World Travel Answers

to my way of thinking and the way I did things when I covered a large area for a few months, was to get some brochures from a travel agency to get an overview of the main places to see in each place. Then, having a couple travel books such as you do, to get better ideas of details of costs, preferably cultural do's and dont's in each country, are needed. You don't want to arrive somewhere and THEN have to take too much time to get your footing; AND you don't want to be offending people or stick out like an Ugly Tourist too much; so a fair bit of prep is definitely needed. But if you feel too overwhelmed, maybe cut out a couple countries and plan to go to those places another trip. Both China and India are so large and diverse that you need to plan some things out first. Don't take me wrong--I am not saying your every step; for my trips, I just decided on the route and then booked the air travel and one night's accommodation upon arrival. Then I stayed 1-3 weeks in an area and figured out the details after I got there; but that was years ago. Also, if you get your general route planned out and air fares paid for in advance; then it helps stretch out your finances.

Hi and welcome to VT! YOu wil get alot of help here so try not to be so overwhelmed. If you can give us the follwing information, we'll be better able to help you: When do you plan to travel? (Weather conditions will play a part in when you should/should not visit a particular country.) How long will you be travelling? Backpacker's budget? What are your interests? How do you want/plan to travel from country to country?

The way I see it, you don't need to plan so much in advance because there's no way to know what you're going to want to do when you're there... When I went to Europe, I planned my whole route and itinerary beforehand, but being there is completely different than planning at home from your computer or guidebook. I ended up not really following my itinerary at all. The best way to figure out what you want to do is through word of mouth. You might meet someone who tells you that so and so place is amazing, or maybe you'll meet someone going to so and so place and you can go with them! The best advice I can give you is to just read up on those countries and keep in mind what you'd like to see, but just go with the flow. That's what makes long term travel so much fun - it's less about what you actually see than the whole experience itself. Read: Vagabonding - An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term Travel by Rolf Potts... REALLY inspiring...

definitely agree with last poster about not planning all the details ahead of time, as I mentioned; but travelling ASIA is totally different from travelling Europe; you arent going to be walking from China to India, or hardly ANY of those countries, so your flying route may need to be planned out in advance, especially as some countries require an advance ticket OUT before allowing you to arrive.

Well actually Im planning a trip to Asia leaving in less than a month, and I have literally just bought a one way ticket to Bangkok. From the research that I've done, it's actually quite easy to buy cheap flights from within the countries when you're already there. I've also gone through a lot of stress trying to figure out if I need an onward ticket and have concluded through much research that it is not enforced at all, so you can figure out flights and buses once in Asia. You can actually overland China-Thailand-Vietnam-Cambodia and Laos, and then catch a flight to Nepal. In fact, those are the exact countries I'm visiting minus China... Trust me, buying tickets and all that in advance is VERY limiting, because then you are forced to take the tickets you've already bought, and what if you want to stay? or go somewhere different?

In the beginning, I would focus on answering some questions (for yourself): 1) Why are you traveling? (See the most famous sights? Eat the local food?) 2) What do you really like to do, regardless of country? (Hike? Visit museums?) 3) What have you always wanted to try? (Scuba? Painting?) Based on that, within each country I'd target a few places you absolutely want to see, or things you want to do, and start to (loosely) structure your time, budget, and visa/transportation plans around those. The other details can wait. Except your shots – check into medical requirements early. And there are a couple of countries where you can’t get a visa on arrival (China, India). I recommend “Vagabonding” too.

Right - it s really important that you know what you need for visas and immunizations. Without them, they'll deny you entry. It's also important that you have travel medical insurance to cover you for the time you'll be out of your country. I don't know where you're from but I'm pretty certain whatever you currently have will not cover you on this trip - and you won't be treated for a serious illness or accident in a foreign country for free. It is especially expensive to have to be transferred home via medivac. "Go with the flow" is everyone's dream but it's best to have some rough idea of where you want to go, know enough about those places to stay out of trouble, most economical way to get from point A to B, and have the documents you need.

For such a long trip you should really just seek inspiration, but not plan in details ahead. If you have too many things reserved in advance then you will most likely find that you get tired after a while. On a long trip there should be space for "days off" from sightseing and so and you can´t tell in advance when you need these days. Mabye pick 2-3 things in each country that you really want to see and then wait with the rest. You will find that on such a long trip, one of the nicest things is meeting up with people along the road, so you should leave space in your scedule for a sudden change of plans if you come across some people you get along with. And greetings from someone else who is on his way around the world. So far about half the way :O)

>one of the nicest things is meeting up with people along the road Absolutely - and those could be local folks or other travelers doing exactly what you are! Which brings up another question: are you planning on doing this solo? Some people travel really well alone, and others do better with companionship. If you are one of the latter, you may be wanting to look for hostels where you're more likely to find some company, and hopefully even some people you "click" with to share some sightseeing adventures. These fellow travelers can be excellent sources of information, and recommend places and things to do that the guidebooks don't list. You know, it may not be a bad idea to reduce the number of countries if this looks too big Spending more time in fewer places allows you to get to know them better. :)

Fully agree with all the advice above. Why not identify exactly what you like, eg., Art, Culture, History, Scenery, Beaches, Music, Painting, *Must See* places and so on. Then, focus on those likes of yours in the country/city you want to travel to. From there, turn to the VT pages and read what others have to say about those places. Soon, you'll get a fair idea of what to expect in a particular place and whether these measure up to your likes. You'll then have a loose itinerary. Plan on that. BTW, that sure is a unique bed!

as previously stated ...go with the flow...you will find as you are travelling you will meet the greatest people doing exactly what you are doing...I don't know what your time frame is for your journey...but it sounds like you will need quite some time...you will have to do some homework though..Visas..what and where .(for me )(some you can only obtain at home)..also vaccinations and travel insurance is required to obtain some visas...I have recently finished a RTW and did it day by day ..and booked my tickets point to point O/W...although I did it by train.in Asia started in Singapore then all the way through to London...of course you will be taking some flights...Air Asia...Tiger Airways are cheap air tickets.(these you might book a little in advance to get cheaper tickets)once you have a definate destination...but I would let it overwhelm your thoughts...Just work out where you want to start and go with the flow..anymore info you want don't be afraid to ask..

Thank you for all your help VT-ers! I can't write a proper reply right now because I'm practically being pushed off the computer by my sister (siblings, grr!!) but for now I just wanted to say a huge thank you, you've certainly given me some fab advice and new things to think about. Once I get round to replying to some of the questions, you guys might be able to point me even further in the right direction :) I've planned most of the immunisations/visas, it was mainly me trying to get my head around how to plan what I want to do/see/try because there just seems to be so much! But you guys have given me some fab ideas, like breaking it down into maybe researching 2/3 *must see* things and then going with the flow and the people I will meet. Thank you

Hello Nish, and welcome to VT. Most of the general advice has been well-covered by the posters above, so I don't intend to rehash that. "My route is China-Thailand-Vietnam-Cambodia-(Thailand)-Laos-Nepal-India" I am just wondering if your itinerary is meant to be chronological as it seems you are jumping about a bit unecessarily, especially in the Southeast Asia sector. Depending on how much time you have, I would suggest an alternative for you. From China, go into Vietnam and go North to South. It is then easy to go into Cambodia by either road or even river and start North again. Get to the North of Cambodia and it is an easy land border into Lao (I did it in reverse earlier this year) and from there you can keep going North through Luang Prabang, which is a must see in my opinion. Keep heading North to Huay Xai by boat or road (boat is good) and you can cross into Thailand at the land border there. You will then be in Northeastern Thailand, so turn round and start heading South again to see as much of Thailand as you want. There will be good connections from Bangkok to India and on you go. I don't wish to add further to your confusion but if you are doing such a huge trip round the continent, have you considered Burma / Myanmar? It is a truly wonderful place to visit. If you have any specific questions about Cambodia, Lao, Thailand, or even Burma, please feel free to give me a VT mail. fergy.

Once again, thanks for the advice. That's a really helpful route. The initial route is a rough route that I've planned. I've already booked my flights out to china (I'm leaving London on 2nd September so I think I should catch some of the good weather in each country as I go along) and then into Bangkok. The rest of it will be done overland. I'm thinking of the best way for me to get from Laos to Nepal, any ideas?? There's always the plane but I'm wondering if there are other ways to do it? A couple of VT-ers have asked if I'd want to cut out a couple of countries but I don't want to this because I feel this is the best time for me to do my travels properly, I'm not going to get this opportunity or time again. So I'm investing a good 8-9 months in it now. maybe in the future I will get another opportunity to travel but seeing as I dont know this, I'd like to do as much as I can now whilst I've got no major commitments. If I get another chance, fantastic!! As for why I'm travelling, it's to experience other cultures, lifstyles and learn about the world, to appreciate other countries and cultures. So as well as wanting to see all the touristy stuff, I also want to be able to experience the lifestyle in the countries too. Because I have to come back home by late may, I won't be able to spend much time volunteering or teaching (I really did want to do this so I'm really gutted I cant!!). This is why my head is spinning when it comes to research - how can I get the best out of each place I visit? Oh, as for all the practicalities like visas, immunisations and insurance, that's all been sorted out

You won´t be able to go overland from Laos to Nepal. Myanmar has still closed almost all overland border points, so you will need to fly and you will most likely need to go via Bangkok.