Going traveling for a year - any advice?

Ponchos

Hi everyone

Very soon I will be made redundant from my job (woohoo!) and to celebreate, I will be joining two of my friends on their year long trip around the world (though my trip will be about 10 months). They fly out on 19th March, but I plan to fly out to meet them in Thailand on 21st May. From there we shall spend a few weeks in Thailand, then move onto Cairns, Australia, work our way down the East coast,hopefully working at some point (we will be in Oz for about 5 months), eventually arriving in Sydney for Christmas and New Year, then visiting New Zealand, Fiji, Chile, Peru (Inca Trail) and finishing in Rio, Brazil.

So far, I have able to get the same flights as them, and a couple of things like the Oz Buss Pass, working visa from STA Travel (I'm 26 this August). I have spoken to my mates about other things for what they are doing, and now I would like to ask the MSE members to offer any advise they may have on certain matters.

Debit/credit cards - Are there any cards you would recommend for using in the above mentioned countries? Which offer the best rates, and have the lowest charges? Has anyone been to these places and had bad experiences with certain cards? I'm aware I will ned an Australian bank account for working of there, but we are sorting those out once we get there.

Phone - Taking my normal pay monthly O2 phone for the whole trip will clearly cost a fortune for calling and texting. Can anyone recommend a good SIM card that offers cheap texts/calls to other mobiles and back to UK landlines? Also, I was thinking I might just put a new SIM into my Nokia 6300, but has anyone had difficulties using these phones in these countries to to the dual/tri/quadbands? Any good phones that could be recommended otherwise?

Insurance - I will need year long backpacker insurance to cover all of the activities we plan on doing. Any suggestions?

Extra items - Things such as walking boots, a sleeping bag liner, waterproofs (wet season in Thailand), thermal clothing (extremely cold up the South American moutnains at night!), torch, money belts, considering a mosquito net.. This kind of thing. Anyone been traveling these areas and can share their experience of what I may or may not need with me? Bare in mind I'll be living out of a backpack for a year and can't carry a load of stuff.

There's probably some things I've missed, so I might post again later. Some of this might seem a bit silly to ask, but I'd rather look silly here asking than look silly on the otherside of the world when I've forgotten something or made a bad choice.

Thanks in advance

elsien

Something I was told was when you set up your email account, scan copies of your important documents and email them to yourself. That way if you lose your passport or whatever it's easier to get hold of what you need to replace it.
Have a great time.

Pee

With credit and debit cards, I would take as many as you can with you and consider having someone at home taking care of payments, setting up direct debits etc. My maestro debit card wouldn't work in Vietnam and has sometimes not worked in Europe. Plus you can keep cards hidden in your luggage in case you get mugged, etc.

Depending on your size, I would consider buying waterproofs or things needed in just one country when you get there. I am quite large and buying anything in Vietnam if you are not about 5 foot and slim can be quite difficult - however saying that if you get talking to the ex pats, you find it isn't impossible, just a matter of knowing where to go.

Have you looked at the lonely Planet or Rough Guide websites?

gordikin

Going traveling for a year - any advice? ...don't do anything drug related in Thailand!

Mr_Lahey

Pee wrote: »

With credit and debit cards, I would take as many as you can with you and consider having someone at home taking care of payments, setting up direct debits etc. My maestro debit card wouldn't work in Vietnam and has sometimes not worked in Europe. Plus you can keep cards hidden in your luggage in case you get mugged, etc.

Depending on your size, I would consider buying waterproofs or things needed in just one country when you get there. I am quite large and buying anything in Vietnam if you are not about 5 foot and slim can be quite difficult - however saying that if you get talking to the ex pats, you find it isn't impossible, just a matter of knowing where to go.

Have you looked at the lonely Planet or Rough Guide websites?

I can confirm that Maestro worked in Hanoi, Hoi An, Danang, Nha Trang and Saigon, both in cash machines and in debit payments. The card also worked in Malaysia/Borneo, Singapore, China, and Japan. It is the most widely used card after Visa and Mastercard in SE Asia.

I also don't agree with sizes, i found getting pretty much anything you wanted in Vietnam easy and straight forward. There was nothing i wanted and could not get.

jenny_f

ACE Travel Insurance were really good when I did a RTW trip for 3 months - seems to cover most things inc climbing sydney harbour bridge and was pretty cheap too!

Bananabelly

I have been to most of the places you are heading. It will be an awesome trip!

Money - have a number of different cards stashed in various places so that if one gets stolen you still have access to money (and have them linked on the internet so you can shuffle money around). Also, try and have Maestro and Cirrus, and Mastercard and Visa, so that you have more chance of being accepted (though TBH I never had trouble in any of those countries).

Phone - I would think an unlocked phone might be the best? You can then get a sim for the various countries. However if you aren't going to be in them all that long it is probably easier to get a cheap PAYG and just text, then use Skype etc for long distance calls. I doubt you will find a phone deal that will provide cheap calls and texts from all those countries back to the UK. I usually just use mine for texting and then use phone cards or internet cafes for calling (I don't call all that often though ;0))

Insurance - I like World Nomads though Lonely Planet but otherwise try a broker.

Extra items - the stuff you mention you can get in Australia, and all cheaper than the UK I think so think just about what you need for Asia. I have normal sized (Western) female feet (I think!) and have never ever found shoes to fit me in Asia, so although you might find clothes probably take shoes you need with you. Having said that, most backpackers seem to survive in SEA with one pair of flip flops (I would recommend a pair of Teva-type surfie sandals with straps).
I don't know why you would need waterproofs for Thailand, wet season usually means a downpour for half an hour in the afternoon and you wouldn't get them on before it's all over! I wouldn't bother with those (though a good light rain jacket and/or poncho is a must).
Get the thermal clothing in oz, or get yourself a package sent there rather than carting it through SEA.
I have never carried a mosquito net and never found a need for one, even the most basic accomodations usually offer it. Do take good mosquito repellent though.

Other things you may not have thought of that I tend to use every trip-
Swiss Army Knife (with a corkscrew, extremely useful!)
Small Travel Cutlery Set
Sunscreen
Pegless Washing Line
A roll of duct tape often comes in handy for all sorts of things!

Probably the most important thing you haven't mentioned is to go to your doctor about shots etc required. If you are leaving in May it can take up to 8 weeks to get the shots you need, so go very soon.

HTH

peterfly

Thailand is fantastic! Dont book a hotel until you are out there and barter the price down!!!

When taking night trains in thailand- get the fan sleeper! no need for aircon- its more expensive and better to save money! its clean and a great experience!

Take wet wipes!! as some places if you are traveling through u will want to refresh but wont have time to stop

when going on boat ferry- do not leave your luggage unattended even if its in the coach in the ferry- people are known to go through your luggage/back pack! i had £120 taken and a chain!!

talk to locals and eat like locals rather than like atourist! you save money to go on to next location!!

Ponchos

Wow, wasn't expecting this many replies so soon! Thanks everyone!

I currently have two Visa debit cards, and I'm looking at getting a decent credit card, and a good cash ISA that allows money to be transfered with no fees, so I can switch it around whilst I'm away. I will be connecting all accounts online before I leave to shuffle money about.

Phone-wise, I did think about just getting a PAYG SIM and using it as little as possible, I will mainly be using it to stay in touch with my mates whilst' out there, and try to use Skype whilst away.

My idea for insurance was do a tailored search on monetsupermarket, as I've used them before, but just for short trips, and not sure if they have a backpacker option. Will investigate the mentioend sites; ACE, Lonley Planet and World Nomads.

I am only in Thailand for three weeks, and will probably book the first night or two before I leave, after a long flight I won't want to search or haggle, will jsut want to crash! After that I'll barter. Me and my mates will be going to the full moon party in Ko Panghan at teh end of May, and so accommodation near the beach will need to be sorted before we go otherwise we'll end up in the town and far from the action. And although I'm told mushroom shakes (sounds horrible, right?) are legal in Thailand, the only drug-related thing I shall be partaking in Thailand is lots of alcohol!

I haven't yet checked out Rough Guide or Lonely Planet sites, but I will... though after Lonely Planet named Wolverhampton 5th worst city in the world, I'm quite skeptical as to the accuracy of anything they say. I live there, and granted, it's not brilliant, but I'm pretty damn sure it's not the 5th worst city in the WORLD... though I was slightly amused that LA was 4th, doubt Wolverhampton and LA are directly next to each other on too many lists!

I have size 9/10 feet, so I'm guessing that might be harder to find footwear that fits out there, so will take it all with me, or buy in Oz. Will take what clothes I need and probably buy some out there. I'm taking a travel towel, probably buy a cheap beach towl in Oz too. I don't normally get bitten so will think about mozzy net, but I do burn like an albino,so will stock up on the high factor suncream. Wetwipes, tape, knife, sounds like some uselfull, and small, things to take.

I plan to eat street stall food in Thailand and we plan to get an apartment when we work in Oz, so will be buying supermarket food and not eatig out all the time. Savvy eating.

I will be getting onto the shots very soon indeed!

Lots of useful stuff for me to investigate and think about, thanks guys. if anyone has new/mopre advice, please, keep it coming!

Excuse the spelling and grammar, I type fast and can't be bothrered proof reading the whole thing again! :P

This won't be the last you hear of me...

littlestar1981

Apparently Nationwide do excellent cards for using abroad with regards to fees etc.

As for your mobile, definitely don't take a pay monthly phone, every time I go away I get stung with a high bill no matter how careful I am. You should be able to get your phone unlocked (try the mobile section of this forum). If you are going to be in Oz for months and working then getting a local sim there is definitely a good choice, and like someone else has said make use of Skype.

Two sites you definitely should check out are Lonely Planet (particularly Thorn Tree forums) and gapyear.com which is full of people doing similar things.

Most importantly though, go with the flow and have an amazing time!!!

Sammy85_2

We spent 6 weeks in thailand.

Full Moon Party - we stayed on Koh Samui on big buddah beach and got the speedboat across - hotels were cheaper and the travel cost was about £16 return and took 30mins. Heard so many horror stories from people who couldnt find somewhere to stay on Koh Phangnan or who booked cheap accomodation and were broken into that we decided it wasnt worth the risk.

Dont get too drunk during FMP either! Pickpockets (and worse) everywhere, keep your wits about you, dont take cameras, phones or anymore cash that absolutely needed.

Money - we got a Abbey Zero Card, Nationwide Card and Nationwide current account, at the time all were fee free to use abroad, but i believe Nationwide is now charging a nominal fee to cover the fees from Visa (its still way cheaper than using your regular bank card!) I also heard the the post office are offering Credit Cards that are fee free to use abroad. Alot of our friends overpaid their credit cards so they were in credit and spent that rather than taking a cash card that would charge them - i havent done that though, so cant comment on my experiences of it,

Shoes/Clothes - we took far too much stuff with us! Take a couple of pairs of shorts and tshirts - cheap ones you dont mind losing/ruining and thats about it really . Everything else can be bought in the markets. They cater for westerners so unless you are really big or something you wont have a problem. Im a ladies Size 7 shoe (about double a thai lady) and i still managed to get crocs/flipflops and the like in my size easily.

Toiletries - maybe take your toothbrush so you dont have to go shopping immediately, but other than that i wouldnt bother taking anything else. All usual brands are available and at reasonable costs. I wouldnt take any non-prescription drugs with you, you can by the usual pain killers, and you dont want to risk inadvertantly breaking local drug laws. Any prescription drugs - make sure you have something identifying them as yours prescribed by a doctor.

Phone - we took a really old phone with us, and bought a sim card out there. Dont worry if you're not sure if its unlocked or not, plenty of places to get it unlocked for cheap. Dont take a new phone or it'll just get nicked.

Street Food - we lived on it for 6 weeks - yummy banana pancakes!! Just remember - eat where the locals eat! Loads of steet food stalls packed with westerners but no thai people eating there - alarm bells should ring. As i said, 6 weeks eating like a local and no tummy upsets.

We took a mozzy net with us, didnt need it, but if you're planning to stay at super cheap guest houses i'd take one just in case, you dont want to get caught without one. Make sure you get decent mozzy spray, the one with DEET in it worked well for us.

Leave your bling at home. Dont take anything you would be upset to lose and remember that gold and diamonds etc will make you a tasty target. We took no jewellry at all and no problems, and more importantly, no worrying about whether it was safe in our bags etc.

And Finally - please please please avoid hiring scooters. We saw two people killed on scooters during our stay and a young oz girl with horific burns on her legs from contact with the scooter exhaust. Tuk-tuk travel is cheap enough, dont risk your life on a scooter in a foreign country.


Have a great time!