Ask Cancuk about backpacking/independant travel.

[Cancuk]

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What about retirement? How can you go so long without working?

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All of my travels were payed with poker.

I currently run/own a company at home.... too young to be thinking of retirement at the moment.

[_Apollo_]

great thread!

I just backpacked for a month and I enjoyed it a lot. Meeting people is great and it's great to do what you want when you want it.
Nothing special, booked one way ticket to Italy and stayed for over a month but was first time alone and had no time to make any plans for a more distant place but was fun either way.

I like to see almost every place but India is definitly top of my list but I was thinking about doing one of those tourist bus things. I literally hate busses full of tourists but India seems very hard to travel on your own (don't really have friends that are interested/have the money to travel asia).
Im pretty sure I will make an efford and do it right but where to start?

questions:
-do you have any favourite websites/forums about backpacking?
-How long in advance did you plan your asian trips?
-Why Turkey last trip? heard other people about it or read something you wanted to see? ...

I look forward to read more answers and questions because it's very interesting to someone that's new to backpacking.

[Cancuk]

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I like to see almost every place but India is definitly top of my list but I was thinking about doing one of those tourist bus things. I literally hate busses full of tourists but India seems very hard to travel on your own (don't really have friends that are interested/have the money to travel asia).
Im pretty sure I will make an efford and do it right but where to start?

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I don't know what you mean when you say, "tourist buses" in India, but i'll assume you mean "pre arranged trip with guides, etc".

I would highly recommend not to do this inless you want to be paraded around to pottery shops and temple after temple with a bunch of other pasty skin's wearing high white socks and hats with Mickey Mouse on them... you won't be able to do what you want, and, probably, won't get a feel for the places that you go. I really don't understand why people travel like this... the usual thing is, "I don't want to deal with travel/hotel's, etc"... which I guess I understand.. but that basically means that you won't interact with a Indian, who isn't being paid to talk to you, on your whole trip, and will stay at hotels where there's more western [censored] on the menu than Indian... I love the travelling part of it. Yes, sometimes it's a pain in the ass and uncomfortable.. but that's the whole point of backpacking/indpendant travel.... experiancing new cultures/way of life... at least IMO


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do you have any favourite websites/forums about backpacking?

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The forums at lonleyplanet.com have heaps of information on them,.. I think LP books are the best for research.

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How long in advance did you plan your asian trips?

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I didn't have anything planned for when I was in Asia. I was in the Middle East and made my way east. No plans except that there were some very general areas that I wanted to go (parts of China, India, Tibet).

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Why Turkey last trip? heard other people about it or read something you wanted to see?

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My dad and mom have been telling me stories of the middle east since I was young (dad was in Isreal and Turkey, mom in Beirut)... so I thought it would be a good place to start a trip and I got a dirt cheap one way ticket to Istanbul. I also love Turkish food and wanted to start my trip by laying on a beach for a couple of weeks... so, that's about it. Nothing I really "wanted to see" until I started doing some research (Troy, Epheses, Goreme, Istanbul, etc)

[_Apollo_]

"pre arranged trip with guides, etc".
yep, that's what I meant. Well, glad you talked me out of that one [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

one last question. If you first arrive somewhere and don't really had the chance to meet other travellers to go out with. What do you do for dinner ? just go to a restaurant or do you avoid the nearly full restaurants when you are alone?
I guess I just want to know if you don't find it awkward to sit there on your own. I know that is like the only thing that really bothered me about travelling alone.

[Cancuk]

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"pre arranged trip with guides, etc".
yep, that's what I meant. Well, glad you talked me out of that one [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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Glad I could help.


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one last question. If you first arrive somewhere and don't really had the chance to meet other travellers to go out with. What do you do for dinner ? just go to a restaurant or do you avoid the nearly full restaurants when you are alone?
I guess I just want to know if you don't find it awkward to sit there on your own. I know that is like the only thing that really bothered me about travelling alone.

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I would say, especially in places like India, don't pass up the places that aren't full because usually there's a good reason for it. The last thing you want to do is get sick because you felt awkard sitting alone.

Personally, I have no problem eating alone... if it's a new place, i'm usually kind of excited and food is one of my biggest passions... trying new things, and all of that. I really don't feel weird at all.. but that's just me; i'm a pretty confident person.

If you feel uncomfortable, bring a book with you to read while you wait/eat. I did this all the time anyway.

[gamblore99]

Cancuk,
I am planning to leave in about 2 months to backpack for a year (the first half alone, the 2nd have with friends). I have planned out my basic route and the famous sites/events I want to see. Besides that I just plan to get a guide book and go from there. What other planning/preparing should I be doing?

If you could be as specific as possible that would be cool.

[Cancuk]

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Cancuk,
I am planning to leave in about 2 months to backpack for a year (the first half alone, the 2nd have with friends). I have planned out my basic route and the famous sites/events I want to see. Besides that I just plan to get a guide book and go from there. What other planning/preparing should I be doing?

If you could be as specific as possible that would be cool.

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First off: What's your route? I want to hear it!

Second: There's really not any more planning you can do. You might have already overplanned your trip, especially if you've put things into time frames, etc. Just go with the flow.... stay where you want for longer than you were expecting if you love it... dont' rush out of places to stay on a "interary"... guidebooks will help for other things to do.. but really, you'll always find something and i'm sure, actually positive, that you won't stay to your "route" through the whole trip.

Just have an awesome time and realize WHAT you are doing... I find that sometimes you can go through a whole part of your travels and not actually comprehend where you are/what you're doing..... so, every little while when something isn't going on... sit back, and put everything into perspective... "I'm a white boy from Canada, and right now, i'm riding on the back of a Tibetan Motorcyclist who picked me up hitchiking and we're heading up to the Mt. Everest Base Camp... this is [censored] amazingly ridiculous!"

It feels pretty [censored] cool.

[gamblore99]

Cancuk,
Your answer is exactly what I wanted to hear! I hate planning think travelling carefree is more fun and adventurous. Though still, I am a little nervous my complete lack of planning will be problem free...

Originally I planned on doing a 2 month trip throughout africa with a tour group. Then going to thailand for approxamitely 3 months, then india/nepal for 1-2 months. From there I go to Dubai, Saudia Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Turkey (all of this for about 3 months), Greece, Italy, France, Spain (4 months), Portugal, Morroco, England (1 month), belgium and the netherlands (1 month). (From greece onward should be with friends)

These times and places are all very approximate. Some may be entirely eliminated and others may be added throughout the trip. I am expecting to be gone for 1 to 1 & 1/2 years.


Do you think I should be reading up about safety for each place I go? What about which specific cities I to actually visit? Picking a whole country to visit seems a little overwhelming.

I am also considering scrapping the whole africa part besides the northern parts mentioned, so I will have more time in other places, and because of safety concerns. I was not to crazy about doing it with a tour group, and this thread has made it even less desirable.

[Cancuk]

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Originally I planned on doing a 2 month trip throughout africa with a tour group.

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What part of Africa? Eastern Africa is much more travel friendly than western Africa.

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Then going to thailand for approxamitely 3 months

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I assume S.E. in general?

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then india/nepal for 1-2 months.

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Any parts that you're particularly interested in? India is big and can be real tiring... i would see what time of year you're going to decide where you should go... this is true of Nepal too.. if oyu go in fall (octoberish) or early spring, it's ideal for hiking.. in the summer it rains, and the winter is [censored] cold. Dirt cheap flights out of Kuala Lempur and Singapore to India on Jetstar.

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From there I go to Dubai, Saudia Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Turkey (all of this for about 3 months)

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Woah! Saudi ARabia? How did you get that Visa? I thought it was nearly imposible to get one! Awesome. Make sure you have nothing on your tickets, luggage, etc. that says you're going to Isreal or they won't let you in... also make sure you go to Isreal before going to anywhere else in the region besdies: Egypt, Jordan, or Turkey.

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Greece, Italy, France, Spain (4 months),Portugal, Morroco, England (1 month), belgium and the netherlands (1 month). (From greece onward should be with friends)

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Seems like a very short time for England, Portugal, Morocco... especially when considering you're 4 months in the Italy, france, etc... also way cheaper in Morocco and Portugal..


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Do you think I should be reading up about safety for each place I go? What about which specific cities I to actually visit? Picking a whole country to visit seems a little overwhelming.

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Haveing an idea of places/cities you want to see might be good, but just know that you're plans will change many times throughout the trip.

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I am also considering scrapping the whole africa part besides the northern parts mentioned, so I will have more time in other places, and because of safety concerns. I was not to crazy about doing it with a tour group, and this thread has made it even less desirable.

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I would definitley not scrap Africa if I was you, but i'm not you. I would also definitly not go with a tour group. So, to each his own...

If you don't mind me asking, how much are you budgeting for the trip? The 6 months in Europe will be pretty expensive if you're not working at all.

Sounds awesome... I wouldn't plan to much though... It also seems like you're flying all over the place (back and forth)... AFrica - Thailand - India - Saudi Arabi - Middle East - Southern Europe - France - Spain - England - Portugal - Morocco... why are you going to Africa, then all the way over to Thailand, only to come back to India and Nepal?

Are you pre-buying all of your tickets and such? I would also recommend to not to do this, and just get tickets wherever you are. This way you can leave when you want, and the tickets are almost always cheaper when using the local travel agent.. and if you can't find anything there's always the internet.

[WhoIam]

Is there a series of books (eg Lonely Planet, Frommers, Rough Guide, etc) you find especially useful? What about for someone who's not on nearly as much of a budget as most backpackers?