Advice on travelling the world

Laos = Awesome.

If you do go to Mayaysia, don't stay in the Pudu Hostel in Kuala Lumpur- it's run by evil people who intentionally messed up my booking (so I arrived there late at night from the airport and had to pay for the most expensive room in the place because he'd only told me via email that I *could* reserve a cheaper room, not that he'd actually reserved me one..) and nick stuff from the 'secure storage' (got about £100 from me, and I've heard exactly the same from several other people too)..

Let it go? After several years? Naaah...

Here's an idea if you want to really see the world do what i did on my last trip.
Don't bother with planes and go overland. I got from the UK to Bali this way. It gives you a real sense of how big the world is when you spend an entire week on a train crossing Russia.
Also as Hamamelis said don't wast your oppotunaty for NZ/OZ working holiday visas on a six month trip when you could stay there for three years.
Either way Enjoy.

now now thats a bit cheap, I have a right mind to report you to your self.

dont stress out about the places to see; you cant possibly see everything so dont try to. if you change your mind on E asia I agree with Durbs, Laos is amazing. I dont remember many a night due to sculling snake whiskey.good times, good times.

If you do spend time in Aus, particulaly over summer then be prepared to do a lot of travelling in poorly air conditioned hire vans in 40+ degree heat. Western Aus is great, but will be very hot.

I do a lot of adventure stuff on my trips but I also tend to hang with locals (esp HoPpers in NZ and Aus) because they know the local shiznit.

Seriously, skip California. It'll be there and it's kinda meh anyway, other than the north. Everyone is very happy to take your money.

New Zealand- hit the mountains, go to the small towns outside of the big cities, meet up with the HoPpers there because they are full of awesome and fantastic ideas.

Australia-

I agree with whomever it was that said in Sydney hit the tourist things because they are obvious and worth it. My first day in Sydney we took the Ferry to Darling Harbour, which is a major tourist spot, BUT we hung out on the balcony of a bar, had some drinks and watched/laughed at the tourists being squirted by the sidewalk fountains.
There is also a place called Koala Park where you can pet a koala and hand feed kangaroos but it's not overwhelmingly busy.
It's like a mini-zoo/petting zoo but only for indigenous animals.
I actually enjoyed the subdued nature of it.

Melbs-
St. Kilda is fun. You can check out the Espy, where they film a rock and roll quiz tv show, have an awesome breakfast and then hit the beach or the sea baths across the street. Lots to do.

The Arcades. Behind the posh shopping districts in the city heart are the dark alleys. This is where you will find some incredible graffiti, school girls smoking and changing into punk wear from their uniforms, tonnes of fun shops, cafes and awesome restaurants. Then it opens into poshness before dissolving back into the dark alleys. If you are into people watching and nifty hidden places, this is perfect.

Take a stroll along the river in Melbs. You can watch rowers and maybe even see our own lovely Rouge ;), there are tonnes of art pieces (like the upside down bells that go off), you can see some cool architecture, stop in a pub/cafe. It's quite chill and laid back.

Victoria Market. Monselvat Art Colony. There a few Botanical Gardens/Manors that were lovely.

But as much as I'm into adventure, I also love art, gardens and architecture so...that's how I balanced it. It's really dependent on what you like.

No matter where I was, I enjoyed sitting on a beach and watching surfers or visiting the smaller towns and just breathing that in.

I'm going back to Oz and am planning on road tripping from Melbs along the coastline to Cairns, as well as a drive down the Great Ocean Road.

I'll not comment on Asia since it's been covered.

Did I just get listed as a tourist attraction? Sweeeeeeet.

Visit Asia! You won't regret it! If there's too many places there you want to visit to decide then pick a starting point and go!

One trip I did NYC, Texas, California, NZ, OZ east coast, Bali, Thailand in 6 months. Here's a few tips:

1) If I'd had £16,000 I'd have come home with over £10,000 and I didn't travel badly!
2) California is a nice place to visit, but fairly pricey.
3) NZ is beautiful and few places are as nice in as condensed a format. South America is more stunning, but a lot larger to drive around!
Pack worn-in walking shoes and take up long distance walks.
Hire a car long term and you'll be able to find a good price, especially if you return to the same the city or do Christchurch to Auckland, which is opposite to the route people usually take. This'll mean really easy travel, freedom to go down random roads and the chance to pick up hitch-hikers, a source of randomness to be mined!
Stay in highly rated backpackers in amazing locations, but take ear-plugs!
2 months is a good length of time to explore, 3 gives plenty of time for chilling out & walking.
4) Australia was great, but I enjoyed visiting amazing people more than the country-side as I really loved NZ's more. Other people say the opposite, but they usually travelled to Oz before NZ
5) Visit Asia!!!
Thailand is ok, but there's so much more. Indonesia is great once you bust out of the tourist traps in Bali.
Laos is truly amazing! Lovely people and incredibly beautiful.
Visit Burma if you can do so without paying money to government tourist agencies and hotels (it's possible, but tricky).
There's also Cambodia and Vietnam to sample.
If you want to do Malaysia avoid the peninsula and go to Borneo.
6) Don't bother with a working visa. If you fall in love with NZ or OZ you'll want to go back, and that's your ticket.
7) Go with the flow. A lot of my good times were when I went wherever I was pointed, either by a random article; a post on Thorntree; fellow traveller's advice; a suggestion from somebody in a cool shop. I often had to read up on places as I was heading there or after I'd arrived. I know people who hate that idea, but I relished it, even if occasionally I arrived somewhere and there was nowhere to stay as I hadn't thought to book anywhere!

It'll be great fun!

Right.....I've got some serious planning to do. As much as I'd like to see the Aussie HoPers, I think Aus is going to be cut from the list instead of Asia. At the moment I'm thinking of going to NZ first, just to get used to the whole travelling experience and to see some friends and HoPers. After two months there, the next three and a half-four months I can use to explore as much of Asia as possible.

When hiring a car in NZ, do you need a permanent place of residence to put down on forms? How does insurance work there, is it an extra on top of the hire? What kind of price should I be looking to pay for 2 months worth of hire?

Don't cut Aus.

There's too many HOPpers to meet, and Australia is a fantastic country.

Seriously, go to Australia, you'll regret it if you don't.

That's the ticket!! Good on ya! You won't regret it. One thing to keep in mind, barring Thorntree, the internet makes travel seem much more expensive than it really is. All this pre booking and such comes at a price.

Hiring a car in NZ is straight forward. I looked in the local papers for adverts and walked around a few local rental firms, who were generally cheaper than the big internationals and willing to do good deals on long term rentals, especially if dropping off in Auckland. You'll need to put down an address in the UK and show your license (including annoying paper part!) and passport and off you go!

UCOF, I don't want to cut anywhere, but 6 months is really not a long time and i want to enjoy travelling at a chilled pace. I don't want to feel rushed because i'm trying to see ther whole world in such a small amount of time.

OK, but goto Australia.
Seriously.



You won't regret doing it.

I reckon about a month for all of it, meaning you see as much as possible, without rushing.

*MAJORLY BAD NEWS*

I've just been told that I may not be able to take a career break due to manning issues in my area. Basically, nobody is currently available, or going to be available to take my position when i go away. This means that the company cannot let me go.

I'm absolutely gutted. It's going to take a while to find out for sure, but the outlook is not good!

crap. I live in Australia, I know all the shortcuts and I wouldnt be able to see it all in a month. Considering it takes a couple of weeks to drive across; you wouldnt have time to get out the freegin car.

That sucks about not getting time off......

......you could always quit.....

I wasn't going to suggest seeing it all. :
There's far too much to see in one lifetime.

I'd also fly everywhere if I had that sort of money, unless you *wanted* to drive the Great Ocean Road.

how can you see anything stuck inbetween two fat people on a ricketty plane while sticking your head in an airsick bag trying to think happy thoughts? If airporst are all you want to see the then gold, Do that one.

seriously, are you not reading the airplane thread?

Well that sucks Mods...

Yea, I suppose you could always quit but if you think of all the money you'll make by working for those six months, that's quite a few 3/4 week trips to the destination(s) of your choice.

I refuse to sit next to fat people on planes, they'll only trample over me with their lumbering bulk as the refreshments trolley flies down the aisle during a crash.

I also don't get airsick.

No, I'm not reading that thread, I don't read anything these days. I just post.
I'm quite lucky, if what I post, even relates to the original topic these days.

The squirrels are coming! Maybe you will be safe(r) in Australia.

So nothing has really changed then?

Everything, and nothing, has changed from the days the sparrow beat its wings for the very first time.

Blah blah blah.

but then you have to deal with the possums. These buggers are the ones that taught the squirrels that unity = strength

One small furry rodent at a time.

Hey, leave me out of this

I am currently in Japan for teh final week of my trip, cold here after being in summer for the past 9 months or so, but none the less a great place from what I have seen so far although pretty expensive.

With regards to New Zealand I shared a camper van with a few people I met earlier in the trip and had an awesome time, the only issue you may find with this is that it will be pretty cold over the christmas period that you wish to be there, also although it appears cheap at first to use a camper van things soon start to add up, especially if you want to stay in camp sites and not at the side of the road. The cheapest option would be to use the naked buses and other local bus services, other options would include Kiwi Experience/stray or something similar, all of which have sights that will give you more information.

Similar is to be said about Australia, I decided to use the Oz Ex buses as it took the hassle out of planning the trip and was one hell of a laugh as socially it is awesome. The east coast is the most popular route (Sydney > Cairns or visa versa) and defo a great trip.

America is pretty cool although I'm not sure I would go back, I found it all a bit too familiar to home and most of the sights, although nice to get a photo of, I found myself just going to tick them off the list kinda thing. Although the people are great and San Fran in particular is a great city.

I personally would recommend a little time in Borneo or Malaysia generally, I had a great time there and is just a bit more off the beaten track than a lot of the other destinations in SE Asia.

To be quite honest though I think where ever you decide to go you will have an amazing time, everywhere has things for anyone to enjoy if they look for them so all I'm going to say is as long as you leave with an open mind all will be good

Thanks for all the advice folks! Keep it coming...just in case I do get this time off!

My career break has been granted!!!!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Dates are still to be confirmed, but its looking like its going to be six months starting from august.

I've decided to spend most of my time in New Zealand, and wing the rest of the trip. Borneo is looking like a favoured destination, as i'd love to go and see the orangutans.

Can anybody help me in figuring out the best ways of getting to places like borneo? I know there is an airport in Jakarta and that I can catch short haul flights from there, but I would love to know if anybody has any experience of doing this?

Congrats Mods! Yay for Holidays!!

I have a few bits of advice for you:

1. NZ is a small place and you really only need spend around a month-6weeks there.

2. definitely go to SE Asia! I would suggest 2-3months.
I haven't made it there myself but I hope to soon and it's stupidly cheap and wonderfully amazing (or so i hear). I highly recommend Vietnam. As i understand it, it's like Thialand but less touristy and even cheaper. Also Laos as Durbs says is amazing.

3. make sure you make it to Aus... it's a really awesome palce and there are so many friendly HOPpers. 1-2 months would be my recommendation (depends on how much time you want to spend elswhere.

If i was doing it i'd probably fly to SE Asia (prolly Bangkok cos it's a major hub) spend 3 months traipsing around asia. fly to NZ and spend a month there doing awesome stuff and then fly to Aus and spend the last leg of your trip there.

What are the dates of travel? keepin mind if you come to Aus in our winter it wont be sunny beaches and the like unless you're way up north. if you just want that kind of weather then do north aus from SE Asia and then go to NZ.

I live in Melbourne and am also on Couchsurfing (User: carefreeaussie) so feel free to let me know when you rock down my way (although i hope to be leaving the country myself in August). The places in Aus that you must visit are:

Wilson's Promontory national park (my favourite place in the world and only 3hrs from Melb)
Bay of Fires - Tasmania
Byron Bay
Melbourne - check out fitzroy and Brunswick... not just St Kilda come on people, there is so much more to Melbourne than just St Kilda!

I have a question, how do you guys afford all of this travel and how much does it cost you really? And how much do you end up spending when you're actually there on food and such? Because many people here don't strike me as wealthy.