Anyone been backpacking before?
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Ch3tan
I aer teh win!!
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travelbag or sta etc will give you good advice, they can book you up as many or as little tours, flights and accommodation as you need.
Plan well, figure out exactly what you want to see or do, nothing worse than spending money to see the world and feeling like you missed out because you were not prepared.
Plan well, figure out exactly what you want to see or do, nothing worse than spending money to see the world and feeling like you missed out because you were not prepared.
SilverHood
FH is my second home
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Have a plan, and have a budget. People I know went last year on a British Airways round the world flight ticket, so no worries about getting home. If you can, book accomodation in advance so you're never stuck without a place to stay.
Oh, and keep your passport / wallet / important documents in a bag that's tied either around your neck, or around your thigh. Getting mugged is probably the worst thing that can happen. Oh, and have photocopies of any credit / debit cards you bring, as well as your passport and other important documents (visa's etc), 2 copies at home, so if something goes missing, you have all the details ready. Trying to report a passport stolen is much easier if you have the passport number.
Oh, and keep your passport / wallet / important documents in a bag that's tied either around your neck, or around your thigh. Getting mugged is probably the worst thing that can happen. Oh, and have photocopies of any credit / debit cards you bring, as well as your passport and other important documents (visa's etc), 2 copies at home, so if something goes missing, you have all the details ready. Trying to report a passport stolen is much easier if you have the passport number.
DaGaffer
Down With That Sorta Thing
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I started planning my trip quite a way in advance, and changed my route a few times before I finalised it (planning is part of the fun). The biggest part is setting a budget, and everything else really flows from that. You've got to be realistic; I met people trying to travel round the world on £10 a day, and unless you enjoy being miserable, its just a stupid idea. Better to go to fewer places and enjoy yourself more imho.
As for how to organise it; once again, it depends where you're going and who you're going with. If you're going right around the world, then a RoW airline ticket is the default way to go, if only because it means you've always got a ticket home; you can do it online, but STA travel are particularly good at finding you the right ticket, a lot of the online planning tools are a bit inflexible I find.
You can do proper organised tour type routes (e.g. KonTiki), but I wouldn't personally, although in places like New Zealand you can get hop on hop off type tour bus tickets that are kind of like an organised tour but with the ability to get away from people if they're wankers.
If you have a reasonable budget, plan a degree of flexibility into your route, and by this I mean in time as well as money terms; and don't be afraid to change plans as you go along; I had a general country by country plan but within countries I tended to leave my route flexible where possible.
Bear in mind during the planning stage that you'll need to leave time and money for Visas and vaccinations, both of which can turn out quite expensive depending on your route, and can also be quite time consuming (you should be looking at jabs at least six weeks in advance, and Visas for countries like Russia and Vietnam can take a week each; if you live away from London this can mean your passport's in the post a lot).
There's a bit more about the planning stage in my blog (see link) and a lot of the travel blogs and forums at places like travelpod.com and travellerspoint.com will have more structured advice. PM me if you want more info.
As for how to organise it; once again, it depends where you're going and who you're going with. If you're going right around the world, then a RoW airline ticket is the default way to go, if only because it means you've always got a ticket home; you can do it online, but STA travel are particularly good at finding you the right ticket, a lot of the online planning tools are a bit inflexible I find.
You can do proper organised tour type routes (e.g. KonTiki), but I wouldn't personally, although in places like New Zealand you can get hop on hop off type tour bus tickets that are kind of like an organised tour but with the ability to get away from people if they're wankers.
If you have a reasonable budget, plan a degree of flexibility into your route, and by this I mean in time as well as money terms; and don't be afraid to change plans as you go along; I had a general country by country plan but within countries I tended to leave my route flexible where possible.
Bear in mind during the planning stage that you'll need to leave time and money for Visas and vaccinations, both of which can turn out quite expensive depending on your route, and can also be quite time consuming (you should be looking at jabs at least six weeks in advance, and Visas for countries like Russia and Vietnam can take a week each; if you live away from London this can mean your passport's in the post a lot).
There's a bit more about the planning stage in my blog (see link) and a lot of the travel blogs and forums at places like travelpod.com and travellerspoint.com will have more structured advice. PM me if you want more info.
Chilly
Balls of steel
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If you just want to do europe, interrail tickets are good. I did that with a mate a few years ago and it was cool. we were broke but still a laugh.
/edit - should probably explain what they are: they are basically a free pass to the continent's trains. All trains except some of the VERY fast intercity/international routes will let you on for free. Those that dont will only charge you a tenner or so. Trains are a lot better on the continent than here, they go everywhere and arrive on time. Plus you get time to chill out on the train and play cards or write up your memoires.
/edit - should probably explain what they are: they are basically a free pass to the continent's trains. All trains except some of the VERY fast intercity/international routes will let you on for free. Those that dont will only charge you a tenner or so. Trains are a lot better on the continent than here, they go everywhere and arrive on time. Plus you get time to chill out on the train and play cards or write up your memoires.
DaGaffer
Down With That Sorta Thing
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I know someone who's used Couchsurfing.com; takes quite a lot of planning and messing about, and it tends to mean you have to be less flexible about your itinerary. I can see the benefit in more expensive countries like Australia and the US, but in Asia accomodation is dirt cheap in most places (some big cities and Japan are the obvious exceptions). Hostelworld.com will give you an idea of accomodation prices; I used it extensively, although more in South America than Asia; in places like Thailand and Cambodia I just pitched up at places and usually found something for a few dollars a night.
One of the best ways of finding good cheap accomodation is simply word of mouth; you meet so many backpackers coming the other way that its easy. The only time you really need to book ahead is if you're going to arrive in the middle of the night somewhere and you don't want to be wandering around unfamiliar streets in the dark, or if there's a big event going on (e.g. Full Moon Party in Thailand, New Year's Eve anywhere), or if its a particularly popular hostel (happened quite a bit to me in South America).
Asia is an amazing place, but where you want to go will affect how you want to be organising your trip.
Places like Thailand you can just rock up and go; somewhere like China, although it has made leaps forward in the last few years - I travelled there for a couple of months 5 years ago & recently was there for a few days - I would really recommend having contacts or an organised trip established before you go. It's Capitalist Communism now but local government and officials are still in the Communist mindset.
If you are travelling around South-East Asia; Laos and specifically Luang Prabang would be my number one destination, reinforced by two well travelled friends who have also been there independantly in the past year and thought it was awesome.
I would recommend having a look at what these convict chaps have to offer, not least as they tend to cover a good amount of the best bits to see in an area in their itineraries - even if you don't like their pricing. STA as mentioned above is incredibly helpful with all if this as it tends to be staffed by Antipodeans & Europeans who have generally done a lot of travelling and have just ended up in the UK for a few months (poor bastards).
If you make it to Beijing then Mongolia is pretty close (and amazingly beautiful outside the concrete pre-fab capital) and then it's only a short train trip to Moscow (6days non-stop but theres a few places to jump off on the way).
Sure I will think of more to add.
Ben.
Places like Thailand you can just rock up and go; somewhere like China, although it has made leaps forward in the last few years - I travelled there for a couple of months 5 years ago & recently was there for a few days - I would really recommend having contacts or an organised trip established before you go. It's Capitalist Communism now but local government and officials are still in the Communist mindset.
If you are travelling around South-East Asia; Laos and specifically Luang Prabang would be my number one destination, reinforced by two well travelled friends who have also been there independantly in the past year and thought it was awesome.
I would recommend having a look at what these convict chaps have to offer, not least as they tend to cover a good amount of the best bits to see in an area in their itineraries - even if you don't like their pricing. STA as mentioned above is incredibly helpful with all if this as it tends to be staffed by Antipodeans & Europeans who have generally done a lot of travelling and have just ended up in the UK for a few months (poor bastards).
If you make it to Beijing then Mongolia is pretty close (and amazingly beautiful outside the concrete pre-fab capital) and then it's only a short train trip to Moscow (6days non-stop but theres a few places to jump off on the way).
Sure I will think of more to add.
Ben.
TdC
Trem's hunky sex love muffin
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absolutely spot on imo. in fact two spots on: unless eating ramen noodles with imaginary sauce for weeks makes you moist inside, please budget yourself in for some proper food and drink because it will -keep you healthy -won't be that much more expensive because you can go to markets and stuff and get good deals (and see sights which is also good, and failing all else you can prolly find a Thai somewhere where you can get something decent for only a few $) -let you impress chicks with your worldly cooking leetness and the fact that your wine comes out of a bottle and not a carton
spot two is time vs sights to see: imo in your planning phase you're making a list of things you want to do and see. during this time you should be wary, because you have to take your own enjoyment into account and distances and stuff (do you really want an 800km round trip to see some croc zoo for example). if you've never traveled in this manner before you won't be aware of your own pace, but just a general idea would be imo, to plan your trip as if you only have 60% of the time you'll be gone available. meaning that you should expect stuff to take about half as long again as that you plan for. in Australia, I met people who were there for like, two weeks, and had planned to see half the country interspersing days with 700km car drives. imo that's not traveling but trying to kill yourself with stress, because you don't get "do-over time" and are building up expectations to silly levels which imo cancels out your enjoyment (you know, the "was that it?" thing). so, take your time and/or don't feel bad about skipping stuff for next time! (ofc, there are so-called fast-travellers, who can go through a city in a day, and some national park in a few hours drive, and hugely enjoy it, but I'm not one of them
)
:wub:
DaGaffer
Down With That Sorta Thing
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...and the fact that your wine comes out of a bottle and not a carton
Except in Queensland, where you buy "Goon" based on the size of box it comes in. We were all bit alarmed one night when we read the ingredients on the wine box; "contains nuts". Lovely.
Back on topic taB's comments about China are spot on about organised tours if you want to get off the beaten track, but for all the main touristy bits you can kind of do your own thing now.
Also, Trans-Siberian is great, but not that cheap, and don't expect to get a shower for a few days.
Oh yeah, Beijing, Shanghai & Xi'an are a doddle but if you want to see the more interesting stuff get it organised. It's really just a case of having a local contact where you want to be
. Am currently reading this book about the Yangtze river - am trying to remember the title of a great book about Mongolia but failing miserably.And yeh the Trans-Sib is pricey & a bit stinky but by far the best vodka drinking scenario I've been in with people who barely speak English. Buy a ticket for it when you're there (bargainous relative to buying in the UK) but you've gotta have your visa sorted first.
One big thing to consider is what you want get out of your trip. I did the Oz pissup thing 10 years ago after leaving school and while a great laugh, it left me wanting to see more interesting places after I left uni.
Oh, and for anyone who likes travelling and has a bit of cash to spend on it (it's not cheap), get yourself to North Korea for an incredible (albeit surreal & creepy) experience with the followers of the Dear Leader Kim Jong Il and the Eternal President Kim Il Sung.
Ben.
TdC
Trem's hunky sex love muffin
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yeah I had that in NZ; at the time we joked about the wine being made from hazelnuts and sulpher o0
