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Joenail

Joenail

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I'm selling some rather expensive stuff soon & thinking about what to do with the extra money. A photo-orientated trip abroad for a week or two seems to be the favourite. Don't want to waste it all on some super high spec surround sound matrix sub woofer HD telefish lens or something daft :lol:

Problem is where to go! I'd like somewhere that's a completely different culture to the UK, but not touristy. Proper, natural other-world type place. I'm thing places like Mozambique or Tibet, really can't make my mind up. Probably not a big city though. Might end up needing some sort of guide.

What do folk think? Good or daft? if anyone has done something like this before or has any sort of advice whatsoever I'd really appreciate it. (very early on in planning stages).

-J
 
Very nice idea, however once you get out of Europe the overall cost of the trip will skyrocket. If you are looking at somewhere like tibet, unless you are booking a year in advance, expect to pay between £500 - £700 for the flight alone.

If you go anywhere long haul, dont be tempted by cheaper flight prices. Being couped up on a plane for 10+ hours or being stuck on a 18 hour transfer in a shoddy airport isnt nice. Buy direct as possible for what you can afford, and go with the "better" more comfortable airlines, not the ones that cram as many people in as possible in tiny seats. Nothing like 10 hours stuck with the service equivilant of easyjet for 10+ hours. A quick google search of any airline you are considering before you commit money will help. Ive always liked KLM and BA.

Do your research for costs, then do a bit more, its a nightmare being abroad and running over budget and having to count pennies. Make sure you have some sort of reserve money "just incase", things happen and a financial net to fall back on can literally be a lifesaver.

Lastly, after my own experiences, do not go to any expensive strip clubs for a "final night out", and if you ignore that and you do, do not take your card so you can get more cash from a cash machine. Near £1000 in less than 3 hours...dear god it was one hell of a night and I had to fly back the next day still drunk :shake:
 
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Joenail said:
I'm selling some rather expensive stuff soon & thinking about what to do with the extra money. A photo-orientated trip abroad for a week or two seems to be the favourite. Don't want to waste it all on some super high spec surround sound matrix sub woofer HD telefish lens or something daft :lol:

Problem is where to go! I'd like somewhere that's a completely different culture to the UK, but not touristy. Proper, natural other-world type place. I'm thing places like Mozambique or Tibet, really can't make my mind up. Probably not a big city though. Might end up needing some sort of guide.

What do folk think? Good or daft? if anyone has done something like this before or has any sort of advice whatsoever I'd really appreciate it. (very early on in planning stages).

-J
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If you want to go to places like Tibet and Mozambique you'll probably have to spend in the thousands range - how about doing the Siberian railway? That's also going to be very expensive but you did say you were selling expensive stuff! It's something I've always wanted to do but Id be too scared to go by myself or even with a couple of friends, things can get rough I hear if you're not very careful.
 
Joenail said:
I'm selling some rather expensive stuff soon & thinking about what to do with the extra money. A photo-orientated trip abroad for a week or two seems to be the favourite. Don't want to waste it all on some super high spec surround sound matrix sub woofer HD telefish lens or something daft :lol:

Problem is where to go! I'd like somewhere that's a completely different culture to the UK, but not touristy. Proper, natural other-world type place. I'm thing places like Mozambique or Tibet, really can't make my mind up. Probably not a big city though. Might end up needing some sort of guide.

What do folk think? Good or daft? if anyone has done something like this before or has any sort of advice whatsoever I'd really appreciate it. (very early on in planning stages).

-J
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Its not worth going that far for a week or two when you factor in the flights imo. For example (ill use thailand because I know that well) Return flights to bangkok are about £500. Factor in a basic budget of £20 a day if you are in the more rural areas. Two weeks would cost you £280 + £500 so £780 or £55 a day. If you did the same but for a month you would be looking closer to £1100 or £35 a day. Places like Tibet and Mozambique will be even more of a difference because living expenses are so cheap in comparison to the expensive flights. If it were me, I would save up a bit more and consider spending a month or so somewhere. Just to let you know I'm planning on spending 4.5 months travelling on a 3k budget. Don't get me wrong I am going to be roughing it but if you are ready to accept a bit of roughing it you can get real good value for your money and in many cases a much better cultural experience than you would in some fancy four star hotel.
 
What do folk think? Good or daft? if anyone has done something like this before or has any sort of advice whatsoever I'd really appreciate it. (very early on in planning stages).
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A great idea. Spend your cash on experiences instead of stuff, it's the way to be happy in life - and if you can get great photos from it, even better.
 
We go SKING a lot (Spend Kids In Iinheritance) :lol:

were going to Goa India in Feb and yesterday we booked to and paid to go to Thassos in May

Travel as much as you can :thumbs: see the world your only here once :thumbs:
 
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Transsiberian.. London-Moscow-Beijing and build in a few stops along the way. There's a guide to the route on Seat51. Or you could jump the first leg, fly to Moscow and then catch the train to Beijing or Vladivostok. Fly back, or do the trip in reverse.

And not just because I'm watching the film of that name as I type.. the Transsiberian is a route I think I'd like to do myself.
 
travellingcello said:
If you want to go to places like Tibet and Mozambique you'll probably have to spend in the thousands range - how about doing the Siberian railway? That's also going to be very expensive but you did say you were selling expensive stuff! It's something I've always wanted to do but Id be too scared to go by myself or even with a couple of friends, things can get rough I hear if you're not very careful.
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Alastair said:
Transsiberian.. London-Moscow-Beijing and build in a few stops along the way. There's a guide to the route on Seat51. Or you could jump the first leg, fly to Moscow and then catch the train to Beijing or Vladivostok. Fly back, or do the trip in reverse.

And not just because I'm watching the film of that name as I type.. the Transsiberian is a route I think I'd like to do myself.
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FruitFlakes said:
Grab an Interrail ticket and take a train through Europe into Turkey and back.
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Siberian railway seems like a very good idea judging from the brief search I did (as do the other 2), but since it's a photo-orientated thing I'd prefer to focus on the one place & get as much as I can from it instead of just spending a night or 2 per city.

itsdavedotnet said:
A great idea. Spend your cash on experiences instead of stuff, it's the way to be happy in life - and if you can get great photos from it, even better.
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Just Dave said:
We go SKING a lot (Spend Kids In Iinheritance) :lol:

were going to Goa India in Feb and yesterday we booked to and paid to go to Thassos in May

Travel as much as you can :thumbs: see the world your only here once :thumbs:
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jamesoliverstone said:
This.

Don't be scared either... pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone is the only way to experience life (imo). :thumbs:
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Exactly my inspiration for doing this! I'm getting fed up of being in one place with lots of things. I'd much prefer to be in many places with 3 things! :lol:


jacob12_1993 said:
Its not worth going that far for a week or two when you factor in the flights imo. For example (ill use thailand because I know that well) Return flights to bangkok are about £500. Factor in a basic budget of £20 a day if you are in the more rural areas. Two weeks would cost you £280 + £500 so £780 or £55 a day. If you did the same but for a month you would be looking closer to £1100 or £35 a day. Places like Tibet and Mozambique will be even more of a difference because living expenses are so cheap in comparison to the expensive flights. If it were me, I would save up a bit more and consider spending a month or so somewhere. Just to let you know I'm planning on spending 4.5 months travelling on a 3k budget. Don't get me wrong I am going to be roughing it but if you are ready to accept a bit of roughing it you can get real good value for your money and in many cases a much better cultural experience than you would in some fancy four star hotel.
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Well, when you break it down like that, it makes much more sense to go for a month or so! I'll be very much roughing it, not really interested in fancy hotels :gag:

Just out of interest, where are you going for 4.5 months? I'd love to go for that long, but have too much to commit to back home :thumbsdown:


Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply, you've all motivated me to get off my a*** & go!

-J
 
Visit Tibet can be quite tricky. You will need a special visa ( the normal Chinese visa will not be valid for entry into Tibet). The special visa needs to be applied via tourist company and some time the visa can become invalid due to politic reasons. :(
 
Flights to India should be less than £500 and once on the ground you can get by on £20 per day plus beer money. Lots of good photo opps there too. I would include Pakistan. Mocambique is nice and Maputo has some good eating. Middle East is also an option though Syria might be a problem, I went in Oct and it was fine then but anything can happen.
 
Joenail said:
Siberian railway seems like a very good idea judging from the brief search I did (as do the other 2), but since it's a photo-orientated thing I'd prefer to focus on the one place & get as much as I can from it instead of just spending a night or 2 per city.

Exactly my inspiration for doing this! I'm getting fed up of being in one place with lots of things. I'd much prefer to be in many places with 3 things! :lol:

Well, when you break it down like that, it makes much more sense to go for a month or so! I'll be very much roughing it, not really interested in fancy hotels :gag:

Just out of interest, where are you going for 4.5 months? I'd love to go for that long, but have too much to commit to back home :thumbsdown:

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply, you've all motivated me to get off my a*** & go!

-J
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The 4.5 months is Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Guilin/longsheng/Guangzhou area of china
 
jamesoliverstone said:
This.

Don't be scared either... pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone is the only way to experience life (imo). :thumbs:
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This, plus take a look at some of the trips James has recently taken ;)
 
Vietnam !!! Only real place IMO for a photographers paradise !!!
 
Ruffy said:
Vietnam !!! Only real place IMO for a photographers paradise !!!
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They are many places that I would possibly rank above Vietnam depending on your shooting style.

Landscapes - Patagonia, Himalayas, Yosemite etc

Macro, flora and fauna - Amazon

People/portraits - All the countries in SE Asia but Myanmar especially

It's really all personal preference but for first time travellers SE Asia is the best place to start because it has a massive 'tourist trail' that you can stick to if you need to. SE Asia is also excellent for photography because there is such a massive wide range of cultures and colours. Also the majority of the people I met I would rank as the kindest people I know. People will literally go out of their way to help you even in the massive cities like Bangkok.
 
jacob12_1993 said:
Just to let you know I'm planning on spending 4.5 months travelling on a 3k budget. Don't get me wrong I am going to be roughing it but if you are ready to accept a bit of roughing it you can get real good value for your money and in many cases a much better cultural experience than you would in some fancy four star hotel.
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When are you heading off? I'd be interested in hearing how you get on :thumbs:
 
How about Russia? Chernobyl perhaps. There was a link on here (I think?) about a woman that rode her motorcycle to Chernobyl and shot some interesting photography. Not been to Chernobyl myself but have been to Russia, was a few years back and I've not returned (well, actually cannot return but thats another story ;)) but it was a great experience!
 
Ruffy said:
That's a story I would like to hear lol
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voila.
http://www.kiddofspeed.com

I think I'm gonna do interrailling this summer, it's cheapish and gives me a lot of mileage for my money - I want to go east a bit too, seems cheaper and more interesting than some of the more 'usual' european countries!
 
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Having a quick look at the pics on your website I'd say Patagonia might be a good choice, lots of room for more abstract landscape shots there with some incredable skys and wide open spaces aswell as the more well known Mountains and Glaicers.

Apart from the shear distance I actually found it a very easy place to visit, get a flight down to El Calafate and you can book tours to the big Glaciers pretty easily then take a bus up to El Chalten wheres theres a ton of daywalks in the Fitzroy area. No need for a guide as in Nepal or Tibet and no need to hire a car as in the west of the US. Pretty easy to combine with a side trip to Igassu falls on the Brazilian boarder aswell.
 
new2me said:
When are you heading off? I'd be interested in hearing how you get on :thumbs:
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Ruffy said:
And do you need someone to carry your rucksack :)
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Hopefully the first week of April all being well. The main reason I am going is to complete a personal project which I wrote about here: http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=362230

However whilst I was there I thought I may aswell continue on and cover everywhere I want to visit in mainland SE Asia. I will hopefully creating a blog to write about my experiences working out of my 2 backpacks for 4.5 months on a $20/a day budget, as I have been unable to find a similar resource during my research.

Ruffy, if your in the area you are more than welcome to carry my backpack. Its the only bit I am not looking forward too :gag:
 
spaniel said:
How about Russia? Chernobyl perhaps. There was a link on here (I think?) about a woman that rode her motorcycle to Chernobyl and shot some interesting photography. Not been to Chernobyl myself but have been to Russia, was a few years back and I've not returned (well, actually cannot return but thats another story ;)) but it was a great experience!
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I'd like to do Chernobyl, but it's a bit obvious I think. Most folk are interested/would like to see it & photographs there are too easily impressive for me because of the shock factor. Nothing at all against it & some of her photographs are crackers, just not my thing really :shrug:

itsdavedotnet said:
voila.
http://www.kiddofspeed.com

I think I'm gonna do interrailling this summer, it's cheapish and gives me a lot of mileage for my money - I want to go east a bit too, seems cheaper and more interesting than some of the more 'usual' european countries!
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I'm looking at interrailing now. Didn't realise you could just pay for a certain amount of trains/buses & travel in your own time :bonk: Seems like a great idea now. More for your money & all that!

At the moment Vietnam/Cambodia seem to be winning the battle! Does anyone know anything about organising a personal guide for certain cities/countries? All Google is giving me is touristy stuff :shrug:

-J
 
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Joenail said:
I'd like to do Chernobyl, but it's a bit obvious I think. Most folk are interested/would like to see it & photographs there are too easily impressive for me because of the shock factor. Nothing at all against it & some of her photographs are crackers, just not my thing really :shrug:



I'm looking at interrailing now. Didn't realise you could just pay for a certain amount of trains/buses & travel in your own time :bonk: Seems like a great idea now. More for your money & all that!

At the moment Vietnam/Cambodia seem to be winning the battle! Does anyone know anything about organising a personal guide for certain cities/countries? All Google is giving me is touristy stuff :shrug:

-J
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You can hire guides in most of the cities in SE Asia but beware of your budget if you do. The going rate is about $15 a half day and $25 a full day so if you are on a low budget that can easily double it. However I think a guide may be useful in Angkor and maybe Ho Chi Minh but you will get more enjoyment exploring on your own :thumbs:
 
Finally decided on a place. Due to having less money than I thought I've had to forget about Myanmar, Burma & places like that, so I'm off to Krakow at the end of the month! I've always wanted to go there to see Auchwitz etc. It'll be bloody cold though!
-J
 
Joenail said:
Finally decided on a place. Due to having less money than I thought I've had to forget about Myanmar, Burma & places like that, so I'm off to Krakow at the end of the month! I've always wanted to go there to see Auchwitz etc. It'll be bloody cold though!
-J
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Nice one! Its always something I've fancied too :thumbs: Wrap up warm and have a good time, I've heard its incredibly humbling and powerful place to visit.

p.s just to be pedantic Myanmar and Burma are the same place :p
 
Ach! I knew there was something wrong about that sentence :bang:

Read that thread on your project btw, very inspiring stuff! Good luck with it :thumbs:

-J
 
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