Travel/Backpacking info websites

[arc123]

Thanks all for you responses.....

Planning your travel, when I did it back in 1989 there was no internet to look at, all I did was get a RTW ticket and left... went where the wind took me.
Fantastic time.

Where did you go to then Richie??

Never heard of that site, but from past experiances of travelling around parts of the world for extended periods the answer on cost is really down to how much you want to spend/ your lifestyle. Not helpful I know, but......

This site just had a simple (yet approx) calculation - you could use a template of countries and how many weeks in each, and it factored in the approx cost of daily expenditure in each country (to include food/accomodation/travel, but not alcohol/ciggies and other 'unneccessary' costs etc). I'm really trying to get a rough idea of how much money I would need to do something like this so I can get some plans of timescales etc together....

I always travelled alone and the no.1 question I was always asked was "don't you get lonely?"......the answer was the opposite, I got tired of always meeting new people

I plan to go by myself so any experiences you can share would be great.

So wheres everyone been?? What were the best bits? The difficult bits??

I am actually open to anything - Looked at working abroad, volunteering abroad (in Sudan) and travelling. My hope is that some time away from my current life will give me a different and new perspective on life in general. So would love to hear any experiences people have had!

many Thanks

Andy

[Richie]

Flew to NY, then drove across America to LA, then flew to Hawaii, did the islands, then on to Austrailia, drove all of it over 7 months stayed in Townsvill for a month learning to scuba dive, bar work most of the time and fencing in the out back later. then on to NewZealand, bought a GS550es did the North Island then the South, bought a log cabin in the Remarkables cheeper than hostel over 4 months as sold it to some kiwi freinds I met in Oz, for learning to ski and then had a part time job working for AJ Hackett Bungee jumping. Got a little home sick then decided to come home back to good o'l Blighty.

I should have stayed in New Zealand... LOVED IT THERE.

Me also pre-internet. Bought a cheap RTW ticket for a year. Picked 1/2 a dozen destinations (Thailand / Singapore / Hong Kong - still British then! / NZ / LA / NY) and set off with no pre-planning or guide book. ended up putting Oz on my list for a few months. Had a great time - I was also going due to simply being fed up with "Here" - did it change anything? yes and no.....only thing yer can't run away from is yerself - a cliche that is true.

Loved NZ. but ended up in later years for long trips back in Thailand (go figure ) and around about places - Asia just grabbed my imagination, plus being cheap as chips is always a big plus Lots of fun been had over the years, not all of which I can remember . or will admit to and even met me late wife on my travels

My suggestion would be to keep your plans as flexible as possible but still have a plan - can always come back later / another trip, and don't try and do too much, ie visit 7 countries instead of 27. IME the more time you spend in a place the better it becomes.

Top Tip - Unless you intend to go trekking, then buy a case with wheels on it. and not a classic back pack top opener - soon get tired of everything you want always being 3 foot down at the bottom . Hard case saves a lot of worrying about theft. and you don't have to worry about it sitting in wet / dirt and makes a good seat........Samsonite

I am half tempted to make my next trip this summer either on the SV650 (or by car!) down to the Black Sea area......I am more into boats nowadays than bikes (Heresy I know!) and have an intention at some point to sail off into the sunset and the Black sea seems to have captured my imagination and before I sail their I figure worth having a look see first

Have fun!

Originally Posted by Wayluya

Top Tip - Unless you intend to go trekking, then buy a case with wheels on it. and not a classic back pack top opener - soon get tired of everything you want always being 3 foot down at the bottom . Hard case saves a lot of worrying about theft. and you don't have to worry about it sitting in wet / dirt and makes a good seat........Samsonite

Pelican Cases are pretty robust. Thinking of swapping over my topbox for one.....