Ok so I packed up my life and headed off on my big adventure. I'm going to write about stuff that I think will help other travellers who might be following in my foot steps.
The main concern for most travellers is currency exchange. Do I exchange to cash, traveller's cheques or use my card?
Well it's always good to have a main source and to also carry a backup.
So I took cash as my backup and I have a "Wizard Clear Advantage" Mastercard. It's a no frills credit card. Which has minimal fees but their customer service isn't particularly great. What they do have is no "foreign transaction fee". Which means you can purchase something overseas and not get slogged with an extra fee. Another thing you can do with this card is withdraw cash overseas. You can do this without incurring interest or fees by overloading your card with your own money.
So hypothetically lets say my credit limit is AU$2000. I would pay the credit card up so it has a $0 balance and then load up an extra AU$500 for my trip. So when I log into the credit card's web site I would see Available cash: $2500. I would then rock up to any ATM which accepts Mastercard and then withdraw the funds I needed.
One thing to note, some ATMs will charge you a fee. I wasn't fully aware of this before I landed in Thailand. Most ATMs in Thailand will charge you a 150baht fee. But there is one bank/company which doesn't. Look for AEON ATMs they are usually near Lotus supermarkets. They didn't charge me a fee when I withdrew money from their ATM. But all other ATMs that I used did.
Having said all that. Thailand and Malaysia do have very good exchange rates in those small booths. So bringing cash works quite well in those countries. Countries like the UK and Japan don't have great exchange rates out on the street and for these countries I would recommend my Card method of exchange.
The exchange rate at Aussie exchange booths back at home are terrible. They're ok for small exchanges but if you are going for a long period then I would use the card method. Having said that it's always good to have a little foreign currency to get out of the airport. As exchange booths at airports are far worse.
Another thing to take note of and research are vaccinations. You can just go to your family doctor and get jabbed for everything but you might find that you don't actually need them. Do the research and you might save yourself some money (and a little pain).
The cheapest travel insurance that I have been using over the last 6 years is "Defence Health" travel insurance. I found them while I was serving with the Army Reserves but they also sell policies to civvies. They are the cheapest for international travel insurance (that I could find). But again do your own due diligence. One thing of note, especially for those heading over for long periods like myself. They don't refund your policy pro-rata if you return early. And your policy ends when you set foot back on Australian soil. So if you have a 12 month policy and you come home to visit family 6 months in. Your 12 month policy ends and you don't get any refund for the unused portion. You will need to take out another policy before you return overseas. So what you can do is take out a short policy and then extend the policy up to 12 months. But please check this as their policies might change.
Make sure you read the fine details of your insurance policy to cover you against the activities you plan to do. I know it sounds like simple common sense. But you'll be surprised at what activities you are NOT covered for.
More to come...
