A tourist has revealed the one essential thing every holidaymaker must do before heading to Bali this summer after his holiday almost ended in disaster.
New Zealand television audio engineer Hamish Crocker and his partner Tiffany recently headed to the Indonesian island for a relaxing getaway.
But it wasn’t all beautiful sunset mountain hikes, beaches and Bintang beers by the pool for the Auckland couple.
Mr. Crocker returned home with extra souvenirs after a hospital visit became an unexpected addition to the itinerary.
He was left bloodied and bruised after falling into an uncovered sewer hole on the sidewalk while walking.
Mr Crocker had to be rescued from the hole and was taken to hospital with three broken ribs and a nasty cut on his leg.
Hamish Crocker ended up in a hospital in Bali after a holiday accident
The Kiwi tourist had to be rescued after falling into this drain
He is grateful that they had travel insurance, which saved them from expensive hospital bills.
He has since issued a public service announcement reiterating the need for travel insurance, documented with photos of his horrific injuries and hospital visit.
“Last week I posted a lovely collage of photos from Bali, but behind it I had literally fallen into a hole days before and (probably) ate absolute s*** and ended up being pulled out of a drain,” Mr Crocker said.
’26 stitches, 3 broken ribs, and not exactly the way the trip was intended.
“Anyway, thanks to travel insurance and Tiffany’s brilliance, I’m doing well and recovering in New Zealand without a huge hospital bill that I absolutely cannot afford.”
‘If you’re traveling this summer, get travel insurance, it’s so easy and so cheap, you never know when you’ll turn a corner and fall into a hole. The literal kind.”
New Zealand tourists Hamish and Tiffany are grateful they have travel insurance
Hamish Crocker got three broken robberies. The photo shows the x-ray
Mr. Crocker managed to fit in more sightseeing after the accident with photos from a sunset mountain hike that showed his bandaged leg.
Many in the comments recalled the dangers of exposed holes in Bali.
‘Sure! “I remember the seedy sidewalks,” one woman wrote.
Another wrote: ‘I just got back from 8 weeks in Bali and saw so many of these holes around the footpaths of Ubud…crazy!’
Others reiterated the importance of travel insurance.
‘I hope you’re feeling better! I had a snowboarding accident in Canada and can’t push travel insurance enough. Saved my ass,” one person commented.
Travel insurance is just as important as a passport when you go abroad, especially if you need medical attention.
‘Without this, you or your family could suffer financially if something goes wrong. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you go or what you do, get insurance’, Australian government website Travel smartR states.
Thanks to travel insurance, Hamish Crocker didn’t get a huge hospital bill
Hamish needed 26 stitches for the nasty cut on his leg (pictured) after the fall
“Thanks to travel insurance and Tiffany’s brilliance, I am doing well and recovering in New Zealand,” wrote Hamish Crocker (pictured during his Bali holiday)
‘Care abroad can be very expensive. Most countries will not give you free care or subsidize the cost of your care. You, or your insurer, usually have to pay the full price.’
Most basic policies cover emergency treatment, general medical attention, patient transport to hospital by helicopter or ambulance, medical evacuations back to Australia and injuries and accidents, unless it is an excluded activity.
Online Bali travel reviews are flooded with warnings from tourists about potholes in footpaths and sidewalks.
‘Many main roads and smaller roads have holes in the road surface. These cannot be avoided by walking on the road as there is too much traffic and you have to step over them. I fell into a small hole last night because it was dark and heavily grazed,” said one.
Hamish (pictured on his recent holiday in Bali) is now home recovering