However, not all international destinations are created equally. If you’re looking to live in the lap of luxury on a modest income, these are the places you should be house hunting.
Non-Economic Considerations

Before choosing a country overseas to make your home, you need to consider factors other than the exchange rate. When selecting the right place for you think about culture, language, crime rates and political stability. Remember that you’re going to live there, possibly for years. This means a lot more planning goes in than simply having a vacation.

Ecuador

You might not be thinking “Ecuador” when looking for a retirement home, but you might want to. Not only is the cost of living low (common in Latin America), real estate is also very reasonably priced (more exotic).

International Living reports that a couple with a spartan lifestyle can get by on about $800, while those looking to live in the lap of luxury will be hard pressed to spend more than $1500. It’s easy to get by on nothing by the Queen’s English and there are a number of benefits for retired people, such as discounted utilities, transportation and entry to artistic and cultural events.
Mexico

South of the border is another place you likely hadn’t thought of retiring, but consider the following: Not only is real estate cheap, the weather is great and there’s a huge expatriate community. The largest is around Lake Chapala, where there are over 80 interest groups for expats living in Mexico.

Perhaps the best part? You can just drive there. Load up your minivan, get yourself a place with hired help who speaks English and start living the good life.

Malaysia

Malaysia

Malaysia isn’t just a place where you can retire on the cheap. The big cities also have all the amenities that Americans need when they decide to retire abroad.

Good cell phone coverage? Check. High-speed Internet? Of course. Quality, easily traversed roads? Yep.

Perhaps most attractive of all, Malaysia can be an easy place for Westerners to integrate. Malaysians are eager to practice their English, and American film is quite popular over there. The government has a program called My Second Home designed to encourage foreigners to retire in Malaysia, so take advantage.

 
New Zealand

Looking for a place to retire where you don’t have to learn a new language or try and decipher what people speaking English as a second language are trying to say? New Zealand might just be the place for you.

If you’ve ever seen Lord of the Rings you know just how beautiful New Zealand can be. The land of the Kiwis also appeals to the active health nut. It’s also one of the least-polluted countries in the world.

Got money to throw around? Split your time between the U.S. and New Zealand — it’s winter here when it’s summer there and vice versa.
Spain

Spain was the only country in Europe to be identified as a top place for expat retirees by International Living. Not only is it inexpensive, it also offers much in the way of cultural and artistic pursuits for the retired person looking to stay active. Art and architecture are literally everywhere, and you can score a top-notch, three-course meal for the cost of a $20 bill.

One word of caution: The European debt crisis could easily make this one of the worst places for expats to live. For the time being, however, you can get great food and a taste of international culture on a shoe string budget.
Logistics

Getting you, your family, and your stuff abroad can be a challenge. However, with the cost of living as cheap as they are in the above-listed countries, you might find it more prudent to sell the farm lock, stock and barrel, purchasing new stuff when you get to your destination. Always investigate local emigration and visa laws to ensure that your stay is fully legal.

Then enjoy the benefits of living somewhere that the dollar is still strong.

SOURCE

Lonely Planet)– The romance of long ocean and river voyages of history holds powerful sway over the dreams of many world travelers. But there’s no need to relegate the great voyage to the realm of books and dreams — many can still be done today in classic style.

The following ocean and river voyages rank among the most iconic and memorable travel experiences on or off water. So put on your best Poirot accent, and brush up on your Huck Finn river lingo, and climb aboard for the voyages of a lifetime.

1. The Nile

Sailing boat or time machine? The world’s longest river feels like it’s the oldest, and to board a vessel on the Nile is to peel back millennia and slow down to river speed as ancient temples, oxcarts and palm trees — unaltered since Pharaohs ruled the roost — pass by.

Essential experiences:

Docking at Luxor for Ancient Egypt’s finest: the colossal columns of Karnak, Luxor Temple (best seen lit up after dark) and the Valley of the Kings.

Quaffing cocktails on the veranda of Aswan’s grand Old Cataract Hotel.

Entering the tombs of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, relocated in the 1960s to avoid being covered by the waters of Lake Nasser.

Seeing the ‘smoking water’ of 45m-high Tis Issat (Blue Nile Falls) in Ethiopia.

Lonely Planet: The world’s greatest historical journeys

2. The Northwest Passage

Sail through the most legendary shipping route on Earth, following in the wake of a host of Victorian-era explorers seeking the ocean’s holy grail: safe boat passage across the frozen top of North America to the riches of Asia.

Essential experiences:

Wandering through the Northwest Passage Park and Interpretive Centre at Gjoa Haven, in Nunavut.

Stopping in at Beechey Island, a national historic site east of Cornwallis Island, where the Franklin expedition wintered before vanishing forever — traces of the men and their unsuccessful rescuers remain.

Viewing the remains of Roald Amundsen’s schooner Maud in the harbor of Cambridge Bay, where Northwest Passage explorers often took shelter.

3. Norway’s fjords

Scoured and gouged by ancient glaciers, Norway’s fjords are a veritable wonderland. These deep, sea-drowned valleys, scissored by impossibly rugged terrain, were recently voted by National Geographic Traveler magazine as the world’s best travel destination.

Essential experiences:

Staring gobsmacked at the imposing cliffs of Geirangerfjord.

Taking the thrilling Flåmsbana railway trip between Hardangervidda and Flåm.

Appreciating art nouveau architecture in charming Ålesund.

Thrilling to the delights of Bergen, a beautiful, charming city, with a World Heritage-listed neighborhood, Bryggen, and buzzing harbor, ringed by seven hills and seven fjords.

4. Down the Mississippi to New Orleans

The Mississippi: America’s most important river. It gave birth to the blues, Huckleberry Finn, Budweiser and much more. It witnessed the Civil War and the end of slavery. Follow it all the way down to New Orleans and bid it farewell as it leaves, seeping out into the Gulf of Mexico.

Essential experiences:

Visiting the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal to bone up on your Huck Finn knowledge, and finding the places he transposed into his famous novel.

Exploring Memphis’ Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum to learn about the transportation of slaves down the river to freedom.

Making a pilgrimage to Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Memphis, and getting a dose of the blues in Clarksdale.

Savoring river cuisine: slow-burning tamales and melt-off-the-bone ribs in Clarksdale; chili tamales and steaks in Greenville; and the full gamut of Cajun and Creole cuisine in New Orleans.

5. The River Ganges

Glacial teardrops gather into streams, cascading into navigable white water and eventually smoothing into a serene mocha river that cleanses sins, transports souls and irrigates productive farmland. It is the Mother Ganga, India’s most sacred river.

Lonely Planet: How to travel like a kid

Essential experiences:

Trekking from Gangotri Temple to Gaumukh, the terminus for the hulking Gangotri Glacier, the source of the Ganges.

Meditating the ashrams of yoga-mecca Rishikesh, where the Fab Four got their Eastern fix in the 1960s.

Snapping photos and absorbing the devotional spirit of India in the overlooked city of Haridwar.

Exploring the tumbledown ghats on foot or by boat in Varanasi, as the pilgrims bathe in the holy river.

Lonely Planet: The very best time to visit a National Park is…

6. The Amazon River

The Amazon: Physically, it’s immense and mythically it’s the very same. A riverine Amazon journey never fails to evoke overlapping imagery: exotic, dense rain forest; indigenous tribes; abundant wildlife; enveloping mystery; sometimes even menace.

Essential experiences:

Canoeing through a flooded forest.

Dozing in a hammock on a slow boat to nowhere.

Listening to the song of a thousand birds and the eerie cry of howler monkeys.

Stopping at a riverside town and hiking through the lush rainforest.

7. Mekong River

One of the world’s longest rivers, to follow it is to experience the great cultural and geographical diversity of a continent, to absorb its many refractions of Buddhism and to meet rural Asia at her most picturesque, almost always bathed in natural, mystical beauty.

Essential experiences:

Wandering along the headwaters in the unforgettable Tibetan Plateau where cultures collide in the shadow of the Himalayas.

Exploring China’s mystical and enchanting Yunnan Province, dotted with limestone peaks and carved with deep river gorges.

Being seduced by the saffron-robed monks, shady streets, colonial buildings, handicrafts and patisseries of charming and delicious, Luang Prabang.

Exploring the vast, colorful water world that is the Mekong Delta.

8. The Yangtze by slow boat

A cruise down China’s Yangtze, the world’s third-longest river, is one of the most memorable water-borne journeys on earth. When the river threads through the Three Gorges, flowing between rock formations and stunning cliffs, it’s nothing less than magical.

Essential experiences:

Watching the Three Gorges peek into view through a shroud of mist.

Changing boats at Wushan for the Little Three Gorges.

Enjoying the ancient town of Fèngjié overlooking Qutang Gorge, the entrance point to White King Town.

Taking it easy as the boat slowly wends its way.

Source

1. Mint mini-wipes

Like baby wipes, but with a touch of minty freshness.

Wipe the journey off your face with cleansing mint mini-wipes.

The surge of peppermint does two things: creates a cooling effect and stimulates the limbic system in your brain to awaken you and improve your concentration.

Stop, wipe and celebrate a rejuvenated you.

Mint Mini Wipes, 10 Pack, US$2.50, www.flight001.com

2. Mineral water facial spray

If you’re posh enough to drink Evian, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be spraying it on your face.

Breathing arid cabin air leaves you dehydrated and fatigued, but it’s your poor skin that suffers most.

Enter mineral water facial spray. Spritz the nitrogen-propelled Evian water droplets on your face to give your skin an extra burst of hydration that non-purified sink water doesn’t provide.

Pause for a moment, dab off any excess and your skin will be dewy and well moisturized, like you walked through a mister on a sweltering day at an amusement park.

Evian Natural Mineral Water Facial Spray, Travel Size, US$7, www.drugstore.com

3. Cool mint breath strips

Bid adieu to post-flight breath stench.

If you don’t have time to brush, Listerine breath stripswill do it for you — or will at least make it seem like you cleaned your teeth.

Remove a sliver from the pint-size package and place it on your tongue to get a blast of minty freshness.

Nearly all of the halitosis-causing bacteria will be obliterated in the few seconds it takes for the strip to dissolve.

Feel free to kiss or speak closely; no one will be bracing from fear of your next escaped breath.

Listerine PocketPak Oral Care Strips, 3 Pack, US$4.19, www.drugstore.com

4. Hair smoothing serum

For post-flight fly-aways. The mild green apple scent leaves you with that I-just-washed-my-hair aroma.

Deplane and de-frizz unkempt locks with this unisex Paul Mitchell smoothing and conditioning serum.

Pump a dollop into your palms and run the serum through dry hair to bring it back to life.

Its conditioning properties will restore your tresses after dehydration and the instant shine erases the memory of your once dried-up, tousled mess.

Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum, Travel Size, US$5.75, www.paulmitchell.com

5. Body wipes

Not really a shower, but better than the old one-hand-rinse in the airplane toilet.

It’s not a real shower, but these Nathan clean-scented body wipes at least leave you smelling like you got under some water with soap and a washcloth.

You won’t need to wet the cloth before use or wash off any soapy residue when you’re done.

Just wipe the necessary areas and there’ll be no need for shame when you raise your arms to hug someone.

Nathan Power Shower Refreshing Body Wipes, 10 pack, US$5.52, www.amazon.com

6. Wrinkle Wiz

If only there were a facial spray that could make skin wrinkles disappear this quickly.

Part of feeling good is looking good and this Wrinkle Wizwrinkle-be-gone spray lets you smooth your way to neatness in minutes.

Spritz your clothes and press the wrinkles out with your hands.

The Wiz works on most fabrics, doesn’t stain and even eliminates odors. It’s the closest thing to packing an iron in your carry-on.

Wrinkle Wiz, Travel Size, US$7, www.magellans.com

7. Yogurt with berries

After airline food, fresh berries and yogurt is practically gourmet.

Instead of answering the beckoning call of the coffee shop at Gate 23, try a yogurt parfait with berries — blueberries especially — before exiting the security area and meeting your people.

Foods high in protein like yogurt offer your body a more long-term source of energy rather than the quick high and sure crash from caffeine.

Plus, you’ll need the antioxidants and vitamin C that berries provide to perk up your immune system after the hacking and sneezing fest that took place in the seat behind you.

Available at many airport snack shops, from US$2.50-US$5 depending on size

8. Jet lag relief

Just crossed 10 time zones? Skip the coffee and use supplements to get back on track.

To maintain vigor on long trips, supplement your mornings and evenings with JetPax Jet Lag Relief.

The active ingredients in this travel recovery kit — like green tea extract and vitamin B12 — coordinate to help you maintain sufficient energy levels and get your body back in rhythm after jumping time zones.

JetPax Jet Lag Relief, 6 Pack, US$14, www.flight001.com

SOURCE

#1: Kratom

The Situation

You’re hiking the Appalachian trail in the dead of winter. It’s freezing cold, the terrain is rough, and you’ve got another four hours of trudging through the snow before you reach your destination for the night.

Suddenly the worst happens; your boot gets caught between two rocks, you lose your footing and tumble to the ground, wrenching your ankle in the process. After a loud yelp of pain and several creative obscenities, you manage to sort yourself out and rise back to your feet. You can still walk, but every step is agony. How on earth are you going to make it to town before nightfall?

What It Is

A leafy green plant grown mainly in Southeast Asia.

Uses

First and foremost, Kratom is a powerful painkiller similar to Morphine or Opium. In fact, recent research suggests that Kratom is so similar to opiates that it can replace them during withdrawal. Kratom can also be used as an anti-depressant, analgesic, or a stimulant. It has immunostimulant properties and can also be used to treat diarrhoea.

Side-Effects

Kratom is mildly addictive, about on par with caffeine. You cannot overdose on it, and the only known negative effects from use are nausea and constipation (which is useful when you’re suffering from Montezuma’s revenge.)

Forms

Kratom can be purchased in dried leafy form, as an extract, a resin, or in pill form. It can be brewed into tea, eaten raw, dropped on the tongue (for the resin), or even smoked. You can purchase it here. For ease of packing, I recommend buying it in capsule form.

Legality

Kratom is legal in most of the developed world. Only Thailand, Bhutan, Australia, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Lithuania, Malaysia, and Myanmar have laws against it.

#2: Kava Kava

The Situation

Your wife, your doctor, and your common sense all warned you to take care of your toothache before you went on that three week Elk hunting trip in the mountains of New Zealand. Now you’re miles away from civilization and your jaw feels like its been worked over by the steroid-crazed lovechild of Mike Tyson and Buzz Aldrin. You’d give anything just to numb this pain, but the Tylenol in your first aid kit does nothing to help you.

What It Is

A leafy green plant grown throughout the Pacific islands.

Uses

Kava can help to treat social anxiety or stress, and also works as a powerful relaxant. A glass of water spiked with Kava extract will knock you out faster than a bottle of whiskey and a copy of The Horse Whisperer.

Kava is also an extremely effective numbing agent. Just smear the powder around your mouth for a while, and you’ll feel its effects. Actually, you won’t feel much of anything at all.

Side-Effects

None to the drug itself. Some supplement manufacturers grind up Kava stems into their pills and powder, which can lead to liver toxicity. Chronic, heavy use can lead to a minor skin rash. Use Kava in moderation, and only buy it from trusted sources.

Forms

Kava Kava can be purchased as a powder, pill, paste, or mixed into a variety of drinks and foods. The Kona Kava farm sells high quality Kava in a dizzying selection of forms. I recommend buying the powder in order to use it as a topical numbing agent.

Legality

Kava is legal everywhere.

#3: Oil of Oregano

The Situation

You’ve just been hit by the perfect storm of traveller’s ailments while backpacking in rural Slovenia. You have a nasty flu, a minor fever and an intestinal parasite twisting your bowels into its own personal playground. What on earth can help you now?

What It Is

Oregano is primarily a culinary herb (of the mint family, if you care about that sort of thing). In addition to being a staple of Italian cuisine, dried Oregano is famous for looking a little like marijuana to people who have never actually seen marijuana.

Uses

Oil of Oregano helps to fight influenza and colds. It is useful in bringing down mild fevers, kills fungal infections, and can help to combat intestinal parasites. If you’re a lady, oil of oregano can be used to relieve painful menstruation. It also makes a fantastic topical antiseptic.

Side-Effects

None.

Forms

You can purchase oil of oregano as an actual oil, or in capsule form. Most health supplement websites carry it, as do stores like Whole Foods.

Legality

Oregano and its oil extract are legal everywhere.

#4: Ginger Root

The Situation

You’ve just committed the #1 Traveller’s Gaffe: you drank the water. That’s extra bad news, considering your diarrhea just kicked in as your boat sailed away from harbor. Now you’re trapped on a barge bound for Costa Rica with diarrhea and seasickness making you their bitch. By the time morning rolls around, you’ll be lucky if your bowels are still on the inside.

What It Is

An edible tuber grown across Asia, West Africa, and the Caribbean.

Uses

Ginger compounds are very effective in treating diarrhea, especially the Escherichia coli enterotoxin-induced diarrhea that’s such a common killer in the Third World. Ginger can also be used to treat nausea brought on by seasickness, morning sickness, or chemotherapy.

Side-Effects

Ginger is recognized as safe by the FDA. That said, it can still cause heartburn and nausea if taken in excessive quantities. Remember: a little goes a long way.

Forms

You can buy ginger by the root, or as a powdered extract. Biting into the root does a great job of clearing up a stuffy nose, at the minor cost of making your face burn like the fires of Hades. Ginger root can be bought at pretty much any grocery store. For pills, powders, teas, and supplements, try here.

Legality

Ginger is legal everywhere.

#5: Kanna

The Situation

After four hellish (but wonderful, in that strange way travails often are) trips ’round the globe, you’re finally ready for your return flight home. This is the part of the trip you hate the most. Dangerous animals, strange diseases, and hiking injuries you can deal with, but once you’re on that plane your life is officially out of your hands. It’s enough to make you want to panic.

What It Is

Kanna, or Sceletium tortuosum, as it’s friend’s call it, is an herb found in South Africa. It is one of the oldest intoxicants in human history.

Uses

In high doses (100 mg+), Kanna is a euphoric. In normal doses (50 mg) it acts as a mood elevator and an anti-anxiety medication. It also works as an appetite suppressant, and can lead to tiredness and vivid dreaming. In other words, Kanna is the perfect pre-flight medication.

Side-Effects

There are none listed, but it’s best not to take any mood elevator while already on SSRIs, MAOIs, or other psychiatric medications.

Also, if you happen to be travelling to Amsterdam or Thailand, Kanna has strong synergistic effects with cannabis. Just sayin’.

Forms

Kanna is most often found as a powder. You can eat it, smoke it, or use it the same way you would snuff. I recommend buying from Bouncing Bear Botanicals as they have an excellent selection of Kanna (as well as other legal intoxicants) and great customer service.

Legality

Kanna is legal everywhere.

My worldly possessions fit into one bag (just larger than carry-on size) and a backpack containing my laptop and computer gear. This small entourage (weighing less than 45 pounds in total) comes with me as I wander around the world, sometimes quickly, but mostly slowly. (See also: 5 Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards)

In 2011 alone, I traversed 13 countries and over 45,360 miles. Sounds pretty expensive, huh?

What if I told you it wasn’t? What if I told you that both 2010 (a similarly busy year of travel) and 2011 cost me just over $17,000 (including some major non-travel related purchases)? Would you believe me?

Believe it. (Here’s proof, with a full breakdown of where I went and how much it cost: My Cost of Full-Time Travel in 2011).

How to Keep Your Travel Costs Low

Of course, I could travel for way more than $17,000/year. The sky is the limit for what you can spend on the road, from food and accommodation to flights, destinations, and tours. I could also travel for less than this, if I made different spending choices.

Here are a few of my secrets.

Don’t Pay for Accommodations

In the entire year of 2011, I paid $173 for accommodation. And that expenditure was a function of a discounted stay at the Hilton in Stockholm as a luxurious “splash out.” The rest of the time, I had free accommodation in various forms, including…

Work-Trade/Volunteer

There are lots of creative opportunities to work in trade for your accommodation (and sometimes food) and enjoy a more immersive travel experience. Many of the sites that introduce you to these opportunities involve a monthly or yearly subscription, but in my experience it’s well worth it. Here are some resources:

• The Caretaker Gazette
• Help Exchange
• WWOOF
• Grow Food
• World Help Link
• PayAway

Hospitality Exchange

Got a few nights to kill at a given destination? Try a hospitality exchange, where locals who would like to host a traveler can put you up in a spare room or even on their couch. Good manners predicate you move on after a few days, and although it’s a free stay, expect to provide a gift for your host and help out wherever you can. But there’s also no better way to see how the locals live than to actually live with a local.

• Couchsurfing
• Hospitality Club
• Global Freeloaders
• Servas
• Staydu

House/Pet-Sitting

After five years on the road, I’ve come to crave my personal space, as well as time to work on my location-independent career as a travel writer. So when other people hit the road to do some traveling of their own, I come into their homes and take care of the property, pets, gardens, and any other chores that require attention in their absence. I tend to the home fires for periods of time ranging from weeks to months, and I’ll soon be enjoying my second three-month stint of house-sitting and dog-minding on the Caribbean island of Grenada, where I have my own beautiful free beach-front villa and use of two cars.

• House Carers
• The Caretaker Gazette (I’ve listed this twice because The Caretaker Gazette specializes in both volunteer and house-sitting opportunities).
• Trusted Housesitters
• Mind My House
• Housesit World
• Aussie House Sitters
• House Sitters America

Crew on Sailboats

My most recent foray into free accommodation has come in the form of volunteering on sailboats. Every boat is different in what it requires, from capable sailors or people with boat-specific technical skills to simply being an extra set of hands to share chores and provide good company. I started out with absolutely no sailing experience, and I have met all sorts of people in the cruising community and been aboard three boats in the last month alone. This is a whole lifestyle and way of travel unto itself.

• Find a Crew
• Latitude 38
• Desperate Sailors

Another way to get free accommodation includes home exchanges; check out more information on home exchange resources and etiquette.

Don’t Pay for Flights

When I have to fly (which I try to do as rarely as possible), my long-haul flights are in business class, and cost less than the price of an economy ticket. I do this through the creative use of frequent flyer miles. I started out (years before I became a full-time traveler) simply as a passive collector with my credit card before delving into the world of creative frequent flyer mile accumulation through various promotions (here’s the first big promotionI took advantage of in 2009).

Now I’m hooked, and always on the hunt for a frequent flyer deal, often accumulating thousands of miles each month without actually flying, which is easy thanks to my Travel Hacking Cartel membership.

Sometimes it actually works out better to pay cash for a flight, especially if it’s a domestic flight. If this is the case, here are some resources and tips to ensure you get the lowest price, even after you pay for your ticket.

Travel Slowly

The slower you travel, the less money you’ll spend on transportation, interim accommodation (for example, between when you land in a new place and begin a house-sitting or volunteer gig), and even set-up expenses like buying groceries/staples or wear-and-tear on personal effects like luggage.

And the slower you travel, the more immersive your experience will be, and the more likely you will be to develop relationships with locals (who may not want to invest the time and effort getting to know somebody who is simply passing through) who can in turn deepen your travel experience and help you learn what life is like around the world.

Your Travel, Your Style

There’s more to full-time travel than these three techniques to keep your costs low. I made purchases that weren’t totally necessary, and I could have further reduced my expenses if I’d gone without. I also could have spent more money on any number of occasions. But for the most part I’ve found a groove and a personal style for my own full-time travels; one that leaves me wanting for nothing and spending how I wish on what’s important to me. And all for less than I spend to live in one place.

I also have a career as a writer and travel blogger that lends itself well to my travels, creating a lifestyle that is a career, and vice versa.

Budgeting for travel is very different for everybody, as can be evidenced by this informal spending study: Taco Tuesday: The Inner Mechanics of Budgeting on Vacation.

Source

We’re constantly living within the most advanced technological era of all time. Yet by the long list of aspirational technologies you’re about to read, you’d never know it.

To an outsider, it must seem like 21st-century humans believe they’re always living a decade or three in the past, and that the future and its inevitable entourage of flying cars, teleportation, and other really cool stuff we haven’t even thought about is as much a part of the human narrative as the fireplace, the automobile, and the internet. Because we believe that the future must bring more powerful technologies (and so far, we’ve been right), the future plays as much a role in how we understand ourselves as the past.

Some of these technologies you may have heard of. Others might seem incredibly far-fetched. But the important thing to realize here is that regardless of whether they ever come to fruition, the mere fact that many people around the world believe these things to be inevitable illustrates just how discontent technology makes us with the present — and also how much we long for constant interaction.

2012

Flying cars – Yes, as in cars…that can fly. Okay, while you might not be the one piloting (or even passengering) the flying car, the engineers at Terrafugia have long been busy perfecting their Lightweight Sport Aircraft (LSA) concept and are currently accepting buyers to the tune of $270,000.

Photo: Terrafugia

“The whole idea is to address the gap in travel between 100 and 400 miles,” said Cliff Allen, Terrafugia’s vice president of sales. “You could leave your home or office, drive to the nearest GA [General Aviation] airport, convert over to the aviation mode, fly to the airport nearest your destination and drive the last 10 or 15 miles.”

No word currently on whether you’ll actually be able to drive/fly (I prefer “flive”) your Terrafugia Transition by year’s end, but you can certainly obtain ownership — and odds are good that you’ll be airborne within the next few years.

2013

Speech-to-speech translation – Imagine you’re in India (or, if you are in India, continue being in India). This is a place where foreign languages and dialects are constantly coming together and increasingly demand a translation service. Now imagine that when someone speaks to you in a foreign language, an audio receiver automatically picks up their speech, translates it into your language, and plays it back for you. This is already a reality.

What this means is that within a year or two, you’ll be interacting with foreign languages in an unprecedented way — as puzzles to solve rather than pictures, whole stories to understand. I’m not going to be the one to decide if seamless translation is a good thing…but I do know that no matter how good the technology may be, there will always be that person who has trouble using it.

Superspeed rail more convenient than planes – Planes travel fast. Hundreds of miles per hour. But getting there, checking in, boarding, waiting…I’m not even going to run through it all. Point is: since rail is more efficient, if you could ride an incredibly fast, comfortable train and your door-to-door time was about the same, wouldn’t you prefer it?

Photo: Mikelo

That’s about to be what happens when Deustche Bahn completes and begins its service from London to Germany. Currently, you either need to book a flight from England or take a zig-zagging rail route to get to Berlin. Given the amount of business traffic between London and Germany, it’s likely that other large hubs will begin to see rail as the preferred method of mass transportation — just look at what’s coming in year 2020.

2014

Solar flight – Less than 100 years ago, Charles Lindbergh captured the entire world’s imagination like never before when he completed the first non-stop transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. In two years, we’ll see the completion of the world’s first circumglobal flight powered by nothing more than energy harnessed from the sun. Will anyone notice?

I doubt it. But what happens if the technology becomes cheaper? What if at some point, you can buy your own solar-powered personal flying machine that will get you a few hundred miles for the cost of a Buick?

2015

Self-charging holographic mobile phones – That’s a mouthful. Let’s simplify: first of all, we have had, for a long time, wristwatches that power themselves by the regular motion of the wearer. Today, cell phone companies are already unveiling kinetic motion-powered cell phones…meaning the scourge of battery life may plague you no more.

As for holographic phone calls, this is something just about every major cell phone player is putting R&D money into — I guess people just love that Star Wars scene with Obi-Wan coming out of R2-D2 too much not to make it happen.

So, to recap: charger-free cellphones that project a holographic video of you and the person you’re calling. So what does that mean for travel? Well, let’s say you’re on vacation in Dubai, and your office calls and needs you in a meeting — you won’t go, but your holographic self will. The more we can connect the physical world — even if it’s just a lifelike representation — the less influence geographic boundaries have over us all.

Serious space tourism – The concept of “space tourism” is about as cutting edge as “social networking” these days — we’ve been there, talked about it. But still, we haven’t really seen it aside from Richard Branson’s crazy-billionaire aspirations of taking slightly less wealthy people into space with him.

That’s all definitely going to change, though, because Boeing — an aerospace player who doesn’t mess around — announced that it will bring passenger service into the final frontier beginning 2015.

2016

Photo via Pocket-lint

Augmented reality everything – By the end of this year, Google will begin selling augmented reality glasses that stream information in real time onto a user’s eyeball. Which means that finally, you’ll never have to remove your eyes from your Twitter/reddit/Facebook news feed.

Assuming our appetite for more information, more often, as fast as possible doesn’t start to diminish, we can only expect that our visible realities will inevitably become subject to the changes we choose to make upon them. Probably the biggest proponent of this idea is Ray Kurzweil, who discusses how in the future our entire realities will be created through nanobots that “re-engineer” our perceptions of the world around us by communicating directly with the brain.

2017

The locationless classroom – Some of the younger readers might not fully agree with me here, but it’s true: school is awesome. However, the current model of getting dropped off at a turning circle to “learn” between the hours of 8am and 2pm is probably not the end-all-be-all of scholastic efficiency — especially when you consider that nearly 10% of all highschoolers drop out.

Given our steady progression to locationless communication, it only makes sense that we’ll eventually take our schools into the cloud and digital classrooms will be come, at least in some part, the norm. This already happens in towns like Branson, CO, where the official population is only 100 but 850 children actually attend the local school via the internet.

When you combine this idea with the aforementioned holographic cell phone technology, one can envision a future where going to school involves projecting yourself into a virtual classroom environment to study with your other holographic classmates. I’ll say that’s at least a few years down the road, though…

2018

Biometric and electronically enhanced passports – Perhaps the biggest factor keeping people where they come from is not geography, not nostalgia, nor family, but passports. Human will can overcome nearly any physical obstacle — but no amount of wanting can overcome a denied passport at a political border.

So, what will the passport of the future look like? We’ve already begun incorporating RFID chips and other technology into passports — is biometric data the next logical carrier of our identification? And as human screening becomes replaced by technology, we can expect waiting times at passport controls to become incredibly diminished.

At the same time, though, this may be a slippery slope: no data is invulnerable to hacking and manipulation, and as history has unfortunately shown us, an individual’s biological and physical makeup is often the first to become discriminated against.

2019

Photo via Mental_floss

Self-driving cars – Every time I mention this to someone, they don’t believe me. And then I show them the video of Google’s self-driving car. And mention the fact that the UK has already begun building private roads and corridors for self-driving cars.

Obviously, the main motivation here is safety. It’s the primary difference between cars of today and those of even 10-15 years ago: our cars are immensely more self-aware, and anything that can be done to reduce the more than 30,000+ deaths caused by automobiles (annually in the U.S.) will be a welcome addition to our traveling lifestyle.

2020….and beyond

London to Beijing by rail – About two years ago, China announced plans to develop a rail system to link Beijing with London — thousands and thousands of miles covered in just two days.

The elevator into space – The Japanese engineering and construction firm Obayashi announced this year that they have the ability and intention to set in motion a 36,000km elevator into space, to be completed within forty years.

Today, this sounds impossible. We have never, ever seen a 36,000km structure — manmade or otherwise. But the same was once true for so much of our world that now seems commonplace: skyscrapers, highways, hydroelectric dams. Truly, the past century and a half of unprecedented technological innovation has done more for our imagination than it has for our productivity. For the more we build and achieve, the more we feel inadequate and strive for what was impossible yesterday, but today seems all but inevitable.

SOURCE

Jet Lag Got You Down?

Q: In January, my husband and I flew to Rio de Janeiro from LAX, as we have done many times. But this time, something unusual happened. We had never had jet lag like this before, and we had it at both ends of the trip. If it had been just one of us, I might have thought one of us was coming down with something. The fact that it happened to both of us, both ways, same symptoms, makes me wonder whether the plane had been pressurized differently than usual. Is it possible that caused our jet lag?

- M. Hobin, Santa Barbara, Calif.

A: As I write this, it’s 9:26 a.m. in Los Angeles and 3:26 p.m. in Rio. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Robert L. Sack said about 30 million people suffer from jet lag, which kicks in after five time zones are crossed and your body clock gets confused about what time it is. Jet lag has a variety of symptoms, including insomnia, digestive upset and cognitive impairment, he noted. That means there are about 30 million zombies out there with bad stomachs at any given time, which may explain America’s recent fascination with the undead. (Something has to.)

Why some people suffer horribly from jet lag and others do not (I, thankfully, fall in that latter category) is not really known, said Dr. Charles D. Ericsson, head of travel medicine and a professor of medicine at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. It could be genetics (thanks, Mom!). But Ericsson added that as we age, we don’t tolerate time changes as well.

That’s not all, said Dr. Ryan S. Hays, assistant professor of neurology and neurotherapeutics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “Other factors that can worsen the symptoms include the direction of travel (east versus west), the time of departure (or) arrival and how well-rested the person is prior to travel,” he said in an email.

But could pressurization be the culprit or even a culprit? That’s not known with certainty. What is clear is that flying can make you feel lousy.

“Typical cabin pressures mimic an elevation of around 8,000 feet above sea level,” Dr. Tanvir Hussain, a Los Angeles cardiologist, wrote in an email. “At sea level, a typical person’s blood oxygen saturation (a measure of the amount of oxygen being carried by red blood cells) may be around 98 percent.” At 8,000 feet, “a healthy person’s blood oxygen saturation will drop to around 90 percent or so.” That can cause mild hypoxia and alkalosis, “a mild acid-based imbalance in the blood,” he said. “It’s a combination of mild hypoxia and alkalosis that is thought to cause the soft symptoms of jet lag, e.g., nausea, headache, fatigue, essentially a mild form of altitude sickness.”

So what happened to Hobin could be any one of these things, all of them or … none of them, and it could be a blip on the body’s radar. As for addressing jet lag, all time-zone-crossing travelers have their own solutions: the feasting/fasting diet before a trip (I’ve used one from Argonne National Laboratory that can be found at www.antijetlagdiet.com/faqs.asp); resetting your schedule before you go so that your activities here match the activities there; acupuncture; and prescription sleeping medication.

If you still feel like a zombie, rent any movie with “of the Living Dead” in the title. Any one of those could put you to sleep.

1. Uganda

It’s taken nasty dictatorships and a brutal civil war to keep Uganda off the tourist radar, but stability is returning and it won’t be long before visitors come flocking back. After all, this is the source of the river Nile – that mythical place explorers sought since Roman times. It’s also where savannah meets the vast lakes of East Africa, and where snow-capped mountains bear down on sprawling jungles. Not so long ago, the tyrannical dictator and ‘Last King of Scotland’ Idi Amin helped hunt Uganda’s big game to the brink of extinction, but today the wildlife is returning with a vengeance. This year Uganda also celebrates the 50th anniversary of its independence; Kampala, one of Africa’s safest capital cities, is bound to see off the event with a bang. Still, Uganda still isn’t without its problems. Human rights abuses aren’t uncommon, and the country breathes a collective sigh whenever President Museveni thinks of another ruse to stay in power for a few more years. But now, as ever, explorers in search of the source of the Nile won’t leave disappointed.

Travel alert: Lonely Planet refers would-be travellers to Uganda to the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel advice on the country:

“There is very little social tolerance of homosexuality, which is illegal. There have been moves, initiated by a Ugandan MP, to introduce reactionary legislation that would further criminalise homosexuality and introduce the death penalty for some activity… you should be aware that homosexuality is generally seen as taboo and exists on the margins of society.”

Travel to areas of northeastern Uganda is not recommended – seek specific advice if you are seeking to travel to Kidepo Valley National Park.

2. Myanmar (Burma)

‘We want people to come to Burma.’ That’s the words of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the opposition party that has urged foreigners to stay away since 1996. This changed in late 2010, when the NLD revised its boycott to encourage independent travel (as opposed to package tours) following the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, who had spent 15 of the past 20 years under house arrest. As a result, Myanmar is set to be a hot new destination for independent travellers. Rimmed by mountains and white-sand beaches, the kite-shaped country’s most accessible area is the centre, which is filled with timeless towns and countless pagodas, especially the 4000 examples found on Bagan’s 26-sq-km riverside plain. Beyond the attractions, there’s the fervently Buddhist locals, who might just be the world’s sweetest people. If you do go, be aware that the revised boycott doesn’t mean troubles are over.

3. Ukraine

When we don’t know much about a country, we just fill in the gaps with clichés – and Ukraine, the great unknown of Europe, has had plenty hurled at it. Wide-scale counter-espionage? No, not even in Odessa. Communist grime everywhere you look? One glimpse of glorious Old Town Kiev or the wildlife on unspoilt Crimean shores will set you straight. Cheap beer? You bet: it’s cheaper than water. Football? Funny you should mention that…It’s through the power of soccer that Ukraine is poised to showcase its charms to unprecedented numbers of visitors. It will co-host Euro 2012 (the European footballchampionships) and the four match venues have been cunningly selected to encourage further travel by visiting football fans. So Lviv becomes the jumping-off point for Carpathian exploration, while Kiev, which stages the final, will become base for forays to the Black Sea coast and, yep, the grim tourist attraction that is Chernobyl.

4. Jordan

The word is getting out that Jordan is not just about Petra and Indiana Jones. Yes, the ancient ‘Red Rose city’ is still the jewel in Jordan’s crown, but sights such as Wadi Rum, Jerash and Madaba are adding weight to the country’s tourism boom. One of the most open, friendly and welcoming nations in the Middle East, Jordan is an example to other states in the region of how to modernise while preserving cherished ancient traditions. This year marks the 64th birthday of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a relative baby on the global scene. Though poverty is still rife, Jordan’s economy is on the up, and its history and tourist infrastructure make it one of the most accessible Arab states for English-speaking travellers.

5. Denmark

Every year, Denmark tops a ‘quality of life’ list and is revealed as the coolest/happiest/best-looking place on earth, because not only is the living easy in this small, perfectly formed country, but it’s also easy on the eye. Viking raids aside, the Danes have long tried to make the world a better place (think generous foreign aid programs and the pursuit of green technology) and they make sure that they lead by example: their homes are stylish recycling-savvy havens of hygge (a sense of contented cosiness) and their public spaces are enjoyed by all. And all you have to do is hop on your bike – literally. Countrywide, you’ll find around 10,000km of bicycle routes and some four million bikes to share them with, plus you’re rarely more than a short pedal from the bracing seaside, the picturesque countryside or an architectural delight, making Denmark the perfect place to put pedal power into practice.

6. Bhutan

Beautiful Buddhist Bhutan has always coyly shielded its charms from the wider world, but new areas of this remarkable mountainous land are finally opening for business. Of course, you’ve been able to visit for years, but most tours hit the same highlights: a part-awesome, part-terrifying flight into peak-protected Paro, a jaunt around western Bhutan’s cultural sights, then perhaps a trek through pristine mountains (Bhutan’s conservation credentials are exemplary). There’s no independent travel here; itineraries are sanctioned by the Tourism Council and guides are compulsory. But now, at last, it’s possible to visit other parts of this famously reclusive country. Royal Manas National Park, prowled by some of the planet’s last remaining tigers, has reopened. And the far east, where most locals have seen more yetis than tourists, is accessible and is getting better infrastructure. The only downside? It’s not for those on a budget at US$200 a day (though admittedly this covers many on-the-ground costs).

7. Cuba

For years people have been saying it, and for years (53 and counting) the Castro brothers have staved off the inevitable – that Cuba has to change. Its socialist credentials are gradually crumbling in the face of international capitalism, as evidenced by dramatic public sector cuts and the relaxation of restrictions on private enterprise. This is good news for Cubans, but bad news for fans of peeling Plymouths, crumbling colonial charm, impromptu salsa sessions in half-collapsed yet elegant houses, all-day coffee-and-rum breaks, and horse-drawn carts in the fastlane of highways. The beaches will still be pristine 10 years from now, and the world’s best mojitos will still flow. But the country mightn’t be quite so, well, distinctive. Or fun. Go while the clock is still stopped at 1959.

8. New Caledonia

How strange it feels. You’re greeted with a bonjour when you step off the plane, then you breakfast on croissants and baguettes at a pavement cafe in Nouméa – yet you’re in the heart of the South Pacific. At first glance, New Caledonia resembles nothing less than a chunk of France teleported directly into the tropics. Nouméa could be easily mistaken for city in the French Riviera. But beyond the très French panache of the capital and the west coast of the main island, Grande Terre, the indigenous Melanesian culture quickly comes to the fore. The rebirth of Kanak traditions has been gaining momentum for the past 30 years, and today is at an all-time high. Head to the Loyalty Islands or Ile des Pins and you’ll enter another world. For the enquiring visitor, it’s a fascinating opportunity to experience New Caledonia from a different perspective. Amazingly, despite its fabulous islandscapes and unique mélange of Gallic and Melanesian cultures, New Caledonia rarely makes it onto people’s travel shortlists.

9. Taiwan

Taiwan has always had a jaw-dropping landscape – oversized sea cliffs and denselyforested mountains barely start to describe its majesty. And then there’s the museums,which are simply bursting with treasures (including the best of imperial China, spirited across the strait after WWII), plus a thriving folk culture that includes some wild displays of Taoist and Buddhist worship. In terms of cuisine, Taiwan is a fusion and slow-food showcase. So why is 2012 the time to visit? Because Taiwan is best seen on two wheels and in recent years the authorities have embraced the biking market with surprising enthusiasm, vision and (most importantly) funding. This year sees the linking of thousands of kilometres of paths, including two round-the-island routes, and a host of other cycling friendly infrastructure projects.

10. Switzerland

Whether it’s economic growth, political stability or sustainable snow, little-miss perfect Switzerland always finishes at the top of the European class. With its model railways, chocolate-box towns and outrageously beautiful mountains, the country should be the envy of all. But, critics say, doesn’t perfect actually mean dull? Isn’t Switzerland all holey cheese, skis and lights out by 10pm? Well, not quite. Stand in the wave-shaped shadow of Renzo Piano’s Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern, party in Züri-West’s industrial-chic clubs and experience a heart-stopping moment while glacier bungee jumping in Interlaken, and you’ll discover a Switzerland with art, attitude and an insatiable appetite for adventure. This year Switzerland’s gloriously accessible Alps will become even easier to reach, thanks to the launch of 19 new TGVs from Paris, and the construction of the groundbreaking Gotthard rail tunnel getting underway.

SOURCE

1.    Delivery Scams – If you receive an email from what appears to be UPS Shipments that states “your package has arrived,” and it asks you to click on a link, delete it! This is a typical phishing scam. Other emails ask you to download a form, which ends up containing a virus. Similar emails can come from “Fed Ex.”

2.    Before you buy a Gift Card, be sure that it has not been tampered with. Scam artists can scratch off the security code, write down the numbers while the card is on display, and call an 800 number to learn when the card has been activated. Also be wary of online auction sites that promise “full value guaranteed” gift cards. The card could be worth nothing. And, read the fine print before purchasing.

3.    Grinch Greetings! Cyber crooks distribute phony versions of e-cards containing links to computer viruses and other malware. BBB warns consumers to only open e-cards from a trusted source to avoid spreading computer viruses instead of holiday cheer.

4.    BBB recommends using caution when downloading holiday-themed screen savers, jingles and animations. Scammers can easily use these to spread viruses and other computer threats, especially in links from an e-mail or IM that appears to be from a friend.

5.    BBB offers these tips for Returns/Exchanges this holiday season:  Know the seller’s return policy. A business­ is not obligated to accept items for refund, exchange, or credit except in cases where the item is defective or misrepresented. Check for restocking fees if an item is returned. If you want to return an item, understand the difference between exchanges and credits. There may be time limits for returns. Always keep receipts and original packaging.

6.    Holiday Travel Tips: Create a car safety kit before you hit the road; include a blanket, flashlight, batteries, radio, first aid kit, jumper cables, and non-perishable foods; take your car in for a check-up; and download the BBB iPhone app to find businesses you can trust when you are traveling.

7.    During the holidays, many people travel and use Free Wi-Fi in hotels and airports. Thieves use this op­portunity to hack into networks to steal sensitive information. BBB warns consumers to stick to well-es­tablished and trusted sites. Do not respond to offers that arrive in a spam e-mail, text or instant message. Never download or click anything from an unknown source.

8.      BBB tips on finding a trustworthy kennel to board your pets: Check the kennel out with BBB to make sure they have a good track record for keeping customers satisfied; personally visit the facilities; check for cleanliness and offensive odors, safety of cages, certificates of inspection, feeding and exercise schedules, proof of immunization policies and medical emergency procedures.

9.    Expecting an E-reader this holiday season? Beware that E-book Scams are on the rise. To avoid these scams, stick with authors you know. If you decide to buy from an unfamiliar author, see if you can download a sample (Amazon lets you do this) first to test the quality. Don’t be taken by great reviews that accompany cheap books. Don’t click on links in an e-book unless it’s by a reputable author, or visit that author’s website directly. It could be a virus.

10.  Before hiring a Chimney Sweep do your homework! Find out how long the company has been in business, ask for references, and be sure the company has a valid business liability insurance policy. Beware of scammers who use a low price tactic to get in your door. They often recommend additional work to be done, bullying the homeowner into a much more expensive bill.

(Source)

A B.C. couple on a fixed income is facing a $50,000 US hospital bill, despite buying travel health insurance for their last trip.

“What are we supposed to do?” said Artur Friesen, from Abbotsford, B.C. “We don’t have anything. How am I supposed to pay that?”

Artur and Anna Friesen say they live modestly on government pensions. Every year for the last 20 years, they’ve driven their motor home to California to escape the winter.

“We buy insurance to be covered and be safe,” said Artur.

Last year, they bought full medical coverage as usual, through their broker, from Prime Link Travel Medical Insurance. While in California, Anna had to go to hospital with a blood clot in her leg.

Records show the U.S. hospital checked with Prime Link, which is underwritten by Manulife, to see if she had insurance, and was told she did. Her bill for treatment was $10,000 a day, for five days.

The couple said they were shocked when the insurance company later refused to pay the bill, because of how Anna answered one question on her initial application form.

“I never would have gone into the hospital if I knew that would happen. Never. I would have went home,” she says.

Answer not quite right

The Friesens struggle to understand English, so said they relied on broker Barrie Cartmell to fill out their application. He read them several questions from the form, including: “In the last 36 months, have you received treatment for kidney disorder (including stones)?”

Anna answered no. She’s had weak kidneys for several years, but has not actively been treated.

“I had no treatment and I just had weak kidneys, and that is what we talked about [with the broker],” said Anna. “I am not reading [the form] or anything, because I don’t know how to read English.

“[The broker] was satisfied with the answer that we gave him, that she had no treatment and no [kidney] stones,” said Artur.

Despite letters submitted since from doctors, insisting she is not receiving any treatment for her kidney condition, the insurance claim denial letter reads, “You do have a chronic kidney disease for which you have undergone investigations which is considered treatment.”

Prime Link returned the $694 premium the couple paid for the policy, with a letter saying it’s null and void because of “misstatements during the application period.”

The Friesens are now getting calls from a U.S. collection agency and are afraid to go south for their usual trip. They check the mail every day, hoping the insurance company has considered their appeal and changed its position.

“I don’t even lift up the phone anymore. I see it’s a number from outside, I don’t even lift up the phone anymore,” said Anna. “Because [the collection agent] told me last time I am supposed to pay him $5,000 a month.”

“We are stressed out. Really stressed,” said Artur.

Afraid to go south

“We are not the same people [as we were] last year when we came home. Our friends they are leaving on Friday for California for four months again, and we have to stay home.”

The broker, Barrie Cartmell, said he doesn’t remember Anna mentioning her weak kidneys. Nevertheless, he said he believes she answered the question honestly and the insurance company is wrong.

“I don’t think it is the client’s fault. They just didn’t understand,” said Cartmell. “I think [the insurance company] has got to clean up their definitions and make them a lot clearer.”

He insisted if Anna did tell him about her kidney condition, he would have advised her to consider a different answer.

“I can’t remember the exact conversation because I’ve got thousands of clients,” said Cartmell. “When I go through the application, I ask the questions as they are.”

He said he tried to go to bat for her with the claims department, but got nowhere.

“They do not discuss this. They will not discuss it,” said Cartmell.

“Certainly if I was asked that question I would think that the word treat means exactly what it says, treatment, and I would say no,” said Jim Bullock, an independent broker who helps lawyers who are going after insurance companies.

“The fact I was being monitored, in my mind, wouldn’t mean I was being treated.”

Deliberate tactic, says critic

Bullock says the forms are ambiguous, and he thinks that is intentional.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a deliberate tactic,” he said, citing several examples of what he calls “trivial” denials.

“A lady didn’t disclose that she had an ear infection four years ago. Another lady didn’t disclose that she had hemorrhoids during her pregnancy two years ago. A fellow didn’t disclose that his brother had a heart attack. He didn’t know his brother had a heart attack. That didn’t matter. He didn’t disclose it,” said Bullock.

He would like to see provincial authorities hold insurance companies more accountable.

“For whatever reason, they have steadfastly refused to get involved with the issue of claims-paying practices. They won’t even ask the companies in their annual reports how many claims were not paid,” said Bullock.

“Frankly, I think governments are afraid of insurance companies. It appears that way.”

David Hartman, of the Travel Health Insurance Industry Association of Canada, confirmed the industry doesn’t release statistics on how many claims are denied, although he estimated it’s less than five per cent.

“Not disclosing medical information is one of the top five reasons claims are denied,” he said.

He also said the industry is working on making travel insurance questionnaires simpler.

“It is a concern,” Hartman said, “Some companies are looking at plain language policies.”

He said seniors should realize insurers can and will look at all medical records, so it’s best to disclose everything, even if it costs more for coverage. He said some medical conditions trigger premium increases of 300%.

New decision coming

David Rivelis of Prime Link, the Friesens’ insurance agent, said even when a customer’s doctor states they are not being treated for a condition, the adjuster’s interpretation can supersede that.

“The insurance company ultimately determines the term of the contract,” said Rivelis. “How the doctor defines something may be different from how it’s defined by an insurance company.”

He advises every senior to read their whole policy, even when they are using a broker.

“Policy definitions are what governs the payment of claims,” he says.

However, after CBC’s Go Public got involved, Manulife, the underwriter, said another decision is forthcoming on the Friesens’ claim.

“I understand a decision on the appeal of this case will be made shortly and should be communicated to the individual in the next couple of days,” wrote Manulife spokesperson Michael May.

(VIA CBC News Canada)