Keeping Your Hands Clean While on Vacation

Cleanliness has different meanings in various parts of the world. While some cities are known for their cleanliness, others have a reputation of being a place where you would want to wear rubber gloves and a gas mask.

Forbes.com published results from a Mercer Human Resources Consulting study which proclaims the "World's Cleanest Cities." While this does not necessarily mean that every public bathroom will be tidy and spotless, it's a good starting point for finding a nice clean place to visit.

To make the list, cities must excel in areas such as:

• proper sanitation
• public health
• clean energy for home and commercial
• reliable and green public transportation
• recycling programs
• waste disposal
• air, water, land quality

Here's the top 5:

1. Calgary, Alberta
   With a population of around one million, this city lies just east of the Rocky Mountains in Canada. Known as an oil and gas center it is a fast growing city and each year is becoming more popular with tourists.
2. Honolulu, Hawaii
   With around 400,000 people this world renowned vacation center was singled out for its quality public transportation system.
3. Helsinki, Finland
   Having a population around 600,000 the capital of Finland is a Northern European business center and waypoint to NE Europe and Russia.
4. Ottawa, Ontario
   Known as "Silicon Valley of the North" this city is Canada's capital and has a population of just over 800,000.
5. Minneapolis, Minnesota
   Part of the Twin Cities alongside St. Paul, Minneapolis has an extensive bike lane system and a population of around 400,000.

Yes, these cities are documented for being the cleanest, at least by one organization's rating methods. Whether they are places that interest you for vacationing is another question. One obvious fact is that they are all North American or European cities.

Many of you have traveled to 1st world or 3rd world cities where there is not even running water in the restroom, let alone a functioning hand sanitizer dispenser. It's a good idea to bring along something when you travel to kill off those nasty little germs. You can find hand sanitizer gels in your local drugstore or you can try natural products with ingredients including tea tree oil.

It's kind of funny to play "spot the tourist" by watching one vigorously sanitize their hands in public locations. This is something that does not need to be taken to an extreme. A good rule of thumb would be to wash and/or sanitize your hands before eating, if you've been out and about. Also if the local restroom is suspect, then that would be a prime opportunity to sanitize those hands again.

Given that travelers have to adjust to new "bugs" they come in contact with when they are in far off lands, taking a slightly more stringent approach to hand cleanliness is probably a good idea.

You may or may not ever have a travel related sickness but remember, as they have posted in some restrooms in Singapore,

"Cleanliness is next to godliness."