Worse case scenario
As my trip to Japan and China grows ever closer, I get more and more restless. Over the past couple of months we’ve been steadily checking off items from out to do list and now it is almost complete. Despite this, I cannot help feeling that I am utterly unprepared for this trip to the other side of the world and countries whose language and culture could not be further from my own.
Part of this is normal pre-travel jitters but part of it is my control-freak nature and my uncanny ability to believe that the worse will always come true. Here’s a couple of tips that could help nervious travelers like me be better prepared for “worse case scenarios”:
- US citizens can register with the US state department’s travel website. I suspect other countries probably have similar services. This will allow you to receive last minute travel alerts via email. Additionally, you can register with the local embassy for the countries you will be visiting. Conceivably, if the worse does happen and you are involved in a military coup, natural disaster or whatever, this registration should make it easier for those trying to find you amid the chaos.
- Make copies of your passport, visas, IDs and credit cards and keep them separate from the originals in case you loose them.
- Send a detailed itinerary to someone not traveling with you detailing the places you are planning to visit, when you plan to be there and where you plan to stay. Plans change but even if the itinerary does not stay 100% accurate, it will give people back home an idea of where you might be in case of emergency.
- Check with you health insurance provider about international coverage and ask for a list of providers in the areas you will be visiting. For example, Blue Cross Blue Shield has an international website where members can obtain lists of providers and country by country medical information worldwide.
Some of these tips are fairly obvious but others I only found out about recently. I hope this helps ease travelers’ nerves. I know it did for me.
