Two lessons I learned the hard way.

Two lessons I learned the hard way. Never put an umbrella in your rucksack and never travel without insurance. Because somehow, an umbrella ended up costing me $400 Australian dollars. Long story short, I was on a three-week Australia trip and on day three, we went to the Blue Mountains. Views, waterfalls, nature, everything was perfect until it wasn't. Basically, I brought an umbrella with me just in case it rained, and as I sat on the coach to head home, I got my rucksack out and I put it on my lap to get my charger out and that umbrella that I didn't even use shot out at the speed of light and hit me straight in the mouth. All I heard was a pop and suddenly blood started pouring, my mouth started aching and I was holding half of my front tooth in the palm of my hand. I could not believe my luck, but what could I do on the coach, right? So, I cleaned myself up, I put my tooth in my wallet and I tried not to cry until I got back to the hotel. But I had no idea what to do. Two days from New Year's and three days from a two-week road trip. I had to find a dentist as soon as possible. I couldn't eat or drink, I could hardly speak and as you could see, it wasn't the best look. By sheer luck, the next morning I found one that agreed to see me. So, I gave them my tooth that I'd kept in milk, it does work by the way, and for $400, they fused it back on. I'd never been so relieved and with my teeth restored, we went on to have an incredible trip. We celebrated New Year's, we picked up our campervan and we drove up the West Coast. And thanks to my travel insurance, the $400 dental bill was reimbursed. Looking back, it is a funny story now, but it did teach me a lesson the hard way so you don't have to. Before you travel, use Compare the Market to compare travel insurance. It's so quick and easy to see deals and having insurance could save you a lot of money and a lot of problems. Because no matter how hot the weather or stunning the views, anything can go wrong, as I found out.