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Has anyone tried WWOOF-ing?

chrissie said:
How old are you? STA travel does a thing if you're under 24 I think where you pay a few thousand dollars and can travel all the way around the world in a year, as many flights as you want, you just cant go backwards.
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Ooohhh...where is that? I'm at their website but can't find anything of the sort...
 
Ive never been able to find anything on their website about it. But Ive heard about it and then our friends went and did it. You might want to contact them for more information.
 
RTW travel is really tough right now with one ticket. There used to be lots of diffrent RTW fares offered by parten airlines, like delta/air/france/korean air type stuff. Those deals are gone, and most RTW tickets are pieced togeather on dioffrent airlens, making them much much more expensive. If you were to concentrate on one part of the world, say africa or south america, and go in at one point, overland it accross the continent, and fly out from there, it would be much cheaper. you would get too really see one continents, instead of the capitol cities of 3.

I'm in the process of setting up a similar journey. I am trying to set up flights right now...maybe SFO-Kuala Lumpur
KL overland to Hanoi, Hanoi to Dar Es Saalam, then overland to Capetown. I'm sure I would fly thru Europe on the return, so Im just shooting for a stopover in brussels or amsterdamn.
 
I reall wanna take in as much of the world as possable,My dad lives in Thailand so i was gonna start their moving on to Oz maybe Japan then on to The America's with Europe last(if theres any money left).
I am keen to travel America by land,maybe rent a car or motor home?
 
You could always purchase a Eurorail pass if your under 24 and ride plenty of trains for free around Europe. The actual pass is cheap, whats expensive is the round trip flight from the US. That's what I did when I first turned 18. I spent about 2 days in each country taking it all in. I got to spend a month checking out different shit. It's really eye opening. And to save time I'd take a sleep over train to my next destination, then when I arrived, I found the nearest hostile. Although this was back in 2000, so things might have changed. You might want to purchase a book. My sister took one with her that had all the current information as far as hotels, places to eat, party and laws, and tourist stuff. Anyways, if you get a chance, do it.

time
 
I'm going to study abroad in Germany for a year, taking mainly upper division blow off classes. I plan on traveling to every western european nation, and the cooler eastern ones. Eurorail pass and hostels looks like the way to go. Just gotta pay for fun. Also, Fodor's offer some good travel books. Kinda pricey though if i remember right.
 
In my opinion the most obvious advice has not been mentioned- go to India or Africa. The main point is the money factor, and these places have not been spoilt by the tourist trade (generally)- I assume you live in a western country, and thus can live like a relative king for a very long time on very little cash. I spent about 5 months in India and spent about $4000 Australian dollars- my budget was about $20 dollars a day- and when your hiking through the himalayas there is nowhere to spend money- so often you are well under budget. The $4000 includes air fare- so I really spent absolutely fuck all! When I mentioned how much I was budgeting each day, about 450 rupees, locals would gasp in astonishment because it`s a hell of a lot of money for them. Unlike South East Asia it is easier to integrate into normal Indian society- not be constantly pestered by tour guides,￾@drug dealers, pimps etc. It is kind of harsh for us Westerners to exploit economic exchange rates differences but, fuck, it`s just so convenient. India is good, but many people will try to rip you off- so you got to learn to be tough- plenty of beggars support themselves from tourist dollars- so learn to NOT TO BREAK STRIDE- if you go, you`ll know what I mean. This works when crossing deadly roads as well. You will see full on poverty, which really opens your eyes, and then you can judge that no matter how poor someone seems, if they have two arms and two legs then they shouldn`t be begging. At one temple I vistied the main who would look after visitor`s shoes (you can`t wear shoes inside Hindu temples)￾@had only one leg, and no arms!, but he was working for his money- he performed a role in society and for that I tipped him generously- he deserved it. A moment I will always remember is giving a leper a few coins and they fell to the ground, and I had to pick them up and carefully place them into the stub of his arm as he had a palm, but no fingers at all... Some fucked up shit.

And if you are brave enough to venture into Africa, or even the Indian state of Bihar, or even fly into bangladesh (which I did one trip, then travelled overland into India) you will see some life changing stuff- places where dead bodies are found floating in rivers by children, and they casually drag them out of the water and continue swimming, places where if there is a particularly cold spell of weather you will see at least one or two public funeral processions (with open corpses) and open cremations- they can`t affor d anything but lighting a fire on some unused piece of land, places where to buy meat means you must witness the slaughter of a live animal, a must see for any non-vegetarian who has ever dissed a vegetarian for having a bleeding heart, you will see street dogs and the life they live compared to the fucking cushy lives our pets have at home- they have to eat dead animals like cows and goats which no-one has any reason to clean up- one image I will NEVER forget was a litter of three cute little puppies born on a pile of rubbish- one had died, and their mother was absent, so the two of them (barely 2 weeks old- their eyes wear not entirely open) were eating their dead sibling, whilst small children collected plastic, newspapers and bottles for recycling to earn the equivalent of 20 australian cents a day (per kilo!) work that out in US dollars... really makes you appreciate life) , met children who have no idea of the concept of family, or parents, or how even old they are (one 9 day camel safari I took, one kid said he is about 9 years old ( but was a chain smoker and an alcoholic) but his `brother` said he was 15- fucked if I know who was telling the truth) , never having been raised by family, never been to school ... I could rant on for so long about some of the things I saw which I will remember for my entire life.

Not the best place to go if you want parties, drugs etc. but incredibly friendly people- you will spend many a night visiting some random stranger`s house and stay the night for free with authentic Indian home cooked food. It really depends on how much you like your western conveniences- if you can learn to shit on a squat toilet, live off fruit and biscuits, and don`t mind having the shits every now and then, you will love it. Your immune system will develop and you will be able to eat almost any street food or unhygienic omelettes served on newspaper at train stations. I urge you to visit India- avoid the tourist traps like Rajasthan, the main cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkatta etc.) and just jump on a train (good luck buying a ticket, this is an amazing exercise in itself- you know how to manouvre yourself in a mosh pit?) and go to some obscure temple or random town. My only recommendations for the BEST experiences- visit Balaji temple near Rajasthan- wher ethey perform exorcisms and you see some seriously fucked up (supposedly possessed) people, and the awesomely inspiring Dilwara temples in Mt Abu (also in Rajasthan) where if you survive the bus ride you will find a story in carved into every surface in the temple. Aside from the tourist stiuff- I particularly loved the north- hitching rides with random trucks, literally leaping onto the sides as they slow down for you, or you could chop 50 rupess to a passing jeep and climb onto the roof as it careers down roads infested with pot-holes with a 50 metre drop on one side, with (the maximum I experienced) 19 people- a mother with a baby, a man with a goat and sack between his teeth and 10 kg of peanuts.. basically if you care little for safety, hygiene, order, manners... then visit India- very cheaply and you will come back much the wiser.

This post has become longer than I intended.
good luck-- STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!!
 
download keyhole!!!

download keyhole and you can literally explore the entire world from your computer.

its an incredible program... even if you want to REALLY see the world 8)
 
Wow thanks SardonicNihilist thats given me alot to think about.Its true i do wanna get of the beaten track and see how the other half live,so to speak.Have you spent much time in Thailand??
 
My friend and I were talking about this the other day. How she spent a semester in Italy, and how one of her brothers lives in Florence, and the other in Berlin, Germany. I mentioned how I've always wanted to see Germany (as my heritage is mostly German) and that it would be great to travel Europe, but I could never afford it.

Her suggestion was to get a credit card with a huge balance, and use it all for the trip. Sure it would be a bitch to pay off, but the experience would be worth it (her words). I dont know that I think thats a great way of going about it... but... I guess it makes sense.

I can't 'offer much advice about traveling the world, considering I've never even been on an airplane 8o but, good luck with everything if you decide to do this. I think it would be great to travel the world, whether it be just for fun, or to do some soul searching.... whatever makes you happy :)
 
beware the folks around the Trevi Fountain in Rome...there were these odd swindlers that like to tie string around your fingers and then deman you pay for it or they'll cut your dick off....agh! and wow gotta hand it to the folks riding the subways in Italy, great pickpockets. ha ha i'm sure i have some better advice in my travels but that's all that comes to mind....have a great fun safe trip!!!
 
chrissie said:
STA travel does a thing if you're under 24 I think where you pay a few thousand dollars and can travel all the way around the world in a year, as many flights as you want, you just cant go backwards.
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yeah, ive had friends who've done it. its a pretty sweet deal. i think its like $1500 but i could be wrong on that.

i dont know if youre into organic farming, but you might want to check out the WWOOF program (willing workers on organic farms or something close to that.) places to stay all over the world for minimal worktrade. communal living type situations. its a good FREE way of seeing the world and meeting some super concious people.

if youre considering a trip to the hawaiian islands you should definately contact me. theres a million places to live for free here if you know the right people. and an awesoem jumping off spot to the east and austrailia. good luck and safe travels.
 
if i were you i would not buy a rtw ticket in advance but just show up somewhere and see what happens/where you end up.
i would also work short stints(or one decently long one)throughout the trip rather than trying to save up many thousands of dollars first. hostels/bars/restaurants are good for this kinda short term visa-free work and often provide you accomodation and food, as well as introducing you to both locals and other travellers.

most important thing---BE FLEXIBLE.
 
YEUX said:

i dont know if youre into organic farming, but you might want to check out the WWOOF program (willing workers on organic farms or something close to that.) places to stay all over the world for minimal worktrade. communal living type situations. its a good FREE way of seeing the world and meeting some super concious people.
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Yep, WWOOF is incredible, but from what I understand, it requires A LOT of hard work. So, if you're just looking for a cheap way to travel, it might not be a good idea. This hippie I went to school with basically lived by traveling from one host to another for nearly 3 years. He has seen more of the world than I could possibly imagine, and has a great knowledge of farming to boot. Check it out if you are interested in volunteer farmwork.
 
Whilst on the topic- has anyone done any overseas volunteer work? I always hear about how easy it is to get a job teaching english, planting trees, working at an orphanage etc. but has anyone done these things, and what recommendations can you give??

I am currently in Japan teaching english, but it is not as full on as I expected- it`s a relatively wealthy country, and very much like my home of Melbourne- except of course for the language barrier- gets very confusing and I fell very socially starved at times. Working for Nova, the McDonald`s of language tuition ( a branch on every corner) but surprisingly held in fairly high regard in the minds of average Japanese. If anyone wants to visit Japan it`s a very easy and convenient, and as far as I know relatively well paid method of getting here. The only thing is, the work schedule is fairly demanding, and needs to be for the trip to be economically sustainable, and thus many a Nova teacher spends the bulk of their time with other english teachers... this is OK for some, but I actually wanted to get to know more Japanese people, which is really hard because of the language barrier and the shy nature of Japanese people. (ref: w@s dot teachenglish in Japan dot com)

So, my question- has anyone every volunteered overseas?? What did you do, how much did it cost you? Did they pay a living wage?? Was it a rewarding experience, not just digging wells or picking up rubbish.. were you generally accepted into the local community, or were you exploited for your naively righteous belief that you are doing something good in the world?
 
I've heard that groups like i-to-i and other pay-to-volunteer groups are a huge ripoff. Apparently, you pay for a tour, and that's really all it is. You will do some work, but it will not benefit the community in any substantial way. The aid groups that really do provide services cannot afford to take a chance with a tourist. They hire professionals in the field and they sign lengthy contracts. This field of work is very hard to break into, because experience is needed. Not just any personality can deal with living in conditions substandard to thier home counrty for many many months or years. I would say don't do it. The people over one the forums at Lonely Planet would be able to give first hand experiance and much more information than I.

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/
 
^ Don't do what? WWOOFing?

Minimum work requirements (ie, 6 hours a day, 5 days a week) are usually outlined by hosts that participate in the WWOOF organization.

I considered WWOOFing domestically (U.S.) after college, but eventually decided to forgo membership. The thing you need to worry about are hosts/farmers who are merely looking for a source of cheap labor (do not teach or instruct) and openly exploit/mistreat volunteers. This happens more frequently when WWOOFing abroad in poorer countries. Also, if you are a female traveling abroad to a host you know little about, it is a good idea to have a male volunteer accompany you. There have been issues of sexual harassment and rape reported in the past.

But overall I think most individuals have very positive experiences with the program -- at least the dude I knew did. :\
 
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