Travel Medical Insurance

I'm researching travel medical insurance so we are covered in the event of illness or in need of emergency evacuation.

The three front runners are:
1. IMG - Patriot International
2. Travel Guard
3. World Nomads

IMG is looking the best due to the ability of adding up to two months emergency coverage when we return to the US, as well as a competitive price relative to benefits. But I don't know, this is not really my forte. Reading the fine print of policies has not been the funnest part of the trip planning for sure.

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Relativity

I wonder how fast the trip will be. Not in actual days and weeks but in relative time. How a Sunday morning can seem long and luxurious or a Monday at work is dreadful and never-ending. Some weeks are short and some are fast. And different days feel different. I like the feel of Thursdays and Saturdays the most. So much hope and optimistic anticipation in those days.

But how will a whole year feel on the road? I don’t know how to measure a year. I can barely remember what I was doing last month let alone last year. It was probably a pretty typical drumbeat of: Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Dinner. Drinks. Movie. Chores. Rinse. Repeat.

Geez, that sounds rather boring, doesn't it?! But what makes life LIFE is what happens in between all that. The laughs, the pauses, the tastes, the shocks, the shivers, the snuggles, the sneezes, and the string of amazements that come outta nowhere. That is what you live for.

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Grande Cup of Change

I gave notice at work today. I could probably have spent my entire career there. But whether it's next week or 30 years from now I would have left the job eventually. Change is inevitable. I just so happened to pull the trigger a little early. It was really tough telling my boss I was leaving. My heart pounding, like I was breaking up with someone I still loved. I've had so much opportunity, to build a Fortune 100 eCommerce business from the ground up. They've nurtured me, and believed in me. It's been a great 9+ years but now, alas, it's time to hit the road. Time to forge my own path. No lattes delivered to my corner office where I'm going.

Okay, so no one ever brought me coffee and my office window looks out over a pretty unspectacular parking lot. A girl can embellish ; )

I have a feeling this is just the sort of change I need in my life right now, it will open up a thousand unimagined possibilities. Stepping off the treadmill to see that there are many miles ahead still and many more forks in the road to wander down.

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Sacrifices

In a bid to save money I've totally changed my lifestyle and downgraded so many things it's ridiculous.

• I have given up my Laura Mercier foundation and buy my make-up at Walgreen's
  
• I have banned Whole Foods for Trader Joe's, and a little begrudgingly, I even choke down Charles Shaw
  
• I pack my lunch for work, like I did in the 6th grade. Sandwich and pickle. Yogurt. Banana.
  
• I smuggle liquor into shows in a flask. Sorry, but one cocktail in a San Francisco venue is $12!
  
• I steal sugar packets from Starbucks. They can spare 'em.
  
• I've stopped getting regular pedicures, waxes, and haircuts. Much to Ron's dismay.
• I walk everywhere including 2 miles to and from work to cut down on transportation costs.
  
• I eat out at a real restaurant only once/week. Trust me, this is a big improvement from the 3-4 times we used to!
• I use little bottles of hotel shampoo and conditioner.
• I find myself taking free food anywhere I can. Saving that free bagel from a work breakfast for a lunch later on.
  
• I wash and reuse ziploc bags as many times as I can.
• And most importantly, I haven't bought a single new thing for months unless it's going with me on the trip.
  

All the little things are totally adding up. The only habit we can't seem to break is the cleaning lady. After Ron and I work a super long day neither of us want to come home to cook and clean afterwards. We love the fresh smell of fake lemons from a newly cleaned apartment and just pop in a couple frozen indian dinners and put our feet up . Of course, when we don't have jobs, there's no excuse for this luxury. I'll have to break out the feather duster (wherever it may be) and I think Ron would look smashing in those pink, rubber gloves. Getting a good mental image...

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Delicious Ambiguity

After meeting with my friend JC, a long-time vagabonder, we may opt for the "no plan" plan.

Or as equally wise Lao Tzu puts it “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”

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Cellphones

I must have spent 100 hours researching cellphones. Since we are going to so many countries it is not viable to buy local SIM cards as we go. So I've been looking at cells with best coverage and international roaming rates, cells for data only (email and internet access), and cells for emergencies only. All the options open seem clunky or way too expensive. The best I found was with Truphone where you can get a Truphone SIM with Local Anywhere that allows you to make local calls from hundreds of countries over VOIP for super cheap. The only catch is that it's not launching until later in the year.

So I think we have decided to forego the cell and travel the old fashioned way: with a guide book, our intuition, and the occasional germ infested pay phone.

We are still considering a phone just for emergencies which you can get for 50 bucks from recommended travel sites like Mobal. But is it worth it? Will you have coverage when you need it? And who you gonna call when you are lost in the Himalayas? Ghostbusters, that's who.

We are also going to do what was unthinkable a few months ago. And that is to cancel our current cell accounts at Verizon vs. keeping open a pay-as-you-go option that would cost about $120/each for the year we are away.

Ok, I've decided and Ron is not convinced since he has a lot of clients with his cell #. But what are the chances we come back and live in SF and he decides to continue restoration? At this point we think we may move from the Bay Area to a smaller town. Somewhere a little less hectic. Where we can buy a reasonably priced house with a wrap-around porch. And you don't have to wait in line in your car for 20 minutes to enter the parking lot at Trader Joe's, then wait for a parking spot, then wait your turn in the bread aisle, then wait in line to pay. I hate waiting to wait.

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Happiness for 99 cents

Or, how best to exchange the dollar....

After some internet research it sounds like the best deal is to get a MasterCard Capitol 1 No Hassles Card that is the great for international travel with no foreign exchange fees. As long as the merchant doesn't charge for credit transactions this will be the main choice for our charges: rooms, flights, train tickets, etc. Except in Africa. I hear it's a no-no to use credit cards because of the rampant fraud problems.

As far as getting money out of your bank account regularly so you don't have to carry too much at once, the best I found was to open a Schwab High Yield Checking Account (only catch: you have to open a Schwab One Brokerage Account first. ) which has no account fees and no minimums. Just takes a little time to apply for one, transfer money in, then apply for the other. I've called and emailed Schwab twice, and I have to say they have FANTASTIC customer service. After the trip we may have to dump good ole B of A altogether.

Why is Schwab checking so good? Well, you get a Visa Platinum card that you can use at any ATM all over the world, they do not charge you to withdraw money from a foreign bank, and they even reimburse you if the bank charges you a fee! And on top of that there are no extra foreign currency exchange fees. Can't beat that with a stick. Now, where did that expression come from? You can beat most things with a stick. And in the case of a pinata, you even get a sweet surprise afterwards.

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