On the Grapevine: Clancy’s trip to Thailand

His most recent trip several months ago, however, didn’t quite go as planned.

Upon arrival at Bangkok Airport, Clancy, who had been feeling unwell since boarding in Melbourne, ignored the warning signs that perhaps there was something wrong and immediately headed south to his planned destination.

However, he didn’t improve and not long after arriving at his hotel became quite ill and was taken to hospital in Pattaya, where he spent a week in ICU. Clancy felt dreadfully ill and the diagnosis by medical staff indicated he had an infection. By the end of the week the hospital felt he was well enough to leave, but not without paying the sum of 25,000 baht (about $1100) for his treatment and care.

Without any cash on him, Clancy required an ATM. The nearest ATM was at his hotel, a short distance from the hospital.

Withdrawing money had never seemed so exciting, as he learnt an ambulance had been requisitioned for him complete with two nurses on board. With an intravenous drip in his arm and sirens blaring and lights flashing, the ambulance took off! Reaching the destination, out stepped the 74-year-old westerner, supported by his nurses, to withdraw the amount required. The event captured interest from a group of locals, before he was returned to the hospital.

“I have always liked to make an entrance!” Clancy said with a chuckle.

Clancy had booked his flight and accommodation online. He also had his travel insurance and possessed the wisdom to print a full copy of the insurance policy documentation to add to his luggage, just in case! Learning of his stay in hospital, the insurance company requested his clinical records from the past two years together with a copy of his medical condition. Clancy, who has Crohn’s disease, supplied them with everything they needed and explained his situation and health history and presented them with a copy of his medical records. It was necessary to be able to prove that the problem that landed him in hospital was not the result of a pre-existing condition, as then he would not be covered. In the words of the insurance company general manager in Thailand, “Mr Tucker, you are the best client and negotiator I have ever met.”

On his previous trip three and a half years earlier, Clancy became ill just before returning home. His illness required removal of his appendix. He was insured with the same company, which required him to put forward a supplementary claim to change his ticket for a later date. This proved difficult and quite costly, and Clancy knew he would have a difficult time with any future claims.

While Clancy continues to battle with his health and will undergo a series of tests over the coming weeks, he remains determined to continue his travels.

On the home front, the popular author will launch in the new year his 17th book, entitled Brave Justice, on the highly explosive subject of sexual abuse. It will be an eye-opener for many and follows his 16th novel, Team Skippy, a captivating story of Sam, a young lawyer. Both are worthy of being read by young adults and readers of all ages.

Clancy is quite the wordsmith, having written more than 90 short stories, 17 novels and a collection of poetry. He is also a published photographer and speaks three languages, including fluent Thai. He mentors a number of aspiring young writers and readily assists anyone who is keen to begin their writing career. He self-publishes his work, which is widely read, and is an Australian National Literary Awards winner.

If we may take a step back to touch on the importance of taking out travel insurance. Yes, you may feel completely well right now! However, one can never anticipate when this will change, and you might find yourself in a situation thousands of kilometres from home where nobody speaks your language.

I can attest to this. On a 1998 European trip, while my husband and I were in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, my husband collapsed in a mall. I managed to move him on to a seat before he became unconscious.

I spoke to a few people, who did not speak English, before a lady named Majiha stopped and asked, “Do you need help?”

“Yes, my husband is having a heart attack or a stroke, he needs a hospital,” I said.

To which Majiha replied, “I will get ambulance for you. You wait!”

About 30 minutes later, an ambulance arrived. We were taken to the local hospital. What an experience!

After initial discussion by hospital personnel, we were taken to a medical room. A doctor was called and thankfully he spoke English.

“I am Dr Skopal, what has happened to your husband?” he said.

In the two weeks following, not another person spoke to us in English in the hospital. However, Dr Skopal had trained with a Harley St cardiologist in London and was definitely the man needed at the time. He was the only person on duty who spoke a language I could understand in a hospital that dated back to the era of Florence Nightingale. He was a lifesaver and arranged for my husband to be treated by one of London’s top cardiologists.

Travel insurance and its importance is an absolute no-brainer. Please do not travel without it. If my husband and I had not insured our six-week trip we would have been out of pocket for close to $150,000 (incidentally, our six-week trip turned into nearly 10 weeks).

Feeling strongly about the importance of travel insurance, I posed the question to Helloworld Travel Cobram principal Rosa Luff, asking her what percentage of people today took out travel insurance when booking a holiday, particularly overseas.

“It’s only a small number of people who don’t, and we generally get them to sign a waiver to that affect!” Rosa said.

“COVID-19 taught people a lesson that it could cause complications if there was a claim.

“I would say generally nine from every 10 clients today buy travel insurance. Our ageing population is travelling more and needs to consider their age, destination, duration of the trip and their health.”

A word of advice from the professional?

“Don’t leave home without it,” Rosa said.