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1.10. Key advice about safety and health

The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the World The Practical Nomad Guide to the Online Travel Marketplace

from The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the World

and The Practical Nomad Guide to the Online Travel Marketplace

by Edward Hasbrouck


  • Don’t be afraid to travel.
  • Take trains, where possible, rather than buses, cars, or trucks; outside the First World, don’t travel by road at night. If there is no train and the roads seem unsafe, consider flying.
  • Bring a water purifier. Don’t drink the water outside the First World without first boiling, treating, or purifying it.
  • See a doctor or health professional at least a month before any trip outside the First World, and follow their advice for immunizations and other preparations. Get a prescription for sterile disposable hypodermic needles, and bring them with you.
  • Don’t have unsafe sex, or at least have safer sex.
  • Read the local newspapers and pay attention to what’s happening around you. Talk to local people, not just other travellers.
  • Buy trip cancellation and interruption insurance to cover the cost of cutting your trip short and coming straight home in an emergency.
  • Verify that your medical insurance covers you when you are abroad. If it doesn’t, consider changing insurers or getting supplemental travel health insurance. Find out in advance what forms or documentation you’ll need to submit with an insurance claim for medical expenses abroad.

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    "Don't believe anything just because you read it on the Internet. Anyone can say anything on the Internet, and they do. The Internet is the most effective medium in history for the rapid global propagation of rumor, myth, and false information." (From The Practical Nomad Guide to the Online Travel Marketplace, 2001)

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