Forums > Social Chat > Who here travels a lot?

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
You live in the cheapest part of the world to go trravelling my dear!

Backpacker lodges are cheap as chips and you get to meet some wonderful people.

I've just got over here from Oz and it was bloody expensive to get here but now that we are here everything is so cheap....check out some of the travel webpages for flights that can cost only £30 odd. (Basically all you are paying for is the taxes).

If you want I can send some of the URL's tomorrow. (they are all on my computer at work).

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
That would be greatly appreciated

anthrax.... it infects, then spreads..... fast

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
im in the same predicament, i just dont have the cash

Remember.........YOU LOSE!!!

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
inherit your fortune...

...or work your a55 off to afford the ticket and go down under - they have excellent WWOOFING-programmes (WillingWorkersOnOrganicFarms)... over there besides you get a far better idea of the "real" Australia (actually not true as most of the population lives in metros...)

But if you really want to get off the mothership - there is a way...

Good luck

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
https://www.thetrainline.com/
https://www.easyjet.com/
https://www.hostelworld.com/
https://www.laterooms.com/
https://www.megabus.com/
https://www.ryanair.com/
https://www.nationalexpress.com/
https://www.expedia.co.uk/

The ones that require you to sign up cost nothing....there is a mix there of plane, bus, train and accommodation.

Hope it helps some. My friend passed them to me when I first got here and I have found them very helpful indeed.

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
Wow medusa, thats awsome Thankyou very much! Give me a year to save up some funds.... then I'm off... to like EVERYWHERE lol

anthrax.... it infects, then spreads..... fast

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
If I find some more I'll let you know.

Ryan Air and Easy Jet are apparently (I have only been told this not actually experienced it forst hand) the best for flight deals....

One of my friends went home to Australia for Christmas for only £90....that is so cheap to get to Oz from here!

Any particular place you were planning to go?

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
Go explore Europe, you don't need any kind of visa, no more than a back pack, some medical insurance and courage. If the sh*t really hits the fan you can be back home within a day from anywhere, or two days by car.

Why do so many brits feel that travelling means Oz or Asia or America? There's more than enough undiscovered culture in Europe for most travellers, and at a fraction of the cost of travelling outside the EU. Save up a grand or two, find cheap Eurostar tickets and just lose yourself

Let's relight this forum

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
Dunc, you're perfectly right! And as a firespinner you can most likely get some bed for the night within the community somewhere!

This German forum has an international section and gives you the chance to at least check for the hospitality in Germany...

Other than that? Go to the next internatinal habour and hire on a freight ship to anywhere, work on the boat and go slowly... sorry I can't think of any more useful right now...

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
ooo i sooooo want to go traveling, maybe even visit port moresby in papua new guinea where i grew up. either that or visit goa and bum out for a while

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
Tom, the whole boat thing... is this more of a voyage than a cruise? I think my ex boss used to do something like that.

Is it merely a case of asking the ship crew when they come into port if they could use some spare hands for a few weeks/ months?

Does this kind of travel have any expense?

anthrax.... it infects, then spreads..... fast

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
depends if you have to do unmetionable favours for a bunk i suppose

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
roflmao!

anthrax.... it infects, then spreads..... fast

Posted: 26th Jan 2006
well.........salors....away from home for months on end........very few lady folk..............you do the math

Posted: 27th Jan 2006
@ravehead: come to goa - lots of bumming out here
@anthrax: usually you earn money - not spending. and for the procedure you ask at the habour authorities first. as for the "unmentionable favours" - one would be advised to chose a ship sailing under western flag - not some old wreck from panama or some other unspeakable "soulcatcher"...

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

Posted: 27th Jan 2006
From Stansted airport you can go anywhere you want in Europe for (almost) nothing.



Firetom's right, you always have the opportunity to find a place to sleep when you are a juggler/firespinner, especially if you go to conventions ! All you need is your stuff and your sleeping bag
EDITED_BY: milka (1138316570)

Posted: 27th Jan 2006
When is the next big get together?

anthrax.... it infects, then spreads..... fast

Posted: 28th Jan 2006
I don't know but I'm very interested in coming to England before summer

Posted: 28th Jan 2006
www.hitchhikers.org to get you on the road
www.couchsurfing.com for free accommodation and meeting locals who can show you around
For money you can always try restaurants and hostels where you can easily find work.

Ask a question and be a fool for a minute...don't ask and be a fool your whole life.

Posted: 31st Jan 2006
Hey if you want to save loads on accomodation and meet great friendly people while doing it join www.hospitalityclub.org
It's a pretty sizable online community of travel minded folks who offer free accomodation to people passing through. It's definitely worth contacting people from HC before looking for the cheapest hostel. There's always HC event's happening around the place, i've made a bunch of friends in Belgium through it. It's really awesome.
I believe it's somewhat similar to couchsurfing, and i'm not a member of it so i can't give firsthand info, but the people i've met seem to like HC more.
If you go to Budapest someday it's worth checking out the BackPack Guesthouse, it's the awesome-est hostel we've ever stayed in. Hostels can be a bit hit and miss, but we had an incredible time here, and if we're ever staying at a hostel again it will always be compared to the BackPack Guesthouse. The owner, staff, garden, painting, is all just so cool, such an awesome vibe, and if you've got a great group of people there staying at the same time, it's even awesome-er.
But yeah, www.hospitalityclub.org rocks my world
hooray for travelling!!!
oh and if you wanna see a cool way for sharing your pics and journals www.travbuddy.com/lasersurge is a way cool new site for doing just that

peace and love

people are people

Posted: 31st Jan 2006
When your in the country, how do you transport yourself about lasersurge?

anthrax.... it infects, then spreads..... fast

Posted: 31st Jan 2006
I just went to New Zealand for 10 months, which was pretty awesome. Hitched round a lot, most hostels will let you stay few weeks in exchange for cleaning a few hours a day in the off season, then there's www.helpexchange.net which is free to join and a bit more user friendly than the wwoof network.

I think I spend a little under £2000 in the first 6 months, including learning to dive and messing around a load. Hitchhiking was actually faster than the busses most of the time on long distance- though, being female, I think I got it easier, 'cos women took pity on me.

Just save up and head off, don't plan too much, that's my advice. It's so much easier to find free/cheap stuff in country than before you get there, if you plan, you wind up signing up to expensive things you don't really need.

THE MEEK WILL INHERIT THE EARTH!


If that's okay with you?

Posted: 31st Jan 2006
I've been travelling a good bit...usually on the family's ticket.

If you want a cheap trip...I just went to Taiwan this past summer. Round trip plane tickets were around 1200 USD...cost of living there is incredibly cheap though. You can get a full course meal, usually for around 3 USD...pretty nice hotel (marble floors, LCD TV, remote controlled everything) for close to 100 USD per night. It would be helpful to go with someone who knows the area and language though.

My favourite place there was Kenting....it was like a tropical paradise - absolutely beautiful.

Posted: 2nd Feb 2006
I've been doing it the bus way as i travel, or trains, whatever is cheaper. As triskaidekia says you're better off checking out what the prices of stuff is in the country, if you pay for stuff in advance you could find that you've paid alot more. That's just in my experience though. There is a Balkan Flexi-pass rail card and it seems pretty cheap, but it turns out that the trains in Romania and Bulgaria were extrodinarily cheap, and unless you intend to travel alot by train in greece, you save alot of money buy not getting the so called Flexi-pass, and i'm sure you'll find stuff like this all over the place.
As yet i've not really successfully hitchhiked, but i've recently been inspired by an incredible book written by a Polish girl who hitched around the world for five years, starting in New York city with only $600us. The book is called 'Led by Destiny' and you can check out her sites www.hitchhiketheworld.com and www.kingafreespirit.pl she's now doing Africa.

people are people

Posted: 3rd Feb 2006
Yesterday I got back from travelling 3 months around Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Had the most amazing time and hating being back in cold and miserable England. I'd say I spent about 3grand altogether but coulda done it alot cheaper if I hadn't partied so much. As for spinning-Thailand has too many fire spinners so unless you're really really good don't bother planning to spin too much there, the other countries have very few spinners so you always get a really good reception, plus loadsa free beers from bars you spin at. I spent new year spinning infront of a few hundred people at a bar in Laos, didn't spend a penny on drink all night and some of the crowd even paid me, wicked new year. Get out there and discover this world we live in!

Posted: 3rd Feb 2006
Before you go off, around the world seeing all the wonderous things the East and the far flung places of the world (like france) has to offer, don't forget about all the wonderous things Britain has to offer. You can get buses right across the country for £10, and you used to be able to (not sure if you still can) get places for as little as a pound.

If you're doing it in your own country (I'm aiming this at {anthrax} really), you don't have to go away for months at a time either. A week here, a week there. You're seldom more than a day from anywhere, and with easyjet and ryanair and all the other cheap airlines, you're never more than an hour away.

I noticed {anthrax} was from Lincoln, so probably your best airport is East Midlands. As for places to go, Scotland has loads of things to see, from the busy cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow to the wild countryside that is Skye, Shetland etc, as does the area around Newcastle in the North. Southbound, Devon and Cornwall are great, as is a week on a boat on the Norfolk Broads. Or a week exploring the canals on a narrowboat. Get a few friends together, and the cost starts to come down even more. As has been pointed out, most people think you have to have travelled around the world to say you've travelled. On the same note, I know people who say they've travelled for a year, when in reality they went to thailand and vietnam, then spent 9 months in Sydney before coming home. It all depends on what you mean by travel. I don't think I've travelled, but I've been to loads of different countries.

Ancient wiseman say "It is very strange person, who, when left alone in room with teacosy, does not try it on"

Posted: 3rd Feb 2006
Awesome advice ducky

I'm definately going to explore Britain first, I've seen pictures of some wonderful places here, in this country, that I would love to see for myself. I have a friend who lives up in Scotland, when she heads back there I might see if I can stay for a bit

Once I've got my new job secured and my bank balance starts to increase again, i'll be all set to go

anthrax.... it infects, then spreads..... fast