Fan of the written word? Last month we kicked off our brand new travel writing competition. It’s called My World First and it runs from month to month. We’ve had some solid entries for December’s competition so far. But we’re still looking for a few more. So hurry! Get your entry in before 11.59pm on Saturday 31st December and you’ll be in the running to win a shiny new Kindle.

So what are we looking for? Well, we’d hate to restrict your creative freedom. You’re pretty much free to write about any of your travel experiences, whether they’re good, bad or ugly. All we ask is that your travel tale formed some kind of first for you (My World First – get it?). Do that and your good to go. What are you waiting for?

>> Find out how to enter.

To spark your inspiration here’s the piece that was runner-up in last month’s competition, written by Cameron Morice from Reading.

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Welcome to another World First Wander, a regular rundown of the travel blogosphere’s best new posts – as spotted by our social media man, Tristan Rothwell. It’s a super speedy way to stay on top of the latest and greatest stories in the travel world. So grab a coffee, get comfy and get reading.

Take it away, Tristan!

Greetings travellers!

It’s time for another World First Wander – your one stop shop for what’s hot in the world of travel. There have been some great travel posts and articles appearing across the internet recently and I wanted to share a few of my favourites with you.

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Last month we launched our brand new travel writing competition, My World First. We had no idea it would receive such a positive response and we are absolutely thrilled with the entries that were sent in. A huge thank you to everyone who took part. But who was the winner?

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Christmas in the UK isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Top of some people’s Christmas list is heading to one of Europe’s most fantastically festive cities and soaking up the yuletide spirit of starry-skied, mulled wine scented outdoor Christmas markets. Others crave a chance to escape from the cold, commercialised Christmas of the UK while taking it easy somewhere nice and hot for a week or so.

If you’re one of the thousands of Britons jetting off this Christmas, you’ll have probably started a mental checklist of things to remember. After all, forgetting the presents would be a nightmare! But forgetting the travel insurance could be even worse. Here’s why.

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This Wednesday (30th November), thousands of UK Border Agency (UKBA) staff will be absent from the UK’s ports and airports as part of a nationwide public sector strike. With 60,000 travellers passing through immigration each day at Heathrow alone, it’s hard to overstate the scale of disruption that looks set to be caused. What happens if you are affected? Can you seek compensation? What’s covered by your travel insurance?

Here’s some help and advice.

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At World First we take the medical benefits of our travel insurance very seriously. Every single one of our customers receives £5 million worth of cover for medical costs. That covers treatment, replacing medication and repatriation to the UK if you need to be treated here.

You might think £5 million sounds like a lot.

It is. But we don’t want to risk our customers getting caught out. The cost of foreign medical care can very rapidly get out of control. Way out of control. And if you haven’t got travel insurance cover, you’ll have to find a way to pay the costs yourself. Not having a policy is not an excuse.

Take a look at this short viral from the Foreign Office. Could you afford to lose out in the same position?

To see what other policy benefits you get with World First, or to get a quick online quote visit www.world-first.co.uk.

Want to comment on this post? Got something to say? Get in touch.

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We’ve had some really amazing entries for this month’s My World First competition. There have been tales of camel kissing, AK47s, communist countries, ice hotels, the Amazon, a kiss from Olly Murs, stolen underwear and a fling with a diving instructor. And that’s just the start! The best news is that there’s still time to enter and give yourself the chance of winning a Kindle.

As you might have guessed, the theme for our travel writing competition is world firsts. Get it? We want to hear about your first-time travel experiences. It could be anything you like. And judging by the entries we’ve already had, it probably will be! If it’s a first in your world then it’s one of your world firsts. Tell us about it. This blog post explains the rules and reveals just how easy it is to enter.

The winner of this month’s competition will receive a Kindle – or the equivalent value in Waterstone’s vouchers if they prefer. Viveca Koh won a Kindle in a previous World First competition and sent us this amazing photograph of her and her new toy at the ECVB powerstation in Belgium.

You can take a look at more of Viveca’s photography using these links:

Viveca Koh Photography

Viveca Koh Blog

Follow the hashtag #myworldfirst on Twitter. This month’s competition ends at 23:59 on 30th November.

Written by Tristan Rothwell

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Taking a little extra luggage with you on holiday? If you’re planning on jetting off while you’re pregnant, there are a few extra things to think about when it comes to your travel insurance. Don’t worry. There’s nothing major to sort out. But you will need to take a little extra time looking into the right policies to make sure you’ve got the right kind of cover.

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Today is Columbus Day. It’s the day that many countries in the ‘New World’ celebrate as the day when the Americas were first ‘discovered’ by Europeans. But myths of Columbus and his voyage abound. Many believe that Columbus set out to prove that the world was round rather than flat. However, the truth is that Columbus set out to find a western trade route to the Far East. He didn’t even discover the New World first – that claim now goes to Leif Ericson. In fact, Columbus’ famous voyage of 1492 wasn’t plain sailing at all.

Here at World First we’re happy to say that we are able to provide cover for many people who find it hard to get cover elsewhere. We cover people up to the age of 100 as well as those with medical conditions and were the first travel insurance company to offer a policy for travellers living with HIV and AIDS. We also insure families and backpackers and those who take time out to travel the world. But would we have insured Columbus?

Er…. unlikely. Columbus was a travel insurance nightmare.

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Falling behind on your travel reading? Need inspiration for foreign escape? Take five minutes out with our social media man Tristan Rothwell and find out what’s new in the travel blogosphere.

Take it away, Tristan!

Greetings travel fans! It’s time to take a wander around the world of travel again with the World First Weekly Wander. So what’s hot in travel this week?

Well, the first thing I’ve spotted was from Wandering Trader. My first career was actually as a Futures Trader in the Square Mile (and no it wasn’t me that caused the credit crunch before you ask). I spent many years trading the European Futures Markets, so anything trading related will always catch my eye. The Wandering Trader has written a great article titled How Travelling is Breaking my Heart.

We’ve had a couple of great guest posts from amazing writers on our own blog recently. Have you seen them? Travel is one of my favourite things was written by Carrie-Ann Fleming. Carrie-Ann is a keen travel blogger who works for Tourism for All. She’s also a wheelchair user. In this guest post, Carrie explains why she loves travelling and introduces some of the difficulties that face disabled travellers.

Meanwhile, Travel writing – getting started was written by one of our favourite travel bloggers, Quirky Traveller. If you need a bit of help in getting started in travel writing then this post should be your first port of call!

Okay, where to next?

How does Machu Picchu sound? Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu was written by Katy Stewart from The Travelers Way.

Now one that never fails to make me giggle (and make everybody in the office wonder what I’m laughing at) is from The Telegraph Travel. Number 156 was one of my favourites. Have a look and tell us which you like!

Now to a more serious note. I might die here is a fascinating interview with Arctic expeditioner Eric Larson which I found on The Matador Network. You can follow them on Twitter here.

I did a piece on travel photography in a recent World First Wander. I’m a keen photographer, although I have to admit that I’m going through a bit of a creative slump at the moment. It happens sometimes. If you’re feeling the same, maybe a look through the lens of The Spunky Girl Monologues will help. Check out that first photograph!

From Namibia we head to Kashmir for a bit of ski action with Go Backpacking, which comes from Twitter’s @rtwdave. This video is awesome.

For more travel awesomeness check Dave’s site out.

Enough of this earth travel. Let’s go intergalactic with Fluent in 3 Months, who tells us What it’s like to attend a Star Trek Convention. Brilliant. Follow the Chief Klingon Speaker on Twitter here.

Last but most certainly not least, I found a beauty from The World Is Waiting. I promise this video will make you laugh.

Well, that wraps up this week’s World First Wander. I hope we’ve inspired you. Let us know what you think. Did we miss a great travel post?  Leave your comments below.

For comprehensive, cost-effective travel insurance visit www.world-first.co.uk.