I've just finished travelling for 9 months, anyone want advice?

OP

really interesting reading this thread! cheers!

1) just wondering roughly how much were you living off daily?

2) did you camp at all? how much money do you think you could/did save from camping a few nights here and there?
3) what were your travel costs like (inside the country)? did you hitchike at all?
4) apart from your gear getting stolen..did you encounter any other crime? like harassment or violence?

Thanks :smile:

In SE Asia I budgetting about 10 pounds a day that included food, nights out and hostels, if I was getting transport my budget would a bit smaller, like 7 pounds a day to make up for it!

I did camp in koh tao, my hostel had bed bugs so we camped outside! You can definitely same money! In europe especially theres camp sites everywhereee and its way cheaper than hostels.

In asia its super cheap to travel, no need to hitchhike. In europe I was interrailing so it wasn't an issue, I did hitchhike in australia though! Only a very short journey while I was doing the east coast, I had other means of transport most of the time. However my understanding is that its relatively easy to hitchhike in oz! transport is expensive you'll save loads!

In vietnam me and my friend were walking home and a vietnamese guy threatened us with a brick to our face for money, when we declined he called he mates over (about 6) we just gave him the money, it turned out to be like 3quid but still its principle. Most of the time just use common sense you won't have problems.

Thanks!!

Reply 41

europeanbob

OP

Original post by Llewellyn_J

Did you visit rice paddies and/or pig farms and were you vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis, serious question.

I did visit rice paddies, they're everywhere and no I didn't get vaccinated for that! I had typhoid, hep A, hep B and rabies

Reply 42

europeanbob

OP

Original post by TruetoMyself

Awesome stuff OP. Can you tell me which countries, cities you covered in SE Asia, in which order and how long in each?

I started in Thailand, doing the south first
bangkok, phuket, koh phi phi, krabi, surat thani, koh tao, koh phangan, chumpong, bangkok

then I went to cambodia
siem reap, phonm phen, sihaknovile, koh rong

then I went south to north in vientam
Ho Chi Minh, Dalat, Nah Trang, Hoi AN, Hanoi, Halong Bay

Into laos for a short time
Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientian

The North thailand
Chaing mai, Pai then back to Bangkok

Reply 43

ali-h

Did you carry your passport on you at all times when in oz? Or do hostels have somewhere you can lock it away? Also is a sleeping bag a good or bad idea? Various trips i want to do require one and it costs to hire, just wondered what you would do? I have one but not sure whether it takes up too much space!! Xx

Reply 44

Enigma Machine

20

Original post by Rob4rugby

Quoted for attention

Can you answer my questions please? :colondollar:

Reply 45

europeanbob

OP

Original post by JoannaMilano

Did you rent a flat in Australia, or just stay long term in youth hostels?
And roughly how much were you making in your job, compared to how much you spent living?
Was it just enough to live on, or could you save a bit as well?

Thanks :smile:

Yeah I rented in sydney, it was a houseshare! I was working so its quite hard to work and live in a hostel at the same time, but some people just stayed in hostels for months! its cheaper to rent though, I stayed in hostels when I was doing the east coast.

Reply 46

europeanbob

OP

Original post by JoannaMilano

Did you rent a flat in Australia, or just stay long term in youth hostels?
And roughly how much were you making in your job, compared to how much you spent living?
Was it just enough to live on, or could you save a bit as well?

Thanks :smile:

Yeah I rented in sydney, it was a houseshare! I was working so its quite hard to work and live in a hostel at the same time, but some people just stayed in hostels for months! its cheaper to rent though, I stayed in hostels when I was doing the east coast.

Minimum wage to high there, I was making $18-19 dollars an hour, its a pretty standard wage. It was 9-5 full time 5 days a week so I was making a fare bit, having a houseshare was quite cheap so I could save money, renting varies massively depending on how good you want the place to be!

Reply 47

europeanbob

OP

Original post by ali-h

Did you carry your passport on you at all times when in oz? Or do hostels have somewhere you can lock it away? Also is a sleeping bag a good or bad idea? Various trips i want to do require one and it costs to hire, just wondered what you would do? I have one but not sure whether it takes up too much space!! Xx

pretty much all hostels will have a safety deposit box behind reception where you can put valuable stuff like passports in there, most of them have lockers as well so bring a small lock with you!

If you're going in the summer when its going to be hot you can buy tiny sleeping bags which won't put any weight on your backpack, they're really thin so they don't keep you that warm but it keeps the bugs away!xx

Reply 48

europeanbob

OP

Original post by Bude8

Well, I'm going to HK this July for a few weeks, might be going to Australia (originally from Australia as well, so seeing old friends) + I have relatives and friends in HK... May also be going to Singapore while I'm there, and I've got a friend in SG as well. What can you do in that's touristy? Do you have any advice for a 16 year old travelling alone, who has very little experience? (First time travelling alone I believe...) Linking the Taken trailer won't help, btw :tongue:

I can speak Mandarin and English fluently, it that helps.

Is it easy making friends with people next to you on aeroplanes? My dad does it a lot somehow...

Any advice/tips will be greatly appreciated :yep:

Repped.

I didnt go to singapore or HK! The advice I'd give you is just be confident, it will be easier to make friends at wherever you're staying, everyones friendly in hostels. Just try and start conversation, go out to eat with them and make plans with a group of people! there's loads of people on their own and everyone wants to make friends.

You always get the best knowledge from people who live there so speak to the people who work there on tourist advice! Its pretty impressive travelling alone at 16 though!

Reply 49

ce07

Im currently planning my 4-6 month trip to australia and seeing all this had made me so much confident with it all :biggrin:

Reply 50

beckyyx

8

What job were you doing in australia - if you haven't already answered that
and did you go with a company, gap year company etc or did you just up and leave?

Reply 51

europeanbob

OP

Original post by JoannaMilano

It all sounds pretty ideal! How much were you paying for your house in Sydney? I've heard Australia is super expensive, hence the comparatively high wages- did you generally find that to be true?

Also, did they ask for proof of your bank balance when you arrived? I've heard you're meant to have around $5,000 (AUD) on arrival if you don't have an onward ticket?

Yeah super expensive! It's all relative because of the high minimum wage though. So if you're working its alright!

And yeah I've heard that rumour! I'm not sure if its a myth or whatever but I never experienced this or heard it happen to anyone!

Reply 52

EC2

1

Did you get a suit made in SE Asia? If so, where from and how much did it cost? (I'm going to be going SE Asia and want to get a decent suit made - the equivalent quality of a £500-£1000 suit you'd buy here)

You said earlier you spent £10/day including hostel/food/nights out... how lavish did you go food-wise? Did you find the portions were small so you had to buy two meals? How often did you go out? For a gluttonous guy who likes a drink, am I going to be looking at more like £20/day?

Reply 53

europeanbob

OP

Original post by beckyyx

What job were you doing in australia - if you haven't already answered that
and did you go with a company, gap year company etc or did you just up and leave?

I was a fundraiser for a group called the 'fundraising people' based in Sydney, my charity was cancer council. Relatively easy job to get, and good money if you're good at it! Loads of backpackers do it as well, they pay an hourly base wage as well as commission

Reply 54

mbennett

Hi Rob,

Thanks for offering your advice.

I'm hoping to travel along the East Coast of Australia in October time, starting in Cairns then going to Whitsunday Islands, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

I'm travelling alone and am a girl and preferably do not want to work and just want to travel, would you mind giving me some advice on the following questions?

1. How long do you think you need in each place?

2. How much money would I need after I have payed for the original flight out there?

3. What is the best way to get around?

4. Will it be easy to make friends who are travelling too?

5. Are there a lot of youth hostels to stay in and would you say they are the most social places to stay and that they are safe?

6. Would you recommend doing a week with someone like OzIntro or Gap 360 or just going in alone?

Thanks,

Mollie :smile:

Reply 55

451135h

Hi, I was wondering what route you took around south east asia?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 56

europeanbob

OP

Original post by 451135h

Hi, I was wondering what route you took around south east asia?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Yeah sure, I started in thailand, did the south for a month, then Cambodia, south to north Vietnam, then across Laos, then north Thailand and ended back in bangkok

Reply 57

europeanbob

OP

Original post by mbennett

Hi Rob,

Thanks for offering your advice.

I'm hoping to travel along the East Coast of Australia in October time, starting in Cairns then going to Whitsunday Islands, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

I'm travelling alone and am a girl and preferably do not want to work and just want to travel, would you mind giving me some advice on the following questions?

1. How long do you think you need in each place?

2. How much money would I need after I have payed for the original flight out there?

3. What is the best way to get around?

4. Will it be easy to make friends who are travelling too?

5. Are there a lot of youth hostels to stay in and would you say they are the most social places to stay and that they are safe?

6. Would you recommend doing a week with someone like OzIntro or Gap 360 or just going in alone?

Thanks,

Mollie :smile:

Hi Mollie, I apologise I didn't realise you posted a message! sorry for the long wait for a reply.

1. Duration completely depends on how much you like it! You could end up staying in a small place for ages if you love it, I did pretty much that route you're doing and I stayed for only a couple days in each place except for Cairns and Brisbane. I stayed for most of my time there in sydney.

2. How long are you away for? It's hard to estimate without dates.

3. The BEST way to get around is to hire a campervan with people you'll meet in a hostel, looooads of people do it going up or down the east coast of australia, relatively cheap and so much fun. However the EASY was to travel is to get the greyhound buses. Greyhound is a travel company in oz, kinda like megabus.

4. 100% everyone wants to make friends, way easier than back home. Remember most people are on their own they all want to make friends!

5. There are a lot of backpackers in oz so there is a great range of hostels in every city you'll never be stuck without a place to stay.

6. Going alone is always better, companies are always more restricted but I suppose a week wouldn't hurt!

Cheers

Reply 58

Mouchetic

8

Hey Rob4Rugby!

Thank you so much for this post ; I've read all of the advices given and it really helped about traveling issues and especially for my coming trip to Oz - first time backpacking on my own for a long time away next february.
Your journey is so amazing and I bet you haven't related to us more than a percent of all that happened.

- Have you a diary during your trip? Have you posted online to allow your friends/family and anyone interested to follow your trip? If yes, could we get the link please?
- Did you bring a camera (except the one on your phone)? And how did you store all of your pictures since your trip has lasted so long?
- How long it took you to prepare your trip (buying stuffs, going to the GP, asking for FN Number, etc) - not about the financial part ?

Again, thank you for sharing your experience and this passion for travels! :biggrin:

I've just finished travelling for 9 months, anyone want advice?

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