Some travellers seem to encounter more hiccups than others. The following globe-trotting adventurer falls into the former category, and serves as a reminder to think before you act, especially when it comes to deckchair handling, diving into murky seas, and choosing where to dine before a long coach journey…
Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke CC0
Deck chair calamity, Perhentian Islands, Malaysia
I met accident-prone Lee in the steamy jungle of the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. We wound up travelling around the country together, and eventually hopped on a ferry to the stunning Perhentian Islands. After a few days of snorkelling, swimming, and relaxing on the island’s fine sandy beaches, calamity struck.
One evening, Lee wanted to watch an outdoor screening of ‘Gone Girl’ at a beachside bar. I felt tired so went to bed early, leaving him to enjoy the movie. The dozen or so travellers settled into deck chairs ranged in front of the screen, and the drama unfolded – or rather, folded.
My friend hadn’t got the optimum angle for viewing the Ben Afleck/Rosamund Pike classic, so started shifting his deckchair around while seated. Suddenly the film was interrupted by the screams of my friend, who had managed to collapse the deckchair – and himself – right onto his own fingers.
I only found out about the disaster the next morning, when there was a knock on my guesthouse door. I opened up to see Lee holding a pair of heavily bandaged hands in the air.
At length, he gave me all the details of the previous evening. He had been rushed by boat to the next island, where there was a medical centre. The nursing staff inside had been taken aback by this unusual injury: they were more accustomed to holidaymakers stepping on sharp shells, sea urchins or jellyfish – not getting their fingers jammed in deckchairs.
Luckily, Lee had travel insurance which helped with the various costs he incurred – mostly relating to getting his hands rebandaged multiple times. Eventually, his digits healed. The bruise to his ego, however, would take a little longer to fade.
A jetty jump gone wrong
Some years later, I was travelling with Lee and a group of his friends, when disaster struck again. We had been staying in the tranquil town of Kampot, in the south of Cambodia, when Lee and his pals decided to visit the beachside settlement of Kep – famed for its crabs and its pretty beach. I had decided to stay in Kampot for the day, leaving the others to travel the 22km down to Kep on rented motorcycles.
After filling up on the delicious local crab, the group of friends headed down for a dip in the warm sea. On this particular day, the water was rather silty, making it difficult to see the bottom. Despite this poor visibility, Lee decided to stand on a wooden jetty, then dive head first into the murky sea.
Rather than being a metre or so deep, the water was in fact inches deep. Worse, the seabed was littered with jagged rocks.
Lee stood shakily in the shallow water, with a line of red streaking down his forehead: He had struck his bonce on a rock.
Soon after these events, I received a message from Lee’s friends, explaining this new calamity and asking me if I could come down to Kep by tuk tuk, and then drive Lee’s motorbike back to Kampot.
An hour later my tuk tuk arrived in Kep, where Lee was lying on a hammock with a Cambodian krama scarf pressed to his head. Lee and a friend got into the tuktuk, and started the journey back to a clinic in Kampot.
The doctor gave him the all-clear, but recommended he keep his neck stable. One of his friends kindly offered him a neck pillow, which he wore for the remainder of his trip. Needless to say, travelling around Cambodia, and later Vietnam, wearing a neck pillow was a great conversation starter!
Lee didn’t need to use his travel insurance on this occasion, but he was extremely glad he had it; a more serious injury could have resulted in large medical bills.
Border runs
Gastrointestinal problems may not be the most glamorous aspect of travelling, but they’ve certainly put a damper on plenty of trips. Lee succumbed to just such a dilemma while crossing the Honduras-Guatemala border a few years ago.
My globe trotting friend had been suffering from a prolonged gastrointestinal bottleneck for over a week. And while such a predicament is not pleasant, it’s preferable to the opposite problem – particularly when crossing an international border.
However, something Lee consumed did in fact cause the opposite effect – to the degree that he had to keep hopping out of the immigration queue in order to deal with the situation. Entering Guatemala took significantly longer than expected – both for Lee and his fellow coach passengers (since they could not continue their journey without him!).
This tale serves as a gentle reminder to take extra care over what you eat overseas – especially before crossing a border or embarking on a long journey on public transport. Always eat at busy restaurants, avoid ice and washed salad – and always bring some anti-diarrhea medication, just in case!
Travel Writer Bio
Craig enjoys exploring exotic places globally, but has a particular affection for Southeast Asia. From his temporary base in the steamy backwaters of Cambodia, he strikes out in search of adventure, wisdom – and excellent coffee.
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