Living Our Sunshine with Susann Deysel
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2 Mins Read

Getting your travel insurance sorted – quick and easy

So we all know bags go missing and accidents and life happens – well, this is where travel insurance comes in. You don’t want to go on your dream holiday and end up in debt for the rest of your life because you didn’t think travel insurance is necessary.

If you are with FNB and you pay for your holiday with a qualifying card, you could get your travel insurance for free (if you are younger than 70). Plus you can do it online – no more calling and listening to elevator music. I have used the FNB/TIC travel insurance for every trip since 2008!

Usually your travel insurance covers the following:

  • Death and disability cover
  • Luggage cover
  • Medical emergencies

I usually just take the free option as it covers quite a bit. You can upgrade to a paid higher level of cover. I’m attaching the screenshot from FNB’s travel insurance – but if you are with another bank, just enquire if they offer you the same benefits.

If you need to shop around for travel insurance you can use these handy links to get quotes from:

My best advice when traveling is to rather be safe than sorry – and just get the travel insurance sorted before you go. It takes a few minutes and you are covered.

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Why choose all-inclusive holidays when the Rand takes a beating

We all know that feeling when you finally decide you are going on that holiday to a country with a strong currency – and then suddenly someone says or does something and the Rand just plummets into a deep abyss. You then re-do your expenses calculations and realise that you will be adding a couple of thousand onto the holiday…and simply cannot afford it anymore.

That feeling sucks.

This year, for the first time ever, I booked a holiday that included flights, accommodation, food and all drinks. Then the Rand plummeted. It kind of felt like I took out an insurance policy against the Rand.

Yes, I still have to buy a bit of Forex (US dollars), but I still have 2 months. Anything can happen – right? If push comes to shove I can always go on less excursions, which means there will be no big credit card charges – but I probably won’t cut this part of the holiday either.

Reasons to book an inclusive holiday:

  1. You can budget before you even board the plane
  2. The Rand can free-fall and you will still be able to eat and drink
  3. There won’t be any dishes and you won’t need to hunt for food
  4. You don’t need to carry cash around at the resort
  5. You won’t have to book the components of your holiday separately

What is usually included in an All-Inclusive holiday?

Always check what is included in your All-inclusive holiday before booking as this may vary.

  • Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
  • Snacks
  • Alcoholic Drinks (usually local only and top-shelf at an additional cost)
  • Tea & Coffee
  • Soft Drinks & Juices
  • Resort Activities
  • WiFi
  • Flights
  • Airport transfers

Choose an All Inclusive holiday today and take the stress out of planning your getaway – and beat the falling Rand. Because seriously, holidays are for relaxing and not worrying about a weak Rand.

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Apply for your Passport and ID online in South Africa

I don’t know about you, but when it comes to any service provided by the government, I want to run for the hills. Service is with a sour face, slow and at best barely registers on a scale of acceptable – and let’s not even go down the road about how the grime just stares at you from chairs, desks and biometric equipment!

Dealing with government workers and services is every South African’s nightmare in my opinion.

Well, last week I realised that my passport will no longer be accepted for travel, I only had a month left before its expiry. Sigh! I still remember the queues at home affairs from last time, the frantic search for the right forms and how I felt like dousing myself with Dettol to get rid of whatever I may have picked up from the equipment…

Then I remembered, I can now do the application online and go to FNB for biometrics! No more home affairs! OMG, it was a breeze. I completed the form online for both my ID and passport, made the appointment at FNB Sandton (on WEST ST, Merchant Place), paid online and received an SMS with my appointment information.

On the day I arrived at FNB, sat for 5 minutes before being called and VOILA!, I was done before I broke a sweat. That was on a Friday. The following Tuesday just before 3pm I got an SMS to say my ID is ready for pickup! The Friday morning before 9am another SMS – my passport is ready! Quick service like this is totally unheard of from a government run anything – right?

Where to find this magical portal to home affairs bliss:

Remember, this is a government website and as such they optimise for usage on Internet Explorer. They also say that you have to print out your completed application – not true, I tried everything to print out the document and finally just gave up and arrived at FNB without. Turns out, they didn’t need it.

On this site you can:

  • Submit applications online
  • Upload supporting documents
  • Make online payments
  • And schedule a booking to visit a Home Affairs enabled Bank offices

You can also complete the form online and then go to a home affairs to do the biometrics – because the enabled banks (with home affairs officials) aren’t everywhere yet.

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Instagram Accounts To Follow That Will Depress You

To kick of the first week of 2016 – and work – I have decided to share some of the most amazing Instagram accounts that you should follow. Remember, I am doing a list in no particular order because I cannot yet get my list to follow my orders 🙂

Travel with these Instagrammers:

If you don’t know it by now, I love to travel. If I didn’t have a cat I would travel (I am sure my hubby would follow me).

    1. MySpace TomMySpaceTom – remember MySpace and your default friend Tom? Well, here he is exploring the world.
    2. IG_Naturelovers – I take amazing photos, but on this account you can see photos that are out of this world.
    3. Feel like you need colour in your life? Get ready to explore the world (and some other random things) with IZKIZ.
    4. Enjoy an endless summer with Gypsylovinlight.

I use instagram to research beaches and places before I make my final travel plans. Yes, I know what is outside the crop I might not like, but it is still better than brochures!

Foodporn on Instagram:

I am not a baker, chef or housewife, so looking at food is how I get my kicks. I can page through food pics for hours and forget about eating.

  1. Baking_Ginger – everything on her account looks scrumptious. It is just so depressing that I won’t get to eat it all.
  2. Close your eyes now and don’t follow DrizzleAndDip because you will be hungry after checking out the foodporn on Sam Linsell’s account.

Get spot on with these Fashionista Instagrammers:

I’m not a fashionista, just give me a surflabel and I’m good to go.

  1. Brett Robson
  2. Amy Scheepers
  3. Irina Doman
  4. Arumliliea or Leanne

I wish I could share every Instagram I surf on a daily basis but then I would do nothing else but make lists! If you still haven’t followed me on Instagram… click here and follow 🙂

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The Maldives on a budget – how we did it

Remember the days where you longingly looked at pictures of the Maldives sighing at the hefty price tag that would go with a holiday like that? I did the same. Really. Then when I started doing research on where to stay I stumbled upon info that suggested that resort stay is not the only way you can explore this magical beach destination.

My interest was piqued. I was hooked.

I excitedly told my husband that we will be going to the Maldives and I’m not hallucinating and definitely not delusional. We can afford it. We just have to compromise a little (or so I thought).

I booked at the lovely Kaani Beach Hotel on Maafushi Island for 5 nights and even with the weak Rand, it still sort of worked out the same as our usual Ballito holiday accommodation. To top it off, it included 3 meals a day and soft drinks. Once you have covered your bed, food and drink – the only thing you have to worry about is flying there.

Yes, the hotel didn’t have bells and whistles, but it was clean, comfortable and perfectly located a minute from the beach. The best part about our stay here, the staff. The staff was so friendly and they took an interest in you, greeted you by name and didn’t all even wear shoes. It was so homely, but yet private.

The food was really amazing and sometimes even a little too much, but I ate it ALL!

The beach on Maafushi Island was nothing to sneeze at. The sand was a soft, powdery white and the water gorgeously blue.

I know you have seen me writing about BIKINI BEACHES and wondering what I’m on about. Maafushi Island is a mixed use island with local inhabitants and now (for the past 2 years) tourists. Since the Maldives is quite religious, tourists have to abide by some simple rules to experience this paradise. On a bikini beach you can swim in normal swimwear, any other beach you have to cover shoulders to knees.

Bikini beaches are usually behind fences and open beaches (non bikini) out in the open. Resort islands (1 hotel on the island) usually means all bikinis and no cover ups.

I definitely miss this amazing view from our room at Kaani Beach Hotel!

 

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Essential Travel Tips

Keen to travel but hate the queues to get on the plane and wait for your food, here are my top 10 travel tips every new traveler should know.

  1. Choose a seat towards the back of the plane, you are almost guaranteed to board first as most international flights first board older people, families with children, first and business class passengers.
  2. Book in and choose your seats online from 72 hours prior to your flight.
  3. Book your meal before the flight. Special request meals are always served before regular meals.
  4. If you are traveling with someone and both love to sit on isle seats book on either side of a middle row or on two isle seats separated by an isle. The book a middle row trick sometimes even gets a 3 seat coach for the 2 of you – not many people like to sit in the middle of 2 strangers.
  5. Take a sleep mask, not all airlines give these anymore.
  6. You do need to phone your bank’s credit card line to let them know that you will be using your card overseas – else they may try to phone to confirm if it was you spending money overseas. Failing to reach you, your card may be deactivated.
  7. Always check when you book your holiday/flights with a credit card if you can’t get free travel insurance. FNB offers this service with TIC.
  8. Take your facial cream in your hand luggage – you will thank me later.
  9. Catching multiple flights with different airlines? Rather take hand luggage if you know you won’t have a lot of time in the airport to wait for the luggage conveyor to spit out your suitcase, go through customs and security, check in and go through customs and security again.
  10. Always keep your passport on you. The hassle is not worth the 10 minutes of comfort. Seriously.

Traveling by plane is not for the impatient. Sitting around at airports aren’t fun. Getting to your destination and experiencing all the sights and sounds makes it all worth the hassle.

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