Reply by olilaz
5 years ago
@whynothugo Believe it or not, it is in fact possible to travel like this without being rich, you just need to budget and plan in advance, you can make a one year around the world trip for around 20 000$ if you travel alone, I did it with my parents from 2012 to 2013, we left from Switzerland (our former home country) and we visited South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Australia, Malaysia (including borneo island), Vietnam, Cambodia, India, China, Japan, we also visited most of western europe in an RV, we did it all in a year, and my parents don't even have a million dollars, we did it through a lot of budgeting and minimal spending. <br />
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So it is doable, but the question you have to ask yourself is why do you want to do it? I think it's a great experience for people who never travelled before to go on a one year trip, but as a guy that has visited 20% of what the planet has to offer, I can tell you that at one point, the adventure has to end, and one has to come back to reality. I will travel for long periods of time again one day, after I finish university in 7 years and work a few years in electrical engineering to make myself some money, until then I might save up some money to travel during each summer holidays. Also, there are ways to make money while you are away, for example, if you become a dive instructor, you can teach people scuba diving and get paid for it, the salary is very minimal but can support you enough to travel and spend months in one place, it can be a very enjoyable lifestyle, I planned on doing it a few years ago, but never got around to doing it, I was too lazy and didn't bother to work enough hours to save up the money. I might do in in between pre-university and university now that I think of it, it can be very satisfying and make you feel like you are in paradise sometimes. My favorite place in the world was Mabul Island in Borneo, Malaysia, they have the best sea life of the entire world, just by diving off the beach you can spot 3-4 sea turtles in one dive and a ton of different species of fish, since 2012 I swore to myself that I would come back one day.<br />
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But it's true that the movie was very bad, I knew from the imdb rating going in that it wasn't going to be good, but I didn't care as I was just bored, and I actually liked the fact that some scenes reminded me of the old days.<br />
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It is possible to travel if you are prepared to make sacrifices, it's not easy, it requires you to take risks, and that is why most people never go through with it, but I know a guy, the same guy in fact who was my dive instructor's assistant back in 2012 on Mabul Island is now working as a divemaster in the cayman islands, even after all this time, of course it means that he doesn't have a lot of money but he is living the great life, a dream that most people can never hope to have because they weren't willing to step out of their comfort zone. And yes the art of travel is to get off the beaten path, to go your own way instead of following the tourists, that is how my father made us travel, and it was the most enjoyable, travelling through all these countries I just mentioned, I was 15 when I went on the trip, I am 20 years old now and I wish to do it all again someday, after I have accomplished enough academically, since I've pretty much been wasting my time these past 4 years, but I have been able to discover myself, what I want to major in and what I want to do with my life, but I know first hand that comfort is weakness, comfort is the reason people are miserable, once you get out of your comfort zone that is when you achieve great things and do things worth remembering. These past 4 years, I don't remember a single day spent at home that felt amazing, the only time that felt great was on a holiday to Mexico and even that cannot compare to what I felt during my around the world trip.<br />
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So don't give up on your dreams, anything is possible if you're willing to give it a shot, you just need some savings, enough to not only do the trip but also a safety net in case you end up spending more than you expected.
