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..

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 ******ed imho. i wish they would print more detailed maps in lonely planet.

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.

I disagree, but to each his own.

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

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

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

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).

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...

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.

The government takes your old passport when you get a new one. DUCY?

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.

Thanks in advance.

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.

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.

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

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.

yup

I'll definitely have to look into that, because it seems like it could be damn fun way to traverse an area I didn't even think of going through.

Otherwise, I was thinking that flight was my only option, though I hear that you can generally get little puddlejumpers for a decent price over there.

I'm a bit nervous, but not as much as I am excited to get away and see everything. Even moreso to experience everything from such a perspective with no necessities in timing. Now, in the next few months I just need to make some friends in random locations reduce the cost of the trip. (Already have London, and Singapore covered!).

Oh and on a side note. One time I was in a rural area in Mexico, when a great dane (obviously angry with us for one reason or another) started charging myself and two others from about 100m away. I swear it would have taken a train to stop this beast....well, a train or a little girl screaming and chasing after it with a giant rock over her head. I believe this little girl saved much gnashing of teeth.

So if you were wondering....from a few pages back....that rock thing really does work upon occassion. =)

Thanks again for the info, I'm sure I'll post more questions as they come to me. =D

check out: Couch Surfing

I believe you just saved me a great deal of money. And made this trip a lot better. =)

Couch surfing is a pretty cool thing. It's specially great for expensive locations (I had one set up in Moscow before I ended up not going because of visa issues).

Cancuk,

Swiss army knife? Knife? Flashlight? Should I be getting any of these things? Any other similar items that are helpful?

edit to add: What is the longest amount of time you have gone without brushing your teeth/shaving when travelling?

When I was in asia I would use the lonely planet maps to find where concentrations of guest houses were located and head there to find a spot to stay but I didn't really use it for much more. When I got to the spot I would evaluate the places on my own. Asking other travelers is the true way to go though. Good way to start a conversation, meet people, kill time, and get great advice. The where to eat advice is totally worthless, food from a random stand on the street beat pretty much every single place in the guide book.

Also, when I would sit in the internet for a few hours with my backpack it was because I was waiting for a bus or something. Carrying the bag is a huge pain in the butt, so there is no reason to try to go see something when you have to catch a bus in 3 hours and can't put your bag anywhere.

And OP, you are dead on about Chiang Mai being awesome. Def my favorite place in Thailand

Swiss Army knife and flashlight are definities IMO.

Brushing teeth I did/do on a regular basis. Shaving, on the other hand, quite a while.. dont know exactly.

I think I said this somewhere in this thread, but I did/do the same thing. Find the concentration of cheap places to stay, and go find one that you like.

Asking other people is the best way to go.

living for months out of a backpack seems crazy. dont you get tired of lugging that huge thing around and walking all the time?

great advice in this thread. ive been meaning to backpack europe for a few months. dunno when ill do it.

You don't really get tired of lugging it around in the sense of weight. You do get tired of packing it and unpacking it when you're moving around a lot.


I would suggest to do this sooner than later.

thx. any basic tips for the first timer that havent already been mentioned?

This is why I like to set up a "home base" and take short trips from there. I have two huge suitcases and a carryon because I could be out of the US for up to a year and don't like living like a refugee. Of course this doesn't count as "backpacking," but it's an option to consider.

Jesus. I couldn't imagine hauling around suitcases....

Truthfully it's not that bad out of a backpack. There's some pretty big, badass ones, and you can fit a lot of [censored] in there.... most of it you'll never use, but you could, if you wanted.

I think this question has already been answered.. it's in there somewhere.

Don't be afraid would be my best advice.

Cancuk,
Do you carry your knapsack on the plane? How much did you spend on it?