Travelling

[AllGoneTitsSchlupp]

couldn't find a thread about this on here, and i know a few on here have some interesting travel stories 

 

could be a good place to discuss ideas, share memories, share future plans, i know there is a holiday thread, but i mean long term travelling / backpacking

 

@Buce would love to hear some of your india stories, @urban.spaceman i know you've spent some time in africa. any stories and experience invited!

 

i did a few months in europe in sept - nov last year which was amazing. was meant to be flying to australia on a one way ticket but a certain virus put a stop to that, so managed 4 european countries. germany, denmark, sweden and a month in italy. great time aside from catching lyme disease 

[The Syrup]

Did a round the world backpacking trip in 1999 / 2000. 9 months and 14 countries. Ticket cost £1k as I remember and you had 30000 miles  available on the star alliance airline network to plot a route around the world. Hate to think what a RTW ticket costs these days. 

 

As part of the ticket we flew into Ho Chi Minh City from Hong Kong, and travelled overland through Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and flew out of Singapore. Then onto Oz and NZ. Spent the millennium NYE night at Sydney harbour. Island hopping through the south Pacific (Cook Is, French Polynesia, Hawaii), Then to North America and Mexico

 

Happy days

[rachhere]

Not so much long term travelling, but I have gone on a number of backpacking holidays for around 3 weeks each time. Hopefully I remember everywhere, but in the past I have been to Costa Rica, Brazil (actually that was a volunteering trip staying in the same place, but hopefully counts within the criteria?!), China and Sri Lanka. Less exotic but I have also backpacked from East coast to West coast of USA and have been on a Trek America trip in North West USA. I love everything about it - the reading up to work out your itinerary (although actually I use youtube a lot these days), planning out your travel between the places, picking out hostels/hotels. I know that's not for everyone though and a lot of people like to be flexible and plan things out when you get there (absolutely no room for that in China though - you have to send a complete list of where you will be and when in order to get your Visa!). I have a few places on my list where I would like to go - Tanzania/Zanzibar, New Zealand, Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand. Next big trip for us though will be a cruise to Alaska. 

[The People's Hero]

Currently isolating; which means having had to cancel trips to Grimsby, Sheffield, Rotherham, Bristol, Ringwood and Eastbourne.

 

 

[oakman]

Traveled around India on my own for 4 months in my mid 20's (20 years ago). No real plan on what to do or see when I got there - booked a flight to Delhi and 4 nights accommodation with another 4 nights in a hotel in Mumbai prior to my return flight 4 months later. Went to Lucknow first but spent most of my time on buses and trains around Rajasthan and Gujarat. Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Udapur were standouts. Absolutely loved it.

 

Did a few weeks in China seeing Beijing, walking the Great Wall, Terracotta Army in Xian and sailing on the Yangtze before the completion of the Three Gorges Dam before finishing in Hong Kong to fly home. 

 

 

[Leicester_Loyal]

Great thread.

 

PS. I hope I get some credit as it was me who wanted Buces life story telling

 

EDIT: Should add I haven't been many countries, like 12 or so I think, but did want to visit loads. I want a tattoo on my thigh where I colour in each country I visit (like a checklist), but have settled for a wallposter for the time being.

Edited 20 July 2021 by Leicester_Loyal

[leicsmac]

Spent a lot of time working in the Far East, and went from Korea to the UK in 2016 without using a plane. Donghae - Vladivostok - Irkutsk - Moscow - Paris - London - Leicester.

 

Superb two weeks, Lake Baikal was unreal.

[jgtuk]

Spent 5 years walking (mostly) from UK through Europe from country to country, no real aim, just go wherever fate pointed me. I made a pact with myself that I would not use any long distance public transport (only boats and ferries), only walking, hitching or local transport if I stoppped anywhere for any length of time.

Got to turkey wheere I spent about a year working/exploring - met a lorry driver who then took me into Iraq,Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

I'd never been abroad before this trip

[jgtuk]

Also spent six months in borneo (Kinabalu), a couple of months riding a motorbike in the south of india and loads of four/six weekers in Europe, Brazil and Canada - All walking/birding/wildlife watching.

I use to have missions instead of holidays , all a bit tamer since I got married but still try and root out unusual places.

[jonthefox]

Always wanted to and still do. In fact iv'e just posted in the jobs thread how mundane my job is, so thanks for pissing me off at myself this evening Foxestalk. 

[fuchsntf]

5 hours ago, jgtuk said:

Spent 5 years walking (mostly) from UK through Europe from country to country, no real aim, just go wherever fate pointed me. I made a pact with myself that I would not use any long distance public transport (only boats and ferries), only walking, hitching or local transport if I stoppped anywhere for any length of time.

Got to turkey wheere I spent about a year working/exploring - met a lorry driver who then took me into Iraq,Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

I'd never been abroad before this trip

My Wife (Partly by herstelf with kids) & I took our Expeditions-truck through & over these lands...before Terrorism Really  took hold.

some Lovely people,Great truck/bus-driver inter-exchanges.

Nice suprising hidden Caravanserai..(hotels), or overnighters for Security at Truck-stops...

Thats Why one used to Stop & always help Fellow truckers/travellers having difficulties...Biggest danger..Nature itself & moving roads...

Some with Drop Dead 'Water Features' After Days fighting sandstorms...

I Dont know if one can still Experience such isolated, but safe havens...( At Good excellent prices)

Having small kids break so much ice...

 

 

Edited 21 July 2021 by fuchsntf

[Soar Fox]

I remember @James. writing about when he travelled around South America a few years ago. I’m sure he did a blog about it also. 

[VLC86]

6 hours ago, jgtuk said:

Spent 5 years walking (mostly) from UK through Europe from country to country, no real aim, just go wherever fate pointed me. I made a pact with myself that I would not use any long distance public transport (only boats and ferries), only walking, hitching or local transport if I stoppped anywhere for any length of time.

Got to turkey wheere I spent about a year working/exploring - met a lorry driver who then took me into Iraq,Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

I'd never been abroad before this trip

You definitely win, sounds insane.

 

Never done longer than 2 weeks other than a 4 months stint living in North Italy although I’ve had a few where I’ve managed to cram a lot into a short space of time.

 

Spent 11 nights in Ukraine for the Euros, managed to go from Kiev to Donetsk and back twice and to Kharkiv. Slept rough in the later which I wouldn’t recommend in the slightest. Cool country though, made friends with a Ukrainian who spent a year fighting Russian rebels in Donetsk who I still speak to now.

 

Did 2 weeks in Cambodia a few years ago as well. Got a 12 hour bus from Pnom Phen to Mondulkiri which boarders Vietnam. This bus was basically a small mini bus that also doubled as a delivery truck so you had no leg room at all. People eating duck foetus eggs within a yard of me and they oversold tickets so some guy was sat on a pink plastic kids chair in the isle.

 

Ive got dreams of selling up in about 10 years, having some decent cash in the bank and going travelling until I find somewhere I fancy settling. Probably won’t happen but it’s the dreaming of it that makes me happy. 

Edited 21 July 2021 by Costock_Fox

[jgtuk]

37 minutes ago, Costock_Fox said:

You definitely win, sounds insane.

 

Never done longer than 2 weeks other than a 4 months stint living in North Italy although I’ve had a few where I’ve managed to cram a lot into a short space of time.

 

Spent 11 nights in Ukraine for the Euros, managed to go from Kiev to Donetsk and back twice and to Kharkiv. Slept rough in the later which I wouldn’t recommend in the slightest. Cool country though, made friends with a Ukrainian who spent a year fighting Russian rebels in Donetsk who I still speak to now.

 

Did 2 weeks in Cambodia a few years ago as well. Got a 12 hour bus from Pnom Phen to Mondulkiri which boarders Vietnam. This bus was basically a small mini bus that also doubled as a delivery truck so you had no leg room at all. People eating duck foetus eggs within a yard of me and they oversold tickets so some guy was sat on a pink plastic kids chair in the isle.

 

Ive got dreams of selling up in about 10 years, having some decent cash in the bank and going travelling until I find somewhere I fancy settling. Probably won’t happen but it’s the dreaming of it that makes me happy. 

Keep the dream alive… 

l don’t want to come across as a show off because it wasn’t glamorous. A lot of my travels involved hunger, hardship, spending time alone, away from family and friends. I’ve been robbed, mugged, hospitalised and scared for my life. 75% of the time was spent sleeping rough, in bushes, caves, barns, town hall steps, even a city centre roundabout. I’ve been detained at borders, arrested twice, dropped in the middle of nowhere, broke an ankle in the wilderness near the Syrian border with Turkey and so on… I was incredibly fit though and don’t regret a minute. It does make it hard to have a normal/package holiday type thing now though, my kids get a bit miffed with the trips I make them do. 
I’m more financially secure now so they don’t suffer hardship like I did, they just reap the benefits of travelling to far flung and exotic places.

I still have that dream, one last big one (8500Km - Azerbaijan overland to China) before I get too old… 

[VLC86]

10 minutes ago, jgtuk said:

Keep the dream alive… 

l don’t want to come across as a show off because it wasn’t glamorous. A lot of my travels involved hunger, hardship, spending time alone, away from family and friends. I’ve been robbed, mugged, hospitalised and scared for my life. 75% of the time was spent sleeping rough, in bushes, caves, barns, town hall steps, even a city centre roundabout. I’ve been detained at borders, arrested twice, dropped in the middle of nowhere, broke an ankle in the wilderness near the Syrian border with Turkey and so on… I was incredibly fit though and don’t regret a minute. It does make it hard to have a normal/package holiday type thing now though, my kids get a bit miffed with the trips I make them do. 
I’m more financially secure now so they don’t suffer hardship like I did, they just reap the benefits of travelling to far flung and exotic places.

I still have that dream, one last big one (8500Km - Azerbaijan overland to China) before I get too old… 

Proper experiences though. Have you watched Vagrant Holiday on YouTube? What am I saying, of course you have you made it.

[Sampson]

58 minutes ago, jgtuk said:

Keep the dream alive… 

l don’t want to come across as a show off because it wasn’t glamorous. A lot of my travels involved hunger, hardship, spending time alone, away from family and friends. I’ve been robbed, mugged, hospitalised and scared for my life. 75% of the time was spent sleeping rough, in bushes, caves, barns, town hall steps, even a city centre roundabout. I’ve been detained at borders, arrested twice, dropped in the middle of nowhere, broke an ankle in the wilderness near the Syrian border with Turkey and so on… I was incredibly fit though and don’t regret a minute. It does make it hard to have a normal/package holiday type thing now though, my kids get a bit miffed with the trips I make them do. 
I’m more financially secure now so they don’t suffer hardship like I did, they just reap the benefits of travelling to far flung and exotic places.

I still have that dream, one last big one (8500Km - Azerbaijan overland to China) before I get too old… 

It is interesting though, you've probably had closer to the pure human experience of what it was like to be a human for most of existence than most of us have ever had, even though it's not glamourous, I doubt you'll ever regret any of it on your deathbed.

It always just brings it home reading things like this about how we think of things like nation states, immigration control and our first-world worries are kind of born out of a certain level of comfort in the Western world which takes us away from nature a bit.

[Daggers]

During my six years in South America, I met sicarios, bought anal pellets of coke from a cartel, got beaten up by cops in a basement, stepped over civil unrest corpses, was banned from a golf course, dined with an ambassador, had a goal applauded by the entire opposition, smuggled nappies, spent time visiting ex-pat prisoners, set up a school for homeless jugglers, almost died in a stadium crush, became a father, opened a bar, toured on a ‘78 R90S, and discovered that aguardiente cures every curable ailment. There were interesting things that happened too. All in all, the usual kinda day2day stuff.

Edited 22 July 2021 by Daggers

[Buce]

9 hours ago, jgtuk said:

Keep the dream alive… 

l don’t want to come across as a show off because it wasn’t glamorous. A lot of my travels involved hunger, hardship, spending time alone, away from family and friends. I’ve been robbed, mugged, hospitalised and scared for my life. 75% of the time was spent sleeping rough, in bushes, caves, barns, town hall steps, even a city centre roundabout. I’ve been detained at borders, arrested twice, dropped in the middle of nowhere, broke an ankle in the wilderness near the Syrian border with Turkey and so on… I was incredibly fit though and don’t regret a minute. It does make it hard to have a normal/package holiday type thing now though, my kids get a bit miffed with the trips I make them do. 
I’m more financially secure now so they don’t suffer hardship like I did, they just reap the benefits of travelling to far flung and exotic places.

I still have that dream, one last big one (8500Km - Azerbaijan overland to China) before I get too old… 

 

If you don't mind me asking, when was this?

 

We appear to have had a very similar life trajectory as I was doing the exact same thing from the mid-Seventies; I'm just wondering if we might have met?

Edited 22 July 2021 by Buce

[grobyfox1990]

Some fantastic stories on here. I've done 55 countries, never 'doing it rough' or long stretches at a time, not my thing at all. Cannot wait for (hopefully) travel restrictions on long haul to end. A few days mooching around a carbon copy European city sitting around and drinking wine just does not cut it for me, all so safe, predictable and bland. On that note I'm going to Santorini on Saturday, i've googled the place and there's literally nothing to do except go to some restaurants. I want to get lost somewhere in South America again.

[jgtuk]

51 minutes ago, Buce said:

 

If you don't mind me asking, when was this?

 

We appear to have had a very similar life trajectory as I was doing the exact same thing from the mid-Seventies; I'm just wondering if we might have met?

Early 80's. I doubt we've met. I've barely been back to Leicestershire for anything other than a  couple of reunions and the odd wedding/funeral 🙃.  I don't do any social media (apart from the odd forum) and don't really socialise much. I don't have much in common with most people, I don't watch TV, apart from my beloved FOXES of course, and don't really get on with modern life. I ride a motorbike when I can and am just about to convert my mountain bike to electric so not a total Luddite.

[jgtuk]

2 hours ago, jgtuk said:

Early 80's. I doubt we've met. I've barely been back to Leicestershire for anything other than a  couple of reunions and the odd wedding/funeral 🙃.  I don't do any social media (apart from the odd forum) and don't really socialise much. I don't have much in common with most people, I don't watch TV, apart from my beloved FOXES of course, and don't really get on with modern life. I ride a motorbike when I can and am just about to convert my mountain bike to electric so not a total Luddite.

Just to add some background,  I was born in my Grandmas house on Elizabeth St, very early years in Thurnby Lodge, primary school mostly Sileby and Shelthorpe, Loughborough where I stayed until leaving . Lived and travelled in various places before meeting my Welsh wife and been here since. If this sounds familiar, you might know me...

PS. Just remembered, I also lived in Mountsorrell for a short while!!

Edited 22 July 2021 by jgtuk
Addition

[urban.spaceman]

I was quite lucky growing up in that we were too poor to afford flights anywhere - most of my school mates would come back after summer talking about Disney World Florida or flying to Benidorm or the Seychelles etc. Flights were very expensive in those days especially for the whole family. Instead what my parents did was pool together with some very close family friends, rent a ****ing minibus and then drive all over Europe for a month, as frugally as possible, camping at EuroCamps or sleeping by the side of the road. We drove ****ing everywhere - including some countries that don't exist any more. You'd meet so many people and see so many things. I don't remember much of it as this was from the ages of 3-9ish - we fell out with one of the crazy family friends so stopped going with them. But this is what gave me the bug.

 

I'm also very lucky in that my grandad's sister answered an ad in a paper in the 60s and moved to Jo'burg. She ended up meeting a guy from Ireland (she's from Northern Ireland) who had driven down through Africa from Dublin - they got married and ended up living all around Botswana, where she still is. When I was 13 they invited us over as they were running a hotel in a village in the middle of ****ing nowhere (Molepolole, one of the last stops before the Kalahari). We had saved for about a year to afford it but they wouldn't let us pay for our room! We borrowed their friend's car and drove all over Botswana and Zimbabwe - taking in the Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park, Victoria Falls (the falls and the town), Hwange National Park, Bulowayo. Then when we got back my uncle took me and my dad into a place in the middle of the Kalahari. Camping in the desert with no other humans for 50 miles. Properly isolated with a sand road on the way in, making the ride 10x longer and seriously bumpy. Eating dinner 5 metres away from a hyena. Seeing a pride of 40 ****ing lion walk in front of our car. One of the greatest nights of my life and I'll never forget it. Before we left my uncle said I should come backpacking in Bots when I'm old enough, which stuck with me.

 

10 years later and though he'd sadly passed away my auntie and her son (born and bred Motswana) are still there. I was working for Millets at the time and loathed every second of it. I saved for about 6 months, quit my job and flew out to Gaborone. Bought a car off a friend, drove around Botswana, Zambia, Namibia. So many experiences. So many of which I just don't want to share and want to keep to myself. Managed to kill the car (long story), which broke my heart. Rented a car as a friend from home had flew out to join me. After dropping him off in Jozi 2 weeks later ended up crashing the car in the middle of the ****ing Kalahari on the way to returning the car. Ended up flying to Cape Town to recuperate from my many injuries - 2 weeks in the Mother City was stunning. Ended up back in Bots, and a friend told me about a music festival in Mozambique. So I flew to Maputo and took a bus (eight hours, knees up to my elbows) up to a place called Praia do Tofo on the coast. I'm not one for beach holidays but I found my absolute paradise. Stunning beaches, tiny town with a handful of backpacking and camping places. So many amazing people. 

 

In 2016 I lived in Cape Town for 3 months. After that I drove up to Bots again, which is where I was when we won the league - I called in to Radio Leicester and spoke to the presenter! Then around Bots and Namibia for a few weeks. My aunt has been in Africa for nearly 60 years and has never seen a leopard in the wild. I saw one in Etosha at a small waterhole - nobody else was there and that experience will stay mine forever!

 

Asia has never really interested me though I did spend a few days in Hong Kong and Singapore on the way to living in New Zealand. Loved Hong Kong and would love to go back. Would love to go to India though and see a tiger in the wild. 

 

Honestly though, the biggest mistake I make with travelling is coming home, because especially with the declining political situation here I find myself longing for the road. 

 

 

[jgtuk]

11 hours ago, Sampson said:

It is interesting though, you've probably had closer to the pure human experience of what it was like to be a human for most of existence than most of us have ever had, even though it's not glamourous, I doubt you'll ever regret any of it on your deathbed.

It always just brings it home reading things like this about how we think of things like nation states, immigration control and our first-world worries are kind of born out of a certain level of comfort in the Western world which takes us away from nature a bit.

Killer sentence...

I think my life, and I, changed beyond recognition (my old friends and family will concur). I was made to face my thoughts, my knowns, in a more philosophical and open minded way, somehing that was alien to me growing up on a council estate to relatively poor parents with a large family to support. I got to spend a lot of time around Muslim communities and various Arab groups who challenged me and my 'englishness' continually. I had to question my knowledge of history (I was not particularly well educated) and was able to make comparisons with theirs and how they differed with perspective. Obviously their religion played a large part in their understanding of life but I gained a lot of insight and it helped me to better understand my own thinking, face some truths and confront them in a more informed way. My life since then has definitely been somewhat shaped by those experiences.

[jgtuk]

5 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

I was quite lucky growing up in that we were too poor to afford flights anywhere - most of my school mates would come back after summer talking about Disney World Florida or flying to Benidorm or the Seychelles etc. Flights were very expensive in those days especially for the whole family. Instead what my parents did was pool together with some very close family friends, rent a ****ing minibus and then drive all over Europe for a month, as frugally as possible, camping at EuroCamps or sleeping by the side of the road. We drove ****ing everywhere - including some countries that don't exist any more. You'd meet so many people and see so many things. I don't remember much of it as this was from the ages of 3-9ish - we fell out with one of the crazy family friends so stopped going with them. But this is what gave me the bug.

 

I'm also very lucky in that my grandad's sister answered an ad in a paper in the 60s and moved to Jo'burg. She ended up meeting a guy from Ireland (she's from Northern Ireland) who had driven down through Africa from Dublin - they got married and ended up living all around Botswana, where she still is. When I was 13 they invited us over as they were running a hotel in a village in the middle of ****ing nowhere (Molepolole, one of the last stops before the Kalahari). We had saved for about a year to afford it but they wouldn't let us pay for our room! We borrowed their friend's car and drove all over Botswana and Zimbabwe - taking in the Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park, Victoria Falls (the falls and the town), Hwange National Park, Bulowayo. Then when we got back my uncle took me and my dad into a place in the middle of the Kalahari. Camping in the desert with no other humans for 50 miles. Properly isolated with a sand road on the way in, making the ride 10x longer and seriously bumpy. Eating dinner 5 metres away from a hyena. Seeing a pride of 40 ****ing lion walk in front of our car. One of the greatest nights of my life and I'll never forget it. Before we left my uncle said I should come backpacking in Bots when I'm old enough, which stuck with me.

 

10 years later and though he'd sadly passed away my auntie and her son (born and bred Motswana) are still there. I was working for Millets at the time and loathed every second of it. I saved for about 6 months, quit my job and flew out to Gaborone. Bought a car off a friend, drove around Botswana, Zambia, Namibia. So many experiences. So many of which I just don't want to share and want to keep to myself. Managed to kill the car (long story), which broke my heart. Rented a car as a friend from home had flew out to join me. After dropping him off in Jozi 2 weeks later ended up crashing the car in the middle of the ****ing Kalahari on the way to returning the car. Ended up flying to Cape Town to recuperate from my many injuries - 2 weeks in the Mother City was stunning. Ended up back in Bots, and a friend told me about a music festival in Mozambique. So I flew to Maputo and took a bus (eight hours, knees up to my elbows) up to a place called Praia do Tofo on the coast. I'm not one for beach holidays but I found my absolute paradise. Stunning beaches, tiny town with a handful of backpacking and camping places. So many amazing people. 

 

In 2016 I lived in Cape Town for 3 months. After that I drove up to Bots again, which is where I was when we won the league - I called in to Radio Leicester and spoke to the presenter! Then around Bots and Namibia for a few weeks. My aunt has been in Africa for nearly 60 years and has never seen a leopard in the wild. I saw one in Etosha at a small waterhole - nobody else was there and that experience will stay mine forever!

 

Asia has never really interested me though I did spend a few days in Hong Kong and Singapore on the way to living in New Zealand. Loved Hong Kong and would love to go back. Would love to go to India though and see a tiger in the wild. 

 

Honestly though, the biggest mistake I make with travelling is coming home, because especially with the declining political situation here I find myself longing for the road. 

 

 

Awsome life story!!

So many experiences. So many of which I just don't want to share and want to keep to myself

I so relate to this...

Honestly though, the biggest mistake I make with travelling is coming home, because especially with the declining political situation here I find myself longing for the road. 

GO GO GO!!

[urban.spaceman]

TL;DR extras:

Mugged in Pretoria by an amateur mugger (bless him), Joburg is very unsafe, chased by a lion in the Kalahari, car crash in the desert, flatmates mugged at gunpoint in Cape Town, quad bike crash in the sand dunes near Swakopmund Namibia, bungee jump on the Victoria Falls bridge, hyena stole a toilet seat, booze cruises on the Chobe and Zambezi, drunk Welsh people, bribed by Mozambique police and airport security, threatened with jail by Namibian border officials, Botswana to Zambia border crossing was a 4 hour chaotic nightmare but still ****ing hilarious, backpackers staff giving me a map of Maputo and crossing out certain parts of it saying "don't go near these roads because you're white and will probably be murdered", making space for livestock on the bus, getting robbed after crashing car, getting robbed in the backpackers in Tofo, drunkenly swapping my jacket for a Mosi Lager glass (which I still have 12 years later), someone wanting to buy my LCFC shirt in Zimbabwe in 1998, "you are only supporting Leicester because they are winning" in Namibia in 2016, COLIN the Kalahari Ferrari dying, threatened with legal action by Budget, many MANY drunken trips out to the desert.

 

And I'd ****ing do it all again.

 

Mosi Lager (Zambia) is the best, 2M (Mozambique) is gorgeous, Tipo Tinto rum (Mozambique) was gorgeous but a guy at a bar told me they put battery acid in it, Windhoek, Hansa, Castle are standard and very decent African lagers and easily accessible over here. Try, but then stay away from, Chibuku (locally known as 'Shake Shake').