Round the World

Alright, so I'm back and I'll do one last post before I close up shop on the blog. What is it like to go around the world? Well, it feels no different from any other trip of 4 or 5 months in duration. Since almost everywhere I went was new and interesting to me, I had a blast with all of it. My point is this: if you are considering leaving for a trip, make sure to go places you are excited about seeing. Global trends? Ice cream gets better the closer you get to Italy. Diet Coke is easier to find in countries with more obese people. Among younger crowds, the Europeans seem to travel to Asia, Australia, and New Zealand (with India occasionally thrown in) while Australians and Kiwis go just about everywhere except Asia. Of the North Americans, Canadians seem to be everywhere without any sort of trend while Americans are concentrated in Western Europe. Here are some stats about my trip you may or may not find interesting:

Countries: 23 (Fiji, NZ, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, England, Ireland) Australia, Slovakia, and England were just stop-overs, though.

Average Days per Place: 2.5.

Books Read: 15

Flights: 20

Trains: 16

Long-Distance Buses: 42

Boats: 26

Money Spent: For those who are planning a trip and are considering how much you need, this is for you, $11,000. Although I would keep three things in mind when you are budgeting: 1) Moving at a slower pace and covering less ground is much cheaper, 2) Obviously the places you are going to will greatly affect your budget, depending on how expensive they are, and 3) If you like to go out and enjoy nightlife, you will probably spend around 20-30% more than those who don't. About $2700/month is around the upper-middle of budgets for backpackers because I moved around a lot (around the world in four months is fasted paced) and I went out at night, but I also wasn't in the more expensive countries most of the time.

Here is a higher-resolution map of where I went that I pieced together:

For those who want to hear more of my advice on places to travel or just want to learn a little more about the world, I'm going to start a little travel site as a fun side-project for me, complete with info and pictures from my travels in Central America, South America, and other parts of Europe. So be on the lookout! Details will come.

And as always, feel free to email me with general questions, travel advice, errors in the blog, whatever, I'll be happy to hear from you. Think of something you'd like to see? Let me know that as well.