I've experienced similar things.
In the late 1970's, I was a teenager and my parents took the family camping in Ensenada Mexico. As I recall, the campground was at some hotel, and located right on the beach. Returning from the beach, I grabbed the assist handle next to the door of the motorhome, and got a jolt of 110 volt electricity. Since I pretty much understood how electric outlets are wired, I took out my trusty meter and found hot and neutral reversed. Rathern than deal with campground management who wouldn't understand english, I made a short adaptor cable and resolved the problem for us.
-- Dan Meyer