Earlier this month, Old Customs House in Fremantle was transformed into a vibrant gallery for Stephen Scourfield’s Jackets Of The World exhibition, which featured an impressive collection of hand-sewn denim jackets that Stephen stitched together with fabrics, tapestries and other bits and bobs he’s collected from his travels.

As part of the two-day event, The Pod Well Travelled hosts Penny Thomas and Megan French recorded a live Q&A session with Stephen, where they answered questions from the audience on a wide range of travel-related topics, including insurance options for over-80s, the challenges and benefits of travelling solo, plus age limits for car rentals and why you should consider booking direct with certain travel companies to avoid hidden costs.

They also discuss the Jackets Of The World exhibition, with Stephen sharing details on how he sourced many of the unique materials on display and the emotional significance behind each piece.

Thank you to everyone who attended the live podcast recording during the Jackets Of The World exhibition. It was a pleasure to see you, and we thank you for coming.

As promised, below are the links we reference throughout this week’s show.

Insurance options for over-80s

+ Consider companies like NIB, COTA or Chubb.

+ Comparetravelinsurance.com.au is Australia’s leading comparison site solely focused on travel insurance.

+ Probus Clubs are clubs for retired or semi-retired people that often provide good insurance for their members. It’s also worth noting that you can get insurance through Probus, even if you’re not a full member.

Quality tour operators we recommend using, especially for solo travellers

+ Of course, our own West Travel Club tours are great for solo travellers.

+ Another nice little company based here in Western Australia is called Travel with Me (TWME). They cater to individuals, couples, friends and groups.

+ If you’re after a European tour specialist, Albatross Tours are brilliant at what they do.

+ Intrepid Travel is another reputable company from Australia that provide small group tours in over 100 countries that we can happily recommend.

+ Collette offer an incredible range of small group tours. They are a third generation family-owned business and the longest-running tour operator in North America, with a history dating back to 1918.

+ To get the latest travel deals and offers, the best thing you can do is sign up to the newsletters of preferred travel companies.

Travel Tips for ageing travellers

+ Listen to our previous podcast episode on how to survive a long-haul flight here.

+ Consider train travel. Europe, the US, India and Australia all have great train journeys. Broadly speaking, there are two main types of train journeys — the sort where you buy a pass or ticket to get from A to B and touring trains.

+ River cruising in Europe is a really good way to see a lot, really easily.

+ Travelling to Vietnam has never been easier or more affordable with both VietJet Air and Vietnam Airlines flying direct between Perth and Ho Chi Minh City. If you do, consider visiting Hoi An and Hanoi, they offer more charm than Ho Chi Minh.

Car Hire and International Driving Permits

Read Stephen Scourfield’s story on navigating car hire & its many pitfalls here.

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