Ask Cancuk about backpacking/independant travel.

[Cancuk]

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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?

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I prefer LP more than the others... I've used Rough Guide before and hated it. Thought that there rcommendations, researsh, and maps where [censored] in comparison. LP covers all spectrums of travellers: has dirty cheap, rat invested hostels to palaces in the middle of lakes... in my opinion, the best guides.

Also has a lot of historical and social research in the books, which makes visitng sights, etc. much more useful if you don't want to be on a tour..

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

picking up a lonely planet is ok, but you can usually find much better info on the internet. the "where to eat" section in lonely planet is retarded imho. i wish they would print more detailed maps in lonely planet.

[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.

[Cancuk]

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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.

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I disagree, but to each his own.

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For Saudi Arabia, I just assumed I could get in hassle free. Guess I will just skip over that place.

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No, no, no. Very hard/nearly impossible visa to get, especially if you're American.

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I have Israel on my passport. Will that be a problem for other countries in the region?

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Yes. This will be a problem for all countries in the region except Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt. Most muslim African countries included.

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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.

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Once you get a new passport, your old one is void. Also, you can't do that as they look for exit/entrance stamps...

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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.

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Sweet on the money deal. Spain and Greece CAN be cost friendly, but can also be very expensive. None of your European countries will compare to somethig like Thailand, which is way more expensive than somewhere like India. Really matters where you go/what you do. Italy is very expensive (of course, depending on what you do... but generally speaking).

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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.

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Meh, fair enough. You seem to be very un-educated about the places that you're going. Realize that in Africa you'll need visa's for a lot of the countries, same goes with Asia. Some are available at the border, some arn't. Some you should get while you're at home (some you HAVE to get while you're at home)... i would definitley start to do a lot of research in regards to all of this...

[Cancuk]

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picking up a lonely planet is ok, but you can usually find much better info on the internet. the "where to eat" section in lonely planet is retarded imho. i wish they would print more detailed maps in lonely planet.

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Yes, the eating part is pretty stupid... the only good thing i've found out of the eating sections was a menu decoder for when I first got to a country and didnt' really know what anything was, or how to pronounce it (China).

Yes, you can probably find more information on the internet... but LP's are good for researching a place/area on your own time while travelleing.. it gives you something to do and a ability to plan your trip while your eating, laying in bed, etc... this may not sound liek much, but when you have nothing to do a good portion of the day.. reading LP's take up a surprising amount of time without sitting infront of a computer.

[WhoIam]

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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.

[/ QUOTE ] The government takes your old passport when you get a new one. DUCY?

[Sionice]

Hey there, and thanks for all the great information that this thread has.

I'm a would-be first time backpacker, and at the moment am still rather uneducated as to everything I need to know about all the places I want to see. However, I don't plan on leaving for about 5-6 months, so that should be enough time to take care of everything I need to learn/know.

1) I'm curious if you've ever showed up in a city and simply been unable to find a place to stay. If not, what precautions do you take to hopefully avoid such situations? I assume it's probably best to always plan an arrival to a new city with a minimum of a few hours daylight if possible.

2) At one point in my trip I'll eventually make it down to Greece, and over to Turkey. I'd like to spend some time in Syria and Egypt as well but eventually working towards India/Nepal area. What is the best way to make that jump from Turkey/Egypt/Syria to India/Nepal. There are quite a few countries in that area that I'm not sure are the safest to travel through. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Thanks in advance.

[Cancuk]

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1) I'm curious if you've ever showed up in a city and simply been unable to find a place to stay. If not, what precautions do you take to hopefully avoid such situations? I assume it's probably best to always plan an arrival to a new city with a minimum of a few hours daylight if possible.

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I've never NOT been able to find a place, but I have walked for hours trying to find one.. not often though. I wouldn't worry to much.. there's always a bed to be found.

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2) At one point in my trip I'll eventually make it down to Greece, and over to Turkey. I'd like to spend some time in Syria and Egypt as well but eventually working towards India/Nepal area. What is the best way to make that jump from Turkey/Egypt/Syria to India/Nepal. There are quite a few countries in that area that I'm not sure are the safest to travel through.


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I flew from Cairo to Beijing because I found a cheap flight.. i'm guessing you're an American, so if you want to travel overland it's harder for you because trying to get an Iranian Visa is pretty [censored] hard. If you wanted to travel overland, you'd probably have to go Turkey - Georgia - Armenia - Azerbaijan (go across Caspian Sea) - Kazakhstan - Uzbeckstan - Tajiksan/Krygstan - China... Turkmenstan isn't the greatest place to go, as it is labeled the "North Korea of Central Asia" and I think you have to be on a pre-arranged tour to get into the country... another option would be to fly from Georgia to Moscow, then take the Trans Siberian to Beijing and work your way down through Tibet to Nepal (you can't travel overland from Geoegia to Russia).... I was going to go through Russia, but I couldn't get a Russian Visa while I was in Turkey... I was considering the Central Asia one because I met a Isreali guy who was doing it, but he had all of his Visas and I had none.. and we weren't 100% sure i'd be able to get all of them while not in my home country...

Then again, you may be able to get your Iranian Visa.. give it a shot.. but I doubt it.

If you're flying... then that's easy... i'd also make sure that you can get a Syrian Visa, as you guys aren't their favourite people right now.

[WhoIam]

Have you ever been successfully scammed? What's the funniest attempted scam someone's tried to pull?

[Cancuk]

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Have you ever been successfully scammed? What's the funniest attempted scam someone's tried to pull?

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I don't think i've ever been successfully scammed.. but i'm not sure.

Lots of really [censored] ones:

"Bring these gems back home with you and we'll pay you thousands of dollars.. but first you're going to have to leave a retainer so you don't run away with our vaulable gems"...

There was one guy on a bus in Peru who was telling everybody on the bus that if you bought whatever he was selling (i foget what it was, keychains or something), he would make sure that God would protect you on your journey... if not, he couldn't make any promises. We were also about to go on a very windy, unsafe road from the mountains down.

Usually it's just taxi/tuk tuk drivers driving you to places that you don't want to go: suit shops, hotels, etc. where they get a commission.

Nothing to exciting.