Progress...

Marcus says:

This was a fairly productive week - I heard back from the US consulate that my application for a visa had been approved, so I dropped my passport in to the consulate and booked the tickets. I was glad that I'd waited, as the price changed on May 1. The two travel agents that I'd been dealing with came up with prices that changed in opposite directions - one went up and the other down. As the difference was a thousand dollars, there was no question as to which I'd choose. (Drop me a line if you want their email address - they seem cheap and have come to me by personal recommendation.)

Prices going down seems to be the order of the day - I've been looking for a car in Canada and just thought that I'd try Rent a Wreck to see how much they would want. For less than $300 I can get an intermediate sedan for 9 days with a couple of thousand free kilometers. Until I saw that, I was half resigned to buying some old battle horse that I wouldn't mind abandoning in Vancouver, but for that money I'd be better off renting. The price of petrol in Alberta is around $.90 to $1.10 and around $1.00 to $1.20 in BC, so something economical makes more sense than buying some old tank, much as I'd love to cruise through the mountains in something huge again. Besides, there's the reliability issue - hitchhiking or hopping a Greyhound from Chilliwack to Vancouver with Erith would not be a good look.

Next two cabs off the rank are travel insurance and an International Drivers Permit (IDP). I don't know whether I'll need an IDP, but for $25 it's probably worth getting it before I leave anyway.