After a frantic last few days of packing and tying up loose ends, I find myself sitting at home, with seemingly endless hours to kill. That's right. My plane, which was supposed to take off at 6pm, has been delayed until 10, so I'm sitting at home on top of a pile of luggage. This means that my stopover in Amsterdam has been reduced from seven hours to just three, so I won't get to tour the city as I had hoped to. Ah well, perhaps on the ride back?
In the meantime, I'll briefly recount the hassles that come with pre-flight preparations. And for a third-world destination, there certainly was enough red tape to cut through.
Passport - Mine expires in 2007, thank goodness.
Vaccinnations - I had to take five needles (yellow fever, rabies, etc), plus a mix for traveller's diarhhea. The bill came to over $400. I advise shopping around for a travel clinic.
Anti-malarials - must be taken every day at sunset
Plane Ticket - There's no right answer for this one. I got a decent deal for the summer at $2,700 round, after tax.
Visa - had to go to the Ghanaian High Commission for this. Surrendered my application, passport, photos and acceptance letter. After this, I have to apply for a student visa when I'm already in the country.
OHIP - must be changed for extended travels. Get to the health office early in the day for this. Travel insurance is also recommended.
Travel guide - For Ghana, nothing beats the Bradt Guide, which is detailed and comprehensive. Lonely Planet and Rough Guide have books for West Africa.
Incidentals - one needs to think about appropriate clothes (white clothes get dirty easily), first-aid kit, toiletries, electricity outlet converter, photos from home, music (I acquired an iPod, which stores both hundreds of songs and albums as well as digital photos)... There are so many things you need to remember, they can't be listed.
Anyways, I'm off to Pearson International Airport. Here's hoping I get out of there soon.
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