Vaccination and insurance

Got the typhoid jab this morning. It was the VI vaccine, I saw the label on the box it came in. Nurse spectacularly surly. She asked me to roll up my sleeve and muttered something about going over to "the couch area". I asked which arm. She replied "the top of one of your arms". I picked the left one on my own initiative since I'm right handed so it might make a difference if there is any localised pain, just based on memories of previous vaccinations, this one perhaps doesn't do that. (There hasn't been any in the hour odd since I had it done.) Still, got it done and that's the main thing.

I might just be in a bad mood as I was up late going through a lot of shit trying to find decent travel insurance. I despise insurance companies with a searing passion.

Six month single trip insurance costs way less than two lots of three month single trip insurance. Seems illogical. But I can't take out a six month policy as returning to the UK terminates such a policy regardless, and I'll be back at Christmas. But I'm away too long at a stretch for the multi trip policies. Maybe this is backed up by facts, but it just feels like I'm slipping through the cracks of the common offerings.

(Oh, and one comparison site treats you as having a medical condition which must be declared if you have *been to your GP in the last five years*. But it's OK, you can call their oh-so-convenient non-24h medical screening helpline to discuss your case. Or you could just use someone not quite so fucking anal about it.)

Typhoid vaccination

Just made an appointment with private clinic at Canary Wharf to have the typhoid vaccination tomorrow morning. £60 but probably better safe than sorry and it does last three years. (I asked and they do have the injectable VI vaccine, which is 75% effective - distressingly low, really - and lasts three years vs the Ty21a oral vaccine which is only 50-60% effective and lasts a year. Why I typed that out I do not know...)

Indian visa

1515 Trekked over from office to pick visa up.

1531 Just got out, that all appears to be in order so maybe I will book flight tonight.

Tbilisi flight price changes

Fri 14:35 Just had a look on expedia and the flight is currently showing
as (still) "only 2 tickets left at this price" but the price is back at
£234.

Indian visa probably OK - or is it?

Just had text and e-mail saying 'a decision has been reached' on my visa and I can collect my passport any day including today. I am assuming the decision is favourable but it doesn't actually say so.

Actually, from a quick look at the website this might mean nothing except passport is ready for collection and it has been refused. Probably is OK but no way to tell.

Flights, additional

Of course, as per the blog, the Tbilisi flight was showing up as about
£230-235 beforehand, so I've "only" saved £25-ish via this sudden drop
in price, but it's still better than a smack in the face.

Been terribly lax (and there is some other stuff going on in my life
right now of course, that makes it sound massively portentous but I'm
just being a bit circumspect on the blog) about the Georgian course,
maybe having made it concrete by booking the ticket will kick me into
gear a bit. I have 90% mastered the first three lessons but need to
press on to the fourth ASAP. Still, I can now say "thank you", which
will probably be useful.

Anyway, I really need to be moving towards bed.

London-Tbilisi flight booked

I was dithering over what and "if" to book for the last few days. I
checked earlier tonight on my saved itinerary on expedia and the Warsaw
route (which I had pretty much decided in favour of anyway; I also did
some double checking earlier on ITA's matrix and really there were no
better flights, almost regardless of cost) was £250-ish. I just clicked
refresh (presumably after midnight made the difference) and it showed as
£209! Rather than wait around and see if the price went down any
further, I took that as kind of an omen and went ahead and booked it.
Oddly, it actually cost £206.30 in the end. (I may - the price is low
enough already that I'm not going to be getting too upset, and it would
perhaps be educational - try to check periodically to see how much the
flight costs as time goes on. I just checked on expedia and I could book
the same flight again for £209, though it says "only 2 tickets left at
this price".)

The flight details are:
Saturday 12 October
17:50 Heathrow - 21:20 Warsaw
22:40 Warsaw - 04:00 Tbilisi

I am thinking I might (as if I need to make an effort, really, barring
pre-trip nerves!) deliberately try to get up as late as I can on the
Saturday, so that I'm as fresh as possible to bear up on the
super-late-night involved in the flight.

I haven't booked a hotel in Tbilisi yet but I had a quick look on
expedia the other day and there are some cheapish hotels on there with
availability at around the £30-£40/night level (with free wi-fi, which
really is very important to me, given I use it to book onward
accommodation, not to mention e-mail/Skype), and there may be options on
hostelworld. I will try to book that in the next few days, but I feel
less worried about prices surging there (still don't want to hang around
of course). I need to decide how many nights I am staying in Tbilisi to
start with; my inclination is two or three. Given I will want to be back
in Tbilisi at the end of the trip if only as a buffer so I'm not stuck
halfway across the country the day before I have to fly out, I don't
want to overdo it at the start of the trip, which sort of makes me lean
towards two nights. On the other hand, after effectively staying up all
night on the Saturday and not going to bed until 9am-ish London time
(because of the flights), Sunday is going to be a bit scrappy even if I
do a bit of casual sightseeing and I might be feeling a bit fucked up
the next day (and my sleep cycle might be odd), which does half incline
me to make it three nights.

I also need to start thinking about booking the flight out of Tbilisi
soon-ish, perhaps this weekend I will get that and the first couple of
nights accommodation sorted out.

I will observe just briefly that my Uncle Bob died on Tuesday. However,
striking a purely practical note since it's really not what this blog is
about otherwise, speaking to my mother the funeral is probably going to
be early October, so it isn't a factor as far as the trip goes. I was
dithering about booking the flight on Tuesday before I found out and
then that did at least partly contribute to me holding off on the
booking, but I wouldn't like to say how big a factor it was. In any
case, the delay worked out in my favour anyway, since I've saved £40-50
on the flight.

I just checked on the LOT Polish website and my reservation is there and
my seating preference, as given to expedia, has been respected and I
have an aisle seat on both flights. Spiffing.