F.A.Q
Trip Start
Dec 03, 2005
1
44
Trip End
Jul 19, 2007
Reading,
United Kingdom
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Travelling alone isn't as bad as a lot of people probably think. In fact, it is quite rare to be on your own as you usually meet up with others and they generally have the same interests so you end up spending a while with them, then your routes diverge so as you say goodbye to some you say hello to others.
In fact, I would almost go so far as to say travelling by yourself is better as it almost forces you to to leave that comfort zone of familiarity and go out and meet people. It also makes you more approachable to others as they don't feel so intimidated by numbers.
Did I win the lottery?
I wish! No, I just worked hard and saved all that sweat money to do something I had only been dreaming about until now.
Which country is my favourite?
None in particular, they all have their virtues and they all have their vices.
Which is my least favourite?
See above.
What am I looking forward to most when I get back home?
My own bed!
What will I miss most when I finish?
The friendliness of the people from the every country I have visited. Striking up a conversation with some stranger that I have never known yet after an hour feeling like they have been my friend forever. Meeting new people be they fellow backpackers or people from the country. The sense of not knowing where I will be in a week's time. Tasting new foods and drinks. All that tropical fruit that still hasn't made it over to Europe. The challenge that is travelling, waking up every morning and having to narrow down where I was by continent, country, city and hostel.
What will I not miss when I finish?
Living out of a backpack and having to lug it around everywhere with me.
Did anything "dangerous" happen?
The trip was not perfect but nothing in life is. I have returned alive so anything that did happen can't have been too serious and for anything that did go wrong, I can assure you that there are probably at least ten times as many things that didn't due to the help and concern of the locals who would always look out for me. Travelling alone may be to your advantage here as there is always someone who is ready to look after you as if you were their own daughter.
Has my approach to travelling changed since I started?
I must admit that if anything has changed it is my attitude to hostels and dorms. Hostels aren't generally the norm in South America so having a room to myself at a costly USD$3 (GBP£1.50) a night is a luxury I have become accustomed to and will probably find difficult to leave behind on my next trip.
What will be the first meal I have when I return?
I can't really say but my idea of a good day's worth of nosh after all this travelling would be:
Breakfast: A big fry with beans, mushrooms, egg and sausages.
Dinner: Leg of lamb with garlic & rosemary, mash and roast spuds along with some healthy veg.
Tea: Me Ma's homemade apple tart with vanilla ice-cream!
Why did I go home?
I did have the option to continue on up to Central America but I thought it deserved a trip of it's own some day. But of course, the main reason would be the obvious, funds were coming close to non-existent and so the inevitable reality was getting closer and I had to start thinking about polishing up that CV of mine again.
Why did I go?
I had wanted to do this trip for a long time but was afraid to go it alone so waited and waited and waited hoping I would find someone with a similar interest. This didn't happen. My conflict of interest was buying a house but as the prices were way out of my range this wasn't looking likely either. As the Lightning Seeds say, "we've got to find the time for the Life of Riley" and that wasn't happening back home so it was time to find it elsewhere.
There were also three songs that inspired me to move outside the comfort zone:
In third place: The llama song
Llamas everywhere. I think this explains itself!!!
In second place: Greenday, "Wake me up when September ends"
I gave myself an ultimatum to decide by the end of September as to what I was doing. I had been dithering so much for the last three years that enough was enough and even I was bored of hearing the same record going round and around.
And the winner: Daniel Powter, "Bad Day"
I'm sure that explains itself aswell and many out there can identify with the whole meaning behind it. It was happening everywhere and everyday and I'd had enough.
Sometimes you just have to take a break from life and find out if the direction you're going in is really the one you want or if you're just being blown around by the wind with no direction at all. Imagination is the key, reality is the lock. All I had to do was find the right key.
How much did I spend / What was my budget?
My initial budget was an average of USD$25 (GBP£12.50) per day. This of course would change based on the country - Chile and Argentina would come out more expensive while Peru and Bolivia would come out less. All in all I managed to keep to this. To put this in perspective, it equates to only renting a room in a shared house in Reading and doesn't include things like transport or food or entertainment or anything else at all in fact and so I felt I could fully justify it as it was actually cheaper to travel than to live in the UK.
What kind of things are essentials, what did I bring that I didn't need, what will I bring on my next trip?
I still hold by my philosphy that you should never leave home without a sarong. It serves as so many things that I would class it as probably the most essential item in my backpack! Otherwise things are all relative to the purpose of your trip, if you're heading for the top of Aconcagua, a bikini isn't on the essentials list!
Did I fall ill much? What was the worst experience / country?
I must say I had a rather healthy time over here. I only got diarrhoea when I ate tinned tuna for some reason and I only got one foul cough which I suspect was due to the faulty air conditioning on the train from Brazil to Bolivia (one minute it was sweltering hot, next it was freezing cold).
Have I got my next trip planned?
I most certainly do, and the three others after that.
In case there is anyone out there who might be tempted to join me they are the following:
Central America (roughly 6 months)
Africa (roughly 1 year)
Asia (roughly 18 months)
Eurasia (roughly 2 years)
