I have no idea what a "plonker" is, but if it means a person who believes that all adults should be treated with respect and equally, why then, I suppose I must be just that. Or, heavens forfend, could one be trying to exhibit superiority by NAME CALLING??? Nah, people online couldn't POSSIBLY be that shallow or infantile.

FWIW, I was one of the first people outside of DARPA to have an email account and was a pioneer of USENET groups long before the worldwide web. If you think that this is the first flame some nameless, spineless troll has thrown my way, let me just say that I have worn out more pairs of shoes than your IQ score number. I have lived on several continents, visited even more, backpacked/hitchhiked through Europe in my teens during the early 1970s, have frequently packed trough wilderness and backcountry, speak several languages and have quite a few degrees including a doctorate. Yeah, you are all better off without my misbegotten ilk. But, luckily for you, I suspect that you might not live long enough to have to endure being subjected to prejudicial ageism--Darwin kind of suggests that you won't survive that long.

No and no.

First of all you cannot get into prudhoe bay itself without prior permission. So for example if you want to see the ocean you should do the prior home work.

There’s tours that run the road but they are the only thing that constitutes public transit. The road was built to haul massive oil equipment, it’s kinda a wonder they even leave it open to tourists at all. Most of the traffic are massive haulers which will throw massive gravel bits at you on the bike. You’ll also have to deal with massive dust thrown up by the haulers.

There is one gas station for 400 odd miles.

You will be at the mercy of some other tourist to pick you and your bike up as a hitchhiker. You might only see a couple cars (but hundreds of massive haulers) per day on a good day.

Now if you are still up to conquer the highway by bike but don’t want to ride back you could always fly back on Alaska airlines.

I've never been to Hokkaido, but I've also never been to anywhere in Japan where you need a rail pass. I'm sure gazzilions of Japanese tourists visit the place all the time quite happily, without a rail pass. You can always just take the trains without the pass. Stick to slower, cheaper trains, if you want to spend less. Or travel more slowly. There must be cool towns to stop off in, or mountains to go hike, in most directions out of Sapporo, I would imagine.

My experience of hitchhiking is pretty limited in Japan - I have once given someone a ride, and once been picked up. I am neither dreadlocked nor heavily pierced, but I do look like a pretty scary foreign guy if I squint my eyes, and a wonderfully friendly older woman still picked me up. After dark, no less.

I very rarely see hitchhikers in Japan, but I have heard successful stories. Japan is surely one of the safest places anywhere to hitchhike - as it is for most things - but how easy it is? Hmmm. Definitely standard practice would be having a sign with your destination written on it (in Japanese!), and after that, you just need luck.

Max this is not their budget for travelling..read first 2 posts.
Julia....120 for 6 weeks is good accept it.
When travelling you certainly need minimum of 30 dollars a day.
Cheapest rooms 300/500 birr.
You can eat very cheaply but only if you use cafes locals use and eat local food.
You can travel round on local buses cheaply.
Hitchhiking.. not really.
Entrance fees at Lalibela are high 50 dollars.
Suggest
1. Get a guide book Bradt 7th edition best.
2. Look at room prices on TripAdvisor Ethiopia forum.under hotels, by town
3. Also look at Jumia for this.

4. Look thru trip reports on TA, on here and on
Bradt Ethiopia Updates pages..

Where are you volunteering, is in Addis or elsewhere??

We get around by public bus as much as possible. It is comfortable, safe and cheap. Just go to the bus terminal or, in some cases, flag down a bus. You will find a public bus to most places but sometimes not to parks or attractions (in which case we have walked, taken a taxi or hitchhiked). On some legs public buses are easy but on other legs you have to change buses several times. For the most part you have to forget about buying tickets online or finding bus schedules ahead of time. The bus schedule link in your previous post gives a good general idea but is not completely accurate/up to date and not always user friendly (it is sometimes best to break up a trip instead of just putting in the end destination). This is another good site: https://centrocoasting.com/costarica/
And what really works is asking the locals.Or go to the bus station and ask there.

Our backpacks usually go in the compartment under the bus and we keep a small day pack with anything of value with us on the bus. On shorter legs our backpacks went in the back of the bus or we kept them on our lap. Most bus drivers do not accept USD. Pay in colones. Bus drivers also don't like large bills.

But, just to be clear, there is a difference between public buses and shared tourist shuttles. If you want to go by shuttle you will pay more but it will be a direct shuttle and you can book tickets and seats online. So although some legs on your trip will be easy by bus, other legs will be much more convenient (but more expensive) by shuttle.

For Tortuguero I would use: http://www.tortuguerovillage.com/en/publictransportation.html
Make sure you click on more info and then on schedules and tips. That is the official Tortuguero website and I have seen it updated several times.

Tortuguero to La Fortuna would be easiest with a shuttle. By public bus: boat to La Pavona, bus to Cariari, bus to Guapiles, bus to Sarapiqui, bus to Ciudad Quesada (also called San Carlos), bus to La Fortuna. 8 hours or so and I don't know... $15 maybe? It would be great to break the trip up in Sarapiqui. A shuttle from Tortuguero to La Fortuna would be direct, takes 5 hours and costs $55.

You can make the border crossing at Mulanje/Milange, as you have planned, but, logistically it would be easier if you cross the border at Chiponde, which is farther north. From there by chapa to Cuamba, where there is train and chapas to choose from (train doesn't run every day). Either way, you need to get to Nampula and from there by chapa to Ilha de Mocambique.
In Nampula there is a hostel, Ruby Backpacker's, run by a Portuguese-Mozambican couple. The man works on Ilha and he can give you a lift for a reasonable amount if you can match his work schedule.
Public transport in Mozambique is tricky as you say. It works ok north to south, even if the roads are in poor condition. In other directions (east-west) the roads are even worse and there are only chapas.
From Nampula there is one bus company going south, Nagi. Be careful around the bus station, as it's a bit dogdy area. Busses start to run early morning (4-5 am), so you need to get your tickets the day before your trip.
I haven't been to Beira as I heard the place isn't worth a visit. Go to Vilanculos and Inhambane instead, before you eventually reach Maputo.
Even if Mozambique in general is a safe place, I'd advise you not to try hitchhiking if you are two females.

Thanks for your replies. At the time we want to transfer from Windhoek to Maun (a Monday in September because our camping tour in Maun starts on a Wednesday in the early mornings and we are travelling in Namibia before), flights either take 24hrs (the ones for 388 USD) or will cost 480 usd per person (and still take 7 hours because of a long stop over in Johannesburg). So flying is even more expensive and takes the same amount of time (or even more) than the land transfer mentioned above if split by 2 people.

Yes, we were of course also shocked about the price and were hoping that other travellers are out there who want to share the car (855 USD for 6 people in the car140 usd per person). If there are other options that do not take longer than one day for transfer and do not include hitchhiking I would be very happy if you could let me know. So far I only know that we would have to take a bus/combi to Gobabis, from there hitchhike to the border (this we do not want to do because we have to transfer in one day) and then take 2 further buses in Botswana. Regarding the option with Rundu: I do not quite understanding: looks like a detour to me because the intercape bus already take 9hours to get there. I also didn’t find easier/more reliable options from Rundu to get to Maun compared to Gobabis.
So feedback much appreciated if you know better (but reliable options) to transfer within one day (public transport is fine for us).

Rainy as hell in Kyoto today. I got lost up a mountain after dark, and was rescued by a friendly old woman who stopped her car and gave me a ride. The first time I'd ever hitchhiked in Japan! I have now hitchhiked in every Asian country that I've been to, except for Singapore.

A huge typhoon is meant to hit here tomorrow. They've been hyping it up like anything: once in 50 years storm, that kind of thing. Either I go and walk 25km through the Shiga countryside, or I see what's on in the museums here. What do you think?

Day 4
We started with the Msheireb Museums (9-5 Fr 3-9, free) (Radwani House, Company House, (very interesting about life before and after the discovery of oil and the stories of people who worked in the industry), Bin Jelmood House (about slavery and human trafficking). We wish we had more time because 1.30 hours were not enough for us.
Bus #100 to Al Ruwais leaves at 9.30 and takes 2.30 hours to reach Al Zubara Fort. It comes back from Al Ruwais at 1 pm, so you have enough time to see the Fort, the small museum and the city ruins if they are open. The second bus at 3.30 is not convenient.
If you would like to visit Al Khor later you don’t need to go back back to Doha. Just get off the bus at Bridge 59 and wait for bus #201 (every 90´) to Al Khor. From there you can continue to Doha on bus #102 or bus #102A (every 30´).
We took the bus to Al Khor. A passenger told us that we could continue to Al Zubara on bus #201 and both the driver and another person working for Mowasalat confirmed it.
We saw from afar the football stadium in Al Khor which looks like a tent. We got off at the fish market and walked around the fishing boats and the Corniche until bus #201 passed. The driver was very helpful and contacted the bus station to see how we would go to Al Zubara since he didn’t go there. He even went back several kilometers, to the dismay of other passengers, so he could find an opening on the fence from where we could walk to the main road to wait for the bus coming from Al Ruwais.
That bus dropped us off at Bridge 59. The bus driver told us that Al Zubara Fort was 50 km from there. We chose to believe a passenger who claimed it was only 11 km. We walked east on the overpass and tried to hitchhike. My husband was very upset because time passed and buses back to Doha were few and far between. I didn’t want to quit as I thought we were very close to the fort. When we were about to retrace our steps to the bridge a migrant worker gave us a lift. Although he worked nearby for 9 years he had never been to the fort which was 30 km away.
Almost outside the fort rich Qataris (we had seen poor ones working as porters in the souq) raced their new cars (we saw traces of wheels on the road), damaged them and then left them to be picked up later.
The ruins were closed on Monday. The fort was a disappointment, probably because of all the forts we had seen in Oman. And also because of all the trouble we went into visiting it. There is a small museum outside.
We saw it rather quickly as some visitors who had already seen it were willing to take us to Doha. It could have been an ordeal to stay there till 7 pm to take bus #100 back to Doha (arrival 9.30 pm).
We were grateful for the late check out the hotel gave us. Then bus to the airport a little after 10 pm although our flight was at 2 am.

I would love to go back to Qatar to see not only the south (Mesaieed, Khor Al Adaid) but also the Qatar National Museum and Katara.

First, Africa is a huge continent, with all sorts of different climates, geography, cultures and wildlife. What kind if experience are you looking fir?

Cultural experiences? History? Wildlife Safari? Mountain treks? Camping? Guesthouses? Homestay? Big cities--yea or nay? Tour or do-it-yourself?

Willing to ride a crowded bus or open air truck that includes you, most of the population of a village, and several goats? How do you feel about having to get a number of immunizations and take pills to prevent malaria? Do you have dietary limitations that may cause problems--for instance, in some places it's nearly impossible to be vegan.

How experienced are you with haggling, fending off aggressive touts, dealing with obnoxious officials, or recognizing scams? Comfortable with hitchhiking?

What passport(s) do you hold? What language(s) other than English do you speak?

How much time will you have?

What is your budget like? It's best if you can put it in pounds or some other currency rather tan adective. Someone else's "mid-range" might be your "too expensive."