Travelling the world is pretty safe. And although a lot of people have reservations about the dangers of travelling with kids, the risks are not necessarily more or worse than if you don’t travel, they are just different.
In fact I would say the majority of all our major accidents in our lives have been whilst not travelling despite the fact that we travel so much!
We think part of this is that your senses seem to be heightened when in unfamiliar territory and so you act even more cautious than you normally would. As experienced travellers though we probably let our guard down more than some others, but still feel we take the necessary, but not over the top, precautions.
But, we’re not going to lie and travel does come with it’s risks, all be it small ones. And whilst we don’t want to scare people off or worry parents unnecessarily, we do like to ensure we cover all aspects of family travel and that incudes the downs as well as the ups. We’ve had a few mild scares on our travels, but one that really stands out was our tuk-tuk crash.
Returning from the Borobudur Temple
We were on our way back from the Borobudur temple in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. An absolutely stunning Buddhist temple. We’ve seen quite a few temples over the years and this one is definitely in our top ten.
A 7th century Buddhist temple with 9 platforms and dozens of stupas and Buddha statues to explore. Not only is the temple itself amazing, but the scenery around it is also a treat, with the incredible Indonesian countryside stretched out as far as the eye can see.
After our tour we were dropped back at the central meeting point where we had taken the tour-bus from earlier that morning. Our accommodation was only a few km away and we were in the process of ordering a ‘Grab’ (south east Asia’s ride sharing app).
As I was on my phone ordering one, a tuk-tuk pulled up. The tuk-tuk was a little different to the traditional ones that we were used to, being the opposite way round with the driver at the back and passenger in the front in what was basically a large basket. Sometimes known as a bentor-style auto-rickshaw. It was a bit like getting a ‘fronty’ on a bike off your mates back in the day.
A Slow, but Perilous Journey
The driver was particularly amusing guy, trying to sell his services, offering us ‘air conditioning’ in the front of the vehicle. He offered us a reasonable price, but having looked at the space in the front I was dubious if we would actually fit. He suggested the kids go on our lap, not something I was particularly keen on, but as we were only travelling a couple of km down some very quite roads we decided to take him up on his offer.
After getting going, it was obvious this vehicle was not designed for four people in the front. We were pretty squished and with the added weight we were moving extremely slowly. The weight was about to cause us a much bigger problem though.
Even though it was a little uncomfortable and extremely slow going, we were enjoying the ride non-the-less. We were cruising down a quiet lane with rice paddies either side, then it happened…
The Crash!
We heard a bang and felt an initial shock, all be it quite small. Then, as if in slow motion, we begin to flip over. Due to our combined four person weight the vehicle was extremely top heavy and clearly not helpful for the collision. A moped had attempted to overtake us, but had misjudged and as it passed clipped the driver’s back wheel. That’s all it took for the vehicle to flip, rotating head over heel.
The kids being on our lap were the first to be flung on to the tarmac, with me and Nadia landing on top of them, then the vehicle landing on top of us!
We managed to push the rickshaw off us and quickly picked ourselves up. Our first reaction was the obvious one to check the kids, they both seemed ok on initial inspection. So we quickly got off the road and then assessed them further.
They had a few scrapes and bumps, but after asking numerous times if they had any pain, particularly to their head, they were quick to say no. A good sign.
Our youngest was a little shocked and crying, but seemed uninjured. Our eldest seemed more bothered about his pride with a crowd gathering around us and quickly brushed me away from what he felt was me over-fussing on him!
As our kids were ok, me and Nadia quickly checked ourselves over, but with our adrenaline pumping we couldn’t feel much at that point. Finally we checked on the driver and the other party involved.
The driver had a big scrape down his leg, but again nothing life threatening. The other party was a young teenager and was deep in apology with our driver, but seemed completely unharmed.
Our stuff had been flung everywhere, but the kind bystanders had already started to collect it up for us. We thanked them and picked up the remaining stuff and then headed back over to the driver.
He told us how the other party was now responsible for our medical expenses should we need any. But we knew we would be covering it ourselves if we required any, not wanting to burden a young lad who had just made a mistake.
Assessing our Injuries in Paradise
We were just a few dozen metres from our accommodation now. So we checked one last time the driver was ok and payed him before saying we would walk the remainder. We wanted to get back to a calm environment and properly asses our injuries. And our current accommodation was certainly a peaceful and relaxing place where we could take stock.
One of our most beautiful stays we’ve ever had travelling. It was a basic, but gorgeous little home. With the bedroom made of bamboo and wooden carved furniture. It had an outdoor living and kitchen area with a garden and pond complete with trickling fountain that overlooked the surrounding rice paddy fields. Paradise!
We managed to walk back relatively painlessly, but once we arrived back our adrenaline seemed to pass and we realised we were slightly more hurt than initially thought.
The kids were absolutely fine and went off playing almost immediately once we got back. We kept doing regular checks and questions to check for any headaches or blurred vision etc. but we could tell they were undamaged.
Me and Nadia however were a little worse off. Nadia with some whiplash down one side of her body. Which was quite painful for a few days and immobilised her for a day or two. And I seemed to have a broken rib.
My eldest told me he thought I was making it up (I have a reputation in our family for being a hypochondriac, unfairly I should add!) and even now he still refuses to believe it was broken.
Kid’s Quote: “You didn’t even have a broken rib Dad, it’s just like all the other times you’ve had fake injuries!”
Laith, Age 9
As with most broken ribs I didn’t require any treatment, but it was a painful few days. With me rushing to find pillows whenever I coughed or sneezed to hold against my rib cage.
And my self-assessment seemed to be confirmed a few weeks later with a relapse of sorts. I had completely forgotten about it after a couple of weeks as the pain disappeared and was off on my own in Bali doing some surfing, far to early to be doing any strenuous exercise. As I jumped up on my board felt a big ‘POP’ in my ribs quickly followed by the piercing pain that I had suffered the weeks before and immediately knew I had re-broken it!
But back to the immediate aftermath. As neither as us felt treatment was necessary and as the kids were fine we just nursed our injuries for the next few days in our idyllic temporary home before moving on to our next destination.
It was a pretty scary incident and one we won’t forget. We’re a little more careful now when it comes to transport and we try not to pile into unsuitable vehicles anymore. But other than that, it was just one of those things and could happen pretty much anywhere.
And I want to finish how I started, in saying that this is not a result of travelling, but just circumstance. And, if anything, we were lucky we were where we were with a quiet road with no big vehicles that could have made things much, much worse.