in six months i will be taking a leave of absence from my job

[KendrickPanther]

You are a braver man than me. I like to visit countries where I don't stick out.

[Davidson Deac II]

I have been to Albania. Would have to be paid a lot of money to go back. Not one of my favorite places. Same goes for Serbia and Bulgaria. But Slovenia, the Czech republic or Hungary would be fun.

[CarolinaNCSU]

No suggestions really, just wanted to say I'm jealous and sounds like an amazing freaking experience. Good luck to ya.

[PhillyB]

I heard Iran is pretty this time of year. Def should visit.

iran is a beautiful country and i would love to go. for the most part the people are very accepting of americans and other outsiders (contrary to media reports) and the tourism industry is booming there. the visa application process is pretty rudimentary and you're almost guaranteed to be allowed entry.

same goes for afghanistan (as long as you stay away from the pakistani border/khyber pass.) we are considering, if we make it to central asia, working our way through to turkmenistan and applying for a visa at the embassy there... enough to take a bus across the border to mazar-i-sharif and staying for a couple of days. locals love americans... you just have to be smart.

same goes for burma (myanmar.) been twice, going back again this time for a more extensive exploration. certain countries get a bad rap by our media (some deservedly so) but it's unfair to judge a people by their government, and that's a fact that's helped me to keep an open mind traveling.

[PhillyB]

If you don't mind me asking, how much does something like this cost?

setting a cap at twenty grand for the two of us. if we get to twenty grand we come home.

we are cheap travelers... hostels, food stalls, economy class, the like. i've blown enough unnecessary money traveling over the last couple of years that i've gotten a pretty good handle on how to maximize a buck overseas.

[Kurb]

and trekking around the world for half a year with my wife.

any thoughts on where i should go/what i should do?

my general route is largely determined by continental efficiency... i want to cover as much ground as possible without backtracking. so far my basic plan is to fly to panama, work my way into colombia around the darien gap and down into ecuador, raft the amazon river from its headwaters in the andes down to the atlantic in brazil, fly to s. africa, work my way up to north africa, hit parts of europe (western europe very briefly because it's mad expensive) and make my way to istanbul, possibly swing into central asia i stay on track financially, and then down into india, nepal, mainland southeast asia and end in borneo/indonesia.

i'm open to any changes, modifications, whimsical tangents, zephyrs, etc.

Im sorry for being nosey, i really am. But how in the poo do you afford these trips :lol:

[Chimera]

Spain is relatively cheap and on your way. The Netherlands and Belgium are probably the most affordable Northern European countries.

Netherlands was a mad expensive place when I went in 2006. I had to cut the trip short because it was far more expensive than I'd prepared for.

Belgium is awesome though. Some of the best food on the planet.

[PhillyB]

Im sorry for being nosey, i really am. But how in the poo do you afford these trips :lol:

haha that's not nosy. i get it all the time.

i don't smoke.

my bar tabs are low.

i drive a 1987 volvo station wagon.

my wife drives a 1997 toyota POS with a bent-up fender.

other than our mortgage we have no debt... we pay for everything up front, or we go without it.

the trip itself will be incredibly cheap for its scale. people vastly overpay for inferior travel experiences. resorts are nice and all, but they're incredibly boring to me. a hostel in ecuador is $8 a night. $4 in prague, $20 in france, $4 in laos, $25 in italy, $15 in south africa.

people vastly overpay for airline tickets. if i can find a cheap way to get to fort lauderdale, my flight to panama will be $133. that's dirt fuging cheap. in panama we'll take chicken buses everywhere and mingle with the locals. my wife is nearly fluent in espanol and it'll give her an opportunity to work on the language some more. in south america most of our time will be spent in brazil rafting down the amazon, which will be probably two weeks in the weeds, on a passenger raft that charges eight bucks a night per person to pitch a hammock from the rafters along the railing. a bit of a slum but a hell of an adventure... villagers paddle out in canoes along the way peddling fresh bananas and chicken and poo, super cheap.

tickets to africa will be the single biggest expense, probably around a thousand bucks each to fly one way to johannesburg or capetown, mainly because south african airways is an asshat and has a monopoly on flights to subtropical africa, so we're having to avoid spend $1800 each (wtf) through them by flying to germany through condor airlines (a budget european liner) and then catch a separate cheaper flight to capetown (twice the distance, half the price.) then in africa visas are the biggest expense, at roughly $50 per country, and the occasional flight to get around.

east europe and turkey are cheap, so is southeast asia and india, and that's where we'll be spending a significant portion of our time.

there's little ways to save up, too. last year i tossed all my change in a jar and didn't count it as part of my tip money from work, and within six months i had enough to pay for roundtrip tickets to peru. i'm doing that here too, have been since march. i'm also saving the odd amount of singles i don't cash in for bigger bills at the end of the night. it's money i mentally deny the existence of as far as my budgeting, so when it comes time to leave, i'll have a nice fat chunk to subsidize the cost of the first leg of the trip... in this case, the south america portion, which i hope to be able to cover without ever dipping into our $20k budget.

we'll rent out our house while we're gone so that'll be more income. we might take the odd job now and then, even if it's just bartending for the night. i've seen more than one bar in places ranging from australia to guatemala desperate for a temporary bartender for under-the-table pay, so i'd jump on that opportunity. make a little cake and have a unique experience. busking is another option if i decide to bring my guitar. been there done that, it's good money if you know the right songs.

i wanna do a trip like this before we have kids, because once that happens i know i'll be lucky to make it to arby's without jumping through countless hoops. and fug that.

[Davidson Deac II]

Being young and no kids helps.

I did some similar things back in the 80's/90's, but I wouldn't want to do it now. My back couldn't handle it. Last year, I went to the Philippines with my wife, and traveled as the natives do once we got there. Took a old bus up thru the mountain passes to her family home in Cauayan Isabela. Glad I did it, but I won't be doing it again. Next time we go, I will spend a few hundred bucks and hire a car and driver.

[sunbunny]

iran is a beautiful country and i would love to go. for the most part the people are very accepting of americans and other outsiders (contrary to media reports) and the tourism industry is booming there. the visa application process is pretty rudimentary and you're almost guaranteed to be allowed entry.

It really is a beautiful country. My dad was there for a year or so, and we were there for 3 months. Our driver took us everywhere within a days driving distance from Isfahan.

[PhillyB]

Being young and no kids helps.

I did some similar things back in the 80's/90's, but I wouldn't want to do it now. My back couldn't handle it. Last year, I went to the Philippines with my wife, and traveled as the natives do once we got there. Took a old bus up thru the mountain passes to her family home in Cauayan Isabela. Glad I did it, but I won't be doing it again. Next time we go, I will spend a few hundred bucks and hire a car and driver.

oh god filipino buses are the worst. i took the cheapest one i could find from manila to legazpi in albay and found out those seats are not built for six-foot-one caucasians, and then southern luzon got slammed by a typhoon and the trip stretched from seven hours to thirteen after a couple of near misses on roads where, it turns out, dozens of people drowned from being washed into the sea when bridges collapsed and low ground flooded.

i caught a cheap cebu air flight back to manila a week later cause fug that.

[Davidson Deac II]

oh god filipino buses are the worst. i took the cheapest one i could find from manila to legazpi in albay and found out those seats are not built for six-foot-one caucasians, and then southern luzon got slammed by a typhoon and the trip stretched from seven hours to thirteen after a couple of near misses on roads where, it turns out, dozens of people drowned from being washed into the sea when bridges collapsed and low ground flooded.

i caught a cheap cebu air flight back to manila a week later cause fug that.

yep.

[stirs]

Bogota, Cebu, Manila, HCMC are a few places I have traveled to for work. Might be headed back to SE Asia, but not to Indonesia. Too many bad stories from associates. Could wipe out a good bit of your cash in a back room at the airport.

Envy you and your wife. After college, caught a ride to the Rockies and worked at a ranch for 4 months.

Great summer. Enjoy your youth and safe travel

[Iceberg Slim]

nothing to say but have fun and be safe, wish I could have done this at your age.