Until I had my motorbike accident in Bali, I had never really had any serious wounds before. Obtaining wounds whilst  abroad can be stressful, not only because you suddenly can’t go to the beach, explore or swim in the sea  but  particularly as you are really susceptible to infection. If you’re travelling alone and it can be frustrating to have to get on planes, buses, carry backpacks and find hospitals and treatment with no-one around to help. Good wound care is essential to make sure it doesn’t ruin your trip. In Bali in particular, the main problems are motorbike accidents and reef cuts if you’re a surfer. So I thought I’d share with you my tips and tricks for caring for wounds in Bali and these in generally apply to travellers anywhere in the world.

• If it’s serious, make sure you seek medical attention- Bali has a couple of tourist hospitals, most notably BIMC or SOS International, so if you have travel insurance or medical cover it is best to go there. If you don’t have cover, the general hospital, Sanglah, in Denpasar is very good and there are several hospitals and 24 hour clinics around Bali. I was cleaned up for around 40 USD.
• Don’t use hydrogen peroxide- This clear liquid has been widely used for years to clean wounds; on touching wounds this clear liquid fizzes and reacts with the dirt. However it is acknowledged now that hydrogen peroxide is bad for the new cells that are growing.
• Don’t shower or go swimming- It’s pretty obvious but the water abroad can contain bacteria that can lead to infection, so try to put plastic bags over your feet, wear waterproof dressings or cover them in some way if you really have to shower. Don’t go surfing or swimming until your wounds have healed properly otherwise you’ll be back to square one.
• Clean the wounds- Clean the wounds with a damp pad and some sodium chloride or bottled water. Then put an antiseptic like Betadine or the stronger chinese iodene onto the wound to dry it up.
• Oral antibiotics and antibiotic cream- Take antibiotics orally to prevent infection; in Bali you can buy any antibiotic over the counter. Pharmacies in Bali will have a sign saying ‘Apotek’ outside and the main chain is Kimia Farma, who can do home delivery. Amoxycillin is quite weak so if you have a bad wound you might want to try something stronger like Cyprofloxacin. Purchase an antibiotic cream or powder to apply to the surface of the wound.
• Dress the Wounds Properly- It is tempting to want to let the wounds dry out and get air to them. But letting the humid air get to your wounds can again lead to infection so it’s best to cover them in some way. And a moist wound actually heals better with less scarring than if you let a scab form. Usually when you go to the hospital they will use Bactigras, which is a gauze treated with antibiotic, and then cover that with gauze and tape. However if you have wounds that are weeping a lot of pus and there is a lot of drainage, you might want to try something that won’t stick. I had many painful times attempting to pull off the gauze whilst trying not to rip off the scabs and new skin. So I tried transparent waterproof dressings with pads, which worked pretty well and didn’t stick. For my deep wounds I also found Duoderm, an opaque rubbery dressing that creates a moist wound healing environment. It protects the wound from outside bodies and also promotes faster healing and you can leave it on for around 7 days. If you’re going to use normal gauze, it’s best to change the first one after the initial accident then leave the next one on a clean wound for around 5 days so that it doesn’t rip off any new scabs.
• For scarring try zinc and castor oil, which is used for babies nappy rash. In Bali you can also purchase Bioplacenton, which contains placenta extract to help heal wounds, burns and scars.
• Make sure when you do heal to put sunblock on your scars so they don’t discolour.
• Take Vitamin C supplements, drink plenty of water and eat healthily.
• Learn to relax- If you’re suddenly bed ridden like I was it can be very boring, especially when everyone else is outside in the sun, so it’s best to just try to relax and go with the flow and accept that you won’t be doing much for a while. I started reading, watching movies and trying to get ahead on my work. Little things like doing a crossword, playing a board game etc can lift your spirits a bit and keep your mind occupied.
• Make sure you have take-away numbers and taxi numbers stored in your phone!
• If you’re into that kind of stuff, then try going to a medicine healer. I’ve heard some great stories about a couple of healers in Canggu and Ubud that have worked wonders for people.

1. Get an International Youth Traveller Card- If you’re under the age of 26, you qualify for an International Youth Traveller Card (IYTC) or an International Student Identity Card (ISIC)- these get you discounts on flights. I bought one for £9 with STA because I’m only 22, emailed them a scan of my passport and they sent it to me in the post about two days later. I discovered I could get flights a whole lot cheaper- £250 direct to LA on Virgin for example. I booked my flight on Etihad with my IYTC card and got a flight to Indonesia for £400!! Not bad.
2. Book in advance- It used to be that you could get amazing last minute deals but things are changing these days- book in advance and you’re bound to find things a whole lot cheaper.You can search and book Australian flights up to 332 days in advance at Wotflight.com. View flights from a range of airlines allowing you to quickly see all flight options at a glance. To confirm a booking it just takes a few clicks and the seats are confirmed.
3. Compare airlines- I use sites like Skyscanner which I find will show me the cheapest available options. Another good flight search is Yahoo! They let you find the cheapest flights available
4. Book online directly from the airline company- I don’t book my flights in high street shops because they’ll be taking commission from you. I book my flights usually directly from the airline, it’s cheaper.
5. Sign up for air miles- So many people I meet don’t bother signing up for air miles or don’t know how it works. It’s pretty simple. Before you book your flights, sign up on the airline website for their frequent flyer program. It’s free, and once you’re signed up and you fly with them, you’ll receive free air miles based on how many miles you flew with them. You can then swap these miles for rewards, like electronics and household items, or purchase flights with them. Flown in the last 6 months but didn’t sign up for their frequent flyer program? You can still claim them back- most airlines will let you claim the air miles you’ve flown within 6 months of your flight, so just sign up and claim! Don’t think you fly enough? I didn’t think so either, but when I flew Manchester to Australia return on Etihad, that was a hell of a lot of air miles.
6. If you’re in Europe fly low cost airlines- Europe is home to the cheapest airlines, Jet2.com, Ryanair, Monarch and Easyjet.  They often have flights for as little as 99p! Look out for their sales because often you will find they pay for the airport taxes for you! If you’re flying a low cost airline try to do online check in and take as fewer bags as you can, as those are the things they charge you for. To check in a bag and to do airport check in can cost you around £20! The low cost airlines have started taking frequent flyers too, so get with their program! I also just discovered that if you miss your flight with easyjet and turn up within 2 hours of your flights scheduled time, for a flat fee of £38 they’ll get you on the next flight!
7. Be prepared to be flexible- Be flexible with your dates, and perhaps look at flying from an airport that’s not so close to you- weigh up the options, if it’s cheaper to get the train to a further airport and fly from there, then do it. The same goes for your destination airport, try flying to a different airport and getting public transport to where you want to go. Try not to fly at popular times of the day or around school holidays, but most of all just compare prices for different days and times.
8. If you’re in New Zealand- I found a great site called Grab A Seat which has rediculously cheap offers on flights that appear daily- they sell out in a flash so you have to grab them quick!

You know you want to see the world. But travelling unfortunately costs money. These are some of the ways I have saved money to go to the places I want to go.

Work- I’m afraid I don’t have any magic get rich quick schemes- in order to go travelling sometimes we all have to suffer a little to make some cash. They key to saving money is work, work and more work. I’ve had day jobs and night jobs and sometimes about 2 hours sleep in between the day job and the night job but its all worth it in the end when you’re sitting on a tropical beach somewhere.

Live at Home for a while- You went to uni and swore you would never live with your parents ever again. But dare I say it the quickest way to save money is to live with good old Mum and Dad for a while. So you have to put up with nagging about doing the dishes and tidying your room but you’re not paying rent or bills and every bit of money you make is going in your pocket. Plus you’re one step closer to leaving again.

Sell your stuff on ebay- Have a house clear-out and put your old stuff on ebay. It’s true what they say about one man’s junk being another man’s treasure. Clothes, shoes, hand bags, instruments, equipment…you can sell anything on ebay. If you have any books or electronics, put them on Amazon because you will get a fixed price for them and you don’t have to spend time taking photos and writing item descriptions.

Car boot sales and yard sales- If you don’t want to spend time listing everything individually, do a car boot sale or a yard sale. Just don’t throw anything out- every item is potential $$.

Do odd jobs- Look on classfieds such as gumtree (if you’re in the UK) or craigslist for any odd jobs that are going. Flyering, promotional modelling, lawn moving or even moving some furniture- there are plenty of cash in hand jobs out there.