Any Travel Dudes for BKK then around SEA Sept 2013 Onwards

I arrive BKK 10th Sept to commence my year long travels and cant wait, just wondering is anyone else out there due to commence around same time? Will most likely spend first week in BKK to settle nerves and find my feet so to speak, then onwards to hit the usual SEA route. Have no real def plans but do wish to hit the usual destinations and also India, Nepal , possibly Tibet then Bali , NZ OZ ....I have only booked a one way flight as I want to be as flexible as possible and just to chill out and really enjoy every minute of freedom !

Let me know if you have similar plans or fancy hooking up along the way!

Tibet is very tricky, visas very complicated and whole experience, although incredible would be very expensive. I looked into this as it has always been a place i wanted to travel to, i wanted to do it overland from kathmandu. You need a group visa (5ppl) with same entry and exits, just to get into the country then to travel outside of Lhasa you need an alien permit visa plus a guide with you at all times. It all seemed very complicated and starting lifting our costs astronomically! I am off for 18 months travelling India (12months), then 6 months in nepal, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, cambodia. We leave 16th July.

Thanks Alex for advice ..Had no idea Tibet so difficult to gain access and expensive , I take it thats the visas/guides etc.

So you guys are heading to India ...I really do want to go here but felt it was better to head to BKK to aclimatise myself before travelling to India ...Where do you plan to start..? I hoping that I can find someone after a few weeks who has simlar plans so as I can travel with then to India as dont think I want to head there on my own...bit freaked out with it all.....I see your away 18 months ..now that is a trip !

Yeah its all very expensive (on backpackers budget) and long, you can fly in to tibet but driving from kathmandu would be the most impressive way. However you do traverse from 1500m to 4500m 3 or 4 times a day which would be stomach turning!

We head to mumbai and spend 2 months working our way to the tip of india and up to a village just sth of madurai. We are working for 10 weeks in an orphanage before heading to kolkata, darjeeling then on to udaipur, jodhpur, taj mahal and delhi. Then on to nepal for 3 months in a school between pokhara and kathmandu. We will then apply for 2nd 6 month visa and go to work for 4 months in a school in the uttarakhand province. Will wrap our year up with another 2 months travelling amritsar, shimla, dharamsala and kashmir.

Will probs be in SE asia october 2014.

Alex do you need a visa if you fly into Tibet? I think because of the complexities I might just travel to Katmandu for a while ....Also after my travels around SEA where would you recommend I fly to first in India, I seriously hoping I can find like minded travellers along the road who want to join me but however preapared for the possibility of going solo..Watched a cookery prog on India last nite looks amazing but totally nuts with so many people ...hope the locals are friendly :)

cheers for info dude

It depends on where you are flying from. If you come from china then you can get a china visa and a tibet travel permit to visit some of the autonomous region along with a guide. If your coming from nepal then you need a group visa and a tibet travel visa. These are the only places you can travel from. You will need an alien permit visa for both on top everything to go off the beat and track.

With India it all depends on how long you are spending their. If i was there for say 6 months I would probably fly into kolkata travel about, maybe a trip to darjeeling and the sunderbans. Then down to kerala, get train to mumbai via goa then up the rajasthan and do udaipur,jodphur, jaipur agra and delhi. Then a trip to dharamsala, amritsar and shimla before back to delhi and home?

Thanks alex ..in fact I will be travelling from India northwards into Nepal...jeeez its sounds complex maybe i will just stay in India..I suppose I will make my mind up over there as try and meet as many people as I can to seek their opinion, that sounds a great trip you guys are embarking upon lots of education i see ...your comments are much appreciated dude !

Hey man, have you found any travel companions for a trip like this? Sounds exciting for sure. I was just curious about whether you found anyone to join you on the trip and, if so, how you met them.

Thanks,

Shaun

Dude ...I can see there are plenty of people out there so to speak however everyone seems to be arriving at diff times of the year...I guess thats part of the whole adventure , maybe hang out on BKK for a while chek out the vibe and hopefully hook up with like minded travellers on the same wavelength ! If not ..I guess its solo man but have great hopes that it will work out ! Have you any plans man ?

I hear ya! I am currently planning the following trip early next year:

Feb-2014 thru Mar-2014: Brazil (Carnival)
Apr-2014 thru May-2014: Argentina (8wk Spanish Language Course)
Jun-2014: Back to Brazil (World Cup...I've always wanted to check this out!)
Jul-2014 thru Aug-2014: Spain (8wk Spanish Language Course)
Sep-2014: Germany (Octoberfest...I've been to this before and want to go back)
Oct-2014 thru Nov-2014: South Africa (Spring in Cape Town, maybe a Safari??)
Dec-2014 thru Jan-2015: Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia/Indonesia)

Of course, I'm still planning this trip and the itinerary may be tweaked around a bit. For how long do you plan to be gone for? I've never been to SEA and am looking forward to that part of it myself.

Shaun

Iam away for 12 months ..well thats the plan who knows where I'll end up , my employer is giving me this time off which is great ! In fact have been planning this trip for ages now and finally getting close to departure ! Thats a good iternary you have laid out I am not 100% sure if I will make SA as have been told that Asia , NZ & OZ can easily take a year . I guess I will just see when it takes me but that the great thing about being flexible and having a 1 way ticket !

Hey me and a friend will be travelling from Singapore overland into Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos in late September and hopefully to reach Nepal by November. my email is m.firdaus.m@hotmail.com

Dude will contact you via email if I decide to hit Nepal in November thanks