When I was travelling in India I was staying in a very rural village - no running water, no toilets, power only worked for a couple of hours a day, if you were lucky.
My fellow travelers and I were swimming in a little watering hole that was a short walk away. It was a lovely escape from the heat and was our only opportunity to wash ourselves. I decided to walk upstream with a couple of friends - and came across a large dam about a kilometer away.
It was incredible! It looked deep, and while it was an earthy shade, we may actually be able to get fully submerged, which was a huge step up from splashing around in the stream. My mates weren't so enthused - but I was sold.
I took a running jump from the dam wall into the water, which lay a couple of meters below. My feet hit the ground almost as soon as I hit the water - it was incredibly shallow. I was overwhelmingly glad that I hadn't dove in head-first. That would no doubt have killed me.
That gladness evaporated as soon as I became aware of the water. An inch-thick layer of scum floated on top - thick, smelly, and creamy. It was poop. I waded out as fast as I could - a disgusted icebreaker working through a sea of human crap. When I got out it stuck to me.. I washed for hours, but didn't seem to come clean.
About a day later I came down with a sickness that turned into full-blown dysentery. It took me through multiple hospitals, and I lost half my body weight. Luckily, I survived - and a Grimace would make it all worthwhile!