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[Vivianne]

I have just turned 18 and have always known that i will travel. The only problem being that im not very good at geography!!

I have decided that my first trip i will do alone. but i don't even know where to start. Where to go??
i don't want to be lured into all of the touristic places, i want to find the cultures and spirit of my destinations.

has anyone any suggestions or generally helpful advice?

[lucky]

Well, I suppose it all depends on what exactly you are expecting to get from your trip... If you want to "dip your toes" in before diving in, you might want to stick with the western countries.

Where are you from? If you are from North America, Europe might be a good starter for you... or vice versa if you are European.

If you want to dive right in, the world is a beautiful place and the list goes on for travel destinations.

... Thailand,
... Egypt,
... Ecuador,

Without a sense of what you are personally looking for the list is endless.

So, what did you have in mind?

[Vivianne]

Thanks for replying!!

I'm from Jersey which is one of the channel islands between England and France.
starting around Europe sounds like a good idea, i'm already fairly confident in France with the people and so on so just from holidays and day trips!

so maybe heading further up into the south would be a good start!

but my plans are to just get right in there, so once im on the go i don't want to come back home for a while!!

when you're travelling, have you already decided all of your destinations or do you just go with the flow?

[lucky]

Sounds like you need to get yourself out to France and work your way around ... seems like that would be your best bet. You'll meet tons of people and hear about interesting places to travel to from other travelers once you get started.

There is no real need to plan out your whole trip, a rough idea of where you are going might be a good idea though.

You can always head to Eastern Europe for a little more adventure once you feel confident.

Depending on how much time you have... try to make your way to Istanbul (Turkey). Turkey is one of my favorite countries and you would get a chance to see very nice places as you get there from your current location.

Good luck!

[radsolv]

9 Dec 04

Hi Vivianne,

Just turned 18 and ready to dive in for an extended world trip alone. Gutsy Gal or maybe you just don't really understand the situation. But I'm certainly not going to discourage you because I'm sure there are plenty of parents, aunts, uncles, friends that will warn you of all sorts of real dangers, but most of the dangers are imaginery or exagerated.

I've done a fair amount of traveling all alone. Met fun people along the way. But for sure traveling with a friend or especially a lover is much better. Also money is a big constraint but it can be done on very little and many do especially in Asia, South America, Africa.

Maybe my best suggestion to you is browse through the travel entries of "whereshegoes" by Carmella L. on travelpod. She's probably, prolly as she would say, around mid 20's but has spent 2 years abroad and she writes very well.

If you want, you can write me directly at radsolv@pobox.com. I might have more suggestions for example get a convertible back pack. Travel pants with zip off legs and lots of deep, zippered pockets.

Best of luck. Hope to see you on line.

Art Rom...

[bretch]

Hiya,

For my first trip I decided on Australia, I always wanted to go there, plus its an english speaking country, you can get work visa and if your willing to most things, you'd get work fairly easy.. saying that I know a few people who struggled, as did I at various points of my trip. But you meet many people in the same boat and often just get by!!!!

If you don't want to do the typical tourist thing, travel the west coast of Western Australia, you can still swim in reefs (Ningaloo Reef) with sharks, rays and turtles and see the dolphins at Shark Bay (although its hard to swim with them).



check that out for a 'tourist' beach. This is what it was like for most of the west coast. Although I have to add, unless you have plenty of money, you need to find other travellers as the cost of going up the west coast is too much for one person... and too boring I'd say. And it's really easy to find people to go with!!!

If you want any more info, e-mail me or goto my travel logs.

Good luck, enjoy and be safe
Bretch

[ger]

Hi
If you have the time go to Asia! Get yourself a plane ticket to Bangkok Thailand and have a blast. Your money will last you a lot longer than western countries and you'll meet tonnes of people. I always recommend Thailand as a starter destination. It might be a little weird for the first couple of days just getting used to the food and culture. If Bangkok is your destination stay at Khao San Road. Khao San Road has many bars, guesthouses, travel agents, shopping etc... Its a good place to start off with and you'll meet tonnes of travellers here and get ideas of where you want to go next. I can guarantee you that you won't regret going to Thailand. I started travelling when I was young also. One of my first trips I did was Australia by myself when I was 19. It was good but I found I ended up talking to all the other travellers about Asia. That trip I discovered that the western countries just don't have the kick like other countries. I have seen some really crazy stuff that I never would have seen in western countries. I guess it just depends on if you want a western country or not. I recommend Thailand as a started because there are so many amazing countries around it also, that require no flights. South East Asia is a pretty safe area to travel. Especially compared to places like Mexico and Central America. The best and cheapest way to travel is by bus or train. Thailand and Malaysia have an amazing train system. If you have any questions just email me at ger@clovermail.net

www.travelpod.com/members/ger