The news of an earthquake in Hawaii hit home…so to speak. It reminded me that I had an unfinished article sitting on my computer about safety on the road for you and your travelling family.  This may not be one of my most entertaining articles, but it never hurts to think about safety on the road.

As a native Californian, I have lived through a couple of big earthquakes and a fire. I keep my slippers and a bathrobe nearby my bed…just in case.  On the road I have experienced some discomforting events as well, including a bomb scare and pickpockets.  You can never be prepared for everything…but having some things in your old kit bag can help you deal with a few things that may come up.  Also, if you are travelling with wee ones you may want to ‘baby proof’ a hotel room.  Kids depend on us…and sometimes not-so-great things happen and hotel rooms can be a nightmare of electrical outlets and glass tables and a balcony or two.

So what’s a travelling parent to do?

First of all, let’s address life’s little mishaps.  These can range from a bee sting to a power outage to a bomb scare to a military coup.  (Don’t laugh…this just happened in Bangkok)

Here are some things that I never travel without:

•Copies of important papers:  In case of theft or even perhaps fire or military coup – having a copy of a credit card, passport and/or ticket can facilitate getting a new one. 

•Small flashlights.  The one I always have with me is the size of a credit card and can fit in a back pocket or purse and I also have one in my luggage.  Power outages happen and kids can lose toys in the dark (which is a ‘real’ emergency). 

•Packets of Witch Hazel.  These are good for insect bites, cleaning ANY part of your body, etc. 

•Other meds, including antibiotics.  For details see my WHAT TO TAKE article.

•Duct Tape.  You can fix almost anything and you can secure luggage with it.  Tape sharp corners. Tape electrical and phone cords to position them out of reach.  You can use it to cover electrical outlets. Remember, outlet covers will not work in foreign outlets.

•Rubber Bands.  Many uses including keeping cupboards shut. 

1. SECURING A HOTEL ROOM:
   

•BEFORE you pick a hotel you should research it.  For example, Santorini, Greece is chock full of cliffside hotels with magnificent views of the Aegean.  They were not built with child safety in mind and the drop off is serious.  We picked a hotel that was set back from and NOT directly on the cliff.

•If you are travelling with a really young one…BEFORE you go you should contact the hotel/resort and ask what they provide in the way of safety.   Many will provide a crib, but some also have other safety devices as well.

•LOCK THE DOOR!    It is actually astounding how many people forget to make sure that the door is locked before they go to sleep and also when they leave the room.  If the room has sliding glass doors – make sure those are secured as well.  If you leave and you do not want your room serviced…leave the ‘Do not Disturb’ sign on the door.

•BALCONY:   Of course the goal is to keep the door shut and locked.  ALSO make sure the furniture on the balcony is not set up in a way that could be used as a ladder to climb over the railing.  This goes for windows in the hotel as well.

•TAPE:  Canvas the room and tape outlets, cords and sharp edges (with washcloths).

•TILE FLOORS:  Tile floors usually exist in places that have oceans and pools.  Wet tile floors are a ‘slip ‘n slide’ waiting to happen.  So, keep ‘em dry and don’t let wet suits lay around.  Most bathrooms are tile as well, so…ditto.

•ROOMS WITH KITCHENS:   Kitchens at home are known dangers.  Kitchens you aren’t familiar with are even more dangerous.  Make sure that drawers with knives are secured or keep the knives out of reach.  Are the knobs on the stove reachable by your toddler?  Tape ‘em.  Educate your toddler about the hot water, etc. 

1. SECURING YOUR ‘OWN SELF’ AND LOVED ONES:

   

   
   

•Always use COMMON SENSE when you are travelling and use even more common sense when you are travelling with your family.  Kids can be distracting and pickpockets and people with not-so-good intentions target people who are distracted.

•You may not be able to lock your luggage when you check it, but secure it with a difficult to remove item, like diaper pins.

•LOCK your luggage in your hotel room.  Yea, someone could just take the whole thing, but a thief is actually more likely to be looking for easy pickin’s.

•In-room SAFES are a good place for valuables, but not entirely safe.  I have never had a problem, but a friend had her passport and credit cards clipped from her hotel room safe in Amsterdam.  So, I always ‘split’ my cards and cash.  I take some cash and some cards with me and leave some in the safe.  That way I am safer in case of a theft on either end.  When I travel with my husband we leave one ATM card in the safe and take one with us.  That has been a good strategy. One time my husband left his ATM card in the machine.  We called the bank and they upped my limit and cancelled his card. 

•NOTE…US ‘800’ numbers don’t work outside of the country.  Make sure you have the ‘direct’ number for all your credit card companies and the bank. 

1. HAVE A PLAN
   

You may be wondering…what does this mean?  I wanted to share my thoughts with you.  I kind of learned the hard way about being prepared on vacation.  This past summer in Athens, we were awakened at 3:00AM with a phone call telling us to evacuate the hotel room because there was a bomb threat.  July in Athens is usually sweltering.  This night was not.  It was cold.  People were outside in their bathrobes, underwear and little else.  I at least grabbed my purse in the dark. 

Next time I am in a hotel room, I am going to make sure that I have pants or a bathrobe by the bed and my wallet at the ready…just like home.

I imagine that the tourists in Hawaii were a bit surprised by their early AM wake-up call from PELE (goddess of volcanoes and by proxy…earthquakes).  Those who had a bottle or two of water and some snacks in their room were probably happier than others.

You can never really prepare for that which you do not expect.  Natch.  But take a moment and think.  Don’t go overboard, but just keep an awareness and ‘smartness’ in your travels and you won’t be sorry. 

I know that this article has not been the most pleasant article to read…but as ‘they’ say:  ‘better safe, than sorry’.

Happy, safe travels.