Vaccination Advice

For the travelers out there who like to go somewhere a little bit different than the 'usual' holiday destination, chances are you'll need to be vaccinated to prevent contraction of any unwanted diseases or infections. [Well I certainly hope they're unwanted. Why would you want cholera?]

Vaccinations can be a hectic, scary or daunting process for a lot of people be it their first time getting them, being terrified of needles, worrying of the cost and time limit they have to get them or just being faced with the reality that these diseases exist where you're going.

First of all, relax. You're already preparing yourself and doing the research by reading this post so I have 100% faith that you'll be fine.

1. Know where you're going. 

It is very important to know where you'll be travelling so you can let whoever is administrating your vaccines know and they can make sure you get everything you need. Whether you'll be staying in one city, travelling through a few cities in various countries or making your way across a whole continent but unsure of exactly where you'll be, let the consultant/doctor know everything. And if you're unsure if you'll be visiting a certain place you'll need a vaccine for, just get it. It'll be one less thing to worry about on your travels and if you do decide to go there, it'll save you getting any counterfeit medication and risking your health if you deal with any unsanitary clinics or needles. Better to be safe than sorry!

2. Worried about the cost? Don't be.

• Unlike flights and hotel/hostel prices, vaccination prices will not fluctuate. Therefore you can check out what will be needed months in advance and know exactly what you need to put aside for it. Search the web for your local travel clinic and they should have all the prices up on their website.
• I know some people believe it's better to pay for the medication yourself and get your own doctor to administer the vaccines. I would advise against this. Nothing personal against your GP or anything but you're much better off going to someone who specializes in travel vaccines. And if you need to get vaccinated against rabies then there's absolutely no question about it, go to a travel clinic! The reason for this is you need 3 shots for rabies over a couple of weeks. One bottle is made up of 3 shots but as soon as it's opened, it expires quickly so if you were to get your rabies vaccine in your ordinary GP office, chances are no one else will be getting a rabies shot so it would cost upwards of €100 as you'd be paying for 3 bottles. In a travel clinic, other people will be availing of the same bottle so you'll save a lot of money!  
• Student discounts are often available and discounts for senior citizens and the unemployed also exist. You won't know unless you ask!
• If you're in Ireland I'd recommend The Travel Health Clinic on Dawson Street in Dublin. They're far cheaper than The Tropical Medical Bureau and were lovely to deal with. I felt fully prepared for Africa having received their guidance and had a number to call 24/7 if any emergency arose. They also accept any form of student cards, not just travel cards and they gave me a lollipop after every visit! 

3. Pain

It's not that bad. Really! It's like a slight pinch every time and there can be a slight 'panging' pain afterwards but it's fine. I will say however, not to poke at where the shot went in or lean on it and try avoid sleeping on it if you can, just to avoid any possible discomfort! I learned that the hard way which you can read in this blog post of my old blog. . . Obviously if you're the kind of person with the attitude of a soccer player that will bend their finger the wrong way then never shut up about it and demand some kind of prize for dealing with such atrocious 'pain' then my advice for you is; shut up and deal with it! 

4.  Needles

Needles? What needles? I never saw a needle when I got my vaccines done. Ask them not to show you and they won't. Dr. Weidenhammer in the clinic I went to distracted me without me even realizing by asking me questions while injecting me. It was over before I knew it! In my experience, there were no needles, just the slight pinch of  a magical fairy doctor that resulted in my body being magically protected from awful things! And did I mention? You might get a lollipop! If you don't like needles, you won't see needles.

5. Time

Some vaccinations require a few shots over a period of weeks. If you're worried that you won't have enough time to get them all before your trip away don't panic. Just ring up whichever travel clinic you'll be going to, let them know you'll be flying out soon and might need repeat shots. They should be able to squeeze you in if it is going to be a tight fit to get them all in. Staff at travel clinics are there to help you, they won't want you going away unprepared either so just relax! And in future, give yourself at least 6 weeks before your flight to make an appointment for a consultation. It's hard enough trying to remember where your passport is and whether or not you packed your pajamas the night before your flight without thinking about your possibilities of coming home with Hepatitis A as a souvenir instead of a key-ring. 

These are just some basic tips to help you through your vaccination experience. Your travel clinic will help you with anything else you need to know or you can fire a question my away and I'll promise to answer it. 

Thank you for reading and happy travels!

Grá,

Ceara

x

The First BBA Adventure...

For my 21st birthday, my crazy sister went and bought me a holiday. Obviously, now, out of my siblings (which consists of 2 full brothers, 2 half brothers, 1 half sister, 1 step brother and 1 sister in-law), she wins the Favourite Sibling award! Before the idea of this blog even entered my head she knew I haven't had the typical holidays abroad and felt I was worthy of a real holiday.

So we're going to Espana!! (I don't know how to do that squiggly thing above the 'n' like how it's supposed to be so just imagine it's there. . .)

On the 29th of July we're flying to Reus (my sister said a word that sounded like 'reece' so I'm guessing that's correct, there are a LOT of airports in Spain) and then staying in a hotel near Port Aventura in Tarragona for 5 nights. 

There are many reasons why I'm extremely excited for this trip. Here are just five;

1. I've never been to Spain before. - I'm gonna be fluent in Spanish when I get back amigos!
2. I've never stayed in a HOTEL on a holiday abroad. (I'm gonna be calling room service all like "Yo, can I have 10 extra towels please. Gracias." which I'm SO excited for!)
3. I've never been to a beach in a different country before and apparently there's one nearby! - I'm Irish and I can say in advance if being topless is 'the norm' on the beach, I will not be joining in. That only calls for extra areas to apply sunscreen to and I won't even tan so, no point! And will the sea water be warm?? Oh my God.
4. I've never been to a proper water park before. - My only experience of a ‘water park’ to date is Splashworld in Waterford (Ireland). Do you know of it? Well if not I’ll briefly explain. To my recollection it consisted of a kiddies area with a pirate ship that shot out water from a canon, a fountain you could sit under, those fake waves that reached about one foot high and two twisting slides. Basically it was a big swimming pool with the occasional colourful landmark and you occasionally had to take someone else's plaster off your foot. So to be in a real water park with various water rides and stuff and stuff and more stuff, will be AWESOME.
5. I've never holidayed with my sister or nephew before. - Spain better prepare itself because the two of us are insane enough and excitable enough on our own. Being together, on holiday, somewhere hot, for the first time; we'll be like kids on Christmas morning!

Just. . .oh my goodness I'm so excited. It hasn't even really hit me yet as I wasn't involved in booking anything so I'm just banking on what my sister says. Let's just hope this isn't some prank or scheme on MTV's Punk'd. Not that I'm important enough to be 'punk'd' but you never know!

This guy's sunscreen method is just like mine.

There's a lot of preparation I need to undertake before this trip, such as stocking up on litres of Factor 50 sunscreen and figuring out how I'm going to get it to Spain via one of RyanAir's restricting no-smiles-no-space-no-extras-no-happiness-only-a-stupid-landing-trumpet-jingle-flights. I'll need enough to apply everywhere, everyday as in the demonstration there in Exhibit A on your right. >

I'll also need to begin learning Spanish so I can seduce handsome men when I'm there and not end up asking them for 'the placenta of your birth' instead of 'your Snapchat name'. I don't know, it could happen! So far all I can say in Spanish is "Hay una fiesta en mis pantalones!" and that is NOT the path I wish to follow (or other people to follow) on this holiday.

Time to get a crackin'!

Adios amigos, 

Amor,

Ceara 

x

Welcome Aboard!

Fáilte! 

The name is Ceara and I would like to welcome you to my new Blog! (You can find the old one here!) As you may guess from the name, I have barely traveled abroad throughout the 21 years of my life so far. I feel having only visited 3 countries is a whole lot less compared to a lot of friends, family and acquaintances I know. I've never been on a sun holiday, drinking/partying holiday or pure adventure holiday. I went sight-seeing in London once then visited London 3 other times for drama trips (which were AMAZING!), went to Rome when I was 8 for three months which was also amazing and then left the continent for the first time to volunteer in Africa for 3 months. That trip to Africa was also (yes you guessed it) . . . AMAZING! In fact, it's all I really talk about nowadays. 

"That time I drank rhino poo!"

"That time I got attacked by monkeys. . .twice!"

"That time I made a holy show of Irish people by thinking I could sing and belting out a song on an out-of-tune guitar (while drunk)."

"That time I continued to make a show of Irish people by getting my friend to pull over so I could get sick on the way home from our one night out! (Yes obviously I was also drunk, but if you knew how cheap the alcohol is in South Africa, you would find it difficult not to make the most of it too!!)"

There are so many stories I have from my time there. For someone who has barely traveled I think that's pretty understandable! And considering the amount of feedback I received from people who read the blog, they found themselves laughing at my innocent expectations and surprise. (I honestly thought I was in business class when trying to find my seat on Emirates. Having never flown long distance before I genuinely had NO idea they gave everyone a blanket, pillow and headphones!) Anyway, you can find out more about me on the About Page and also why I started blogging and why I chose what to blog about.

This is just a prelimanary preliminarey preliminary blog post. (That's literally how I misspelled the word before I had to spell check it. . .) The rest to follow will be much more juicy and entertaining! 

Grá,
Ceara

PS. Here is a celebratory picture of me having JUST finished the first post and setting up all the sites, just for you. (Please 'scuse the frizz, ginger life can be tough.)