InsureMyTrip Blog

Ed. Note: Today’s blog post is contributed by our good friend, traveler and writer extraordinaire Sherry Ott of Ottsworld.  We sent Sherry on the road with our new Lytro camera to capture some images of her adventures.  Thanks to Sherry for taking us with her to Istanbul!

Photo credit: Sherry Ott

In my recent trip to the Grand Bazaar, I was surprised to discover that the shopkeepers were interested in something I had  – and it wasn’t money.  It was my Lytro Camera I was carrying on behalf of InsureMyTrip.

Crushing Stereotypes

I couldn’t walk past more than 3 shops before a shopkeeper or sometimes even another tourist, or a tour guide would stop me and ask me what was around my wrist.  The conversations went something like this:

“What is that?”

“A new camera.” I replied.

“Is it from Japan?”

“No, it’s from America.” I answered.

This answer normally received some surprised looks.  One shopkeeper even told me that they normally only see new technology from the Asian tourists.  So I was happy to dispel the stereotype a bit.

But they didn’t just ask questions about it – they wanted to use it, touch it, and see how it worked.  I found myself giving demonstrations and trying to line up shots that would be a perfect way to highlight the ‘living picture’ functionality of the Lytro.  People would then want to have pictures taken of themselves and upon seeing it they would ask for more.  There’s one thing I learned while spending 6 weeks in Turkey – the Turks love to have their photo taken!

A Perfect Place For Photography

The Grand Bazaar is full of little gadgets, souvenirs, pushing shop keepers, tea vendors, evil eye charms, leather goods, and jewelry – there’s so many things to photograph it’s as disorienting as the maze of hallways that make up the bazaar.

However I learned after traveling and playing with the Lytro for the past few months that the Lytro is best for really close up shots of objects – so I mainly tried to focus on that while at the bazaar.  This way you can have the most fun playing with the shot afterwards.  By simply clicking on an object in the image it will reset the focus of the shot – making it appear alive in a way!

My Favorite Photo

My favorite photo I took at the bazaar was at a shop selling magnifying glasses.  They had them hanging overhead and I was able to take the shot sort of through the magnifying glass.  If you click on the object behind the magnifying glass they are in focus – but click right in the middle of the magnifying glass and the image is actually refocused on the magnified jewelry creating this weird effect.

I learned that the closer you get to an image the better for the overall focus effect like this one of a ring .

But overall I learned that if you want to make friends and get noticed in the Grand Bazaar,  just bring in hot new technology and flash it around.  All of a sudden you will be invited into every store and be drinking tea with the shopkeepers!    Now the real key is to leverage that new friendship to bargain down your purchases to the lowest price possible!

Check out the whole story through Sherry’s eyes, told in images she shot with the Lytro camera while at the Grand Bazaar.

Bio:  Sherry is a long term traveler, blogger, and photographer with one goal in mind – to make you wish you were somewhere else.  She seeks out unique travel experiences and writes about her around the world adventures on Ottsworld.  She’s also a co-founder of Meet, Plan, Go!, a website and national travel event teaching you how you can take your very own traveling career break or sabbatical on October 16, 2012.

Ed. Note: This post is the second part of a two-part fable.  The original installment can be found here.  If you’re following along to try to guess the number of travel preparation mishaps made by this family, answers appear in bold at the end of this post.

When we left our traveling family, just about every aspect of their holiday plans had gone painfully awry.  It would be both easy and false to try to wrap this story up with a neat bow and say that travel insurance could have prevented this family from experiencing any of the stresses they encountered.  Sadly, travel insurance can’t stop snowstorms, it can’t help you clear security properly, and it can’t turn back time to help the kids get to the sledding hill on time.  However, it is an important step in preparing for holiday travel, and it can make the inconveniences of botched plans a little easier to swallow, especially at a time of year when patience for disruptions is in such short supply.
If this family had been properly prepared for their trip, the story might have looked more like this:

Once upon a time, Mom, Dad, Sally, and Billy were on their way over the river, through the woods, and across the country on an airplane to Grandma’s house for the holidays.  They had already shipped most of their gifts directly to Grandma’s, but there were a few last-minute items that needed to be brought on the plane with them.  Realizing that they wouldn’t fit in the carry-on luggage, Mom snapped quick pictures of each gift with her smartphone, then packed them in her checked bag and slipped the  receipts for each present into her purse, just in case anything went wrong.

The family called the airline before leaving the house, and since their flight appeared to be on time, they set out for the airport.  Dad was adamant that they be in the security line three hours in advance, just to make sure there was plenty of time to get through the holiday crowds.  As Mom helped the kids out of the car, she noticed that Sally was carrying her purse.  Quickly, they went through the contents and left the larger bottles of hand lotion and nail polish in the glove compartment of their car, keeping only the items that would be sure to pass the 3-1-1 test.

Once they’d cleared security, the family found a flight status board, which showed that their plane was now delayed.  All of Sally and Billy’s wishing for snow on the sledding hills had paid off – a bit too much, in fact.  A snowstorm had brought the deep drifts they wanted; but it had also brought the airports near Grandma’s house to a standstill.

No aircraft but Santa’s sleigh could possibly fly in or out of the area until the snow had stopped and was cleared from the runways.  After a few hours of waiting, the flight was officially cancelled.  Mom immediately called their travel insurance company and explained the situation.  The representative she spoke with helped arrange comfortable lodgings for the family at a nearby hotel and reminded Mom that if she needed to feed the family at a restaurant, their travel insurance policy would help pay for those expenses – as long as Mom and Dad remembered to keep their receipts.  While the family went to the concourse to eat dinner, the travel insurance company continued to work on getting them booked on another flight.

Although they did have to sleep at the hotel that night, they were grateful for comfortable beds.  Dad spent some time that evening making sure that they had all the documentation they would need to file a claim with the insurance company, feeling relieved that their policy would be able to cover the cost of the hotel stay and the food and toiletries they’d had to buy to get through the night.  The family was able to catch an early morning flight to Grandma’s, thanks to the rebooking help they’d gotten from the insurance company’s travel assistance line.  They got there just in time for the first tasting of the hot cocoa, and while the kids hit the sledding hills, Dad called the travel insurance company yet again to make sure that they were covered for the extra gifts that had been lost with the family’s luggage.  Thanks to Mom’s quick thinking in bringing photos and receipts for all the packed items, he was assured he would have enough information to file a claim.  Better yet, Grandma had the wonderful idea of printing copies of the pictures and wrapping them for the children, so they could see the gifts Mom and Dad would be replacing for them when they got home from their trip.   It wasn’t exactly what everyone had hoped their holiday would be, but at least they were safe, warm, and together, with the majority of their gifts tucked beneath the tree and the peace of mind that they wouldn’t have to add the costs of all the travel disruptions to their post-holiday bills.

As always, we wish everyone safe and happy travels – whether you’re off to Grandma’s for the family sledding party, or heading someplace warm and sunny for your seasonal cheer.  When you’re making your preparations, please consider adding travel insurance to your must-have list this year.  If you have any questions about choosing the policy that’s best for your family, call our Customer Care Center at 800-487-4722.

For those who were keeping track of the travel mistakes made by our traveling family, we counted at least seven: 1) Packing gifts in checked luggage; 2) Wrapping the gifts before packing; 3) Not checking flight status before going to the airport; 4) Not leaving enough time to clear security; 5) Not preparing for security with appropriate footwear and abiding by the 3-1-1 rule; 6) Throwing away food receipts; 7) Not having documentation of valuables in lost luggage.
Can you see any other ways our family might have been better prepared?  Leave a comment and share your best holiday travel tips.

The holiday season can be stressful for most of us, what with all the shopping, cooking, wrapping, and planning to make sure every last detail is just perfect for every member of the family.  When travel arrangements get added to the equation, it’s even more stressful – and more important to be thoroughly prepared.  Small mistakes can add up to big disappointments.  See how many travel preparation errors you can spot in this holiday tale, then check your answers and find out how things might have gone more smoothly in Part II of the story.

Once upon a time, Mom, Dad, Sally, Billy were on their way over the river, through the woods, and across the country on an airplane to Grandma’s house for the holidays.  They had carefully packed most of their gifts into their checked luggage and were eagerly anticipating the next day’s family sledding party and annual hot cocoa competition.  In the rush of last-minute preparations, they arrived at the airport with just an hour to spare before their flight, each lugging a large carry-on bag and suitcases brimming with wrapped presents, ready to place under the tree at Grandma’s.

As they struggled through security, taking precious moments to wrestle with Billy’s double-zippered snow boots and Sally’s Hello Kitty purse of treasured nail polishes and hand lotions, Mom and Dad began to worry that they wouldn’t make their scheduled flight.  As it turned out, the family didn’t need to worry about the time.  All of Sally and Billy’s wishing for snow on the sledding hills had paid off – a bit too much, in fact.  A snowstorm had brought the deep drifts they wanted; but it had also brought the airports near Grandma’s house to a standstill.

No aircraft but Santa’s sleigh could possibly fly in or out of the area until the snow had stopped and was cleared from the runways.  As the hopeful family waited anxiously, the hours ticked by.  Their flight was delayed, then cancelled.  They had no choice but to wait in the rebooking lines to see if they could possibly find another way to Grandma’s house.  As still more time passed without a new arrangement, the children began to get hungry and tired.  Mom did her best to arrange the waiting-area chairs in the airport as makeshift beds for Sally and Billy, then went to find some fast food near their gate.  As she gathered up her purchases, she spilled soda all over the tray, the napkins, and her receipt.  Wondering what else could possibly go wrong, Mom dispiritedly threw the ruined items in the trash.  She couldn’t help wishing they could just go somewhere else to eat, sleep, and sort out their disappointments in the morning.

By the time the family finally got to Grandma’s house the next evening, it was too late for the hot cocoa competition; all that remained were a few lonely marshmallows.  The sun had set on the sledding hills, and the cousins and aunts and uncles had all gone home to hang their stockings.  Grandma warmed the cold dinners that had waited on the holiday table, then put the children to sleep in cozy beds at last.  Mom and Dad sat dejectedly looking at the empty space beneath the Christmas tree while Dad tried to call the airlines to track down the family’s luggage, which had been lost in all the confusion.  At the airline’s request, Mom painstakingly tried to recall exactly which gifts had been wrapped and stowed in the suitcases, wishing she’d kept the receipts instead of balling them up with the excess gift wrap and throwing them away.

Upstairs, as the children slept quietly in their beds, Grandma went into the attic to find the trunks of old toys she’d saved since her own children were small.  From the assortment of keepsakes, she filled up the stockings, knowing that Santa has to come on time, even if the luggage doesn’t.  It wouldn’t be the perfect holiday anyone had envisioned, but with Grandma’s help, Mom and Dad could at least watch Billy and Sally open something on Christmas morning.

Stay tuned for Part II…