Travel
Sometimes, There Are A Lot Of Ducks To Line Up.
Getting them prioritised is my next project.
Life Is Full Of Unexpected Surprises
Having been gifted some unexpected money 💰, an overseas trip to Bali is exciting and inviting.
I haven’t been to Bali since February 2002 and that was my last holiday with my Robbie. In June 2002, he lost his 12 year battle with emphysema, and we laid him to rest with much love.
We loved Bali because the climate was so good for his breathing and eased much of his pain. We went almost every year for about 12 years, after a first trip in 1990.
The 2002 trip is particularly memorable because we were joined by my elder son and his wife. As a surprise for me!
Apparently, I was the only person in our extended family who didn’t know they were coming!
This time, it is a planned trip with my sister in law and her daughter, my niece.
It will be a memorial trip for my brother Richard, about whose funeral I wrote earlier.
Getting Older Makes Some Essentials Frightfully Expensive.
Once the plan began to unfold, I started looking at which ducks 🦆🦆🦆had to come first. Bearing in mind, you are constantly juggling these three :
- time, (when must you have it)
- value, (how critical is it)
- price. (what will it cost)
Passport
The first essential was a new passport. The prices have increased exponentially since my last one was issued in Dec 2009, but as an older traveller, I can now pay half the price and get a five year document.
With my expired passport still within the guidelines, I applied online, and within an hour, I was printing off the completed application form for the post office. Presenting the document and the form together and getting new photos taken on site meant it was all dealt with in very short order.
Since the trip is in mid-October and the passport will be ready well before then, I won on price (not paying extra for a quick turnaround) and time (getting it more quickly as a renewal rather than a new passport)
Its value is critical because without it, there is no trip.
Travel Insurance
No sane person goes to Bali without good travel insurance.
At the age of 80, your travel insurance costs sky-rocket and there’s a dozen tricky niggly bits of exclusions which have to be checked and compared.
So far, my initial enquiries strongly indicate the premium will be around $800 AU for a 12 day trip.
Key considerations are having the policy in place before we travel and having cover if we should have to cancel for any reason after paying for fares and accommodation.
Since I know the planned dates, travel insurance is my next duck. 🦆🦆🦆
Its value is inarguable, and the price will be the best I can get while being sure I have fully comprehensive cover. The timing in getting it is predicated upon when I book and pay for my fare from Perth to Bali — and fares from Perth to Bali and return are half the price of my travel insurance.
As a priority, once the quotes are done and acceptable, a cover note will let me progress to booking and paying for return air fares.
Air fares
A return economy (coach) fare to Bali from Perth International Airport is about $400AU with a reputable airline. (Fellow Aussies, am I stretching the point here with Jet Set 🤔😔) I do have a preference for an Australian carrier.
The timing is pretty much non-negotiable, and flying is the only way I can go — so my biggest risk is the price for my selection of airline.
Rounding Up The Incidental Ducks
In the next few days I will get the travel insurance and air fares sorted, booked and paid.
Then, I will look at these fluffy feathered items:
🦆 decide if I will drive myself to Perth from Busselton or take the airport transfer bus. There’s secure long term parking at the airport and having my own car there when I get back will make life much more comfortable.
There’s also the matter of enduring a nine hour bus trip each way, before having a long wait at the airport and then travelling for another five hours getting to and from the hotel in Bali.
🦆get Leo, my 14yo foster cat with SAFE, into a new home and permanently adopted within the next three or four weeks.
🦆get Splinter, my own 18yo cat, accustomed to living with my son and his wife while I am away for two weeks
🦆organise new glasses for driving (barely needed) before my medical assessment for my driver’s license renewal. Why? Because I am 80!!
🦆confirm my HepA immunisation status with my Dr.
Undoubtedly, a few other 🦆🦆🦆will pop up along the way, but we take them in our stride.
As a throwback to yesterday’s story on learning to play the piano 🎹, much of today was spent downloading and printing off the notes and charts for scheduling timetables and reading chords.
Like everything else, it’s a project, a WIP, and all I can do is bite off big chunks and chew like hell.
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