![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
You cant really do Australia for 2k properly anyway so its academic but if you could, I would be back there this year without hesitation. I wonder why that would be if its so apparently crap? Perhaps because its better than you think?
A month off work and £2k to spend, where would you go?
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You cant really do Australia for 2k properly anyway so its academic but if you could, I would be back there this year without hesitation. I wonder why that would be if its so apparently crap? Perhaps because its better than you think?
Superficially no, but their subcultures are fascinating.
Even in Florida, which must be America's Toilet, there were really interesting people to meet.
Personally, being that you are considering exploring and you are currently at Uni, I would also suggest Thailand as a starting point. It can fairly cheap to get to for the distance. It is also a good jumping off point for SE Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam etc) which have some stunning places and if you want to get a break back to a more modern place you can always pop over to Singapore (by train through Malaysia if need be).
To get the most out of it, do your research. Book a few days acclimatisation and then play it by ear and go where the wind takes you. With somewhere like Thailand, you can possibly meet a few people on various forums who may be travelling there at the same sort of time and if you read up then you will get an idea of the pitfulls and tricks so you will be prepaired and hopefully not get caught out. Educate yourself especially if travelling alone and you have an idea to visit the bars.
Bangkok is great but hectic. Fairly good as a starting point but meet some people, make some friends and then move on. Thailand offers so much more. Koh Samui is a great island and you should be able to find a beach front chalet fairly cheaply. Chiang Mai offers a slower pace than Bangkok and I found it a much nicer experience. It is also great for all the cultural aspects of Thailand.
Last time I went to Thailand alone I had planned 4 days in Bangkok and then just planned to travel around for a month but had a stop over in Singapore, met the lady who became my wife, and never quite made it to Thailand and have been living in Singapore for the past 7->8 years. SE Asia can blindside you when you least expect it but then I was a fair bit older than you most likely are.
If you like the idea of travelling around Thailand then see if you can get a copy of "Butterfly Man" to watch first.
Places like the US and Aus / NZ / Japan you could most likely visit later for a holiday when working or with any future family. The trans-siberian or interrail are also good options but I tend to prefer hot beaches, golden sand and great views.
Oh and if you look at Thailand, I would avoid Phuket and Pattaya if you want a fairly decent experience. When I visited Phuket it reminded me of going to Tenerife.
To get the most out of it, do your research. Book a few days acclimatisation and then play it by ear and go where the wind takes you. With somewhere like Thailand, you can possibly meet a few people on various forums who may be travelling there at the same sort of time and if you read up then you will get an idea of the pitfulls and tricks so you will be prepaired and hopefully not get caught out. Educate yourself especially if travelling alone and you have an idea to visit the bars.
Bangkok is great but hectic. Fairly good as a starting point but meet some people, make some friends and then move on. Thailand offers so much more. Koh Samui is a great island and you should be able to find a beach front chalet fairly cheaply. Chiang Mai offers a slower pace than Bangkok and I found it a much nicer experience. It is also great for all the cultural aspects of Thailand.
Last time I went to Thailand alone I had planned 4 days in Bangkok and then just planned to travel around for a month but had a stop over in Singapore, met the lady who became my wife, and never quite made it to Thailand and have been living in Singapore for the past 7->8 years. SE Asia can blindside you when you least expect it but then I was a fair bit older than you most likely are.
If you like the idea of travelling around Thailand then see if you can get a copy of "Butterfly Man" to watch first.
Places like the US and Aus / NZ / Japan you could most likely visit later for a holiday when working or with any future family. The trans-siberian or interrail are also good options but I tend to prefer hot beaches, golden sand and great views.
Oh and if you look at Thailand, I would avoid Phuket and Pattaya if you want a fairly decent experience. When I visited Phuket it reminded me of going to Tenerife.
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Different strokes, different fokes... Culture... People that live in towns and people that lice in cities.... why go to Cambodia or elsewhere in Asia when you can get the same culture in Lincolnshire...
Not entirely serious but that's how you come across with nature. Have you heard of the bungle bungle, stromatolites in sharks bay, pinnacles desert, Kakadu? You don't get those sort of things anywhere else...
I'm in Chiang Mai and prices are about 50baht for a big bottle in 7-11 and between 70-150 depending on the bar/club. A few years ago the pound was a lot stronger, but it's dropped a bit since then. Recently there was a beer shortage and prices of beer have gone up a bit too. It's now about 54baht to the pound and rising due to the current protests.
Yes, going back to cover more of Australia that you missed last time is almost entirely like having a holiday home in Spain.
Africa is fairly questionable in terms of safety and not as easily accessible with the possible exception of South Africa, which I would like to do at some point. But I'd like to 'finish' Aus first.
That I agree with. Southern Africa is stunning and I'd love to go back (along with many other places) but there are so many other new places to go and see.
Ironically the only place I've been back to multiple times is somewhere I'm not interested in... Paris...
Soldato
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Hire an M powered BMW and hit the Nurburgring!
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WHAT!?!?!
There's oodles of History and culture. Off the top of my head;
- Sudaneese Pyramids
- Ethiopian Stone churches
- Las Geel paintings
- Ruins at Zeila
- Djibouti and Ethiopian Jazz scense
- The ottoman legacy across almost all waterways and coasts from Morocco to Somalia
- Some of the oldest mosques on earth
- Food in Ethiopia is quite interesting
- Somalia has a big no-alcoholic beer culture
And that's barely skimming the surface of the 4 countries I've read into.
[TW]Fox;25648746 said:
Africa has a bad reputation bit it's really not as bad as is suggested. No it's not as safe as a first world country like the US or Oz but maany places are no worse than other places people go to. Southern Africa, such as SA, Namibia, Botswana and most of Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania etc. are safe. In fact many cities in SA are probably less safe than the countries mentioned above. Renting a 4x4 and driving around is pretty standard in many of the above countries, especially Namibia and SA (Namibia being stunning for scenery and wildlife). In northern and central Africa it's also pretty safe in many of the countries, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia being three I'd love to go to. It'll be a very different trip to a road trip around the US or Oz but still safe.
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From what a few freinds of mine did, I'd love to do Cambodia. They rented motorbikes and rode through the country. Said that they'd never experienced hospitality like it. You see on top gear people flocking to the cars/ see them and he said it was just like that. They want tourists to go there and are so friendly. They had people inviting them round for dinner, they had their bikes fixed when broken etc.
Not to mention it's cheap as chips, the food is amazingly good on the whole and some just fantastic things to see. I'd do it in a heartbeat if I could cart the whole family around.
Not to mention it's cheap as chips, the food is amazingly good on the whole and some just fantastic things to see. I'd do it in a heartbeat if I could cart the whole family around.
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South America - Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil.
Barely any other Western travellers around unlike SE Asia where it's literally Kavos/Ayia Napa/Tenerife but in another part of the world.
Barely any other Western travellers around unlike SE Asia where it's literally Kavos/Ayia Napa/Tenerife but in another part of the world.
African Safari.
Okay, it will only be a few weeks at most but if you have any cash left you can always stop somewhere in Europe on the way back and stay in hostels.
I've always wanted to trek across Mexico with detours to Aztec/Mayan temples. You could do that via the charity sponsorship route as you can cover the cost of flights and kit.
Hostels are the only accommodation option if you wanted to see the F1 (might be able to squeeze 2 races in) but Autumn means its here in Europe (I think) so probably out of your budget unless you return home each time via train.
The trip of a lifetime thing that you seem to be after would require a large budget increase.
I spent 3 months in Australia years ago, had a great time as I was with friends but £2000 wasn't enough then, dread to think what you would need now.
Okay, it will only be a few weeks at most but if you have any cash left you can always stop somewhere in Europe on the way back and stay in hostels.
I've always wanted to trek across Mexico with detours to Aztec/Mayan temples. You could do that via the charity sponsorship route as you can cover the cost of flights and kit.
Hostels are the only accommodation option if you wanted to see the F1 (might be able to squeeze 2 races in) but Autumn means its here in Europe (I think) so probably out of your budget unless you return home each time via train.
The trip of a lifetime thing that you seem to be after would require a large budget increase.
I spent 3 months in Australia years ago, had a great time as I was with friends but £2000 wasn't enough then, dread to think what you would need now.
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South America for me - on a budget/backpacking and using hostels it should be achievable and you get to see some amazing sites and cultures - but I'm quite interested in that part of the world.
Wind blown rock, coral, pointy windblown rock, another water park.
Yes you don't get those precise things anywhere else, but they are not worth £2K, in fact I was bored just googling them. Anyway Petra has the windblown rock thing nailed.
I've zero interest in South America but I can imagine it must be epic, Aus just isn't, even the (9ish?) people I've met who live there all want to leave because they are bored.
I was talking about Central Africa, sorry I didn't make that clear. So that's pretty much the ruins at Zimbabwe.
@Fox.
Africa is just another holiday. Fly in, organise a weeks walking safari, book a lodge and watch the watering hole. It is pretty much like what you saw on Top Gear, except there are more flies in Scotland.
It is definitely worth £2K, although if I were the OP I'd still do the Interail thing first because it's easier to slum it when you are young.
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I did 3 on 1.5k in 2008
You could do Australia, but it's have to be camping and really roughing it (clothes washed in streams, cooking of a gas stove or the free bbqs etc)
I did a month interrailing round europe on 1.5k too, staying in hostels etc. I know prices have gone up but it might be just about do-able with 2k, biasing your journey in the east.
Personally if I had a month I'd be tempted to go to south america. Flights aren't cheap mind.
Again, different strokes. As an outdoor person looking at another windblown rock is far more interesting than looking at another church, another house and another restaurant. I'm far more interested in looking at the 2 billion year old rock and trying to see if I can see the endemic species scurrying around their natural habitat with the wind and water the only noises, rather than horns, traffic and people shouting (I get that enough in London...). Where is this water park you speak of? You're not mistaking the whole of sharks bay for monkey mia are you? I'm talking about seeing the living fossils, practically impossible to see anywhere else on earth. They really are unique, especially in the amount there are... The Great thing for me is my holidays can be much cheaper, I don't need to spend £50 a night in a cheap hotel, or less in a grotty hostel. Once I get there the accommodation is almost free and far nicer and I generally end up outside the tourist areas meaning I don't get pestered by hawkers (and no, I don't mean street sellers, I mean tourist sellers).
But of course, all the natural world is the same and all cities are different.