blonde poker forum

Ok, so I'm finishing uni forever in a month? fml. Really want to travel, got lots of places I would quite like to go to, New York, Paris, bits of Thailand, some of Europe, looking for suggestions. Heard interrail is a really good way to go about it. Has anyone ever travelled alone? I'm like the least likely person to travel alone, but because of my group of mates and different interests, I may look into it. Anyway, trip reports, suggestions, pics of birds you've been with in different countries. ok im kidding.

Anyway, fire away.

Scotland is an interesting culture to explore.  But I wouldn't travel alone.

I guess it depends on how much you like your own company. If you want to play it safe I think it is pretty easy to meet people if you do South east Asia or Oz/Nz as crap loads of young brits do them. Whereas other places you might struggle a bit more.

Fwiw I loved New York and it is probably my favourite city I have been to. Whereas Paris I have found to be pretty meh, probably too many French people there.

If I were you I wouldn't either!

Realised from your avatar, poker must be the only time you get to wear sunglasses!

Get Yourself to Australia mate!!

100% correct, he stays in Leeds and that must be one of the most dark miserable places on the face of the earth

Put a flyer up at uni see if you get any interest in anyone travelling,or use facebook etc.

fwiw i went round Europe when i left school(16),stopping in campsites and some very ropey hostels can't recommend it more had a brilliant time.

I've done road trips up and down both coasts of the States but you really need money as stopping cheap can be depressing if not dangerous.

South east asia is very cheap to travel round by train and you can live on next to nothing.If you can get to Hong Kong do it one of the best cities in the world.

I'am off to Singapore/Kuala Lumpur next month however my budget days are behind me,Club class-5 star all the way.Anyone been?Recommend any things to see?

if you're going to stay in hostels then travelling alone is no problem at all. you'll meet plenty of people at each one, a lot of them also travelling alone, and english is the common language

Don't have a travel partner, you get bogged down and can't do your own thing. It's all about fucking off to random places on a whim.

As people have said above, you won't get lonely. Plenty people to meet along the way, especially if you're staying in hostels and wotnot. You can travel for a wee while with people you meet, then fuck off if you don't like them/get bored/fancy something different etc etc.

i went to uganda on my own towards the end of last year, had an awesome time. i was volunteering with a charity out there, and while i probably wouldnt recommend that particular charity too highly id say volunteering out there is good fun and worthwhile. i ended up doing a bit more independent travelling than i first anticipated but when i got there realised that it was much safer and easier than i imagined before i left. i met a bunch of people, some from the volunteering, but many from just being the only white faces around. one girl in particular was taking an awesome route around east africa (kenya, uganda, rwanda, tanzania) that id definitely be up for doing if i was in that part of the world again - id think about adding ethiopia too as i met a bunch of people that had travelled through there and said it was awesome. there are so many once-in-a-lifetime things to do/see in that part of the world - safari at masai mara/serengheti, white water raft at the source of the nile, abseil down waterfalls, see mountain gorillas in the wild from a couple of metres, climb kilimanjaro etc. obviously you have to be a bit careful whenever you're travelling in africa (kenya is by far the worst for security out of these) but i was amazed at how easy and safe travelling was. obv do a bit of research and just be generally sensible and aware.

from what iv heard in oz/nz/se asia theres a massive travelling community so you're never far from people doing something similar to yourself. all the paths are well-trodden and there are services in place aimed specifically for western travellers where local transport links aren't necessarily in place (mainly se asia). travelling through africa, and to a lesser extent south america i think you have to be a bit more self sufficient. europe is somewhere i really fancy properly travelling through, although accom and food is obv a bit more expensive than other places, there's so much variety and cos the transport links are so good you can cover a lot of ground in a short space of time. i travelled around italy with my gf for a few weeks and it was pretty awesome, and i think we're planning on doing eastern europe (top to bottom) this summer.

i think india/sri lanka (probably not pakistan anymore...) or china would be really cool to do too, as its a part of the world that we dont really get that much coverage of over here so we don't really know how people live over there.

anyways, just thought id throw some ideas out there (didnt realise id started an essay til now). imo where you go isn't all that important as most of the enjoyment just comes from travelling in itself (its about the journey not the destination...) and all of the new people and problems that come along.

I've been backpacking shit loads of times with others and on my own. I prefer going on my own if its for more than a few weeks as you get bored with being with same person the whole time anyway. Go on your own IMO and make sure you do SE Asia, its really cheap and a great place for a young single guy to go on his own.

Feel free to go by yourself or with friends- either way you will rarely be by yourself when you dont want to be when backpacking.

Having been to Aus,NZ and SE Asia as well, I have to recommend South America as being my favourite place. I'm still dying to get back there, amazing places, amazing people. A good excuse to pick up a small amount of a new language; basic Spanish is more of a luxury to have than a necessity.

New Zealand.

By far the best trip I've had.

People great, so much to see and do.

My daughter recently did Thailand. Australia (Sydney and east coast) and New Zealand. She liked NZ the best.

Im 27 and i really wanna travel the world, just going wherever i want at random times. Ive been to the states (coaching for a few months-east coast fwiw) and random european countries, i wanna do the australia/nz/se asia thing how much would you be looking at? Im selling my car so i might just go fuck off instead of buying a new one!

I dont have any responsibilities at the moment so im thinking nows probably the best time.

I dont really understand all these people saying go by yourself.

I'd hate it, id have no1 to take the piss out of or have a laugh with all the way to the other side of the world. Also is good to have a wingman when you meet all these traveller birds.

Another problem is that i would probably end up in Lincolnshire or somewhere by accident like last time i tried to use a train by myself.

Il be your wingman any day BH!

I wouldnt have considered travelling by myself for a second before i actually went. A lot of people end up going travelling with whoever else they know is in the position to go at the same time as them and if if you go with someone you're often with them 100% of the time every day, it can get testing.

The dynamic of doing a well-travelled route by yourself is that you meet so many people that you tend to have all the company you need. If you don't get on with them all that well you can be one-day friends and escape them without any hassle whatsoever by just choosing another route. I personally met some brilliant people travelling- the ones you get on best with you can travel with for longer so long as your plans are are flexible.

There are definate pros and cons in going by yourself or in a group, I just wanted to make the point that I learnt when I was away that going by yourself is a very viable option, one, i think, that is far superior to going with someone you already know for the sake of it, and ultimately being stuck with them.

Meh, whenever I've been travelling with good mates for 1 month plus we normally end up kicking off with each other by the end of it. I find its good to meet lots of new people and just spend as much time with them as you fancy. You deffo will meet tons of people as long as your sociable enough..........

Try Milton Keynes first.

Theres hundreds of shops and a theatre district full of great places to eat.

For real excitement try walking down a Redway after dark..
 
For cheap beer theres Weatherspoons on a Monday evening

And two for 1 at the multiplex on a Wednesday, ( If you have an Orange phone )

Most people speak English , so you are easily understood

For Theatre highlights theres Chitty Chitty Bang Bang live on Stage.

Bet you can't wait.

Forget Vegas , Try Milton Keynes

Is Willy Gueret doing those bus tours again?

Thanks for info/advice keep it coming.

I think the hardest part will be deciding to go on my lonesome or with mates. I think initially I'm going to do interrail for 1/2 months, and justgo with the flow, ending up all over the place and having a blast. If/when I do this I'll have a thread with pics/trip reports etc. Should be pretty good.

See, I have been tossing around the very same idea for a while - to travel the world, and yet my biggest sticking point was that I find the idea of just going it alone to be very daunting. Yet you're absolutely right. Every single holiday I have had with friends, and there have been a lot,  resulted in a bust up.

That doesn't make it any easier to just pack up and go, though.

Plans atm -

Finish uni at end of May.

Work full time wherever from June- August. Go away for a holiday in September, probably for a month on interrail.

Come back and work from October- January.

Move to a city and work for 3/4 month, possibly NY/Sydney.

Whilst I'm working both in Newcastle and abroad I would be playing teh pokerz too and adding any money made to travelling br. Also got quite abit saved up too.

Thoughts?

Did I mention Milton Keynes

I did the Oz thing in 2001 - I purposefully went on my own as my mate tried it and you never get to do all the things you want to do and it can put a strain on your friendship.

Basically rock up to a hostel get settled in and in the evening at the bar simply say to a large group "Hi just got in today , do you mind if i hang with you guys/girls"

travel light , be prepared to exist on basic foods (smoothies n rice etc)

if you are going to backpack i can reccomend something like this

http://www.webtogs.co.uk/Pacsafe_Pacsafe_85_Backpacker_517-2433.html?PID=pg&utm_source=Pricegrabber&utm_medium=pricecomp&utm_campaign=Pricegrabber&utm_term=Pacsafe85Backpacker (http://www.webtogs.co.uk/Pacsafe_Pacsafe_85_Backpacker_517-2433.html?PID=pg&utm_source=Pricegrabber&utm_medium=pricecomp&utm_campaign=Pricegrabber&utm_term=Pacsafe85Backpacker)

In 2 months i only needed it once (dodgy hostel , middle of sydney on new years eve so was limited in my options) however the peace of mind it gives is well worth it

I used this site as a guide http://www.artoftravel.com/ (http://www.artoftravel.com/)

If you can when you get there open up a bank account to stash your money in as opposed to carrying it with you then when you need money just go to a cashpoint.

You won't be able to get a job in NY because of visa/work permit restrictions for foreigners. Unless you have a friend or some other close contact willing to give you a job for cash........

Really? I thought lots of people did this? I have friends who went last year and worked in bars?

Ok, little bit of an update.

Most people who take a year out to "go travelling" go on holiday for a month and then go somewhere for a couple of weeks, if I wanted to do this I'd just do it in the Summer as IMO it's just wasting a year. Here are my plans atm..

I'm going on family holidays to Mexico, Spain and Ibiza.

I am then going to Europe for a month doing interrailing. Any advice on countries to see in Europe? Countries to avoid in Europe? Places I HAVE to see? Places which are overrated?

I'll then come back for a few months and in January I want to move to a big cit for 4/5 months, atm I have my heart set on New York or Melbourne, but will listen to any other good suggestions/reasons for other places.

As much info as possible, even a little suggestion about a town in whatever country will be great as I will be travelling around Europe literally staying in countries/cities for no more than a couple of days.

Thanks.

Are they Irish by chance? They can get a visa for the summer (or used to be able to). Otherwise you can try working illegally, won't be easy though.