Footy66 wrote:
Thats what id be worried about, finding places to stay, going into dodgy areas where theres a lot of crime.
I might just go on three two week holidays, get some bargain deals, or will that be more expensive / less fun I guess? I just like the fact I will have all the food I want as Id go all inclusive, and a hotel bed to sleep in, nothing to worry about.
If people think this is an ok way of doing a bit of travelling let me know, and I will find 3 locations and try to find me some deals.
Or just get a flight to the nice bits of asia ie Singapore, Thailand stay there until I get bored, fly on to Australia stay there until I am bored, fly to America stay there until I am bored, come home.
Anyone wanna guestimate how much it would cost for say 10 days in each country just for flights, accomodation and food?
Hi,
Footy66. I spent 11 month travelling around the world from 8/09 to 7/10 so feel I might be able to help.
The first thing that strikes me is your time limit of 2 months. It's enough to travel a bit, spend a week in just one place, travel a bit more then settle again to relax and recuperate. Travelling is demanding mentally and physically. Sometimes you get ill. Sometimes its good just to stop and get to know a place/people well.
The second is your lack of objectives. Do you want beach parties and bungee jumping? Ancient monuments? Wildlife? Stunning scenery? A bit of everything, possibly? Let us know what interests you.
On £1500 I reckon you could do well enough in India, South East Asia or Bolivia and Peru, from my experience. I can't help with the big return flight - I went with STA (I was 47 but there are no age/student restrictions despite their name) on a competitively priced RTW ticket. I can tell you, though, that flights in S.E. Asia were very cheap. I flew from Bangkok to Saigon for £30! AirAsia, I think?
Are you travelling alone? This makes a big difference to your budget and, to a lesser extent, your safety. Double rooms are always proportionally cheaper than singles, there's someone to leave your bags with when you need info/a bog/etc. rather than having to lug your stuff everywhere.
I was solo, but did team up with others at times when our routes/interests matched. Most were your age but, despite my extra years, I found making friends easy. Almost everyone has the same agenda so initial conversation was simple - Where have you been? Where are you going? Where's best to stay? Etc.
Being solo gave me great freedom and I was never lonely or homesick, but they are things to consider.
Do you only speak English? How's your sign language.
Tbh, I never found myself stuck for lack of language. Almost every other traveller spoke English to some degree, locals on the tourist trail all have basic English, though less so in S. America. Try to learn basic politeness, 'yes' and 'no' and numbers in the native language. You'll get better prices if you do.
As for room costs, that depends totally on what standards you'll put up with!
For 40p a night I got stained sheets, a sweat-soaked mattress, a noisy, useless ceiling fan, a massive cockroach and credit-card-eating monkeys in Omkareshwa, India.
I stayed one night.
Hostels are cheapest, packed with other young travellers and multiple ways of separating you from your cash, but you seldom get a good night's sleep when room sharing. The further you are from the well-trod track the cheaper things will be. I used TripAdvisor most often when travelling, and the Lonely Planet's forum, ThornTree, for room recommendations and travel advice.
I took thousands of photos during my trip. Here's a link to
my Flickr site. Have a look at a few locations and see if anywhere appeals to you.
If I were to do another S.E. Asia trip I think it would be this:
Fly to Bangkok - 5 days off the Koh San Road to acclimatise, sight-see and eat Tom Yam Kung. Pre-booked hotel.
Head north for a few days by train then bus - bit of history, nature and smaller towns. Say, 2 weeks in Thailand.
Move into Laos and head east. By now I'll have talked to other travellers and heard of somewhere 'new' I fancy seeing. I'd have a plotted a basic course but kept things flexible. Say, three weeks in Laos.
From Laos I'd either
1) head into Vietnam and Hannoi, then to the coast and move south, bit by bit, to the Mekong Delta (I've seen Saigon already) then finish the holiday on
Phu Quoc, cheap flight back to Bangkok after a night in Saigon or
2) try to get down the Mekong River (white-water rafting and/or freshwater dolphins) to the Delta, then a) onto Phu Quoc to chill for a bit before flying out or b) heading to Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, then a long bus ride back to Bangkok to finish.
Got to recommend Chile, Bolivia and Peru, too, though ..... and Easter Island!
Hope there's something of use in that lot!
. Very pricey so dont forget your gold Amex.
