The recent political unrest in Thailand highlights the need to register yourself with the appropriate government department when going to an overseas country. In my case as an Australian I would go to the Smart Traveller website and register myself.

The reason you would want to do this is if a normal calm situation suddenly changes as has happened in Thailand and you need to be made aware of the situation or you may need assistance to return home. If you are registered the embassy in that country would be better able to serve you in your time of need.

Even when all is okay in the country you are visiting it is worthwhile registering as sometimes something may happen to loved ones at home and you may need to be contacted urgently.

Another highly reccommended thing to do when travelling overseas is to get travel insurance. A lot of people have the attitude that nothing will happen to them where they require travel insurance however you just never know what can go wrong. A recent example is where Australian journalist Matthew Hill fell critically ill in Beijing while covering the 2008 Olympics. He required a medical evacuation from Beijing. Without insurance this can be a costly exercise.

I recently returned from Beijing and was lucky enough to not need to call upon my travel insurance however I never considered going on vacation without first taking out a travel insurance policy.

I also recall another instance where I was working in Beijing. One of my colleagues fell ill and was in a serious condition that required hospitalisation. He was fit and strong and would have never expected this to happen. He had travel insurance and was well looked after in a western standard hospital. This was all thanks to travel insurance.

For people interested in travel registration you can learn more at the page I have on this website.