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Re: Random travelling around the world?


One thing to think about is the health side of things. Doctors do recommend jabs and whatnot for certain destinations, so from that point of view it might be useful to have a least a rough idea in advance of where you're going.

Another thing is the unfortunate fact that though this is the twenty-first century there still are countries out there that seem not to appreciate the fact that having tourists visit is a great benefit to them. The countries of the former Soviet Union, for example, seem to take great delight in wringing out every last drop of a traveller's patience before they will give her or him permission to set foot on their land. Don't be put off by this; it's rewarding if you do go, but bear in mind that if quite a few of the countries on your list require visas it may take weeks, if not months, to obtain them.

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Replying to:

I was reading below about a guy who travelled europe on cheap flights, and its quite inspiring for me.



I would like to travel the world, in no specific order, maybe completely at random, based on cheap flights available at each point. I would like to do this for maybe a year, or maybe longer.



I am totally inexperienced here, I have travelled to a few european cities, but that is all, and know I will be out of my depth here!



Has anyone any tip, links, ideas, or anything for me? I am thinking of leaving in the autumn.



I am quite interested in how people communicate when abroad, I use the net alot, and would very much like to use it abroad to keep in contact/find info etc, so any info on service providers etc in other contries would be appreciated!



Thanks in advance!



Adam

Re: Random travelling around the world?


Having said all that, there's no reason why you should stick to the plane. Travel by bus or train is very cheap in large parts of the world, and the train in particular is a good way of seeing the country, so if you're not in too much of a hurry that's one way of cutting down on costs. Of course, you'd probably have to fly across the larger bodies of water.

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Replying to:

I was reading below about a guy who travelled europe on cheap flights, and its quite inspiring for me.



I would like to travel the world, in no specific order, maybe completely at random, based on cheap flights available at each point. I would like to do this for maybe a year, or maybe longer.



I am totally inexperienced here, I have travelled to a few european cities, but that is all, and know I will be out of my depth here!



Has anyone any tip, links, ideas, or anything for me? I am thinking of leaving in the autumn.



I am quite interested in how people communicate when abroad, I use the net alot, and would very much like to use it abroad to keep in contact/find info etc, so any info on service providers etc in other contries would be appreciated!



Thanks in advance!



Adam

Re: Random travelling around the world?


However you travel, I do think it helps to know a little about the place before you get there. Although my tour of Europe may have looked totally random, I did actually spend quite some time (though not enough, as I discovered) planning it; the curious itinerary merely reflects which flights RyanAir were giving good deals on. For example, unless you plan to camp for the entire trip it's quite a good idea to know where to stay. European low-cost airlines, particularly RyanAir, are infamous for flying to obscure and remote destinations, and their cheap flights quite often touch down very late at night. True, there's almost always transport into town available, but when you get there and you find the tourist office is closed (if you can find the tourist office, that is, since the tourist office is often hidden away down a side-street) and there are no maps available (you'd be amazed at the number of railway stations that don't have maps of the town), it's not always that easy to find cheap accommodation (e.g., a youth hostel). If you're going to buy a guidebook for a country, make sure it's got decent maps, since if you're travelling to several cities it will save you money.

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Replying to:

I was reading below about a guy who travelled europe on cheap flights, and its quite inspiring for me.



I would like to travel the world, in no specific order, maybe completely at random, based on cheap flights available at each point. I would like to do this for maybe a year, or maybe longer.



I am totally inexperienced here, I have travelled to a few european cities, but that is all, and know I will be out of my depth here!



Has anyone any tip, links, ideas, or anything for me? I am thinking of leaving in the autumn.



I am quite interested in how people communicate when abroad, I use the net alot, and would very much like to use it abroad to keep in contact/find info etc, so any info on service providers etc in other contries would be appreciated!



Thanks in advance!



Adam

Re: Random travelling around the world?


I also use the net a lot, and email is an extremely convenient way of keeping in touch with people when you're abroad (you don't have to worry about waking people up at unearthly hours, for example). I imagine you're not planning on lugging a laptop all the way round the world with you, so you're probably going to have to rely on Internet cafes a lot, unless you've got a very widespread network of friends with computers. Strange as it may seem, not every town has cottoned on to the fact that the Internet exists, and if you just set out in the hope of finding such a cafe you might spend ages looking for one (they're quite often on a side street as well, though they're not convenient enough to be on the same side street as the tourist information centre). As with most things, it pays to ask a local person.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

I was reading below about a guy who travelled europe on cheap flights, and its quite inspiring for me.



I would like to travel the world, in no specific order, maybe completely at random, based on cheap flights available at each point. I would like to do this for maybe a year, or maybe longer.



I am totally inexperienced here, I have travelled to a few european cities, but that is all, and know I will be out of my depth here!



Has anyone any tip, links, ideas, or anything for me? I am thinking of leaving in the autumn.



I am quite interested in how people communicate when abroad, I use the net alot, and would very much like to use it abroad to keep in contact/find info etc, so any info on service providers etc in other contries would be appreciated!



Thanks in advance!



Adam

Re: Random travelling around the world?


Other random things I can think of at the moment:

You might well want a travelling companion. You might not, but apart from the companionship aspect it's useful for sharing hotel bills, for example.

Take a decent camera.

Try as much as possible of the local food and drink. That's another area where you might need to keep an eye on your expenditure, particularly in the West; my opinion is that you should try to eat as well as possible, and that you don't go on holiday just to starve on bread and water, but at the same time eating in restaurants all the time isn't possible for most people. Likewise, and don't think I'm lecturing (perhaps this doesn't apply to you, but there might be other people reading this), don't go and get blindingly drunk too often (in some countries this might be rather hard!). After all, you're going on holiday to see the world, not to nurse a hangover.

As for languages, it's probably good to know at least a few words of the local lingo, especially if you're going to be there for any length of time. But if you do end up relying entirely on English (I'm assuming your native language is English) in most of the countries, don't feel too guilty about it; no one can learn every language and there are very few people who speak even two perfectly. (For that matter, I suppose it could be argued that there are very few people who speak even one perfectly....)

As I mentioned above, do ask local people for tips about where to go and what to do.

That's just about all I can think of for the moment; if I come up with anything more I'll add it. Sorry if it's been too much to take in; I hope I've touched on most of what you were asking about. No doubt there are others who could add information as well, and I hope they do, and if anything I've written is wrong, I hope someone corrects it!

It's a great idea, and I hope it comes off. If you end up coming to the conclusion that it might be too expensive travelling all the way around the world (I don't know your financial situation, or how long you plan to take on this escapade), there's no harm in choosing a small part and exploring that. It's not out of the question that you could get a job abroad, but that's a different matter.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

I was reading below about a guy who travelled europe on cheap flights, and its quite inspiring for me.



I would like to travel the world, in no specific order, maybe completely at random, based on cheap flights available at each point. I would like to do this for maybe a year, or maybe longer.



I am totally inexperienced here, I have travelled to a few european cities, but that is all, and know I will be out of my depth here!



Has anyone any tip, links, ideas, or anything for me? I am thinking of leaving in the autumn.



I am quite interested in how people communicate when abroad, I use the net alot, and would very much like to use it abroad to keep in contact/find info etc, so any info on service providers etc in other contries would be appreciated!



Thanks in advance!



Adam

Just to add to Al's comments (below...)


If you want to circumnavigate the globe relatively cheaply, I would advise getting a 'round the world' ticket - any good travel agent can advise you on these and you can get a six to eight stop ticket for under 1000 pounds (1500 euros).



Each leg of your 'round the world' journey does not have to start where the one before ended: for instance you could have one leg of your journey end in Bangkok, then travel south overland through Thailand and Malaysia and then fly out of Singapore on the next leg of your journey a month or two later.



This means (especially in Europe and North America, though as Al says, it's more difficult in Asia and Latin America or indeed sub-saharan Africa) you could take several low-cost flights to travel around from country to country before resuming your 'round the world trip'.



Again, as Al mentions, you'd need to book the low-cost flights well in advance in order to most benefit from cheap prices.



I'm about halfway through developing a European low cost airlines comparison tool on attitude Travel:



You can find it at





http://www.attitudetravel.com/lowcostairlines.html





Basically, the better prepared you are, the more likely you'll be able to relax and enjoy your trip!

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

I was reading below about a guy who travelled europe on cheap flights, and its quite inspiring for me.



I would like to travel the world, in no specific order, maybe completely at random, based on cheap flights available at each point. I would like to do this for maybe a year, or maybe longer.



I am totally inexperienced here, I have travelled to a few european cities, but that is all, and know I will be out of my depth here!



Has anyone any tip, links, ideas, or anything for me? I am thinking of leaving in the autumn.



I am quite interested in how people communicate when abroad, I use the net alot, and would very much like to use it abroad to keep in contact/find info etc, so any info on service providers etc in other contries would be appreciated!



Thanks in advance!



Adam

Re: Random travelling around the world?


Ah yes. And another thing. I'm sure everyone reading this website would like to know how you get on, so if you do go, post regular updates!

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

I was reading below about a guy who travelled europe on cheap flights, and its quite inspiring for me.



I would like to travel the world, in no specific order, maybe completely at random, based on cheap flights available at each point. I would like to do this for maybe a year, or maybe longer.



I am totally inexperienced here, I have travelled to a few european cities, but that is all, and know I will be out of my depth here!



Has anyone any tip, links, ideas, or anything for me? I am thinking of leaving in the autumn.



I am quite interested in how people communicate when abroad, I use the net alot, and would very much like to use it abroad to keep in contact/find info etc, so any info on service providers etc in other contries would be appreciated!



Thanks in advance!



Adam

Re: Random travelling around the world?


And yet another thing: maybe it's obvious, maybe not (because there are people who travel the world and spend their entire time looking for aspects of life at home): get into the local culture. Go and hear new music, go and see local films (if possible; don't worry if you can't understand them); go and see (even try, if you can) local sports. Be aware of the political situation -even if a coup isn't imminent, it's always good to be abreast of these things, so you can make appropriate comments in the local bar. Learn local crafts (well, OK, maybe that might be a bit hard). Admittedly, these all depend on how long you are in the country, but the basic message is: for goodness' sake, don't go to a place just to seek out aspects of it that are similar to such aspects in your home location.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

I was reading below about a guy who travelled europe on cheap flights, and its quite inspiring for me.



I would like to travel the world, in no specific order, maybe completely at random, based on cheap flights available at each point. I would like to do this for maybe a year, or maybe longer.



I am totally inexperienced here, I have travelled to a few european cities, but that is all, and know I will be out of my depth here!



Has anyone any tip, links, ideas, or anything for me? I am thinking of leaving in the autumn.



I am quite interested in how people communicate when abroad, I use the net alot, and would very much like to use it abroad to keep in contact/find info etc, so any info on service providers etc in other contries would be appreciated!



Thanks in advance!



Adam

Re: Random travelling around the world?

First of all, a big thanks for all the replies!



To fill you in, I'm 23, am selling up everything (flat, cars etc) to do what I want to do, travel.



The time I spend travelling could be years, at least I hope it will be.



I should of guessed that low cost flights would be confined to europe, it makes sense I've heard that around Asio in partular, trains are very cheap, and cover large parts of the continents, also sounds like a great way to see the world too as someone posted above.



A few more questions:



Where is a good place for round the world tickets? I'll try local agents etc, but maybe someone knows first hand? and typically, how long are they open for?



I think my starting point will be Australia, it's always appealed to me greatly, and very few people i've spoke to have anything negative to say about it.



On the side of communication, I will be taking a laptop (a very small one), I'm very technically minded (by profession) and for me it would really be something I couldnt be without!



I guess I should look at entry requirements for countries, I have a friend from the soviet, her boyfriend finds it quite painful getting a visa when they visit back home!



I'm practially itching to go, encouraged by the wine im drinking, but really, I hope I'll be embarking on the time of my life



I'd love to hear of people favourite places, maybe see some photos and things, anything really, I've been quite shocked at how little I've found on the net about peoples journeys, maybe im looking in the wrong places?



Again, MANY thanks for all the replies!



I will be sure to post here when I'm out there!



Regards,

Adam