Well, I leave for my big trip on the 31st of this month and was wondering if anyone else here has been traveling extensively in forign countries (backpacking, etc). I'll be gone for about 8months in new zealand, australia, china(hongkong) and maybe india and malasia. I figure since most of the people on TA are in their 20's, some other people have got to have some stories / experiances to tell.

Anyone worked in a forign country? Since i'm getting a working / holiday visa for australia, i'll be working in sydney for a few months in order to help pay to see the whole country.

Gimme details!

you should really talk to drgoodvibe and Brunette about this .. both are travelwhores..

goodvibe has a site set up just for travel related matters at www.travelninja.com .. take some pics, i'm sure he'll be happy to host them for ya too!!

wishing u all the best Andrew.. make sure to keep in touch while ur away overseas! take care

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Palm Trees > Pine Trees , Sand > Snow

hmm i was with a friend in germany for 3 weeks and i can surely say that without $$$ u will not survive haha unless u know some people over there.. we've also been to belgium and amsterdam for a day...to ILT and sensation..so i cant really say how it is over there...but belgium looks like a wickeed place to go and have an adventure at...where do u plan to go?

Well lets see, the plan so far:

first stop is auckland new zealand where i'm meeting up with a couple friends of mine, from there we are driving (renting a car) south to wellington (where they filmed lord of the rings). After a few days there we take a ferry to the south island. Stay around the south island for a week or so, then fly from christchurch to sydney australia.

In australia we'll be seeing pretty much all the east coast, road trip or bus tours we don't know yet. Staying in hostals / backpacker motels the whole time. After about 6weeks of OZ, my friends have to come home. I'll stay in sydney to work for a few months at whatever joe job I can get. I'm looking for something with as little comitment and stress as possible hehe.

The next leg of the journey starts when my friend finishes up university in hongkong around the begining of may. He went there on an exchange program, and he's staying in a dorm which means free acomodation He'll show me around the city and sourouding areas for about 2weeks.

At this point, I'm still undecided about what to do. My friend is from india and he is going to visit his family in dehli. He invited me along and said I would be treated like a king lol. I'd possibly stay for about 2 weeks, then head back to australia for another few months of working.

In september my sister and her husband are moving to kuala lumpour(that's got to be spelled wrong) malasia. He works for the canadian forign service and they are being placed there for 3 years. I'll go visit for a couple weeks when they get settled. After september i'll either come home, or work more in australia.

That's the plan, we'll see how everything pans out hehe.

You should talk to RyanM he's spent a lot of time in Wellington and Auckland, also the cook islands, as well as 6 months in Australia!

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i worked in london, england for 8 months. it was the best (and hardest) thing that i ever did working abroad is fun.

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no my first name ain't baby. it's janet. miss jackson if you're nasty.

yeah, get ryanm for some info.. I haven't been in that part of the world, but I'm thinkig 8 months is not going to be enough
I know a guy who hasn't returned home from South Pacific and South-East Asia in 6 years!

I don't even known what to tell you without sounding like a travel guide

..I guess my first advice would be to bargain - on everything - accomodation, transportation, food - the necessities.. and basically on everything else.. think about it - they'd rather sell it for whatever price you're offering than not sell it at all.
hmm then stay at private rooms or university dorms (especially for longer stays).. I like hostels, they're wicked too, but you'll end up just hanging out with a bunch of other travellers, which isn't a disadvantage at all - you might end up somewhere you didn't plan to go..
which leads me to my second point about hitting all kinds of different locations, not only hot tourist spots
but I bet you knew that already

as far as work.. hostels again, better yet - tourist agencies (you might get some benefits like discounted/free transportation elsewhere and you'll be informed about other locations)..
as far as teaching English, that requires a commitment of at least 6 months, think about it when you realize you might wanna stay there

Besides the South Pacific islands, since you'll be in Hong Kong, I'd say hit Thailand, Burma (Myanmar) and Laos.. also heard Cambodia is wicked and easy to get around. It's up to you, you lucky ******

bon voyage!

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..::Adventure is something that while it is happening you wish it wasn't!::..

<<<I am, I flatter myself, completely a citizen of the world. In my travels, I never felt myself away from home.>>>

lol thanks for the advice I'm pretty good at barganing, so we'll see how well that goes. Did you travel solo or with friends? All mine are either not done school or don't have the cashola, which sucks but what can I do.

The Australian visa lasts for a year, so I can stay and work there for that long. I don't think I could see myself staying longer then a year, probably be pretty home sick. My friends and family keep joking with me that i'll come back either married or engaged heh.

Hey I am from Hong Kong, I strongly suggest that u really watch ur spending there cuz everything there is super cheap, but everything adds up. Food wise avoid eating at business distract go a bit extra distance there's huge price differences. Teaching and working wise Japan and Korea are good places to visit 2, u can easily land a job teaching english there but has the 6 months commitment etc. Thailand also great to visit lots of different exotic food to try! don't know if u know all this or not but dat's all I can think of rite.

Ummm, done a little travelling in my life. Born in India, grew up in Africa ( Tanzania ) and moved around a bit with my parents, which was a good thing cause i got to see places like Kenya, Swaziland, Ethiopa, South Africa ( during Apartheid - which was interesting to say the least ).
Definately need to check out more of Europe as well, UK and France were great places to visit, but i think a trip alone there would be much better then with family. Definately need to go over to Australia and check out middle earth which i know is absolutely gorgeous.

Being able to work in a country gives you a little bit more flexibilty cause you're not just a tourist, and being around the natives is the best way to learn about the culture. Gotta say that travelling really opens you up as a person, it's easier to realize, that even though people and cultures are different in many ways, there are still quite a threads that we all have in common. On that note, i have to add, that although i lived state side for a few years, I prefere Canada much more. The people are great, the culture is diverse and there is a sense of security here that is hard to find in some of the other more 'unstable' countries.

Life is a journey, or so they say...i hope that you all get a chance to experience it to the fullest. Have fun, and treasure the memories

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"Hell is full of musical amateurs; music is the brandy of the damned."
~ George Bernard Shaw

quote:

Originally posted by rahvin lol thanks for the advice I'm pretty good at barganing, so we'll see how well that goes. Did you travel solo or with friends? All mine are either not done school or don't have the cashola, which sucks but what can I do.

TranceGreek.. ooh TranceGeeeeeeek

Travelling solo is amazing..! When you're with somebody, especially a large group of people, others won't bother meeting you because you already have company. Otherwise, when you're by yourself you'll be meeting people in a flash.
Also, when you're solo, you can do whatever you want, you don't have a responsibility towards anyone to match your plans. You can wake up Monday morning and realize that you feel like jetting to Bali, so off you go

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..::Adventure is something that while it is happening you wish it wasn't!::..

<<<I am, I flatter myself, completely a citizen of the world. In my travels, I never felt myself away from home.>>>

quote:

Originally posted by brunette Travelling solo is amazing..! When you're with somebody, especially a large group of people, others won't bother meeting you because you already have company. Otherwise, when you're by yourself you'll be meeting people in a flash. Also, when you're solo, you can do whatever you want, you don't have a responsibility towards anyone to match your plans. You can wake up Monday morning and realize that you feel like jetting to Bali, so off you go

words from a true vagabond!

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