Hey, Bear with the Essay here. I was just wondering if anyone could give me a bit of help on well, everything really, inc. the best way to book tickets..

Ill only realistically have about £3-5k for everything, and ive still got to book Visas / buy back packs / plane fares / etc.

SO...i was wondering, whats the best way of doing my travelling, i mean, im quite impulsive. I dont like to think i HAVE to spend a week here, i NEED to spend a month there, ive GOT to take a year to complete the journey.

I quite like the idea of complete freedom, but to do this properly, id have to book all my tickets seperately wont i? And if i book all the tickets seperately, this is going to cost me a bloody fortune...Unless i go overland. I do have one free ticket, which my mum has promised me for xmas / my bday, but other than that, ive got to pay myself

SO i was looking at RTW tickets, but these have the 'you need to take a year, and you NEED to spend xxx time there' dont they?

ARRGH!! what do i do?!

My vague Itinery so far is:

1. Ive got a cousin in Dubai, so i was going to stop over there for a little bit

2. I was going to go to Hong Kong, because i spent a night there once, and it was an amazing place, so i want to go back. I also need a waving chairman mao wrist-watch from the markets.

3. I was going to go to the phillapenes, as (a) its a fantastically amazing place, and i need to go back and explore more, and (b) ive got a free bed in Manilla, should i ever want it.

4. I was thinking of Thailand, and Malaysia, but i dont know where this could fit into my itinery. I was also thinking of Mumbai, Goa, Varanassi, and Kolkatta in India, because i spent a few weeks travelling around Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Shimla, and Ranthamborne in the summer, but missed out on these places..

5. I wanted to go to Australia, because ive always had a thing for the place, and i can get a working visa, and build up a bit of cash there, and thus stay longer.

6. UNRELATED>> I can play guitar, and im not that bad a singer when i put my mind to it, is there any need for entertainmenty types that could possibly increase my travelling (im)potential

S**t, like i said, sorry for the essay, but im (as usual) confused..
Chris

Oh, and ive got a friend that works for Cathay Pacific, so if i ask him VEEERY nicely, i may be able to get a hefty chunk of CP flights...

that REALLY IS it,
Chris

Hi

We booked our RTW ticket with Travel Nation and spoke to a man called Ben who was so helpful. We are going for 16 months but as you know rtw tickets only last a year so we are missing our last flight home and buying a few cheap flights when we get to Thailand to travel the rest of our trip. We are leaving in 6 weeks and I am so excited. Have you got any tips for how to get over missing your family, as you said you have travelled before?

Hope the info above helps, if you need any other advise, please ask as I would love to help a fellow traveller.

Wow! Sounds fantasic! 6 weeks? Im starting to turn a sickly green colour with envy :) Actually, thats not a bad idea is it? just miss the last flight back, and make my own way...hmmm.

Yeah, thank you very much! Ill also have to check out this mystical travel nation...As for missing my family, my other travels have only been for 2-3 weeks at a time (depending on how much holiday i had left over at work), so it didnt really apply to me..

i mean, i guess if you keep in contact via phone, or look into buying a webcam that you can easily hook up into places, you can talk face to face? If you get skype, and a portable microphone headset thing, then as long as your parents have skype too, then you can talk for as long as you like for free..or you can ring other countries for the cost of a local call...that might be worth thinking about? I mean, after a few months of travelling, you probably wont even think about it!

Where bouts you going anyways? If you dont mind me asking?
anyways, im talking far too much again!
see ya,
chris

We start in Brazil, then overland to Argentina, Chile, Peru,Boliva and Ecuador, from here we fly to New Zealand Via Santiago, then fly to Fiji, then to Australia, Bali, Singapore, Thailand (here our rtw ticket stops), then we hope to travel to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, then to India (maybe a stopeover in hong kong) and Nepal then back home to London.

Wow. Sounds amazing...ive got a mate whos parents come from Equador, and from the sounds of it, its an amazing place..

Actually, i might have to wonder over there myself at some point... (damn you for putting expensive ideas into my head!)

Also, if you can do it, id wholly reccomend a stop over in hong kong, if only to experience the view as you walk along the habour at nightime, and see the whole city lit up. Ive got a picture of it somewhere, and..well, its not often Cityscapes make my Jaw drop, but this one managed it hands down.

Its also worth it for the bird market, and the..well, i guess touristy market. You can get loads of cheap, incredibly tacky, 100% real fake rubbish, its great! Singapore is better for the markets, but the quality of fake rubbish is better in HK. There are also a few nice historic temples dotted about the place which are well worth seeing...

Its not a place to spend a HUGE amount of time, but its certainly somewhere you have to visit...
Chris

Hey Chris Bro,

I totally sympathise with you bro, it aint easy deciding where, when and how long to go when this tiny planet is so damn big!! Your lucky you can decide for yourself and dont have the missis to 'debate' the subject with!

I totally agree with Kmorgan, we did the same. Have booked a RTW fare and will just forfeit the flight home and book another home. Go for the least stops possible if you can narrow down destinations or continents and travel over land as much as you can. We are doing NZ - Bris / Perth - KL - Hanoi (overland for 7 months) - Sri Lanka - India (3 months) - Dubai - London - Cairo - London - Frankfurt then we will forfeit the flight home to check out rest of Europe and N.Africa.

Its the best value for money you can get bro, but yea it can be a little restrictive with time which is where the hard part of choosing where to go comes in.

Your budget will be fine bro if you stick to budget places (food and accom.) and have a good back up credit card or two.

Have a good one bro.

Rua.