In reply to mypyrex: rrrrrrdf ,o;'hgjhjjhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Sorry that was Freddy's reply, more seriously I think your two threads should be amalgamated, the old perceptions were that a lot of the stomach problems in the Himalaya were caused by two things, one being the low boiling point of water being unable to kill the giardi(sp) bugs, the other that minute particles of Micah were in the water.
This is obviously miles out of date, I am sure the Army mountaineers will have better solution to this now, we used to use filtration and Iodine, and while in Kathmandu drink only guaranteed bottled water, but even then, even in some of the top hotels, an ice cube in your gin and tonic could do the damage.
I expect Mark Stephenson will come back and sort out the modern thinking, Mark?
Al