
Ask HN: If you had a chance to do a RTW trip, what places would you visit? - rblion
I work remotely and have just finished a 2-month trip exploring the Western US. I had a blast and now I want to try a bigger trip in 2019.<p>I am feeling a call to go to NYC for the first time, Iceland to see Northern Lights, then EU (start from either London or Barcelona), then Egypt, then India&#x2F;Nepal&#x2F;Tibet, SEA, then HK, Beijing, Seoul, Japan (spend a lot of time here), Hawaii (most likely land in Honolulu to save money. Already been to Maui), San Diego, back home.<p>I know I can&#x27;t &#x27;see it all&#x27;. I&#x27;m okay with saving the rest of the Americas, Australia&#x2F;NZ, Arctic, Antarctic for later life (I&#x27;m only 28). I also know that I&#x27;ll return to EU and Asia again, so I only feel the need to see places that I feel connected to or inspired by.<p>I&#x27;m asking here because I&#x27;m sure many of you travel a lot or work remotely. Where better to ask than here. Reddit is hit or miss these days.
======
jasonkester
My advice is not to plan it as a RTW trip.

Pick a good city at the edge of a continent (Bangkok, Cape Town, Lima) and
book a one way flight. Travel slowly overland, talk to people you meet, and
let your trip plan itself and evolve as you go.

Most important is to never put a date on the calendar. Dates wreck plans and
make you rush past things you really should have taken the time to see right.

Chances are you'll cover a lot less ground than you expect in a year. That's
fine. You can (and will, I guarantee) come back before long. Travel is
addicting that way. I sometimes used to book my flight back home as a round
trip back to where I'd left off.

Good luck!

Edit: I wrote a bit more about this idea a few years back:

[http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?CommentID=8226](http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?CommentID=8226)

... and I touched on where to go here:

[https://www.expatsoftware.com/articles/2008/05/laid-off-
one-...](https://www.expatsoftware.com/articles/2008/05/laid-off-one-thing-
you-absolutely-need.html)

~~~
ian0
Strongly second this advice.

------
ian0
The consensus from people I have met is to visit fewer countries but spend
more time in each. I travelled extensively in my twenties and agree with this.
Below the highlights for me:

\- South India in monsoon season. Its off season and only the crazies venture
out. See the Temple @ Hampi, Visit Vattakanal/Kodaikanal, Palolem beach. Note
you'll need at least a month to "acclimatise" to India. People who stay for
shorter durations tend to hate it. People who stay for longer tend to fall in
love with it.

\- The train from Shanghai to Tibet. Visiting temples in Lhasa and you can
visit the (north) base camp of everest. The train journey itself is surreal.

\- The Indonesia learn-to-surf-and-party-trip. Start in Jakarta, party. Take
economy train to Batukaras, learn to surf. Overland to Bali stopping at
solo/surakarta for a friday-night wayang kulit performance, or Bromo via the
trekking route (not the jeeps).

I have never visited any central/south African countries. However I havent met
a person who has and didn't feel it was the most memorable part of their round
the world trip.

------
FabHK
Your route takes in some great places. It would help if you could be more
specific as to what you are looking for - great nature, culture, architecture,
UNESCO world heritage sights, beach, food, people, etc.

A few things that come to mind, concentrating on AsiaPac:

* Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Borobudur in Indonesia are temples worth seeing. Luang Prabang in Laos too, though maybe a bit overrated.

* Central coast of Vietnam has several nice spots (eg Hoi An).

* I'd not spend too much time in Seoul, but consider visiting the bizarre DMZ. Why so much time in Japan?

* On the way from East Asia back to the West Coast, consider stopping by in the North Pacific: Palau (beautiful nature and great diving), Yap (manta rays and stone money), CNMI (WW II sites, such as the place where Fat Man and Little Boy were loaded on the bombers), FSM, etc. There's the Continental "Island hopper" that covers these (and only rarely undershoots the runway).

* I'd also recommend the Middle East, eg Iran, but this might not be a good time. And consider Eastern Africa.

------
666lumberjack
How long are you planning to spend travelling? This might be something you've
already considered, but with jet lag and the general unpleasantness of airline
travel you'll probably want more acclimatisation time in each new place than
when you were travelling in the states.

Some places I'm personally interested in that you didn't mention include
Switzerland, Israel, Taiwan and Ethiopia.

------
matt_the_bass
What languages do you speak? Are you interested in getting off the beaten
track or do you want to hit the major tourist sites?

