Originally Posted by
axolotl
While it's fairly common for travelers to get sick in India, I honestly haven't heard of many travelers getting sick in Thailand. Nobody I know has gotten sick there. I routinely ate in the night markets there on 2 trips. Similarly, Sri Lanka has a better reputation than India. I didn't have any problems in Sri Lanka, nor did the other cyclist I was biking with much of the time.
Strangely enough, the only time I ever got ill enough on a bike trip that I had to seek a doctor was in either the US or Canada. I honestly don't know where I contracted giardiasis. The symptoms hit me in Olympic Nat. Park, however I had just arrived from Vancouver Island the day before. I never drank stream water, and my friend didn't get sick.
The incubation period for giardiais would make Washington impossible.
You have to be careful with water. I'll check with some trustworthy medical sites on this. Both Sri Lanka and Thailand are likely much worse than USA, Australia, and New Zealand. Anecdotal evidence is not as reliable as well designed, larger population studies.