The Rough Guide to First-Time Around the World

Doug Lansky

Description

Whether you're heading off on a gap year or taking a sabbatical, the new full-colour The Rough Guide to First-Time Around the World will be indispensable when planning your trip. From the big things (entry requirements, round-the-world tickets) to the very smallest (how many pairs of socks you'll need), this guide has you covered. Beyond the inspirational section on how to enrich your trip, it includes maps, regional profiles, an FAQ section, a directory and plenty of practical, budget-conscious tips.

The Rough Guide to First-Time Around the World also contains a well-researched selection of the best the internet has to offer independent travellers, from using your phone abroad to the best services available through the new sharing economy, plus information on staying safe on the road and how to pick volunteer programmes wisely. Planning your first trip around the world can be daunting for even veteran travellers, but the Rough Guides author leads you through the process with experience, insight and humour, showing you how to create your own journey - not just how to tick off everything you're "supposed" to see.

Sujets

• Special Interest
• Travel
• Adventure

Informations

• Publié par: Apa Publications
• Date de parution: 01 février 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780241258262
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 20 Mo

Extrait

First-Time Around the World

INSIDE THIS BOOK

INTRODUCTIONGeneral facts and information, along with inspired ideas to enrich your journey. BIG ADVENTUREExpert advice to help you create your perfect itinerary, with tips on tranport, budgeting, safety and what to expect from life on the road. WHERE TO GORegional profiles, giving you a taste of what each has in store, with rundowns of the top attractions and details of overland travel routes. DIRECTORYThe latest websites and apps, for everything from finding cheap flights to photography.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Doug Lansky has been living abroad for more than twenty years, during which time he’s travelled in over 120 countries. He is the author of ten books, including three for Rough Guides. As well as writing a travel column syndicated in over forty newspapers, he has hosted a Travel Channel show, served as a correspondent for Public Radio’sThe Savvy Traveler, worked as travel editor for Scandinavian Airlines’ inflight magazine and contributed to publications such asNational Geographic Traveler,Reader’s Digest,Esquire,Men’s Journal,The Guardian,San Francisco Examiner, andHuffington Post. On the speaking circuit, Doug has given acclaimed lectures at nearly a hundred universities, and spoken at both public travel events and tourism conferences, including to a soldout audience at National Geographic Headquarters and for the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Make the Most of Your Time on Earth atroughguides.com

This fifth edition published February 2016

THE ROUGH GUIDE TO

First-Time Around the World Written and researched by Doug Lansky

with additional contributions by Henrik Harr

roughguides.com

Ideas to enrich your journey

Contents

10 Carrying valuables

62

18

Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific

Central America and the Caribbean

3

189

195

WHERE TO GO Africa

13 Culture shock

14 Staying in touch

12 When you arrive

DIRECTORY

6 Working, volunteering and studying 82

2 Initial planning

3 How to get around the world

5 Costs and savings

7 Documents and insurance

8 Preparing your home for departure 106

Asia

19 Returning home

18 Documenting your trip

17 Special considerations

45

22

253

260

INTRODUCTION

4 How to choose: travelling alone or with friends

121

201

9 Packing

BIG ADVENTURE 1 FAQ

15 Security

109

235

226

214

16 Health

67

97

4

INTRODUCTION

168

158

152

147

130

199 242

11 Guidebooks and other reading

SMALL PRINT & INDEX

17 126

Middle East

Europe and Russia

285

183

267

275

South America

OPPOSITESTILT FISHERMEN, WELIGAMA, SRI LANKAPREVIOUS PAGELLAMA BY MACHU PICCHU, PERU

North America

8

4INTRODUCTION

Introductionto First-Time Around the World

The world is flat. Or so the thinking went, until someone actually went off to circumnavigate it. You may not make such a colossal discovery during your own global journey, but what awaits you “out there” is something only you can find: your very own adventure. Beyond your part of the planet lie mountain ranges with echobending canyons, tangled jungles, deserts that stretch into sanguine sunsets and yellow savanna veiling lions, wildebeest and springbok. There are retinaburning white beaches tapering off into ginclear waters that serve as a playground for dolphins, turtles and manta rays. Not to mention over six thousand languages, countless botanical wonders, architectural masterpieces and geological anomalies. All that is already out there. The decision to find it is yours. Who knows, you may just find a best friend, even the love of your life, along the way.

My own plan was to walk out te front door, ead to Florida and try to itcike on yacts to Sout America – all on a budget stretced tigter tan an ageing Hollywood foreead. Witout getting into details, my yact-itcing sceme only got me as far as te Virgin Islands. And te only reason I made it tat far was because I flew tere. (Turned out I was trying to itc sout during urricane season, wen all te boats were eaded nort or into safe arbours.) his start, owever rocky, did launc me on a two-and-a-alf-year trip tat forever canged my life. And not just because it ended wit a car accident in Bangkok, wic left me in te unfortunate position of aving a broken ankle and amoebic dysentery – a tragic combination of constantly aving to go to te loo, and never being able to get tere quickly enoug. I ended up travelling for anoter seven years as a travel columnist, meeting my Swedis wife, and ten living in five countries over te next fifteen years.

ABOVEWINDMILLS, CASTILLA LA MANCHA, SPAINOPPOSITEHULI MEN, MOUNT HAGEN, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

INTRODUCTION

MEETING LOCALS It’s hard to pick up a travel magazine, brochure or guidebook without seeing an exotic cast of faces. The unspoken message seems to be that this is who you’ll meet in these countries. The people you’re far more likely to encounter, however, are other travellers. And the local people you’ll mostly come in contact with are vendors, taxi drivers, guides and hotel clerks – people serving you. To make more genuine contacts takes some effort, but is perhaps the single most important aspect of enriching travel. Volunteering or working in a place is one of the most traditional methods. You can also use the web. Get in touch with local organizations (eg if you’re a fencer, get in touch with the local fencing clubs and attend practice when you are in different cities) or find out about Couchsurfing opportunities. But even if you’re just looking to take a picture of someone, a thoughtful approach might lead to a more meaningful connection.

Before I get aead of myself, toug, I just want to assure you tis book is not going to try to persuade you to travel, nor make grandiose assertions tat stomping around te planet wit a coated-nylon pack will someow fulfil watever may be missing from your life. Travel is an urge best cultivated from witin. In fact, one of te biggest favours you can do for yourself is to travel if and when you’re ready , not wen someone else tinks you sould. he more eager you are to open yourself up to life on te road, te more willing you are to embrace te unknown rater tan sign up for a pre-packaged, air-conditioned experience, te more likely you are to reap real rewards. Believe it or not, nearly anyone can get around te world in one piece (or in my case, two), and I’d be lying if I told you tat you needed tis book to come back alive. However, te downside to blindly winging it is tat you’ll make mistakes , some potentially dangerous, many costly and some just plain embarrassing. By te time you get troug te first section of tis book, you sould be savvy enoug to cart an itinerary for your trip and avoid nearly all te snares tat await you. Wit a glimpse

5

6INTRODUCTION of life on te road, a feel for te essentials, and by WORLD FACT FILE addressing a number of travel’s most testing issues  World populationover aead of time, you’ll be well on your way. 7 billion he regional profiles in te second part of te  book tell you wat it costs to get around, ow Circumference of the earth 40,000km long it’ll take to cross te various landmasses and  if tere are any rail, bus or air passes you may wis Height of Mount Everest 8850m/29,035ft to buy aead of time to make tings ceaper and  Depth of the Mariana more convenient. You’ll notice we took some Trench, Western Pacific Ocean10,924m/35,840ft liberties in dividing up te world into eigt regions: Nort America, for instance, normally  Highest temperatureDeath Valley, USA 134ºF/56.7ºC includes Mexico, but because of popular overland  Lowest temperatureVostok, routes, a sared language and its latitude, Mexico Antarctica 128.6ºF/89.2ºC as been placed in te Central America and te  Caribbean section. he regional maps are meant TourismThe World Tourism Organization’s most recent to provide ballpark estimates (see box, p.55) of te figures show there were 1,133 million international tourist times of overland travel on common routes. hey arrivals, which generated $1.5 are by no means instructing you to take suc trillion and accounted for six routes (it’s always better to find your own way), percent of the world’s GDP. More than six percent of all jobs nor are tey completely accurate, since delays do worldwide are supported by the occur, particularly in less-developed regions. travel and tourism industry. Of course, you’ll want more specific information  Worldwide, according to eventually, eiter from websites or publications UNHCR, an average of 42,500 listed in te Directory section at te end of tis people became refugees, internally displaced or book or from your guidebook once you arrive. But asylumseekers every day at tis point, muc more information tan wat during 2014, bringing the total you’ll find provided ere will bog down your to 59.5 million worldwide. planning process instead of elping it along. And remember tat tere’s suc a ting as too muc planning. One of te greatest trills of travel is trying to make your way between two points by te least travelled, most arduous route, cancing rides and roads and climates as you go.

TIME AND SPACE One thing that travellers often forget to mentally prepare for is the different conception of time and space on the road. With buses that don’t leave until they’re full, boats that wait at the harbour for the captain to return from his family holiday, and mechanical problems that require spare parts sent by cargo ship from Australia, the hardcore traveller’s mantra“no watches, no calendars, no worries”begins to seem like a healthy response to seeing your carefully planned itinerary fly out the window. Your personal space , on the other hand, is likely to shrink, whether you’re speaking with someone who insists on standing almost nosetonose during the conversation or you’re packed into a sixperson minivan with seventeen other passengers. Plan for twice as much transport time as you think you need, try to grab a seat near a window so you can control the freshair supply – and make sure you’ve got something to read.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFTLONDON EYE AND HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, LONDON, ENGLAND; DESERT FESTIVAL, JAISALMER, INDIA; TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK, CHILE

825 IDEAS TO ENRICH YOUR JOURNEY 25 ideas to enrich your journey There are many lists telling you what to see before you die, but that’s not a very immersive way to travel. Thinking in terms of “doing” rather than “seeing” will enhance that most vital, often elusive, dimension to your travels.