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Forum Topics: So You Want To Travel Africa

admin — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:59:42 +0000

Originally posted by: simply_angelic

As many of you must know, I’ve been jumping around Africa a lot these past few months (just hit the 4 month mark a couple days ago) and here’s some of the tricks of the trade I’ve aquired through my travels.

(1) First and foremost- BRING A FLASHLIGHT OR HEADLAMP!! Power outages are COMMON, you’ll probably aquire one at least once every few days if not a couple times a day. On average, I’d say they happen about once a day. Even if you (by some miracle) don’t encounter a power outage while in africa street lamps aren’t exactly common in most areas outside the major cities so they definitely come in handy at night.

(2) Don’t bank on maps. A few major cities will have them but that’s pretty much it…and even if you find a map, most roads aren’t labelled. Memorize your route and make sure you know the name of where you want to go/where you’re staying before you head out…otherwise finding your way back can be tres difficile. (As from personal experience in Gaborone, Botswana…)

(3) Roadside vendors rock (also known as people coming up to your bus/minibus-taxi offering you food)!! Don’t be afraid of them…(as I was initially). The further north (outside of South Africa) you go, the more common they will become, especially in poorer countries. When people approach your car offering food, chances are it’s the only food you’re going to get for a while…and it’s cheap!

(4)Long-haul buses are everywhere and reasonably affordable. You can travel great distances for like 5$-10$ in most countries. You’ll learn to love the minibus taxis as well, when there aren’t “real” buses as they’re ridiculously cheap. Rules for minibus taxis:-Always try to barter first, you can usually reduce the fare a bit-The best seats in the house are the front by the driver (leg room) but the back isn’t bad because you have great airflow so it’s not as hot-Don’t talk to the driver, there is a man who’ll usually negotiate the fare with you/sit by the big sliding door who you pay and ask where to get off.- Get into the fullest minibus taxi you can find going to the same location you are. They don’t leave until they’re full (usually)…otherwise you’ll be waiting for a while. I think the longest I’ve waited is 3 hours….-knock on the wall if you want to get the driver’s attention or need off early.

(5) Bring food with you on a long trip or money to buy from roadside vendors…there usually aren’t many stops and you usually dont want to get off b/c the buses are so packed it’s very difficult to walk…

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Forum Topics: Money Matters- 5 Weeks in Europe

admin — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:55:32 +0000

Originally posted by: faxman75

Greetings all! Me and my roommate have booked out tickets to Dublin on June 24th. Very excited. We are flying from Phoenix, AZ and plan on doing about 5 week flying back to Chicago on July 30th. So far I only purchased a one way ticket to Dublin. I found a $700 fair flying to chicago then from Chicago to Phoenix about a week later. I may snatch that up though not a great deal by any means. My question is, how much do you think we should budget for the trip minus the airfare I just mentioned? It looks like we plan on doing Dublin, Amsterdam, Prague, Italy and Spain then of course fly back out of Dublin. I’m getting really REALLY nervous as I don’t think i’ll have much more than 2 thousand dollars for all of this. Can this be done on 2K? What are the cheapest and most convenient ways to travel between countries? Where can we save the most?

Tips and budget estimates would be greatly appreciated.

peace
Mark

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Myanmaar Cyclone

admin — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:31:31 +0000

This is a before and after shot of the cyclone that hit Myanmaar.

Photo credit: LA Times

Our prayers go out to the victims, their families, and to their country.If you would like to show your support, you can find a big list of organizations to donate to that will assist those affected by the cyclone.

LA Times list of agencies to send contributions

CNN’s Impact page

Backpacking Europe: The People You Meet

admin — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:44:04 +0000

Originally posted by : Lizz

Photo Credit: Aliza Scharf, UMBC

The people you meet while travelling have just as much place in your memory as the things/sites you see.So…who is the weirdest/most unique/craziest/interpret this how you want person you met on your travels?

When I was in Odesa, they at the hostel told me about this 33 year old Japanese man who after he left they discovered a pic of this naked woman in the safe he was using.

Then later that day some other people who were coming from Chisinau via Transdnister had also just traveled with him. I got to hear all the hype about him. Talks in his sleep, got 200 euro taken off him by the Transdnister border guards, all sorts of strange things. Didn’t think I’d ever meet the guy.

Well a few days later I went back to Lviv and the hostel owner told me a Japanese man had booked and the name sounded familiar. A few hours later he arrived. Yes granted he was a little strange but all and all a good guy. He didn’t speak much English and he spent most of his time on his laptop taling to himself but we did convince him to go to the Lychachiv cemetary with us. Very organized, had one of those huge timetable books.

Last I know he was headed to Krakow, so if anyone has met this guy let me know. He’s a legend!

In Lviv a guy who had 3 passports (Irish, British, USA) claimed he had…

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Longing to Backpack Europe? Stop Talking About It and Just Do It!

admin — Wed, 07 May 2008 03:11:52 +0000

Photo Credit: Osraí

I think everyone is guilty, at one point or another, of talking about their dreams and not taking swift action to make it happen.

TravelPUNK.com has been urging people for over 6 years to just “pull the trigger” and make your travel dreams happen.

Sadly, most people, no matter how much inspiration and motivation they get from things they watch, read, or the people around them, will never take action.

There will always be something that will get in their way. Things that they create, subconsciously, that will allow them to make more excuses as to why they should continue to procrastinate on their travel dreams.

You create your own reality.

Push yourself to make it happen! You won’t regret it.

Here’s an inspirational post from a new member of our community, Bedtimeonthemoon. This was posted yesterday!

Ahh I booked it!

Well, after waiting a year for others to join me, I finally did it. I booked my trip to Europe….ALONE. I found an awesome deal leaving May 8 and the crazy in me said just do it… and I did! I feel exhilarated and sick all at once. 3 days to get a pack, and figure out what the hell I’m going to do. I’m meeting a friend who lives in Paris for a couple of days but after that… no plans. Purely impulsive… mental notes throughout the years but no set plan.

I leave May 8 and will be returning the the US on June 18. Flying out of Miami into Paris and then I opted to fly out of London back home. (It was $150 cheaper than round-trip and I figured I’d only spend about $100 going from Paris to London and capitalize on some time in London before I go for the same flight price)

I would like to see a bit of Italy in that time (Rome, Florence, Venice) and perhaps a bit of Spain. Any suggestions?

I must say reading about the solo travelers on here was a big motivator. This is an awesome forum!

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Congratulations for finally doing it, Bedtimeonthemoon! You’re an inspiration to all of us!

Of course, we wish you an absolutely awesome life-altering trip!