StairsHold on to the Handrails 
My wife and I were just in Cambodia, where we stayed at a lovely hotel. It was mostly very nice, but irresponsibly, it had tile stairs without sandpaper strips—so when it rained, as it did a lot while we were there, the stairs turned into real hazards.

Unfortunately, Natalie learned the hard way when she slipped and fell, which resulted in her hitting her head and ending up with a huge bruise on her bum. It was scary, and I honestly don’t know what they’re thinking in not having those safety strips on all the steps. The Moon Palace in Cancun, which we visited a couple weeks later, had them on all the steps and it made a huge difference. So, the lesson: When you’re walking down stairs, especially at an open-air hotel where the steps can get wet from the rain, be sure to hold on to the handrails.

 

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10 Comments On "Travel Tip of the Day: Hold on to the Handrails"
  1. Gayle|

    Those flip flops didn’t help matters as the bottoms get very slick when wet!!

  2. MeganG|

    I have also encountered slick tiles in/around hotel swimming pools and in hotel showers. I’m always baffled by this. And angered that I have had to sit on a chaise lounge day after day staring at a pool I cannot use. Some hotels with slippery showers did not have rubber bath mats, so I resorted to throwing down a bath towel folded in half. Housekeeping must think I’m nuts showering with a towel under my feet, but with mobility issues, I have no other choice.

    I hope Natalie fully recovers.

  3. James|

    So she fell and your first thought was to take a picture? Where’s the chivalry Johnny??

    1. Johnny Jet|

      Ha! No. I took it after I tended to her. When she said she was alright I said let me take a photo for a future tip.

    2. Yvonne|

      Why didn’t you talk to the hotel owners about the stair strip solution? Do they ever get sued?

      or don’t they care if people fall? are the safety strips expensive?

  4. Kim Thompson|

    I actually fell at Moon Palace as I was leaving for the airport after TBEX. They were washing the floors, and had the section all blocked off with what looked like police tape. I was about 20 feet from the wet floor area walking toward reception, and went down in a giant puddle. Everybody just stared at me splayed out on the floor. I had a huge bruise on my knee… but I also landed directly on the tip of a finger. I found out the next day — after 20 hours of traveling and no first aid — that I broke my knuckle! (So, I’ve learned to type with one hand!) I found the marble floors at Moon Palace to be incredibly slippery. It rained one of the days, and people are always in and out of the pool, so the floors are slick. Women have “resort wear” consisting of either flip flops or heels, and either way, you’re going down. The first day, I had to take my flip flops off to walk around the resort, since I had slipped about 5 times, catching myself on walls and other people! Wish I’d remembered that when I went to check out of the hotel that morning… I’ve got 6 more weeks in a splint to think about it now!

    1. Johnny Jet|

      Ouch! I agree it was slippery but I was happy to see the stairs and the safety strips. Feel better

  5. Kathy|

    Many times we travel and expect other countries to have the same safety regulations that we are uaws to at home(US&Canada). It was a nasty bruised bumm than alerted you to the hand rail. Hopefully many others will grab hold and by pass that spill! Also, hope there is a speedy recovery… Hips can ache for quite a while.

  6. Christine|

    JJ you are talking about a very very poor country. Most people there are happy to just have enough to eat for the day. They have come a long way by hotel standards but most of them are owned by Australians or money grubbing wealthy Cambodians who are very comfortable making money off their poorer fellow countrymen, keeping them in slavery. We all need to watch out for safety. Their idea of safety is certainly not ours. There is no OH & S in that country.

  7. Christine|

    BTW did you think of giving blood at the Children’s hospital in PP? The hospital relies on the good will of foreigners to give blood to save the children. Local people are superstitious and wont give blood. Suggest this on your blog. The conditions are primitive by western standards but watch their video and you won’t be dry eyed!

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