My RTW

[gillx]

Ok, im out the army soon, saved up the money and iv just booked my RTW ticket, i know exactly what countries im going to and rough dates ill be there but was just wondering, based on your experiences, word of mouth etc about where to go in these countries! My boyfriend is so laid back that i know ill end up doing most of the planning!

Iv got my travel books but dont really intend to follow the tourist trail the whole journey so if anyone has found any hidden gems along the way and want to let me in on their secerets then that would be brilliant!
I leave in January and finish near the end of August so i have around 7.5 months.

Heres my plans


UK - India (1month for india and nepal)
Nepal - Vietnam (3month for SE Asia, inc Thailand,
Laos, Cambodia, China, Vietnam
Malaysia......may have to cut 1or2)
Singapore - OZ (5 days in Sydney)
OZ - NZ (3 weeks NZ)
NZ - Samoa (1week samoa)
Samoa - Cook Islands (1week Cook Islands)
Cook Islands - LA (approx 2month to travel from LA, west coast
to NY east coast)
NY - UK

What do u think?? any suggestions??
Thanks

[Dig]

See the National forests while you are in the US. Go camping in the Rocky Mountains. I say this because you should be in the US during the summer.


Welcome

[marc873]

Looks good! Just know it will change multiple times before you leave

[Esterina]

Hi gillx and welcome to travelpunk !

I'm thinking you won't have enough time for all you have planned in Asia. India and China are major countries to discover. One month for India and Nepal is short unless you focus on one region of India and limit your time in Nepal to a trek. A better frametime would be around 2-3 weeks in Nepal and 4 weeks in India.

As for SE Asia, my recommandation is a miminum of 3 weeks per country, even the small ones such as Laos, otherwise you'll feel you have seen nothing. China in itself needs a lot of time, but maybe you just want to see one city or two. And it will bring you outside the ideal route (and because of that, it will eat out a good chunk of your budget/time. In SE Asia, the best route should be a loop, something like Bangkok head up North-Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia-back to Thailand South-Malaysia.

[gillx]

Hey, thanks for the replies! Visiting a few of the National Parks are definately at the top of my list Dig, i just need to decide which ones!! they look amazing and each so different aswell!

Also, iv decided to probably cut out China from my time in SE Asia, cheers Esterina, due to my limited time, 3weeks each country sounds more realistic but i suppose i will just wing it when i get there and see what happens!

Maybe save China for my trans-siberia trip which will hopefully happen one day! Ill have to save a few more pennies if i want that to happen though! Do any of you know anyone who has done a trans-siberia rail trip?? looks amazing!! Doubt ill ever get the chance to see Mongolia otherwise!

Thanks for all the comments folks!

[Esterina]

Yes, the best way to travel South Asia and SEA is to wing it. Time has a different meaning over there, so even if one was trying to plan everything, the asian pace would get him/her to slow down.

If you want to avoid the tourist trail, the only way to achieve it in Vietnam is to rent a motorbike. Otherwise, everything is organized and it's nearly impossible to discover the country "your way".

In Laos, if you go south, plan a week or more to enjoy the Si Phan Don islands (Don Kong and the best Don Det). Feels like paradise, quiet or party as you please, luxurous nature, genuine village and culture, and the nicest people possible. Incredibly cheap also !

I stayed four months in Nepal, in the Kathmandu Valley, and barely visited the main attractions. I could give you a few tips, just tell me if you want to do more than a treck, and what are your interests. You want the "modern nepali youth" culture, rural and traditional, outdoors ?

[gillx]

Motorbiking around Vietnam is a great idea....do u need a licence though or is it pretty relaxed?? is this what you did? im guessing its pretty cheap to rent and buy petrol aswell. It will probably make a good change to the dodgy busses/trains etc that we would have been using up untill then!
Plus Laos sounds awesome! exactly the type of thing we are looking for!

As we only have 4 weeks in total for both india and nepal, were still deciding how much time exactly to stay in each country, probably wont decide until we are actually there, the main thing is just to get a feel of the place really, see a few sites, chat to the locals etc. Our flight is from Kathmandu so we will probably stay in and around this area due to time restrictions. Any ideas?

Thanks, gill xx

[millmuff]

Hey Gillx,

Congrats on the trip, the only better feeling than planning a RTW is when you actually land in that first country and realize you got x amount of months to enjoy it.

Things actually look pretty good from what I saw. it's obvious that you know how things change and to not get to set on one plan. Once your gone you'll realize how much time you wasted calculating exact days and weeks becuase things just happen how they happen.

I do agree with Esterina with her advice about asia. I spent nearly 6 months in SEA and felt more than satisfied the amount of time I had to get around, but about a month for each country is a good rule of thumb. Don't be fooled with peoples thoughts that you can just ride night buses and then enjoy a day or two in a twn before heading out. You'll wear yourself out that way not get to enjoy hanging out in a town of city for a week. Especially once you travel 12 hours on a bus and a few more on a ferry, you'll want to spend at least a week on that nice little island your on!

I also spent a month in each Japan and China and hardly got a chance to scratch the surface. For China the problem for you might be that most of your time would be spent covering large distances rather than enjoying it.

I disagree about the comments on Vietnam though. Bus routes are hardly organized tourist trips. It all depends on the type of ticket you by and the destination your headed to. True if you plan on using a VIP sleeper that are commonly sold I agree you'll be sitting next to another white person and heading to the the regular spot, but you can just as easily by a ticket on a local bus and head the other direction. I was the only white person, sitting on rice bags in the isle of a local bus for 21 hours on my way to Hue from Laos so it all depends on the bus you feel comfortable taking. Renting a bike or moto is a fine idea but theres a lot more to it than most people realize. Rental can be expensive, you will need to be a lot more familiar with where your headed, your going to need different clothing or sleeping arrangements if you head anywhere near mountains (which is usually considered off the trail), and enjoy yourself when that bike you rented breaks down and you have little to no experience with fixing one,etc, etc. What I'm saying is that traveling completely independent with your own moto and supplies is a great idea but 99% or people aren't capable of realize what it consists of. You can also rent a guide and head from one city to the next which cuts out a lot of the logistics. I think this is a really cool idea but it's also an expensive option and how much you enjoy it will usually end up on the guide you pick. I heard really mixed opinions from people I was with on the option but.

Just a few thoughts....cheers.

[Esterina]

I agree with your advice too. In Laos, I only used local bus (btw I also did the Savanaketh-Hué trip sitting in the back of the bus on a pile of luggage and bags, and which took 24 hours in my case).

In Vietnam however, my experience and the one of the travellers I've met, was that it was more difficult to use local transportation because when you ask to go to some place, they direct you to an organized trip. I did use local trains and busses when I met a Vietnamese that took me to visit his hometown. But he was the first one to take the time to explain how to avoid the tourist trail.

But I only did the northern half of the country (from Hué to Halong) and I've been told it was easier to travel the south. Maybe that's part of the explaination too.