Round the World trip Tips any needed Thank you

totallybored

I did Vietnam by train which was cheap and then bus into Cambodia which was even cheaper. Definitely go to Cambodia, it was my favourite part of SE Asia.

Also worth considering is South Korea. I only had time to go to Seoul but I loved it and want to go back and spend longer travelling around. You could get the ferry from Japan and work your way up South Korea to Seoul (or do it the other way round).

Doshwaster

eproctophilia wrote: »

Hi

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Some good suggestions there! Photocopying documents i didn't think of that.

Even better, scan passport, insurance, visa, reservations etc and then save them with a cloud storage such as Drop Box, Google Docs or Microsoft SkyDrive. I also store a spreadsheet with booking details, contact numbers etc. Such as service is also good for backing up your photos as you travel (I once lost 2 weeks worth of photos in Malaysia when I lost my camera on my last day)

A £15k budget is decent but you'll still be amazed how quickly you can spend it - and it only averages out as £40 a day over a year. Missing out Europe and starting in SE Asia is wise in terms of saving money. As long as you don't go crazy in Bangkok you can live very cheaply in Thailand, Cambodia and the rest of the region. It's also a good place to start as you'll meet a lot of travellers doing the same thing so you'll get a lot of advice and hear a lot of stories.

eproctophilia

Thank the lord for internet storage. I'd of felt pretty sick if i lost the pictures!

There is a trailfinders and thats what i was going to go to for some early info cheers.

Did anyone think a netbook was essential? i have one but don't want to rely on it too much

Doshwaster

eproctophilia wrote: »

Did anyone think a netbook was essential? i have one but don't want to rely on it too much

Not essential but very useful. Many places now have free wi-fi so having a netbook or small 7" tablet would be useful for travel research, making reservations and making everyone back home jealous with your Facebook postings. Just don't take anything heavy or expensive.

I've you have a fancy mobile phone then leave that at home as it will get lost, nicked or damaged. If you ever need a mobile on your travels then you can pick up a cheap disposable one from a market stall.

eproctophilia

There is a website called star alliance that has a fancy tool for flying on many flights. Their facebook page is riddled with complaints however. I got quoted £4000 (pretty much) for the 12 destinations above, seems bit excessive? Has anyone used them?

Thanks again

Doshwaster

eproctophilia wrote: »

There is a website called star alliance that has a fancy tool for flying on many flights. Their facebook page is riddled with complaints however. I got quoted £4000 (pretty much) for the 12 destinations above, seems bit excessive? Has anyone used them?

Thanks again

Star Alliance is one one the three main global airline alliances. The other two, Sky Team and One World have a similar tool:

http://www.oneworld.com/flights/plan-book-online/
http://www.skyteam.com/en/your-trip/Round-the-World-Planner/

You can save money by booking all of your flights through one alliance, BUT they all have very complex rules on their RTW tickets in terms of routings and they can be very expensive too. That's why I suggested talking to Trailfinders as they are the experts in these kinds of tickets.

Edit: Have a look at this - http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-tips/buying-a-rtw-ticket/ - booking a RTW ticket isn't just a simple as "I want to go to these 12 cities" as you have to fit into their rules and restrictions.

danandjens_worldtravels

a Metro account is Metro bank, they only have branches in London, but once opened its all online, they give you your atm card when you open the account in branch. Free atm withdrawls abroad, (note the actual atm may charge you but Metro won't).

Burma/Myanmar is more expensive than lonely planet suggests, but its new to travellers and a great country.

Malaysia is also nice and if our willing to try it, it will open up more flight options as you have KL as a hub, and the home of Air Asia it can be cheap to fly around SE Asia.

Korea apparently pays well for TEFL teachers (heard from others)

Netbook, not essential, but for the few quid it costs it will save you in internet fees and be much more convenient, somedays you might just want to watch a movie or chat to your friends online and a tablet/netbook will help. Again be prepared to lose it and hopefully you won't.

I never found RTW tickets really catered for my needs and have bought singles to destinations I want, this opens up smaller hops with low fare providers eg tiger air from India to Thailand, Air Asia from Malaysia to Aus, JetStar from Aus to NZ.

On our last big flight with Malaysian airlines we took a two month stopover no additional cost, so it could be worth checking if you can do a UK to Aus with long stopover in Asia. in some countries you need to have outbound travel to get in, but look online at all visa/visa waiver requirements

some good deals on holidaypirates too!!

VfM4meplse

danandjens_worldtravels wrote: »

Korea apparently pays well for TEFL teachers (heard from others)

True, and Sth Korea is an amazing place in its own right (but obvs the cash helps).

marky_p wrote: »

With that kind of budget I'd strongly recommend getting to Asia by train. Travelling across Russia on the Trans-Siberian route is amazing, the best travel experience I've ever had.

Samarkand is on my list, feedback is universally positive!

marky_p wrote: »

Hong Kong is very expensive and not all that great, although a nice English-esque break from Asia. I'd try and factor it in as a flight stopover rather than making a special effort.

Completely unimpressed with Honkers when I visited ?15 years ago, but once you're in East Asia you can just jump onto a Tiger Air flight and suit yourself. I am green with envy, OP!

eproctophilia

Thanks Posters, general consensus from yuo seems HONG kong isn't much of an adventure for a Brit, so i'll leave that for a different trip after reading about China have air problems at the moment aswell

nomadic matt says airline express is not worth it if you wanna change your plans, so i'll keep it in mind but mostly just book in the country. Although the long stay in asia flight to australia sounds good. Will head to trailfinders tomorrow on my lunchbreak and get some information.

Korea Teaching, noted.

Malaysia has a cheap hub, noted

Just googled Samarkand, (sounds like Zanarkand final fantasy 10 ) temperature rarely goes below 0! apparently its a very romantic place in uzbekistan?

Have a nice trip there!

Visa stuff is fairly complicated having a browse!

Everynamestaken

I went travelling for 7months, and didn't work and spent just under that budget. I didn't skimp on anything though. I did as much as I could. Ashes, tennis, football etc etc.

My first question to you is: Why not south America?

You have the greatest wonder of the world in Machu picchu. Argentina and Brazil are also fantastic countries. People I met preferred S.A to Asia in general. I certainly wouldn't rule it out. I went for around 2 months.

I would reccomend you search the web and have a look exactly where you want to definitely visit. Wet the appetite so to speak. Having some kind of plan is good, but make you have flexible dates on the flights.

If you need anything, send me a p.m.