death-traps-of-south-east-asia

Death Traps of South East Asia

death-traps-of-south-east-asiaI once tripped over a wonky piece of concrete in Camperdown and broke my toe. I considered telling the local council about it just so they knew that I could have sued them.

Flash forward to my recent trip to Bali and I am taking a stroll around Seminyak, an upmarket beach suburb. It turns out you have to be very careful not to get too distracted by the boutiques because you really do need to keep your eyes on the footpath. In the same way you wouldn’t take your eyes off a cobra, you should never stop watching the concrete because there are giant holes looming at every step.

For a nation that seems perfectly capable of building five-star resorts it is puzzling that the humble footpath is such an engineering challenge. Every couple of metres, someone is concreting something, fixing something or digging something up. Your options really are ‘walk into oncoming traffic’ or ‘leap over an open drain’.

Every country I have been to in South East Asia suffers from the same lack of concern for the absent-minded walker. A friend of mine once fell into an abyss at least a metre deep in Vietnam, breaking her ankle and providing raucous entertainment to the locals who not only did not help her but also stood around laughing as she struggled to disengage herself from the gaping maw of the underworld.

Travellers, beware. You might think that rusty looking bungee jumping rig at Legian Beach is a death trap but the truth is that danger is right under your feet.

Have you ever fallen down a hole in another country? Where was it?Bali High 125

2 comments on “Death Traps of South East Asia

  1. I haven’t fallen down a hole in another country, however, a friend of mine went walking at night in a small local town. She walked through the cemetry and promptly fell in a freshly dug grave. Needless to say she extricated herself quite hastily.

  2. YES! Well, almost….Burma….lots and lots of holes in the sidewalk outside of Mandalay Palace….I guess thats what you get when you are in a 3rd world country!

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