30

I found Cusco has patisseries to rival France. How I miss bags of morning croissants costing twenty pence...

31

At Hampton Inns (my wife's lowest category of acceptable hotel) they have waffle machines and you make your own waffles. Add some bacon and maple syrup on top or fresh fruit and whipped cream, your choice.

32

"Not many hostel dorms in most parts of Asia..and even when there are hostels,locally run budget hotel rooms or huts are usually cheaper"

Really? I am starting out at the very beginning of my journey right now, and have been booking the cheapest possible hostel dorms online, and these are way cheaper than any single rooms I see online. I guess the locally run hotels and huts would have to be sought out once I actually get to a place and walk around, right? Any tips there? I'm not crazy about sharing a room all the time, I am just doing it to save money, so that's kind of a welcome revelation.

Thanks to everyone else for the tips on budgeting (or rather, not budgeting). This actually makes me feel MUCH better, as I'm not naturally a spreadsheet- or schedule-oriented person. I'll do just fine seeing what happens as I go along.

Huh, interesting how this thread turned into people talking about wheat-filled hostel breakfasts which would make me horribly sick for weeks or months if I ate them (in the original post, I talk about having Celiac disease...) haha oh well.... but sad, that is going to cut into my costs even more, as I'll have to forgo free hostel breakfasts pretty much everywhere. Well, I'm gonna just make the most of everything and see what happens.
Btw for those who asked, the budget I mentioned is not including the flight to first destination, not including visas that I had to get in advance (India, China, Russia). Just found out I have an extra thousand to work with too...

33

Guesthouses are usually run by locals and don't advertise online which is why they are generally cheaper - if you go in off the street, you can usually get a good price.

Hostels on the other hand are usually run by foreigners and the appeal of them is meeting other travellers. Depends on what you're after.

34

While I have no problem with hostels as a place to sleep for the night, I have a real problem understanding why anyone would want to use them as a way to meet people. The people I want to meet are the people of the country I am in, not people from my home country.

I've read posts here on the TT where people actually wrote things like, 'the highlight of my trip was the people I met in the hostels'. Sad really.

35

OP....Like #33 says,the local,family-run places don't advertise or have websites in general.

Many can't even be booked in advance.

Prices are not fixed but are generally a lot lower than the foreign-owned hostels in these countries.

36

My main problem with hostels are that they are usually run by foreigners - I would rather support local businesses than an expat who may spend their earnings back home. That said I have stayed in a few great locally owned hostels in Asia and South America.

I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to hang out with other travellers - you both want to doing touristy things and go sightseeing so it works out well. But coming from Australia, I do find hanging out with people from other Anglophone countries a bit boring sometimes.

37

$12,000 is a pretty good budget. But you have a pretty aggresive plan.

I would agree with a couple of the other people who posted to skip Japan. The country is expensive (I lived there for 2 years) but more importantly, one week is just not enough time. If you want to hit 3 of the top cities for sights, you are looking at lots of expense traveling between them and hardly any time in them.

I just finished a blog post the other day about planning an around the world trip, which it sounds like is pretty much what your trip is about. The biggest mistake I made on my most recent trip is trying to see too many places too far away from each other.
http://cheaptrickstotravel.com/traveling-around-the-world/

As long as you are planning to couch surf through Europe, a daily budget of $40 per day is o.k. if you eat yogurt and fruit for breakfast (buy at the grocery), a picnic lunch and a cheap restaurant dinner. There are tons of free and low-cost things to do in Europe. You don't have to spend $50 on a museum pass to have a great time and learn a lot. (There are great free walking tours in several cities--you just give a tip to the guide.)

Asia will be very easy on the budget. You can find plenty of places to stay for $10/night and street food is so cheap.

Because you are going to so many different places, airfare will be your biggest expense. I really would consider cutting the distance in this trip with your budget. If you book far in advance you can get some really cheap airfares on EasyJet, AirAsia, etc.

Here's my budget from my trip...
http://cheaptrickstotravel.com/the-cost-of-our-trip-around-the-world/

38

I question whether someone can 'couch surf through Europe'. A bed for a night or two here and there to save money is fine but expecting to spend every night doing that is not practical. There is not much point if you are spending hours every second day or two trying to line up a couch somewhere else for tomorrow.