The hardest part, as always, is planning. Since I'll be going alone, it all rests on my shoulders. So here's how I've been doing it so far:
This basic step is, ironically, the hardest part. I'll have limited time since I've given myself a deadline to be home by Thanksgiving. I need to earn enough money, so I can't stop working before early October, and there are a few last things I want to do in New Zealand. I can see how people end up traveling for years and year, only stopping periodically to work, though- it's so hard to whittle down the choices when you want to see everywhere, and once you get going it's really not to hard to just keep on.
I know for sure I want to go to South East Asia, and particularly Thailand, where I will eat a Michel Gros banana. But where else, and for how long? I also want to go to Australia and Japan, where my cousin will be studying abroad. If I had unlimited time I could just buy a ticket to Bangkok and see what happens from there-- that's what a lot of my friends have done, and they've ended up going through Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia... I'd love to do it, but this trip with have to be a bit more tightly planned due to time. However, I'm going to keep it as open as I possibly can. If you've been reading this blog awhile, then you'll know how important it is to me to try to remain loose where possible.
I've whittled my list down using a combination of intense research into various places and activities in the countries and anecdotal evidence from talking to all my friends who have been. I've had some pretty strong recommendations for Laos, but the sites don't (seem?) to hold quite the same appeal for me. Plus... time, and transportation costs.
I've decided... horribly.... to skip Australia. It's too big to see a lot in a limited time. Plus, I figure it'll give me a good excuse to get back to New Zealand one day. Kangakoos... wait for me, wait for me!
Instead, my plan at the moment looks something like this:
1 week in Thailand
4 or 5 days in Cambodia
12 days in Vietnam
2 weeks in Japan
Home!
EDIT: SCRATCH ALL THAT
Since drafting this post a few weeks ago, everything has changed! I had some more great conversations with my hostel buddies about where they've been and what advice they have, and I decided to move things around a lot because of them. First off: Thailand is getting (largely) scratched. I'll still bet there for a few days (and I WILL eat my banana!) but the advice from literally everyone is that it's too touristy. Also, I was very excited to go and swim with elephants and pet tigers, but after some discussions and a bit of research I concluded that there wasn't anywhere really great I could go where they weren't at least partially mistreating the animals, so I'm skipping it.
However, I'm adding on the Philippines! The Philippines are the one place where everyone I've talked to who has been there is in 100% agreement - they all love it. Apparently the people are the nicest anywhere, a lot of them speak English, the beaches are amazing, everything is cheap, and you can SWIM WITH WHALE SHARKS. I'm had some serious consideration about if my moral horizon (which would not let me go to the animals in Thailand) will allow me to swim with the whale sharks, since they are fed to bring them to a specific spot. It messes with the natural order of their lives and affecting their behavior, which should not be the goal of human/animal interactions. But they aren't being abused, even though they are being influenced, so... I think I'm going to do it. What an experience. I'm thinking also about going scuba diving, but if not, I'm definitely going to do a lot of snorking!
So my new plan (it's official- the tickets are bought!) is:
Bangkok for 2 days
Siem Reap for 4/5 days
Vietnam for 12 days
Japan for 12 days
Philippines for 12 days
Too fast, too short.
2. Budget
As I researched each country, I began to get an idea of the finances I'd need. Prices to consider include: how much it will cost to get to the various countries you want to see, roughly how much you might need per day while you're there, and how much money you actually have or can save. Regardless, this is the moment of truth: can you afford it? Can I afford it?
Yes! If I'm careful. Mostly because SE Asia is very cheap- maybe $40 a day in Thailand, and $30ish in Cambodia and Vietnam. Plus a bit more for splurges like tours to go swim with elephants and pet tigers. (SCRATCH THAT, UGH. But other things will come up. Maybe I'll get my PEDI license?) Japan will be the most expensive part, but I think it'll be worth it.
4. Stalk your flights
Ok, so you, like me have decided where to go. If you're not just buying a one-way ticket somewhere and seeing what happens, it's time to make some serious decisions about dates. How long do you want to be in each country? And most importantly, when are the cheapest flights?
My original plan was to go the Philippines first, then Bangkok, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan, and home from there. But I spend ages (and ages and ages... and ages) looking at various flight combinations to figure out what the cheapest route and dates to fly would be. It ended up that flying home from Manila is a lot cheaper/easier than from Tokyo, so the Philippines will be last. I also discovered that it's cheaper to fly from Auckland to Bangkok and then onto Siem Reap than it is to fly directly to Siem Reap, so I will happily be spending a few days eating bananas in Thailand. Once you've figured out the basics of your schedules and the rough prices, sign up for some alerts on deal websites (Skyscanner and Momondo are probably the best), but also make sure you're doing manual checks frequently too. Often you can get just as good a deal if not better if you go directly to a company's website, but you can get a good idea of the prices of various airlines through these aggregate websites.
The process can be frustrating. One flight I bought on sale (and I thought a good sale) dropped $150 the NEXT DAY. It was a very painful moment in my life and I'm working with my credit card company to see if there's anything they can do to help me. That's another piece of advice- put everything on a credit card for added protection, and then pay it off immediately. But in the end, buy when you feel like the price is right- there's not much you can do to avoid situations like this one. (SOB)
5. Strategize & Organize
Kind of vague, right? But now it's time for me to do the nitty-gritty. For example:
Getting visas
The Vietnam Visa is a pain. I can either get it from an embassy before you go (and you have to know in advance if you're flying in or coming by land- they're different visas) and apparently the embassy will decide what to charge based on what they feel like at the moment, haha. I could also hire someone to get you a "visa on arrival" letter, which costs about $15, and with that letter you can get your visa at the airport for another $40/45. But I'll need US dollars for that.
I'll also need USD to pay for my visa into Cambodia, which can only be done at the border. SIGH.
Figuring out transportation between cities where I won't be flying
Is it cheaper for me to buy individual train tickets in Japan or get a JR Rail Pass? I'm still not sure. I'm also looking at various travel options within Vietnam- overnight buses seems like a great way to go, but there are also overnight trains that are only a little more and probably more comfortable.
Booking hostels
This is exciting! I won't do it too far in advance to leave myself freedom, but I will certainly have a list of good places to stay before I go. (I might even be able to afford something swanky in Vietnam- we'll see!)
Buying travel insurance
This is a necessity. World Nomads looks like it's probably the best- it's a little more expensive which is annoying if nothing happens, but very much worth the extra pennies if something does.
Thinking about travel gear I might need
Definitely a super-cool fanny pack to stop pick-pocketers! And a rolling backpack, so I can get a real backpacker but not carry all that nonsense! What else??
Figuring out logistics
Like what am I going to do about having a SIM card in all these different places? I MUST BE CONNECTED.
Best of all, though, is researching to find out about amazing things I'll see that I have no idea about! It's a tricky balance between planning too much and knowing every single thing I want to do when I get there, and planning not enough and wasting time, energy, and money while I figure things out. I am always jealous of people who leave room for themselves to pick up at a moments notice to head somewhere interesting they just discovered or who leave themselves the flexibility to stay longer somewhere wonderful. I want to leave some room for that on this trip, but I also want to feel comfortable going in, so I'm going to have to find that balance.
And that's all for now! But not all forever. I don't think this trip is likely to be my last backpacking escapade. Depending on what happens in my life-- haha sob-- I'd love to take a few months and backpack South America. ONE DAY!