Eeks flat tyres and electrical problems are never good, in fact if i had been on that plane I think i would have been hysterical and probably needed sedated lol

Glad you had an otherwise good holiday, did you do many of the excursions? We tried the Cayo Pariso and the freestyle catarman trip and thought they were fab! I was more into scuba diving then so didn't do any other trips.
Do they still let you stay on at the hotels if the flights out of playa dorada are gonna be delayed? we weren't delayed but they had said if there was a delay you got to stay on AI at the hotel rather than going to the airport and waiting.

Are you off to the Abou Sofiane again in Jan? There's a flight from dublin to tunisia on boxing day, if I could afford it i would be booking it but it is waaaay expensive, about £700 for a week half board......oh well there's always the lottery tonight lol

The rep did mention that if there was a delay on our flight home we would be kept in the hotel.

Excursions, we went on the catamaran, a jeep safari and also did the city tour of Puerto Plata and went up on the cable car, superb.

Yes we are off to the Abou Sofiane in Jan, well the last day of January anyway, cost Mrs Kiltie and I a total of £600 and something (can't remember) for a week AI so not to bad, did your numbers come up are you joining us

anyone else see the flooding in tunisia on the news a couple of days ago?

I didn't see it on the news, perhaps because I was too busy trying to dry out having got soaked to the skin and having to wade thigh deep in water trying to cross the road in Sousse. It wasn't quite as bad as some of the pics on Facebook but pretty horrendous. All in all an eventful holiday but that's a tale for tomorrow after having had some sleep as I only got back tonight - wheelchair assistance does indeed speed you through the airport!!

Welcome back aslemma, I hope you had a good sleep & look forward to hearing all about what sounds like a very interesting holiday.

Thanks Graham. In a word I did not have a good holiday at all, but at least it was an interesting one. I'm only too aware that I promised to find out answers to a few queries from people here but in view of events I hope I'll be forgiven for not doing so.

Where shall I start? On the first day (Wednesday) I waited for the rain to stop then decided that as it wasn't going to do so I'd better go out to the shops. The weatherman waited until I was out to unleash his full fury and within a short time I was wading through water mid-thigh to cross the road (there are pics on Facebook of the floods). The following couple of days it was better and I had a mooch around the medina etc.

On the Saturday morning I met a Swedish journalist friend for coffee then we went to the Port. Stepping on one of the Pirate boats, I slipped and apparently caught the bottom of my leg on a metal plate, which folded my skin back like a blanket. She and a Tunisian friend insisted on taking me, bleeding profusely, to the local clinic, where they shuddered, cleaned me up and said very loudly 'plastic surgery' and 'private clinic'. Knowing how awkward insurance companies can be, much to my friends' annoyance, I insisted on going back to the hotel first, picking up my passport and insurance papers and phoning the company who said they would phone me back (which they didn't). I phoned again and was told they couldn't find any trace of my insurance. They then transferred me to the bank through which I had the insurance and they assured me that I was covered so on to the Clinic Essalem who promptly took my passport. Ins company had said that I would pay for outpatient treatment and reclaim from them but if I needed to stay in I had to clear it with them first. Dr at Clinic took 200 dinars off me - so far so good. A little later, when on the operating table being given an epidural, I was hardly in a position to discuss the matter. After over an hour of embroidery I was returned to a ward, hooked up to a drip and catheter and there I stayed for the next four days. I was then discharged back to the hotel, with a load of hyperdermic needles to give myself a daily injection to prevent thrombosis, some further hyperdermics in case of excess pain and some powders to be taken in water three times a day to prevent infection. The hospital kept my passport in case the insurance company didn't pay up!! It was arranged that a nurse would come in to re-dress the wound (nice man, who did not speak any English, with a constantly dripping nose (he said it was 'allergies'). At this time I'm wearing a fetching plastic thing down the back of my leg and foot, held on by a very wide stretchy crepe bandage fastened by sticky tape which soon came unravelled.

I think that is enough of this saga dear readers. In the end I got the rep from LowCostBeds involved and he was an absolute angel, retrieving my passport from the hospital and even collecting my Certificate to Fly from them, after I had been told I had to go back for it. The insurance company finally agreed a quicker transfer to Tunis from Sousse rather than the one with Med Hotels which had taken 4 hours on the way out (that's another story), plus wheelchair assistance both ends and a car to take me home from Gatwick. I am now awaiting a claim form from them and it should be quite interesting filling that in, as Tunisia isn't particularly big on receipts. So far I have only mentioned to them the fact that I dropped my bag containing my new camera and some money in the water when I fell. At least I have some souvenir pictures - a couple of x-rays and some pics of my foot taken on my mobile phone!! They want a police report for things lost/stolen, but somehow my need to get to the hospital over-rode my need to go to a police station at the time and once back at the hotel I couldn't go out in case (a) I fell again or (b) I looked nicely vulnerable and got myself mugged.

Thank goodness I had a Tunisiana SIM card, as I spent a fortune on phone calls on both my phones but it would have been even worse if I'd only had my T-Mobile one.

I will now fulfil my obligations to HT and put a hotel report on and no doubt other gems of wisdom gleaned from this experience will surface on here from time to time. As a 'footnote' I can't get an appointment to see the nurse at my local docs until Friday so will have to continue with injecting myself and dress the foot/leg when someone can pick me up a decent crepe bandage and some anticeptic, which I don't seem to have in the house!!! And my daughter says she isn't going to let me leave the country in future.

OMG

What an awful thing to happen to you, I hope you start feeling a bit better soon and get everything sorted both medically and insurance wise.

I will now fulfill my obligations to HT and put a hotel report on and no doubt other gems of wisdom gleaned from this experience will surface on here from time to time.

I should think so, saying as you are just sitting about doing nothing anyway

Seriously, take it easy, look after yourself and get better soon.

As-Salaam-Alaikum

Thanks Graham - just noticed I can't spell 'antiseptic' either.

Oh, Aslemma. I am so sorry at what happened to you. What an experience. I am also sorry that I replied on the postcard query before reading this forum. What a holiday from start to finish. Hope the pain is bearable. I'm sure the flight home was a nightmare because of your injuries. You will be glad to be home. Get well soon is not really appropriate as it will all take time, but best wishes for a good recovery.

Aslemma,

What a nightmare. I am so sorry that your holiday was so awful. I am thinking of you, and hoping you feel better soon. Thank god you are home.

Thanks both of you. Actually the flight home was wonderful as I was flying BA. I had wheelchair assistance at both airports, was whisked through all the formalities and met by a car provided by the insurance company at Gatwick, which got me home very quickly, where my son was waiting for me with a good cup of English tea. I can't get an appointment to see anyone at my docs until Friday morning, so until then I will have to continue giving myself the injections, but tonight I#m having dinner with another of my sons and will take the opportunity to have a shower and wash my hair (the first time in 12 days) as mine at home is over the bath, as was the one in the hotel, so I couldn't manage it. My d.i.l. is also picking m up some bandages etc. so I can re-dress my foot, which hasn't been looked at since Sunday!!!

Hi aslemma

My goodness what a nightmare for you! Hope you will be on the mend soon and meantime are being pampered by your sons and daughter!!

Your story brought flashbacks to last sept when we had crap weather and my mum tore the ligaments in her knee just after stepping off the plane onto the bus in monastir, she was confined to the room and she also had a male nurse who didn't speak english and looked as unlike a nurse as anyone I can think of......but it was great to be able to tease her about me having to sit out on the balcony while she entertained her male visitor every day!

Will be thinking of you and hope you get your insurance all sorted out too

Take care xxxxxxxx

Welcome back Asleema , was really looking forward to reading about your holiday wasn't expecting to read about your mishap. i bet this is about the only time you will be glad to be home , and not in Tunisia. Hopefully it wont be too long before your back normal and planning your next holiday , you never know maybe the insurance might pay up for you to have the holioday that never was .

Good to have you back , wishing you a speedy recovery

Aslemme

Really sorry to hear about your accident but Hamdullah you've lived to tell the tale! Hope it's a speedy recovery for you now you're safely back at home.

Dorra

Thanks for all your concern. At least I feel clean now. I had dinner with my youngest son and d.i.l., followed by a good shower and washed my hair so I'm beginning to feel almost human again. They have all banned me from leaving the house at present, except with one of them in the car, at least until the stitches are out, and as I have a good excuse not to stand around doing the ironing that only leaves the computer doesn't it.

Hows the foot aslemma?

I finally saw the nurse at my local surgery yesterday and she thinks she's got most of the stitches out, but I've got to go back again on Monday to see if any more were lurking under the scabs. I no longer have to inject myself daily to avoid the risk of thrombosis and have got penicilin capsules instead of he horrible antibiotics from Tunisia so things are looking up. Still cant get proper shoes on over the dressing but luckilly I've got some sandals with velcro straps so feel more stable.

Glad to hear things are slowly improving and you are feeling better, take care.

Graham

hi aslemma - sorry you had such a nasty accident and hope you're back to normal soon. i read your review of the kaiser hotel and it sounded really good. what a shame it was spoiled for you. still i bet it wont put you off going again. we're off to the kenz on wednesday and i e-mailed them with a room request and got a reply the next day. got another reply this morning but it was in french! still was impressed to get a reply at all.
take care

Good to hear you are on the mend!