The Travel Thread - I am lovely and respectful to all in my path PLUR <3 xxxxx

[StoneHappyMonday]

I've been giving this a lot of thought recently and as I'll be finishing Uni soon the time for me to hit the road and see the world is coming up fast. Realistically I'll only get the one chance to go away for a long stint so don't want to do things by halves and so I'm hoping to be away for anything up to a year...

I think the rough plan is to get a one-way ticket to bangcock and mooch about SE Asia for a couple of months (Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos), then to India for a couple of months, South Africa for maybe a month and then finish up in South America where I'll hopefully spend most of my time (around 5-6months)...

That's hopefully what I'll be doing but I'm deliberately not booking a round the world ticket and just getting a one-way to Thailand so I can keep things flexible. I'll be traveling solo for the most part and want to be able to do exactly what I want, when I want for however long I want...

Does that sound a tad bit ambitious for someone who hasn't been on holiday for longer then 2 weeks? I'm estimating that this little trip may cost in the region of ten grand all in, but that will include travel gear, flights, visas and special excursions etc... Does £10,000 sound about right or could it be done for cheaper?

Hopefully some of you with a bit more traveling experience under your belts can chime in and offer up some advice?

Thanks

Thats why I wanna start off in SE Asia and then end up in South America. Start off in the place thats fairly straight forward and easy going and then once I've got my traveling shoes firmly on head out to the great unknown.

On that last point...I did 3 months in S.America followed by 3 months in SE Asia. I couldn't imagine doing it the other way around. Asia is such a 'holiday' you won't be prepared for S America, which is a lot of long distance hard travelling (but great fun). Better to do the work then the holiday rather than the other way around.

10K will easily see you through 6 months (fares not included) if you stick to cheap countries.

RTW vs 'on the hoof'. Buying tickets 'as and when' can be stupidly expensive. My RTW cost about £1700 and was a bargain for the simple fact that you can't fly S America to Sydney anywhere near December time for less than £1200 (400 euros at other times though).

Our winter is definitely the time to travel. So you kinda need to know where you want to be at xmas, roughly.

Anything more specific, ask away. Your plan is ambitious, nothing wrong with that though. Check out visa costs - and airport departure taxes. Annoying extra expenses.

 

[TheSpade]

My dad went out to Thailand the day I arrived home from Thailand, on the same plane and everything. Now less than 4 weeks later he's coming home even though he was supposed to be out there for 3 months. His excuse is that it's too hot, Evad suggested he has the clap. :D Whatever it is he's just emailed me to say he's going to head to Israel next week and if he has enough money (surely he has if he planned to be in Thailand for 3 months) do I want to go.

So of course I want to go, let's hope that this time next week I'll be firing rockets at palestinian children. Failing that I'll probably be incriminated in some sort of Mossad murder because they've cloned my passport and stole my identity.

 

[TheSpade]

Making plans for my next trip near the end of this year. Anyone got any opinions or advice?

Choices are as follows:

Go back to SE Asia and kind of live in Thailand as well as visiting some of the areas I haven't seen (basically the North and the islands down South), it would be a pretty chilled out affair. Would probably take trips to some surrounding countries to places I haven't been or enjoyed on the last trip. Flights to Thailand are fairly cheap, I wouldn't be doing as much travelling about so wouldn't need as much money plus I know quite a few folk who live there which is nice.

OR

Visit India for the first time, thinking Southern India sounds quite good, would love to do Goa and I'm sure there are many other fascinating places to visit. It sounds really hectic and chaotic though, constant hustle & bustle, hassle which slightly puts me off. It drives me mad when you're constantly being bothered to buy shite you don't want. Can get pretty cheap flights to India too, sure it must be cheap enough when there and I'm sure I'd love the food.

OR

Big trip to South America, would like to visit Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Bolivia and possibly more places. Flights to here are the most expensive, it's more expensive when there I think especially in Argentina and Brazil which I've heard are on par with European countries. While I do think this would be the most interesting and exciting place and the biggest adventure it's probably the hardest places to travel because you need have a grasp on Spanish plus there's a lot of long journeys to cover.

OR I could combine India & Thailand in the one trip.

So what do you reckon ye wordly travellers?

 

[The Kid]

^ What happened to your 6 mth plan? I thought you guaranteed it?

I'd go for South America. Proper travelling.

 

[TheSpade]

I was meaning arounf August / September so that would be approx 6 months mate.

Proper travelling eh? As opposed to the fake travelling that gets done in India and SE Asia?

 

[The Kid]

I was meaning arounf August / September so that would be approx 6 months mate.

Proper travelling eh? As opposed to the fake travelling that gets done in India and SE Asia?

Sound, although i'd always wait until our summer had properly finished before going.


Aye, proper travelling as opposed to just getting pissed in Bangkok or doing rubber ring rides in Laos.

 

[TheSpade]

We'll need to hope we actually get something that resembles a summer then eh?

Nae slating the tubing in Vang Vieng mate, you're missing out not having done it. You canna beat floating down an almighty river, drinking a beer surrounded by mountains and stunning scenery stopping for refreshments and having banter with like minded folks.

You lose.

 

[Mr.T]

Tubing in Vang Vieng is the pure bliss, trippin with shrooms from the local special menu restaurant..good times

 

[TheSpade]

Great innit? One of the highlights of my trip, I tried shrooms there too but not while tubing.

I loved Vang Vieng, you can't beat being down by that river in the afternoon getting on the lash, splashing about in the water, sun beating down, having a riot in such lush surroundings.

 

[megawoof]

i could deffo recommend agrentina/chile buenos aires is fantastic city plus exchange rate with sterling is gd very cheap when you there only draw back is flights mind you gets very hot around christmas times but nice dry heat spend a few weeks in punta del este uraguay the saint tropez of south america really truly amazing experience ive had in south america does help a great deal if you can speak abit of spanish

 

[TheSpade]

Checking out flights:

Ggow to Brazil return: £670
Ggow to Goa return: £587
Ggow to Thailand return: £500

Reckon it's worth spending a bit extra going to S. America like. Guess I need to look at visa costs etc and see if it's gonna be expensive.

EDIT: Turns out that being a fine upstanding British citizen I don't need any visas. :D

 

[TheSpade]

Just read that RyanAir have started charging £20 each way to take luggage and £40 if you don't print your tickets off yourself.

 

[The Kid]

...and having banter with like minded folks.

That's what I fucking hated about travelling. Every fucker going on about "like minded folks" as if being a backpacker in SE Asia was like being in some A-List elite gang of supercool scenesters. Bag of shite. Most backpackers are cunts.

End of.

 

[TheSpade]

You're a miserable cunt. You must have had great fun travelling round with the ball and chain the whole time and not speaking to anyone else. It's the people you meet that makes the trip so memorable like. There are some fannies around aye but most people I met I liked or could get along with. Met some people I'll never forget.

Maybe you need to work on your social skills mate. Obviously not cut out for travelling.

 

[The Kid]

You're a miserable cunt. You must have had great fun travelling round with the ball and chain the whole time and not speaking to anyone else. It's the people you meet that makes the trip so memorable like. There are some fannies around aye but most people I met I liked or could get along with. Met some people I'll never forget.

Maybe you need to work on your social skills mate. Obviously not cut out for travelling.

Hahah, met lots of nice people, but prob more cunts. Some areas were more prone to outbreaks of cunties.....Cairns, Airlie Beach, Byron, Bondi, Alice Springs, Haad Rin, Kho San had particularly high vag count.

 

[TheSpade]

You must be a CUNT magnet.

I'd say I defo came across more cunts in Aus than in Asia. In places like Brissy, Sydney, Cairns and Airlie Beach there were a fair amount of arseholes I agree. I didn't like any of those places, Airlie Beach was fucking horrendous if it wasn't the access point for the Whitsundays it'd have fuck all going for it. It was tacky as fuck & the boozers and clubs were horrible. To be honest I found all the places in Aus where you spent the night going out to clubs fairly boring, you'd go out to completely wank places, with overpriced entry and drinks, playing shite cheesey music that were full of drunken abusive Aussie cunts. Most of the other backpackers seemed to love it but half the pubs n clubs I wouldn't dream of going to back home. Prefered the smaller beach towns etc where you tended to spend the nights sitting about on the beach boozing or in the hostel social area.

Enjoyed going out in Asia much more. Open air bars, sitting about in the street on a wee plastic stool, beach bars n shacks, riverside bars that have happy menus etc. Just get tanked and have a laugh with whoevers about.

Khoa San is the fucking business like. You canna beat sitting out in the open air scooping a bucket of whisky or rum & coke chatting to loads of complete strangers and watching the world go by, especially when there's so many funny sights.

 

[Jackal]

You must be a CUNT magnet.



Khoa San is the fucking business like. You canna beat sitting out in the open air scooping a bucket of whisky or rum & coke chatting to loads of complete strangers and watching the world go by, especially when there's so many funny sights.

I think the Khao San is a horrid pile of dogshit, and would actually eat dogshit just to have the place obliterated from the map.

But then, you hate all things about PP, which I love, so fuck it.

And yeah, Australia does have a higher % of Arseholes than most countries on the planet. Don't think that's disputable - unless you belong in their ranks and dislike the image of yourself as an arsehole.

 

[Miss Peks]

I'd say I defo came across more cunts in Aus than in Asia. In places like Brissy, Sydney, Cairns and Airlie Beach there were a fair amount of arseholes I agree. I didn't like any of those places, Airlie Beach was fucking horrendous if it wasn't the access point for the Whitsundays it'd have fuck all going for it. It was tacky as fuck & the boozers and clubs were horrible. To be honest I found all the places in Aus where you spent the night going out to clubs fairly boring, you'd go out to completely wank places, with overpriced entry and drinks, playing shite cheesey music that were full of drunken abusive Aussie cunts. Most of the other backpackers seemed to love it but half the pubs n clubs I wouldn't dream of going to back home. Prefered the smaller beach towns etc where you tended to spend the nights sitting about on the beach boozing or in the hostel social area.

LOL I actually agree with you for once, but only because most of the places you're talking about are in Queensland. Redneck country with shit clubs and pubs (except for a very select few). Jesus christ how fucking hard is it to get a good local that doesn't become a beer barn with rugby bogans?

 

[TheSpade]

I think the Khao San is a horrid pile of dogshit, and would actually eat dogshit just to have the place obliterated from the map.

LOL. :D

Funny stuff, you've got me in stitches here.

Khoa San

 

[ledionz]

Thinking of driving to Thailand. Have two mates who are up for it , I'm thinking France - Italy - Greece - Turkey - Iran - Pakistan - India - Bhutan - China - Laos - Thailand.

Have done Europe road trips so not really worried about the driving time.

Worried about getting visas for Iran and China + not sure whether to drive my mates new car (brand new) or to chip in £500 each and buy a cheapo. With the new one we have to drive it back, but it will be more reliable. Cheapo can be sold (or left) at final destination if we run out of time (we all run small businesses).

Might fuck Thailand of and just stay in India if we like it, haven't checked the seasons or anything, just an idea at the mo.

any one done anything similar? any experiences driving through Iran or Pakistan?