Ten bizarre travel diseases that can ruin your next vacation

by Laurel Miller on

On some level, catching a weird disease or picking up a little-known tropical parasite on your travels gives you bragging rights. “Look at me, I’m so hardcore!” Trust me, I’ve been there. But with Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR TB) making headlines worldwide, I’d like to remind fellow travelers that these diseases are no joke, and even those of us with healthy immune systems and access to industrialized medicine aren’t impervious.

The reality is, you never know what you might be susceptible to. In my case, my doctors and medical research indicate that I may be lacking an enzyme that made me vulnerable to an extremely rare but serious tropical disease caused by the bacteria Bartonella bacilliformis, which causes Oroya Fever (and its precursor, Verruga Peruana). I’m still recovering from a three-year battle with the disease that has resulted in permanent organ damage because of a failure to protect myself against sand flies in the Amazon Basin region of Ecuador. Regular applications of DEET could have prevented that, as well as the various misdiagnoses of tuberculosis, histoplasmosis, and Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but that’s another story.

A lot of tropical and uncommon travel-related ailments are difficult to diagnose, and sometimes even more problematic to cure (if they don’t kill you, first). Statistically, however, most travelers–even if they’re in extremely sketchy parts of the world–will stay healthy if they take the necessary precautions. Having a trustworthy travel doctor is also helpful if you spend a lot of time in developing nations.
Being prepared before you leave home is key. You should never take travel wellness lightly, but don’t let fear ruin your trip. I certainly don’t follow every bit of medical advice out there (I honestly don’t see the point of traveling if not to eat epic quantities of street food.). If you’re going to be completely paranoid and don’t own a Hazmat suit, perhaps it’s better to stay home. But don’t ignore CDC warnings for recommended (or required) vaccinations, and if you know you’re going to be in a malarial or otherwise-dangerous insect-or-disease-inhabited region, prepare accordingly.

Just remember to do your research before you go, and remember that while it most likely won’t happen to you, it’s not impossible.

After the video (graphic, but it illustrates just how devastating TB can be, as well as provides important information on Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis), a gallery of bizarre diseases you’ll want to avoid during your travels.


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27 Romantic hotel suites across the world

by McLean Robbins on


Valentine’s Day is coming. Whether you’re planning a romantic getaway or simply wishing you had someone to “share the love” with, we guarantee you’ll love this glimpse into some of the world’s most romantic hotel suites. We searched from Canada to Curacao to California to Cabo, London to Paris to Switzerland and even scoured Fiji, Bora Bora and Dubai. Of course, a few picks are close to home too – New York City and Miami, anyone?

It’s a hard job, but someone had to do it. Which one is your favorite, or do you have a great romantic spot we missed?

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Food poisoning! What to watch out for in 2012

by Laurel Miller on

For many people–myself included–one of the most enjoyable aspects of travel is experiencing how other cultures eat. Even if you’re only traveling as far as the other end of the state, chances are there’s a regional specialty, street food, farmers market, or restaurant that’s a destination in its own right.

Sometimes, however, the pickings are slim, or no matter how delicious the food, the odds are just stacked against you. As Anthony Bourdain put it on a recent episode of his new series, The Layover, “…if there’s not a 50-percent chance of diarrhea, it’s not worth eating.”

Gross, perhaps, but gluttonous travelers know there’s truth in those words. Bourdain happened to be referring to a late-night drunk binge at one of Amsterdam‘s infamous FEBO fast food automats (above), so with that in mind, I present this photographic homage to the things we eat on the road, despite knowing better. Walk softly, and carry a big bottle of Imodium

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[Photo credit: Flickr user .waldec]

Things I learned in Antigua: Luffas grow on trees

by McLean Robbins on

Antigua is a lush, green land of 365 beaches (one for every day of the year!), warm sunshine, and laid-back island culture. It is also the land of the luffa.

Beauty junkies the world over are familiar with these excellent exfoliating tools, perfect for sudsing up and washing down in the shower or tub. We may even know them by other names – shower sponges, poofs, etcetera. Today, many are made of plastic and come in a variety of colors and textures.

What we might not know: the luffa, also known as a loofah, is a fruit.

That’s right. Just like that old fooler the tomato, the loofah is part of the fruit family. That’s right – we thought it came from the ocean too. Doesn’t the little sponge-like apparatus look like it came from the sea?

Well, it doesn’t. This edible “climbing vine” with beautiful yellow flowers – if one wasn’t aware of what they were seeking, the luffa might be mistaken for a beautiful tree. Resembling a cucumber when ripe, luffa is often cooked eaten as a fuit in some Middle Eastern and Indian cultures and sometimes prepared with crushed dried peanuts and bans. Some even use its juices as a natural treatment for jaundice. In Canada, the luffa is known as a Chinese Okra and in India the fruit is called a Sebot. In Paraguay, the fruit is combined with other vegetable matters and recycled plastic to create furniture or construct houses.

When dried out, as shown in the gallery below, the luffa can be peeled or chipped away to showcase the mature and dry fibers underneath. Shake out the seeds, which resemble oversized watermelon or sunflower seeds, and viola! The world’s only natural bath or kitchen sponge. The coarse network of fibers makes the luffa a perfect exfoliator for both dry and wet skin.

These fruits grow in dry, warm climates throughout China, Korea, Japan and Central America as well as my own personal land of discovery, Antigua.

I’m proud to say that the phrase “you learn something new every day” stands true – it just turns out that this day was more memorable than most!

*A big thanks to Vorn Johnson, an Antiguan nature enthusiast, who accurately pointed out that one of the island’s many plants is indeed the luffa fruit. While we can’t find data verifying if the plant is native to the island, research shows that the fruit also grows on nearby Barbuda.

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The 10 smallest countries in the world

by Alex Robertson Textor on

The world’s ten smallest countries in terms of area fall into two general categories: European microstates (Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican) and small island nations of the Indian Ocean, Pacific, and Caribbean (Maldives, Marshall Islands, Nauru, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Tuvalu.) Some of these countries are quite new as independent nations: Tuvalu gained independence from the UK in 1978, while the Marshall Islands gained full independence from the US in 1986. Others have been around for a very long time. San Marino dates its founding as a republic to 301. These countries vary greatly from one another along other axes as well: population, income, life expectancy, industry, tourist facilities, and membership in various international organizations.

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[Image of Tuvalu: Flickr | leighblackall]