Drinking tap water in Borneo

Is It Safe To Drink The Water In Borneo?

When you go to Borneo you are likely to be doing a lot of walking and hiking, therefore keeping up your water intake is essential. This article will briefly talk about any precautions to keep in mind when it comes to water consumption.

Before you travel to a new country it is important to get enough information about the place, and travelling to Borneo is no exception. Are hotels affordable? Are there taxis to take me from place to place? Is the water in Borneo safe enough to drink? These things need to be addressed before you set off on your journey. Drinking safe water is always an issue especially when it affects your health. Finding clean food is usually easy but finding water can be a problem in some locations.

The general rule of travel to anywhere in the world is to avoid the local tap water. That is not necessarily because it is of low quality, but because we are all accustomed to the water in our own region and some of the ingredients in foreign water can cause stomach upsets. The best option is to always buy bottled water, at least as often as you can.

In Borneo you will find taps with water or people selling bottled water. Tap water is generally very safe however in some areas you cannot take the risk. If you must drink the tap water, make sure it is boiled to 100 degrees Celsius and left to cool. This idea works well if you are visiting the rural areas where you cannot buy water. Water obtained from a borehole should be first sieved to get rid of any residues, and then boiled.

Cleaning your teeth with tap water is of course totally safe regarding the usual tummy upsets as you do not ingest enough to have any reaction. However in more rural areas it's best to stick to bottled water.

In East Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah) and Brunei you will also find that due to strict laws, all ice served in restaurants and coffee shops is made with treated water so is also safe. This does not apply so much to the Indonesian part of Borneo!

If you are staying at a hotel you will have more convenient water access. Ask the hotel to deliver bottled water to your room or you can buy a container and have it filled up for you. Since you might be travelling all day, a refill will be a better idea.

If you are asking whether it is safe to drink water in Borneo, I would say yes, as long as it is boiled or it is bottled water. Make sure the bottled water has a seal that is not broken before buying it, especially in Indonesia