
How to travel around the world for a year - shawndumas
http://blog.alexmaccaw.com/how-to-travel-around-the-world-for-a-year/
======
crazygringo
As an alternative perspective... (absolutely nothing against the original
post)

Consider picking just one country, and _living_ there, instead of travelling
around the world. Learn the language, get a job (teaching English?), get a
boyfriend/girlfriend, travel locally.

I know a lot of people who have done both (travel around the world, or live
abroad). Travelling around the world can be utterly _exhausting_ \--
absolutely exhilirating, but the endless work involved in finding
accomodation, food, etc. can wear people down faster than they think. Also,
the lack of any constant companions, that all your human relationships last
only a day or a couple of weeks at best.

Setting down some kind of "roots" in a place can be very rewarding as well,
and can be more deeply educational as well -- what you see about a country in
the first few weeks, versus what you see about it after a year or two, can be
strikingly different. But, it all depends on your goals and personality of
course!

~~~
resu
How can this be done when the average tourist visa lasts for anywhere between
15 to 90 days? If I can only make a pick out of the countries that offer a
working holiday visa, that cuts out a majority of countries. Or is there any
other way to get around this?

~~~
scarmig
Getting a job teaching English can provide a work visa. Easier to do in some
places than others, though.

There's also a middle ground I might consider ideal: choose 4 places to go to,
and spend 3 months in each. You can't pick up everything a city has to offer
in 3 months (let alone a country!), but it gets you much further than the 3
days here, 4 days there strategy. Cuts down on travel and housing costs, too,
both monetarily and temporally.

If you want more extended trips than that, you can often go on a day-to-
weeklong vacation to a neighboring country and return to where you were
before, bringing it to a 6 month stay in a city. I'd almost argue that if you
want to be there longer than that, you actually should pick up a local job,
not just to fund yourself (which is probably a minor point for most of us) but
because it deepens your experience in a place.

If you're pretty well-off, at least some countries will offer you an
"investment visa" if you can prove you have hundreds of thousands of dollars
in liquid assets.

------
jasonkester
Nice summary, but this looks like a writeup of somebody doing this the first
time. There's lots of room for improvement.

First off, there's way too much planning going on beforehand. Having done
several of these trips, my pre-planning now involves booking a single flight
and letting things work themselves out from there. Dates on the calendar are
really really bad to have, since they force you to move faster or slower than
you want to. Avoid them at all costs.

And, of course, he overpacked. 90 liters is way too big. 40 liters is probably
still too big, but at least realistic. You want to be able to fit your full
pack on your lap on a crowded chicken bus without drawing angry looks from the
locals. One complete change of clothes is plenty. Most of the stuff you think
you need, you don't.

Beyond that, there's a lot of good stuff here. Sounds like he had a fun trip.

~~~
maccman
Alex here from the post. I absolutely agree with both your points now - when I
do it again I'll change those.

However for the first time, a round the world flight was great. It gave me a
taste of each country, and then on the second time I'm planning on going back
to my favorite and really immersing myself in them.

~~~
reustle
I just wanted to thank you Alex. About 8 months ago I started freelancing full
time (after doing it part time off and on) and traveling. I moved to FL, TX,
AR and some places in between. I have a 1-way flight to Europe in 4 days and
don't know when I'll be back or what exactly I'll be doing there. These
actions are very much inspired by this blog post and your "Traveling, Writing
and Programming" post. Thanks!

[http://old.alexmaccaw.com//posts/traveling_writing_programmi...](http://old.alexmaccaw.com//posts/traveling_writing_programming)

~~~
wahnfrieden
Is t it illegal to freelance in many countries without special visas?

~~~
reustle
I'm sure there are ways to do it legally. I only work for US based companies.
I'll let my accountant handle it.

~~~
kamjam
Life is too short to worry about every single detail. If you worry about
everything, you will never experience anything.

I think you're doing the right thing, and as long as tax is being paid, you
will more than likely be fine IMO.

Good luck and enjoy.

------
grecy
I spent 2 years driving a little Jeep Wrangler from Alaska to Argentina,
because I wanted to.[1] I'm a Software Engineer, and did some freelance stuff
while on the road.

For the entire 22 month, 65,000km (40k miles) journey through 16 countries, I
spent $27,300 [2]. That's only $1200 a month, which is barely more than I was
spending to live in a city and go to work every day.

I'm extremely happy to answer any questions or help anyone that has an
interest in traveling like this. WikiOverland [3] has tons of the logistical
information you'll find helpful. The FAQ [4] is a great place to start for
anyone new to driving themselves around continents or the world (called
Overlanding)

[1] [http://theroadchoseme.com](http://theroadchoseme.com)

[2] [http://theroadchoseme.com/the-price-of-
adventure](http://theroadchoseme.com/the-price-of-adventure)

[3] [http://wikioverland.org](http://wikioverland.org)

[4]
[http://wikioverland.org/Overland_Frequently_Asked_Questions](http://wikioverland.org/Overland_Frequently_Asked_Questions)

~~~
reustle
This awesome and inspiring! I leave for backpacking through Europe and
freelancing in a few days :)

------
nfg
Spent a year away (2011-2012) on a budget of about €13K, itinerary was:
Turkey, Iran, India, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand,
Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Brazil. Best decision I ever made!

Edit with more details:

Choosing where to go: get a big map and an imagination!

Flights: Just booked mine as I went and that seemed to work out well costwise.
In any case try to overland as much as possible, it's more interesting.

Packing: Bring as little as possible, I had a 50+10L backpack and it was more
than adequate. Every litre extra you pack is more and more hassle when moving.

Visas: This obv depends on where you're from and where you're headed. I sorted
visas for Iran and India before leaving home (Ireland). Generally what the
article says is true, it's usually possible to throw some money at the problem
and get visas while on the move if necessary. Some visas run from time of
entry, some from time of issuance (particularly India) - pay attention to
this!

~~~
arethuza
How did you find things in Iran? We've been tempted to go but I wasn't sure
how much hassle it was.

~~~
nfg
It was great! People are really friendly, mostly you can find someone who
speaks English in any given situation, and it's pretty cheap - I'd highly
recommend going. People often stopped us on the street just to say "Thanks for
visiting Iran"! We just had a two week visa, original plan was to take the
train from Istanbul - Tehran. Alas we could only buy tickets in person and
they were sold out (lots of Iranians holiday in Istanbul before Ramadam). So
instead we flew Istanbul - Tehran. Spent a few days in Tehran, then Isfahan
(our favourite city there, the bazaar and square are just beautiful), Yazd
(amazing mud architecture) and Shiraz (best spot to visit Persepolis from),
then flew on to Mumbai.

Hasslewise: I was traveling with my partner, she had to wear the hijab (hair
covering) at all times while outdoors which was a bit of a challenge (try
keeping it on with the wind blowing out of the metro in Tehran!). People are
very accommodating though, a huddle of women would sometimes form around her
to set things right if it was slipping off! This was exacerbated by the time
of year (midsummer), you'd be better going sometime cooler. Only other thing I
can think of is that the banking system is totally cut off from outside (no
ATMs which accept foreign cards, very few places accept western credit cards),
so you need to carry in as much cash as you need for the trip. Definitely
intending to go back in the future with more time on our hands - there's just
endless places to see and visit - it truly was a unique experience.

We've got some blog posts here that might help:
[http://www.sarahandniall.com/2011/08/iran.html](http://www.sarahandniall.com/2011/08/iran.html)
[http://www.sarahandniall.com/2011/09/traveling-as-woman-
in-i...](http://www.sarahandniall.com/2011/09/traveling-as-woman-in-iran.html)
(I have blog posts written but not published for the rest of the trip - really
must get them up!).

~~~
arethuza
Thanks for the links to the blog postings - they are great!

------
orofino
Another traveller chiming in, I've just started working after taking off for 8
months to travel South America (top to bottom), Antarctica, and Europe. I've
been working now for almost 2 months.

Regarding packing: My wife and I each carried a 40L backpack. This is pretty
small, but I'd highly recommend it for this kind of trip. They were a godsend
on buses in South America.

Cost: Over the course of the trip we spent almost 40k ($165/day), if you
exclude Antarctica it was a much more reasonable $92/day. Last minute deals
for Antarctica DO exist, I recommend them highly (we saved somewhere in the
neighborhood of 20k).

Transport: As with others in the thread, we bought as we went and opted
primarily for overland travel. Tips for 30 hour bus rides: carrots to snack on
and Harry Potter audio books.

My most recent post [1] was a wrap up after being home for some time. You can
check out the blog for more on packing, budget, etc.

Happy to answer any questions.

[1] [http://orofino.me/](http://orofino.me/)

~~~
junto
I also travelled through central and south America over 6 months. My trip is
journaled here:
[http://blog.benpowell.co.uk/search/label/backpacking](http://blog.benpowell.co.uk/search/label/backpacking)

The third best thing I ever did (after getting married and starting a family).

------
jzwinck
A few related thoughts:

Travel guides: buy Lonely Planet or similar books as dead trees, not Kindle
which is almost useless for this. Buy them in the US if it's convenient,
because they definitely aren't cheaper in many other places.

Visas: US passport is usually good, but may increase the odds of being asked
to pay someone off. In Cambodia specifically, better to get a visa in advance
via the official website; some of the border stations are well-known for
various schemes to get extra cash from those seeking visas on arrival. Make
sure your passport starts out fairly empty--some visas take a whole page each.
For US passports, extra pages are free initially, expensive to add later.

Room and board: if breakfast is free, great. But don't buy it in advance if
it's not included, unless you're in the middle of nowhere.

Transportation: hitchhiking can be easier in poorer areas where many people do
it, harder in places where everyone owns a car. For regional flights not every
country does things online, and some smaller airlines do not charge a lot for
last-minute tickets.

Packing: a 50 liter pack is enough if you don't have many gadgets. Take thin
clothes that dry quickly, avoid jeans, wash a few items in the sink each night
and enjoy perpetual clean clothes for free. An ultralight daypack like
Marmot's Kompressor ($35) is useful, or get a cheapie abroad, e.g. $7 in
Bangkok.

~~~
orofino
I agree about the kindle version being useless, not just because of the
device, but because the formatting of their books on these devices is awful.

We used mostly wikitravel on an ipad, made notes, and used our notes while
moving about cities.

~~~
gurkendoktor
+1 for wikitravel on iPad (or wikivoyage - I don't know which fork has more
info these days)

The new offline support in Reading List is really a godsend for this. Just
hammer cmd+shift+D on the laptop/desktop while browsing along the wiki, and
the iPad will have it all available when you need it.

~~~
nanidin
Wikivoyage has been taken on by the Wikimedia project, and most of the editors
of wikitravel jumped ship around the same time that happened.

I used the offline reading list so much for wikivoyage also - it was amazing!

------
_mulder_
Whenever I read these blogs, and the comments that follow, I'm amazed at how
much money people spend doing this!

Has nobody heard of www.couchsurfing.com?

Why travel all the way around the world to pay money and sit in a hotel
room/private apartment?

I've done travelling and couldn't recommend it enough. It's a fantastic
experience but by far the biggest benefit, and most memorable moments, were
from the people I met (even though I'm not really a 'people' person).
Couchsurfing allows you to stay for free with a local host.. think AirBnB but
FREE and where you can actually speak and interact with them. Most of the
hosts in the more remote countries are fellow American's doing Peace Corp.
It's interesting to hear their different perspective on their host country,
and they enjoy the contact with another 'westerner' too. Lots of other hosts
will happily invite you sailing, climbing, hiking, BBQing with them or their
mates too.

If you're happy to sleep on the floor occasionally (rarely in my experience)
then I highly recommend any travellers (particularly solo) give it a go.

If you're really adventurous, or want some even more amazing, serendipitous
encounters with incredible people, stick out your thumb ;-)

~~~
grimlck
As a former couchsurfing host, i implore you, couchsurfing is great, but do
couchsurfing because you want to meet new people and have cultural
interactions. Do NOT use couchsurfing just to save money - that might be a
nice side effect, but that shouldn't be your primary goal.

The worst guests are the guest who treat it as a free hotel and/or are so
cheap that they aren't willing to go out for a pint of beer with their host or
do anything that requires a few dollars. And if you are working working while
travelling, then that is a sign you both less willing to interact with your
hosts and that you can easily afford a hotel.

~~~
crdoconnor
That's the main reason I used airbnb instead. I like meeting the locals, but I
don't like the uncomfortable feeling of being in their debt or feeling
compelled to hang out with them.

------
juokaz
I'm doing this now(1), almost 300 days into it. Currently have lived in 13
countries(2). I work as I travel so haven't done too many crazy places, but
definitely have learned a lot of things I would do differently now. Finishing
this in October, going to be a long story to share. Was worth every single
stress-minute.

[1] - [http://juokaz.com/blog/living-
homeless.html](http://juokaz.com/blog/living-homeless.html) [2] -
[https://twitter.com/juokaz/status/348036931214524416](https://twitter.com/juokaz/status/348036931214524416)

------
_k
Here's a tip : Become a Belgian citizen, get a job, use a 1 year time credit,
let the government pay you € 1,000 a month, travel the world for 1 year and
still keep your job.

You do need the company's permission. But no wonder our country is getting
deeper in debt. I don't know that many people but I do know 5 people who have
done this.

~~~
tdec
1000/month is a bit of an exageration, more like 400 if you work less than 5
years for your employer. You also need to work at least 2 years for your
employer.

Oh, and don't be so eager to jump on the neo-liberal thought wagon. Some
people travel, most use it to raise babies.

Source: I've done it.

~~~
_k
Those I know were getting around 1000 a month. All 5 of them. I'm not against
time credit (babies need their parents, sick people need help) but some abuse
the system.

------
TheAnimus
I spent last summer travelling in SEA, funded entirely by freelance. Well
thats a lie I came back to the UK for one week inbetween (it was a good party,
worth two 13 hour flights).

I had a very good client for whom it didn't matter where I was, I worked on
the relationship with the travel in mind and noted from day one. This ment I
was about £300 a day less than my normal London day rate for two months for
them. However, even down by three hundread I was travelling like a king, well
king of economy travellers.

It worked well, but I had one massive disadvantage, I had to ensure good wifi
whereever I moved. SEA is mostly 6 hours ahead of London, so keeping London
time isn't hard, 11pm is the latest your expected to be online.

The main problem I had was due to a staff change at the clients end. The
people I had been dealing with before quit on mass over a pay dispute. The
placements, they were a little bit bottom draw (think where is the defintion
of this 'web service', I don't want a WSDL, this is a web service, this isn't
good enough types).

That is where we come to the crunch. Would I do it again? No.

It was a bit of a pain really, my friends I'd met up with along the way were
off having fun, but I was stuck still chained to a laptop. Given that I'd
taken a substaintial rate cut, I would have been better off just working full
time as normal for half a year, saving, and taking time of normally.

The digital nomad traveller isn't all its cracked up to be. However working
remotely from a fairly fixed base is great. It's very easy to get a 6 month
tourist VISA to say Thailand, which has great food, and a great countryside.
Rent a place for duration, make sure it has reliable good internet, and
working remotely isn't such an issue when your not moving around. Now I type
this I realise it was the moving around that was the issue. If working say
40hours, you either move round at a snails pace, or miss really interesting
things.

I am actually looking to buy a condo in the mountains of Thailand as a bolt
hole, my girlfriend and I could just run and hide there for a month or two,
still work if need be, but have a change of scenary, weather and society.

~~~
resu
How do you get a 6 month tourist visa to Thailand?

I thought you could only get a 30-day visa that's valid for a 6 month period,
and spend a maximum of 90 days in Thailand within than 6 month period if you
count re-entry. Going for visa runs very four weeks can't be that fun.

~~~
TheAnimus
Without knowing your nationality its hard to advise.

I'm British, so maybe its easier. You can get a 3 month tourist visa, with a 3
month pending extension from the London embassy.

Failing that you can do a 'border run'. I quite like being near Chiang Mai or
Pai. From there its about a 3/4 hour drive up to Burhma. I did it with a mate
of mine for a day out.

~~~
TheAnimus
Hmm, well there is the thai visa forum, which is probably the best place.

However, everything can be bought there.... Everything.

You can get your 90 day without too much hassle, I would recommend this lawyer
firm, as I have used their Chiang Mai branch and found them good, however they
are a big firm, so YMMV. [http://canada.siam-legal.com/90-Day-Thailand-Visa-
for-Canadi...](http://canada.siam-legal.com/90-Day-Thailand-Visa-for-Canadian-
Citizens.php)

I would have thought that the worst case would be a 5 day gap between two of
these, obviously, check with the lawyer.

If you want to spend 5 days in a nearby nation you are spoilt for choice.
Myself I like Vietnam, the food is really good, friendly people, stunning,
stunning scenary.

~~~
resu
Meaning you can stay for 90 days, fly off to HCMC for 5 days, and repeat
indefinitely? That sounds like a pretty good deal...

------
nanidin
I saw the author used wikitravel a lot - I used to also.

But now, wikivoyage is probably the preferred route. They've been adopted by
Wikimedia after some drama with the company that owns wikitravel. wikitravel
is now covered with ads and most of the editors abandoned ship for wikivoyage.

It's a great resource though! I have _never_ owned a travel guide.

------
wito
This link has already been on HN once, and yeah, it helped me to make decision
to follow my dream and do a 6 month travel to SE Asia. Thanks Alex! Cheers
from KL :)

~~~
stuff4ben
I seem to recall the last time this was posted I commented and said for people
to do this! If you wait and you get baggage, it makes it much harder to do.
But I took some of my own advice and just last week I spent a week in
Nicaragua working in a camp for the youths of the surrounding cities. Best
thing I've done in a long time! I can't wait for my trip to Thailand in
October. BTW, I'm doing this with a soul-sucking enterprise IT job with a wife
and 2 kids. So if I can do it, you can too (albeit scaled back a bit).

~~~
boothead
Do you mind if I ask a few questions?

How do you find traveling with kids?

Do you keep the same soul sucking enterprise IT job, or save up, travel and
then find a new one when you return?

What do you do about maintaining a permanent base at "home"? This one's the
biggest struggle for me; how do you travel without having somewhere stable to
come back to? I'd have to be bringing at least £1.7k/month just to cover
rent/mortgage and fixed costs for a house in the UK on top of what it would
cost for the traveling itself. I don't think finding a new place to live every
time I come home would work.

------
thefinalboss
About cost: I did 9 months in Asia for 12K$ and never felt stressed for cash.
My main problem on the go was motivation for side projects. It is so easy to
get caught up in meeting locals, doing activities that it can fill up your
whole day. There are so many interesting distractions.

If I wanted to travel and get work done now I wold probably revisit some of
the same countries.

------
GotAnyMegadeth
Re cost: My girlfriend and I managed to travel South East Asia for 3 months
for £1200 between us. Flights to Malaysia were £350 return each from the UK.
That included travel, accommodation, eating, activities, etc...

We had a £10 a day budget.

~~~
Keyframe
I guess it could be done. I was there for 6 months and working, but I easily
burned through $2.5k per month. Most of it on really nice accomodation though.

~~~
GotAnyMegadeth
We usually spent 40-60% of our budget on accommodation. Our target was 30MYR
in Malaysia, 250THB in Thailand, and 3USD in Cambodia. Singapore was too
expensive for us to do much, so we only stayed a week, and used our whole
budget every day just on a bunkbed in a hostel...

------
wavesounds
I just skimmed this, does he mention how old he is? Pretty rare circumstances
to be able to make 22k in a month consulting and then be able to take a year
off of everything to travel. Sounds like a dream to me.

------
philsnow
Those photos would make Thomas Kinkade blush.

The Taj Mahal one isn't terrible. As far as I can tell that's because there
isn't much in the foreground. The HDR used makes the others appear uniformly
flat / without depth, like an old chinese woodcut (e.g. [0], in which
perspective is flattened).

[0] [http://lifeasahuman.com/files/2011/12/P14-Old-Chinese-
woodcu...](http://lifeasahuman.com/files/2011/12/P14-Old-Chinese-woodcut-
Pingyao-Shanxi-Province-China-2008-c-Vincent-Ross.jpg)

------
alxbrun
Don't fly, travel overland, that's the most interesting part of the trip,
especially the remote areas near borders...

The worst is to book this round-the-world ticket, where you have to decide in
advance how long you'll stay at each point. We travelled around the world for
1 year and ended up staying as much as one month in one place where we'd
planned to stay 1 day, or literally flee out of countries like Malaysia after
2 days.

~~~
raldi
I traveled around the world on an RTW, and while we did have to pick the
cities in advance, the dates could be adjusted at any time. So we used the
flights to create the backbone of the trip, and found local* transportation
along the way. And we adjusted the dates quite a bit.

*by which I mean within one continent

------
miloshadzic
Props for earning 20k in a month. I love the rest of the post but that part
always strikes a chord with me.

------
brent_noorda
Alternative adventure idea: Instead of travelling the world for a year, spend
that year travelling within 50 miles of your home (or, if you're starting in
Silicon Valley, like this author, anywhere that Bart reaches). Get to know the
immigrant communities spread throughout your area (the Thai community, the
Cambodian community, Peruvian, Bolivian, etc…) They are all there, practically
in your back yard (maybe literally in your back yard—ask your gardener where
he's from), living in ways that are culturally different from yours, and yet
when you get to know them, hang with them, drink and dance with them, you'll
learn that we're all people and we're all fundamentally the same living,
loving, learning, lonely scared human beings.

You need only travel 1, 5, 10, 15 miles from wherever you are right now to
find entire communities that are outside your techy echo chamber. Meet them,
and you will get some perspective.

Best of all is with this alternative plan is what you won't do. You won't
waste many many days (weeks? a month?) of your life either in airports, flying
between airports, travelling to and from airports, or recovering from jet lag.
Most importantly, in my opinion, you won't be burning 250 to 500 gallons of
gasoline, and releasing 2.5 to 5 tons of carbon into the atmosphere.

------
andrewcooke
don't forget guys, remember to pack your colour-saturation-level-adjusting
glasses. travel abroad isn't the same without them.

more seriously, having travelled much, and now living "abroad" i think it's
way over-rated. people are fundamentally the same. the ways in which societies
differ are in the rituals people are accustomed to - and dealing with that
gets old quickly.

~~~
spiek
It may differ for you, as an experienced traveler. For someone who hasn't
gotten out of the country, ever, it could be a highly instructive experience.
Both in terms of mutual understanding with the wider world, and in terms of
independence and experience. Traveling by oneself forces one to become more
independent, more confident in navigating difficulties without a large support
network. I think it's an extremely beneficial experience.

~~~
andrewcooke
i guess it's difficult for me to know about other people. i was wondering if
it's a difference between europeans and americans (since for europeans,
"abroad" is much closer). but isn't america a varied place with different
cultures in different states?

maybe another way of making my point is that the kind of people whose mind is
most likely to be be broadened by travel are already aware of the kind of
issues you might think they would learn. while those so closed they don't get
it, won't - travel or not... your argument only seems (to me) to apply to the
lucky few who are closed-minded at home, but open-minded enough to suddenly
change when the food is different or the people don't react the way they're
used to.

~~~
_delirium
There are a lot of different cultures in the U.S., but I think the biggest
differences aren't the regional ones, and imo hard to get a feel for just by
traveling. The lives and cultures of people living in rural areas vs. urban
areas, wealthy vs. poor areas, nearly-100%-white vs. nearly-100%-black areas,
etc., etc. are all very different, but they aren't primarily state-to-state
variations. For example, I found living in Houston and Chicago to be not that
different: I lived in a middle-class suburban area in both, and their culture
was more "middle-class suburban American" culture than any kind of
distinctively Midwestern or Texan culture. I think there's some of that in
cities, too: SF and Portland and parts of Manhattan have more in common with
each other than with some places that are geographically much closer to them.

Living in a different one of those cultures can be very educational, but it's
somewhat hard to break into unless you have some organic reason to be there or
social connection. People are often resentful of "lifestyle tourism", the
stereotypical one being an upper-middle-class white kid who moves to a poor
minority neighborhood as a cultural experience. Small rural communities can
also be quite closed as well, in terms of being able to really join the
culture (vs. just visit the town).

------
wallflower
If you're thinking of traveling (even if it is just in persistent day dream
mode), spend some time looking at:

"WorldHum" [http://worldhum.com](http://worldhum.com)

"Brave New Traveler"
[http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/](http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/)

------
gautamnarula
I'm curious, how much of an issue is language when doing a trip like this?
This is something I'd like to do, but I'm only fluent in English and have a
basic proficiency in Spanish.

~~~
oftenwrong
In my opinion, travelling is more fun and so much easier if you speak the
language, even if only a little bit. My Spanish is shit, but I managed well
when I was in Argentina. Had some good conversations, met cool people. I found
that having a good vocabulary is far more important than having proper
grammar. Lucky for us they speak Spanish in so many places. After that trip I
went directly to Brazil, where I encountered a sharp language barrier, and had
a much worse time. Now I feel like I should at least know the basics before
travelling somewhere. As soon as I got home I started studying Japanese.

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izztmzzt
Im always impressed by folks who can keep on the road like this.

I myself prefer to stay in an area long term and marinate the local culture
and language. I studied abroad in Beijing for one year in undergrad, and
taught english in Japan for 2 year. You discover many subtle things by staying
somewhere for an extended period of time, and learn a new way of living.
Definitely want to do it again.

But before I die, I'd like to try this method too.

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mililani
How does one make $22k a month doing consulting work? The most I ever got
doing side consulting was $80/hr, and that was just a 2 week gig.

~~~
rdouble
Charge $100/hr and work 55 hours a week. The easiest way is to do something
like network engineering or "oracle financials" for a huge corporation. iOS
consulting also pays that much but finding the work isn't as easy.

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smackfu
It's quite a large scale-up to go from the typical week or two vacation to
travelling for a whole year. I wonder how many people get tired of it after a
couple of months? I've met some pretty damn jaded world travellers in hostels,
the kind who talk about "the same bullshit hostel conversations every day."

~~~
tdec
I felt that after 4-5 months, you get "used" to the travelling, you're not as
excited anymore. The best thing to do then is either take a longer break in a
nice place or simply start travelling in a different way. Another option that
seems to work is to switch continents, everything is new then.

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sockgrant
I've done 4 week trips every year, but this year I'm looking at going away for
a year or longer.

A question I have: Does anyone have any experience being a landlord while
traveling abroad? What's it like?

I was thinking that investing in an apartment before I leave might be a great
way for me to get some low-maintenance income while traveling.

~~~
mixmastamyk
Find a reputable property management company. They can handle scheduling
maintenance, bad tenants, etc.

~~~
sockgrant
Any experience on what are good rates?

~~~
mixmastamyk
I think they are in the realm of 10%.

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danielharan
Just did 10 countries in 10 months, most of them in Asia.

Vietnam and China visas I wish I had known about before. For some passports,
China is something you should get even before leaving your home country.

Otherwise, I definitely agree that travelling over land is much more
interesting.

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jungziege
Just wanted to link to the old HN discussion about this article when it was
first posted a yea ago:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3476016](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3476016)

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tbug
I was planning to do something like this.

My problem is, If I get to a place that requires no VISA but I have no return
ticket because I plan to buy the next hop while I'm there, won't this make
getting into the country more complicated?

~~~
crdoconnor
I thought this might be a problem, but I was only asked for a return ticket in
one place - Hong Kong.

~~~
tbug
And what happened?

~~~
rdouble
I was asked for a return ticket in Japan. I had to buy a return ticket in the
customs lobby before I was allowed into the country.

~~~
tbug
Ouch! I take it was much more expensive than usual economy tickets.

What if you planned to buy a train ticket to leave? I don't know about HK but
in China it's a mess since it can only be done a few weeks before the travel
date and might not even have been possible to do prior to entering the
country.

~~~
rdouble
Actually, I didn't have to buy a ticket to leave immediately, I just had to
prove I had a return ticket. I just bought the cheapest one close to the date
when my tourist visa would expire. I think it was around $600.

There is no train that connects Japan to another country that I know of.

~~~
tbug
Sorry, I confused your post with crdoconnor's and he had mentioned Hong Kong.

Thanks for the info. Very usefull since I was thinking of going to Japan and
had this lingering in the back of my mind.

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madsravn
I loved this the first time I read it and I loved it now again. This is
definitely a dream of mine and when I finish university, I'm gonna find me
some work and collect some money to do this.

I mean, who wouldn't want to see the world?

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andion
Nice! I admire you for being able to travel and do all this stuff. I'm
travelling for 7 months now and after the 1st month I realized I couldn't do
both things. Keep moving! :)

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CrunchyJams
Solid article. If you like that, you should read Four Hour Workweek. He
outlines a full plan for how to stay productive while globetrotting for months
at a time.

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31reasons
>So the net cost for the trip was about $22k. I paid for the vast majority of
this with one month’s consultancy beforehand.

Wow. Consultancy that pays $20k+ still eludes me.

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boothead
I'd love to hear some perspective from people doing this with small kids.
Almost all of these posts are from people young free and single!

~~~
enewcomer
My kids aren't that small, but I moved to Africa with them two years ago (they
are now 7 and 9). We are actually living abroad, not really "traveling" as in
the OP, though it has provided some interesting travel opportunities as well.
We don't homeschool, so any travel is tied to their school calendar as well.
Even without side-travel, I feel like we have a better connection with the
place we live and for that it will always be a part of us. There's no way you
can get that in 90 days.

It depends on where you go, but we live very well on far less than we did in
the US and it's been a great experience for our entire family in many, many
ways.

I always used to read posts like this jealous of those who are unattached.
While it's a different experience doing it with kids. and takes a bit more
planning, it's got its own rewards (such as the impact of your children living
first-hand in a different culture).

~~~
utnick
Please write a blog post about this!!

Like how you found a job, how you found schools, how the kids are liking it
etc

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spiek
Is anyone else amused by the idea of choosing your travel destinations
according to an HDR photoblog? It seems somewhat absurd to base your travel
destinations on some doctored photographs, and to ignore the cultural and
historical context of all of the places you're planning on going.

~~~
sockgrant
I mean... I don't think there's a right way to pick destinations for everyone.

It sounds like cultural and historical context is important to you. It may not
be for another traveler.

Traveling is about living in the moment and doing whatever makes you happy :)

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notdrunkatall
This thread is making me want to travel again. To that end, now I'm thinking
about changing my major from engineering to programming...

