Far flung travel and contacts

[Helen Turner]

Been to Thailand on holiday and found wearing scleral lenses a nightmare due to the hygiene facilities. Better than India though i must say. Still washing your hands in bottled water is a bit of a pain. Gave up after 3 days and resorted to glasses. good job i got some prescription sunglasses before i went. Anyone else got tales of lens torture when travelling?

[jayuk]

Helen

Agree with you there!! I even boiled the Mineral water for my lenses when I went to India!.....Im just soo paranoid when I hear some of the stories of even the Mineral Water manufacturers lol!

J

[Sweet]

Travel and hygiene facilites can be a total nightmare at times. On hand washing as a temporary message or to ensure your hands are really clean you can buy alcohol hand rub like the ones used in hospital. It comes in little travel bottles and i have seen it in a few chemists i the travel section. It would be very useful to ensure your hands are clean enough to handle lenses and i would stick with sterile bottled saline to fill sclerals and wet other lenses.

Hoping your travels weren't ruined by this, Sweet X x X

[Prue B]

Not a contact lens story but a personal favorite of mine. My sister in laws husband is a gp and assistant surgeon, he and his wife went to Papua New Guinea to teach the catholic priests over there first aid. He went on a boat trip and one of the guides got bitten by a croc. Apparently it was really funny watching my germphobic bil put on powdered sterile gloves in 99% humidity. He achieved it tended and stitched the wound.
Sterile gloves would also be an option if you were really paranoid for putting in lenses in 3rd world countries.

[Louise Pembroke]

I've seen that alcohol waterless hand rub in Superdrug. I'm flying to Singapore on Friday, thankfully asthma improved - phew!

[Andrew MacLean]

Louise

All the best in Singapore. I used the little bottles of water-free hand wash in the train or aeroplanes when I was going to handle my lenses. Great, but can make your hands a bit dry, so it would probably be a good idea to have some of that other stuff that puts the moisture back afterwards.

Now that I don't wear lenses I tote about less of the girly stuff than I used to . My cosmetics bag was bigger than that of my wife when we got onto aeroplanes!

Reminds me of the story told me by Tom Winning, just after he was made a Cardinal (I wanted to say 'promoted', but I am not sure if that would be right.)

TW had to go to New York to attend to some business. While there he was going to celebrate the mysteries in a New York Parish, so he took his travelling vestments. These included a lace surplus that had been made for him by a lace-making parishioner of one of the Parishes in the Arch-diocese.

TW's flight was slightly late arriving at Kennedy, so he hurried by taxi to his hotel, checked in and then rushed by taxi to the first of his meetings.

Back in his hotel to get ready for dinner, TW noticed that the staff had, very helpfully, unpacked his bag. Shirts, socks etc had all been stored in the drawers, his PJ's had been folded onto the pillow of one side of the massive King Sized bed. (beside his PJ's the domestic staff had put one of those little chocolate mints)

On the pillow on the other side of the bed the domestic staff had folded his lace surplus

Now that's how people start talking .. did you hear about the cardinal and Mrs Cardinal from Scotland ...

TW evidently told the story at the service he was sharing on the Sunday. Reactions varied from his own amusement to some folk who were mortified that a visiting dignitory had been embarassed in this way.

Well, my cosmetic bag when I was travelling might have provoked every bit as much speculation, if I had been accomodated in those hotels where you pay enough to have your bags unpacked for you!

Andrew

[Louise Pembroke]

Yes my make-up is one suitcase alone!

[Andrew MacLean]

Travel well, Louise. You asked before about the Singapore sling and its association with Raffles Hotel.

Here is the recipe posted on their web site


SINGAPORE SLING
The Singapore Sling was created at Raffles Hotel at the turn-of-the-century by Hainanese-Chinese bartender, Mr. Ngiam Tong Boon.
In the Hotel's museum, visitors may view the safe in which Mr. Ngiam locked away his precious recipe books, as well as the Sling recipe hastily jotted on a bar-chit in 1936 by a visitor to the Hotel who asked the waiter for it.
Originally, the Singapore Sling was meant as a woman's drink, hence the attractive pink colour. Today, it is very definately a drink enjoyed by all, without which any visit to Raffles Hotel is incomplete.
Recipe
30ml Gin
15 ml Cherry Brandy
120 ml Pineapple Juice
15 ml Lime Juice
7.5 ml Cointreau
7.5 ml Dom Benedictine
10 ml Grenadine
A Dash of Angostura Bitters
Garnish with a slice of Pineapple and Cherry

Sounds lethal!

Andrew

[Louise Pembroke]

I'll drink to that thanks Andrew! might need a drinkie after lecturing to the medics!

[Andrew MacLean]

Louise

I am opretty sure that the 'Sling' depends for its successful construction on the sort of climate where you send the junior staff into the grounds to harvest fresh pineapple!

All the best with every part of your trip. I am so relieved to know that your asthma has subsided.

When you get back, let us know how things went.

Andrew