[gamblore99]

Cancuk!
Great responses so far. Very helpful.

Ya, the 3 months for Thailand will probably include the other surrounding countries. After reading some of the ask degen thread I was considering getting an apartment there, then making a 2-3 week trip out sometime during my stay there. My thinking is that the neighbouring countries will be fairly similar to Thailand, so I won't be missing to much by staying mostly in Thailand.

For Nepal/India I was planning on February-March. I think I may have to change that part, as I was aiming for good weather the entire trip. I'll probably spend more time around Thailand area, and some time in china, though that may throw off some of the plan with friends...

For Saudi Arabia, I just assumed I could get in hassle free. Guess I will just skip over that place. I have Israel on my passport. Will that be a problem for other countries in the region? I will be getting a new passport before I leave, so I think I could show the new one to Israel hostile countries, and the Israel stamped one from Israel friendly countries.

I have about $20K of my own money, and my dad has said he is going to help out. He is very generous and wealthy, so I don't see money being a huge issue. I do intend to spend a lot more time in places that are cheaper. Though I thought Greece, Italy, and Spain would be fairly cost friendly.

With Africa, part of the reason I am scrapping it goes back to the jumping around. If I start straight from Thailand I can just make my way more or less west across Asia/Europe. Adding in Africa makes that a lot more difficult. It also seems like disease/crime are a much larger threat, and my traveling experience so far is minimal. Unless it fits very well into my plans for weather, it is almost surely cut.