What about toilet paper?

Our trip to India, organized by The Adventurists, is just over two weeks away. We’re mowing through our trip preparation checklist – Indian tourist visa (check), International Driver’s Permit (check – complete farse but that’s another blog post), travel insurance (check), waterproof luggage (arriving this week), minimal clothing that all dries quickly (still shopping). Shoes. Medications and ways to combat bug bites (in progress). A stick to poke at cows and buffalo that might be on the road (check – also another blog post).

Here’s my question. What do we do about toilet paper? Or about going to the bathroom in general? I still have post-COVID stress disorder from the fact that there was a world-wide run on toilet paper for the first six months of 2020. So generally have a phobia about even thinking about toilet paper. Do we pack rolls and rolls of it in plastic zip lock bags to make sure it doesn’t get wet? Do we get stacks of packages of tissues? Something reusable (yuck)?

What do people in India do when they are driving cross country? Are there gas stations and places to stop for a bio break? What if there aren’t? What do you do? What if we get Delhi belly and need to make frequent stops? So many questions. No answers quite yet.Read more