Anybody been travelling? Advice required.

[Golfgirl]

So, I'm at a point in my life where I am thinking about going travelling.  I wish I'd done it after uni before settling down with a mortgage, but I didn't.  A recent long-term relationship breakdown has got me thinking that now is my opportunity.  I'm 32, so am not getting any younger. 

I have a couple of friends currently doing some voluntary work in Cambodia.  They've been out there since April and will be there until the middle of next year, and are then doing a bit of travelling before returning back to the UK.  I've had an invite out there to visit them, so am thinking of having an extended trip and seeing Thailand too, as it's somewhere I've wanted to visit for a long time.

BUT.....I haven't got a clue where to start planning.  Are there any good websites to help me plan a trip? Or can you do 'organised' type travels of all the major things to see, to make planning the trip easier?

I'd be grateful to hear from anyone that has been to Cambodia/Thailand and what to see or avoid, plus any other countries that are viable in the same trip.

I mentioned it to my mum today and she wasn't keen on me doing it on my own....is that wise advice? Or is she just being a protective mum?

Am I considered too old to go travelling? Will I be accompanied by spotty 18 years olds that are afraid to touch a bar of soap and bottle of shampoo?

I won't want to do it on a budget due to the risk of falling ill through dodgy hotels or food, so that means the car will probably have to go to fund the trip   Any idea on how much it is likely to set me back?  I know it depends on how long I'm out there, what I do etc. but a ballpark figure for a 6 week trip would help me a lot.

Any advice gratefully received, good or bad

[stealthwolf]

Woah. Sorry to hear about the relationship Golfgirl.

I know medics sometimes go off to help out eg Médecins Sans Frontières. Maybe not exactly what you want but it's in your line of work and may be a starting point.

I think for safety reasons, I'd go in a group. Much better than a lone girl wandering off in the woods, so to speak. Even if it's just other girls.

[Golfgirl]

I know medics sometimes go off to help out eg Médecins Sans Frontières. Maybe not exactly what you want but it's in your line of work and may be a starting point.

That's another thing I thought of, but then I'd be tied down to one place and would like to see quite a bit if I'm going that far.

I think for safety reasons, I'd go in a group. Much better than a lone girl wandering off in the woods, so to speak. Even if it's just other girls.

I see your point, it's finding someone  to go with though.  At my stage of life most of my friends have either settled down and aren't interested, or have already been to Thailand, or can't afford such a trip.

[Janner_Sy]

I mentioned it to my mum today and she wasn't keen on me doing it on my own....is that wise advice? Or is she just being a protective mum?

there are alot of unrest in these places, and the whole way of life is balancing on a knife edge all the time, you just never know with these places.

id like to go somewhere like india, or nepal or somewhere like that.

[Nasir]

Wow wow, your impression of 18 year olds is a bit off haha. I'm 19 so close but I can assure you that most 18 year olds will bathe more often than adults, how else would they pull girls? And as for spots, you get tablets for that now lol. Very 80's view there  

On the subject of travelling, a guy from school is going around the world. He's a year or two younger than me but he's in Thailand right now. You've got to read up on countries a lot. Remember your entering a different culture and different rules. So what you see as acceptable may not be so acceptable to them. As for the travelling on your own thing, I personally think your mum is right. Get a friend to go with  

[cameluk]

Go for it, you will regret it later on if you don't

I've travelled around a great deal in South America, you get to see more if you go with a friend as you have down moments when you can't be bothered but normally a friend isn't feeling so low so motivates you to do things

Cambodia is a great place, very laid back and pretty basic, just watch out for the land mines, they are everywhere never step off of marked paths, transport can be a problem and food is basic but good. I was always welcomed as a foreigner and never felt at risk

Make sure you get all the travellers guide books and read up, the more reading you can do the better, they'll tell you the risks and which areas are no safe

Make sure you get a top insurance policy, and make sure you have enough money for when things go wrong. We ended up in Rio de Janeiro without enough money for a basic hotel and ended up sleeping in the bus station and paying a security guard to watch over us NOT RECOMMENDED

Take note of their immigration rules, they are a lot more strict than us, being held at gun point on the border of Argentina because we forgot to get an exit stamp leaving Uruguay is an experience I never want to repeat (having a Falklands Island stamp in my passport didn't help matters  )

[RedRobin]

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Others have already given you great advice, Claire. Definitely do it - Life isn't a rehearsal!

All I can add is that travelling broadens the mind. It teaches you about how other people live and how human cultures vary. Just visiting a tourist hotel for two weeks doesn't do it, so I'm glad you're going for longer - Go for as long as you can.

You'll doubtless have some 'hairy' experiences but they will be far outweighed by the positives and anyway they all add to the richness of life.

Don't think of yourself as being English but as an international human being and leave all expectations at home... Go with an open mind and open heart and a smile on your face. And we want to hear all about it afterwards. 

[vRS Carl]

I went to Cambodia and Thailand for my Honeymoon in April this year.

It depends really on what you want from your trips. I personally found Cambodia to be a better experience to Thailand.

We stayed in Siem Reap at the Le Meridien just outside Angkor Wat (literally a few minutes ride by Tuk Tuk) This is a 5 Star Hotel but it is still fairly in-expensive compared to 5 Star in westernised countries. However (having stayed in 5* hotels all over the world) i would say that Cambodia is one of the best for hospitality and service. Or to put it another way the 5* treatment we had in thailand made the Cambodian version seem like 6* So this would be a good place to Start/End your stay in Cambodia if your after doing some backpacking. Some of the Temples are fantastic. Angkor Wat is something else and is Huuuuuge.

My advice would be to hire a Tuk Tuk driver for a couple of days. It cost me & my wife $50 for 2 days. This was him picking us up at 6am at the hotel, taking us around a few temples, taking us somewhere for lunch a few more temples and then back to the Hotel for tea. The Driver we had was fantastic as he knew the best times of day to take us to the various temples when they were least crowded. One of the places we went was a 2 1/2 hour ride away which took us through rural Cambodia and shows you just how primitive they still live outside of the main Cities.

I wouldn't recommend doing more than a week looking at Temples. Once you have seen a few they start to get repetetive. Main ones i would recommend seeing are Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm (where they filmed Tomb Raider), The Bayon, Batay Srei and Kbal Spean. I've attached some pics we took whilst there of a couple.

We also went and watched a Traditional Cambodian Dance show. Whilst good and interesting it's not something i would do again. But i would recommend it if you haven't seen it before.

In Thailand we stayed at the Evason Spa at Hua Hin. This is out of the way of the Hustle & Bustle of Bangkok (about 3 1/2 hours drive) but again 5 Star and a good base to get out and about and explore Thailand (if your not backpacking) From here we went to Kanchanaburi where they filmed the Bridge on the River Kwai, went into Hua Hin itself which had lots of traditional markets etc and is quite good for grabbing a bargain. You can get some fantastic quality dresses made and barter for the price. Put it this way i enquired about a full 100% Cashmere suit. The same standard in the UK would cost around £1500+ and it would have cost me £200. The only reason i never got it was due to not knowing how long we were going to be stranded due to the Ash Cloud. We also went out to eat a lot. This is were Thai 5* differs from Cambodian. In the hotel it was going to cost us around £50 each to have a 3 course meal. We went out 300m from the hotel and BOTH had a 3 course meal for about £12. The quality was just the same as the hotel (we got a free meal as part of out honeymoon package so ate there the last night) and you can pretty much guarantee it's fresh (especially if it's fish). In Cambodia a 3 course meal in the Hotel cost about $50 for the 2 of us so quite a difference and you can see the western influence. Also they hotel were charging nearly £70 for a massage. My wife had one done (in the evening by one of the hotel Masseuse) at a place about 500m from the hotel and paid the equivalent of £8.

Here are the pics:

Ta Prohm





The Wife by a tree seen in Tomb Raider



The two of us outside Batay Srei



Another view of Bantay Srei



To give you an idea of just how big Angkor Wat is here is a pic of the Walkway up to the outer wall (it was a City afterall)



This is the view from the outer wall to the temple (Total distance is about a mile)



This is a view from the highest point looking back towards the outer wall



Cambodian Dancing Show



View from the Spa in Thailand





Someone got bored one day and decided everyone need to know which direction to go  



The two of us at the Bridge over the River Kwai



A good book to get for Cambodia is Ancient Angkor by Michael Freeman & Claude Jacques. You usually find kids selling it outside temples (in english) for $5 which is considerably cheaper than the $27.95 price on the Book

If you have any questions feel free to PM me and i'll give you my EMail. We spent a month in total over there (thanks to the Ash Cloud) and it was only 4 months ago

Carl

[Edition30]

Even if you have to go on your own, do it. Makes you engage more in meeting people out there.

Wanted to do it for a long time but funds are killing me.

Like others have said, read up on the places you will be going. My mate always said book hotels when you get there as its cheaper and you know what your getting then.

[RedRobin]

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Oh, and seeing those pics of Carl and wifey, do as they have done and wear a hat to help protect you from the sun.

[gti265]

sta travel can sort you out with everything, there a student travel company but you dont have to be a student to use them, they specilise in people going travaling for extended periods


tom

[Gene Hunt]

As others have said chance of a lifetime.Only thing is what happens with your job when you come back ?. Will they keep it open for you ?.Would be crap to come back with little money & no job.

[Golfgirl]

Some good advice and tips there folks, thanks

Carl - if it goes ahead I'll definitely be PMing you to pick your brains.  Your photos are fab and make me want it to happen even more

Gene - I get my new annual leave allocation in April so hopefully will be using that so the job isn't a problem