)
We didn't get any shots (we're taking a chance) and plan on eating lots of seafood. Just avoiding street food and using common sense.

I would avoid ice. Inevitable a cube might slip in but don't over fret about it.

In Hawaii, the plumeria is called the "Graveyard Flower" and is generally regarded as bringing bad luck. As you know, they are reputed to feed on the bodies buried beneath them. Never knew that people would collect the species.

In any case, the nurse was being pretty conservative about the food. Don't know about HK, but we ate all the seafood we could find in TL with no adverse effects. You might get a Rx for one of the GI-specific antibiotics if you're extra cautious and/or bring some Imodium. The chicken and pork dishes were delicious, too. We found the Thai-grown beef to be tough and tasteless by comparison. If you must have a beef dish, you might need to pay 2-3 x's the price for imported beef. You'll see the same dish priced with both types of beef.

I think that you have more to worry about the bad luck associated with the Graveyard Flower than the food in TL.

Pronounced: "took-took" = motorcycles with side-cars, tops and 2/3 seats. They are ubiquitous and cheap (negotiate price in advance) and can be pretty exciting to ride in.

I would avoid Ice. Probably it's fine though in 4 and 5 * hotels. We eat lots of fish in Thailand. I will be missing wine as it's pretty expensive, however, the Singha Beer is GREAT and very cheap. Actually, we'll be in BKK this time next week (yea getting real excited) any recommendations for a wine shop that has real good prices?
Sue
Sue

SueHumi, The only wine shops with good prices are outside of Thailand... If you really want wine for a special occasion, bring it into the country with you.

Suehand, I can't imagine why your nurse recommended that you not eat shellfish. Did you ask what her concern was?

Ice that is made from purified water is fine (you can recognize the machine-made ice as it's round with a hole in the middle). Crushed ice is not ok. Some people don't want to risk any ice.

Ice is fine at 5 star hotels and at very good restaurants, but always ask first if the ice is made with puified water. Thais are generally truthful and will tell you if it's not. If however you have any doubts, avoid ice where the answer is not satisfactory. I don't recall having any problems with ice in HK but it's always prudent to ask.

As stated above, there is no need to avoid seafood, fish or poultry. If the place looks clean and the staff look clean and others are eating there, it should be okay. I generally avoid street food.

To you want to try out the tuk-tuks.

You must bargain down the price BEFORE getting on.

DO NOT accept any offers to bring you to any jewellery shop having special one day/last day promotions because of some celebrations for the King/Queen/Prince/Princess or that the driver will get a commission or petrol voucher. A strict NO NO! Walk away or take a metered taxi - of course must make sure the driver turns it on. If the driver claims it's spoilt get out and take another. Taxis are plentiful in Bangkok.

NO ICE EVER ANYPLACE IN THAILAND--one possible exception might be a 5* hotel where they tell you the ice is made from purified water....i rarely have it then either...

never heard of any ban of seafood of any kind as long as it is cooked...

what country do you live in??

tuk tuks are good for one short ride, period...not near a tourist site however as they will rip you off...50B should be perfect for a short ride...

We're a bit careful, but have relaxed a lot over the years. Ice...we have it if it's "clean" ice. We've found that asking about it receives an honest answer. Places that give us ice on the side, we leave it.

Food...we eat whatever we want, and I'll be honest, sometimes we get sick. Usually, we don't get sick, though :) Last trip to Thailand (back this week) my husband ate fried crickets...just because they were for sale. We all ate lots of street market snacks when we were in Ko Kred with no problems at all. Our daughter got really sick earlier in the trip, but we are convinced that her illlness was caused by swimming with elephants in a rank and dungy river pool, not from any of the food we ate.

I was hospitalized in Japan with food poisoning from a popular deparment store restaurant, and my daughter and I both got food poisoning from a popular family restaurant chain last year (in Japan). We've never been so sick from food outside of Japan, and Japan is "clean." So, we tend to be more relaxed about food and ice than many.

Seafood...we eat it often, especially shrimp. You can tell if it's not fresh...it will smell/taste fishy or like ammonia. If so, don't eat it. If in doubt, don't eat it.

Meat and poultry...in many cases it is likely fresher and cleaner than what you get in the states (assuming you are in the US). Same as seafood...if it looks and smells good, it's likely OK.

One things, though, freshly cooked foods, rather than reheated or left in a steam table, carry much less risk of causing sickness. This is true everywhere in the world.

One thing that we are very careful about is hand washing...we carry waterless gel wash as well as special hand wipes with us everywhere. You touch a lot of grungy stuff throughout the day that you certainly don't want to put in your mouth.

The food in Thailand is wonderful - at all levels - have never, ever, been sick there. Ditto on only trip to Hong Kong. You can miss so much by being paranoid through bad advice. But all the advice above is brilliant.

I do, though, always use bottled water when cleaning my teeth.

It's just lovely to hear of a frangipani collector. Are we talking about more than just flower colour here? What are you hoping to find?

The tree in my back yard (bog standard white flower) is giving off the scent as I write. Love it!