I Flew All the Way to Europe to Save Money on Travel Vaccines
Dear Scotland,
Thank you for a “brilliant” start to 2023. I had such a lovely (albeit emotional) time with you, and to commemorate these past few weeks and the memories I made, I’ve written you the following letter. Please enjoy.
As you may know, my decision to visit you was quite an unusual one: when I left New Zealand in December, I was planning to head to Asia after only a brief stop in the States. However, as soon as I started calling up travel clinics in California and Colorado to schedule travel vaccinations, I learned that it would cost me at least two grand (over £1,500) to get the jabs I wanted for Southeast Asia. Seeing how much these prices varied between clinics, though, I realized that the absurdly high numbers seemed to actually be pretty arbitrary. So, I started to wonder… how much cheaper might the same vaccine(s) be in a completely different healthcare system?
I’d considered waiting until my arrival in Thailand to get the vaccines, but I couldn’t find enough info to assure me that this would be a good idea. So, I looked at price lists for travel clinics practically everywhere else—Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Vancouver, Amsterdam, London, Prague, Lisbon… it became a challenge: where in the (“developed”) world could I find the cheapest travel vaccines—with one-week courses?
And that, my love, is how I came to visit the UK (and you) for the first time.
You’re probably thinking, how could I possibly save money making a special trip to Europe for a few health clinic visits? Well, if you really want to know, the full courses of rabies and JE vaccines, a yellow fever vaccine, a tetanus booster, AND the appointment fee cost me a total of £373 with NHS Lothian—whereas the same services would have cost $1k more at the University of Maryland health clinic, and up to an additional $800-$1k in California and Colorado (so, like, up to £2,000 total). And yes, anyone can fly from DC to you and back for less than that.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t be sure until the very last minute that I would be traveling to the UK (rather than Amsterdam) for these vaccines, since (as I’m sure you’ll recall) you were having your shortage of the JE vaccine at the worst possible time. That was fun. But alas, the woman at NHS Lothian who answered my call on Friday, December 30th, confirmed that they had a clinic that could give me all the vaccines I needed within a one-week time-frame, starting the following Thursday. So, I booked my flight for New Years’ Eve to London, and then a train up to Edinburgh for the following Wednesday!
(By the way, @ England, please don't take it personally that I’m not writing you your own letter. I legit only spent 4 days in London, and I figured that wouldn’t do you justice. I will share some highlights about you at the end of this one, though!)
As expected, Edinburgh turned out to be the best place to go. Not only did my specific clinic have the cheapest vaccine prices I could find across North America, Europe, AND Australia — and the capacity to administer the rabies vax in only two doses— but you are also home to a few good friends of mine, and I couldn’t wait to see them again.
I also met some really special people for the first time. :)
Before we get into that, let’s talk about you! I love you. (There were really only a couple things that bothered me about you.) I had a feeling I would, because everyone I know who’s ever met you in person seems to love you. Here are some of the things I appreciated:
First of all, I’m pretty sure you’re the most vegan-friendly country I’ve ever been to. I could literally find a vegan brownie (I had the best one of my life in Stirling!) or bagel at almost any cafe I went into. Plus, your Burger King has VEGAN NUGGETS. The only other place where I’ve been able to find that was Berlin (these nuggets were better in Berlin, ngl. At least you had them, though. *Shoots a dirty look at USA*). Also, chocolate hazelnut spread on crumpets for breakfast, vegan sausage rolls for brunch, and vegan haggis for dinner, yes please!!! And finally, I got to enjoy a bunch of Elderflower (the cocktail love of my life) during my stay with you. :)
Oh yes, and the fact that your grocery stores listed “cow’s milk” as an allergen instead of just “milk”—iconic. *Chef’s kiss*
Damn, I’m getting so hungry as I write this :(
Anyway, I also digged the free wifi literally everywhere. I planned to get a sim card upon my arrival in London like I typically do when I land in a new country, but free wifi was so prevalent on public transportation and in every grocery store, cafe, and bar that I entered, that buying a sim card for a month would have been more inconvenient than not buying one. Also, the wifi at Castle Rock and on the buses actually worked (yes, I’m looking at you, New Zealand).
As soon as I arrived in Edinburgh, I knew I’d been right that I’d love it there. I’m pretty sure I squealed with joy when I saw that giant light-up Christmassy “EDINBURGH” sign in front of the Assembly Hall in Old Town. What an adorable frickin’ city.
As I explored, I noticed that it reminded me a lot of Krakow, and also a little bit of Prague and Old Town Split. Also, I feel like the ravens/crows (still have no idea what the difference is) were a great touch — they really elevated the overall gothic vibe of the place. Good job.
Speaking of gothic vibes, I took the Harry Potter walking tour, and it was so fun! (Even though I’m a fake fan who hasn’t seen the movies in years, and has never read a single book.) Our guide, Rory, was obviously a true fan, and it was pretty cringey when he’d ask our tour group trivia questions and I had to resort to calling the basilisk “the snake thing” because I couldn’t remember what it was called. I was too ashamed, of course, to admit that I’d never read the books. I kept whispering to my friend Kayla that my sister would surely be acing this test if she were here, and she’d probably be rolling her eyes at our entire tour group for not remembering what Knockturn Alley was.
Oh, speaking of Harry Potter! One of my rooms in my hostel was Hogwarts-themed (each room had its own theme, complete with relevant bed “names”), which was pretty fun. @ Castle Rock, can I get a sponsorship deal?
Of course, my favorite part of Scotland was the memories I made. As I mentioned, I didn’t just choose to come to Edinburgh because it was the cheapest place to get vaccinated—I wanted to see my friends. I had the pleasure of reuniting with Laura in Glasgow, Luca in Stirling, and Rowan in Edinburgh, and it was so lovely seeing all of them again.
One of my favorite things I did in Edinburgh — and honestly one of my favorite memories of all time — was the ceilidh at Stramash. I’m not into clubbing, but when it comes to something like salsa or ballroom or country line dancing — and in this case, Scottish folk dancing — I LOVE it. The dance floor was packed and it was so hard for us to hear what the man onstage was instructing us to do, but Rowan and I had a blast.
As I mentioned, I also met some true homies at Castle Rock. During my first week in the UK, I’d made no effort to interact with anyone in my hostels, as the emotional funk I’d fallen into in December had decided to follow me to Europe. This was honestly a very crappy experience—to the point where I worried it might define my whole visit and make up the bulk of this letter. However, after I said goodbye to Laura and returned to Edinburgh from Glasgow, I decided that this would be the day I’d finally snap out of my sad-girl mood and make some new friends.
Back in my kitchen in Edinburgh, where I was preparing my dinner for the third or fourth evening in a row, I decided that maybe my first step should be to finally take out my earbuds and actually acknowledge the people around me. It didn’t take more effort than that—after a few minutes, I was chatting with a couple of the guys sharing my stove, then suddenly there were six of us sitting at the table eating together, and then we were spending our remaining nights together competing in a local pub quiz, going to comedy shows, and hiking Calton Hill and Arthur’s Seat. This was easily one of my favorite hostel “squads” ever.
There are so many more things I could say about my time with you, but this letter is already getting pretty long. So, to wrap up, I’ve noted some fun little details about the UK that stuck out to me during my three weeks (some I appreciated, others I didn’t), and I’m just going to list them below:
- No passport stamp: immigration in London Heathrow was so easy—I just went through one of those machines that scans your passport and photographs your face, and I was good to go! …but this meant no passport stamp :( It’s one thing to not get a passport stamp when traveling from one EU country to another, but to not get one when I enter the UK for the first time in my life?! LAME.
- “Look right” signs on crosswalks: these arrowed reminders on the asphalt were SUCH a great touch for us tourists who are used to the opposite. I laughed the first time I saw these in London. I really could’ve used them in New Zealand. HA.
- IDs and drinking: I found the contrast between drinking in Scotland and in New Zealand very amusing. In New Zealand, my friend couldn’t buy a bottle of wine if I entered the store with her and failed to present my PASSPORT. Whereas here in Scotland, half the times I ordered a cocktail, I didn’t get carded at all. (Funny story — I did get carded once at the door of a jazz club after I’d forgotten my ID at the hostel, so I handed the bouncer my PADI license to see if he would accept it… he didn’t. He did accept a photo of my passport, though!)
- Paying for buses with Apple Pay: LOVED this about the UK. Not sure why this isn’t more common everywhere??
- Public transit: I TRULY admire and appreciate your abundant trains and buses. Love. However, your public transit system can be confusing as f*ck, and I sure got ripped off a few times for not knowing how to buy the cheapest ticket. Was not a fan of that.
- Cold: unsurprisingly, you were freezing as f*ck. With only one tiny little snowfall in Stirling to show for it. (Gotta admit, Stirling was SO CUTE in the snow!) And yet somehow, I still left you with the impression that you’re one of my favorite countries—even though I HATE the cold. That’s how you know it’s real. I can’t wait to see you again in literally any other season!
- Speaking the local language: My visit with you wrapped up one full year (to the day! Funny, huh?) of traveling in countries where I’ve been able to speak the local language—at least enough to get by. I’ve been trying not to take this for granted, as being able to communicate and connect with people who live there, especially in day-to-day life outside of tourist settings, makes a world of difference. I’m going to miss it when I’m in Asia.
Alright, that’s a wrap! Thank you for such a wonderful three weeks. As you may know, I'm planning to continue traveling through the remainder of this year as I did last year, but I’ve been keeping an eye out for a place to live longer-term in 2024. And I can honestly see Edinburgh being that place for me… potentially (*cue “gasps” from the audience*). We’ll see ;)
Until then, take care of Laura, Luca, Rowan, and Max!
Love,
Carmen
