Foreign Travel?

[mjarrels]

Numbers say you’re much more likely to get hurt by a family member or someone you know than a stranger.

One thing you might want to look into is health insurance, medicare is useless there, most people I know that live over there full time are self insured, most hospital visits are just a few pesos. Something like a heart attack may be costly.

mark

 

[ultrarunner]

One thing you might want to look into is health insurance, medicare is useless there, most people I know that live over there full time are self insured, most hospital visits are just a few pesos. Something like a heart attack may be costly.

mark

Too young for Medicare…

I do have retired military friends in the Philippines and as veterans they can access limited services in the Philippines and a few have traveled to Guam…

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

One of the positives if going is you have been studying the language,
"mangadang umaba" with a smile as well as knowing other phrases in Tagalog will let others know you probably have connections there and if staying in a group with filipinos taking you there, I would have no concern at all.
Just my family experience in the "State Dept." travel advisary areas when visiting the there.

 

[ultrarunner]

One of the positives if going is you have been studying the language,
"mangadang umaba" with a smile as well as knowing other phrases in Tagalog will let others know you probably have connections there and if staying in a group with filipinos taking you there, I would have no concern at all.
Just my family experience in the "State Dept." travel advisary areas when visiting the there.

Still a little ways off but getting calls from friends that had encouraged me now not so sure.

One had her daughter in law call daughter in laws sister who lives at the base of Mt Apo which is my destination and the sister said not a good idea to visit at this time…

 

[EddieWalker]

Trust your gut. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it.

 

[AirOpsMgr]

One thing you might want to look into is health insurance, medicare is useless there, most people I know that live over there full time are self insured, most hospital visits are just a few pesos. Something like a heart attack may be costly.

mark

Along these lines, I'd suggest travel insurance to cover a multitude of possible scenarios along with a sim card on one of their networks. If you're going out on your own, map safe zones in advance (consulate / embassy, etc), spend the extra money for a legit car service as many are trained in defense situations.

Dress to blend, not as a target, look & act like you're supposed to be there, keep your head on a swivel & you should be fine. It's not that much different than traveling to any major US city.

 

[dmccarty]

One thing you might want to look into is health insurance, medicare is useless there, most people I know that live over there full time are self insured, most hospital visits are just a few pesos. Something like a heart attack may be costly.

mark

People who are cruising the world have said to just self insurance expect for big health care events. Health care is cheaper in many countries outside the US.

Get travel insurance. We have gotten it for our kids and actually had to use it. The wife and I get travel insurance when we go overseas to not just cover a trip to the ER but to cover getting us back to the US in an air ambulance if needed. An air ambulance is very expensive and one might need it to return to the US.

A coworker was hurt overseas on a business trip and was hospitalized for a time but then had to move out of the hospital so had to find a place to live for a week or so while they healed up enough to travel. Not fun, and while some of the doctors and nurses spoke English, the language barrier just made things more difficult.

I think what made me aware of the need for travel insurance was a woman who was bitten by a shark. She was on a boat and went swimming when she was attacked. The island did not have the ability to treat her, just sorta stabilize her. She had evacuation coverage and a jet air ambulance with a doctor and nurse on board flew out from Australia to get her. Seems like it took the plane 24 hours to fly out to get her and return to Australia. With out the air ambulance I think she would have lost her leg at best, but most likely she would have died. Saw a TV program about a Canadian nurse who was bitten by a shark in Mexico. The treatment in Mexico was horrible. She managed to get out of the "hospital" and fly back to Canada where she had trouble getting a doctor appointment which did not make sense to me. Eventually she got to a doctor who said she would likely have died from infection in 12-24 hours if she had not gotten the proper treatment. Evacuation insurance would have helped her. She is lucky they let her on the plane to fly home. The doctors in Mexico had just sawn in the chunk of flesh that was bitten out by the shark, which rolled in the sand, before being "fixed." The flesh was just rotting.

We have used Travelx, Travel insurance you can trust | Travelex Insurance.

 

[ultrarunner]

Travel Insurance with medivac can be a wonderful thing but exclusions apply.

My guess is traveling in a declared do not travel zone and maybe even a avoid travel zone might be excluded?

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Traveled extensivly in Western and Eastern Europe solo and never an issue... was cautioned against Slovenia at the time but a great experience... had the place to myself due to what was happening nextdoor at the time.

I was told people 6'4 and 250 lbs cannot "Blend In" traveling the provinces of Mindanao, Philippines...

Do you think a would be kidnapper wants to tangle with a guy 6'4" and 250. You gotta be kidding.

 

[WinterDeere]

Do you think a would be kidnapper wants to tangle with a guy 6'4" and 250. You gotta be kidding.

Nigerian and Somalian pirates choose to take on large, healthy, and strong cargo ship crew every day. I don't think those taking hostages to hold for ransom are as sensitive to the height of the hostage, as you imply.