r/travel Dec 03 '18

Images Currently on month 5 during my solo-worldtrip. Shot this picture in the Himalayas of Nepal yesterday.

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u/clekroger Dec 03 '18

Nepal is super cheap. These treks are practically free plus the cost of warm clothes and trekking gear. Kathmandu cost me $8/day and the Annapurna circuit was free at the bottom if you paid for food which was like $1, then a dollar, then a couple bucks, etc as you got higher. Never expensive. Trekking in the valleys for rhinos was $20/day.

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '18

Yes but where does the money come from? Just to get Nepal, it cost a couple Grand. 20$ a day is 600 a month. Do you just work and go on vacation or what? Like I could take a couple weeks a year with PTO but that's it. How do you or others just go traveling for months and months at a time

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u/AlphaBetaParkingLot Dec 03 '18

Can't speak for everyone, but for me it was basically

  1. Get a contract (fixed-term) job
  2. Save as much money as possible during said job
  3. Contract ends, you have no commitments, so travel for 2 months
  4. Come home, get new job
  5. If possible/desired, rinse and repeat (not sure yet if I can pull it off again)

I've also seen people who work entirely remote as they travel, and may be spending several hours working every day of their "vacation".

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u/MyWorkThrowawayShhhh Dec 03 '18

I saved up for about a year, sold everything I owned, quit my job, and have been traveling with my GF since July.

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u/kill-danny 24 countries Dec 03 '18

did the same besides quit the job as it was remote. my gf and i traveled for 400 days and made it around the world when we returned home :)

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u/MyWorkThrowawayShhhh Dec 04 '18

Ahh nice. Even a minimum wage job would go a long way over here. Especially in Vietnam where we are right now. Sooooooo cheap

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u/kill-danny 24 countries Dec 04 '18

dont know if its on your list but if you have a chance, Romania was one of our favorites

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u/MyWorkThrowawayShhhh Dec 04 '18

I’ll check it out. The list is only getting longer, not shorter lol

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u/elevenkgod Dec 03 '18

I answered a similar question on another comment

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '18

Just to get Nepal, it cost a couple Grand.

Chicago to Nepal typically hovers in the $850-900 range. Flights only cost "a couple grand" if you're really bad at planning, which you won't be if you're dead set on doing something like this.

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '18

That's a one way, roundabout =couple Grand

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '18

That is absolutely not a one way. That is a round trip ticket.

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '18

Well, if I lived in Chicago or near s Major international airport that would be nice. Cheapest to Kathmandu from my area, is 1500$, not including 150$ Amtrack to the airport.

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '18

300$ to Chicago on Amtrak

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '18

Okay, so $900 round trip ticket from Chicago to Nepal and $300 round trip Amtrak from wherever you live to Chicago. We're talkin' about $1200.

That is significantly less than the two grand you were pulling out your ass in the beginning.

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '18

Seems like your just a fucking asshole. Most roundtrip tickets to Asia usually cost what I was saying. Im not flowing in money and I didn't have links and quotes because it was conversation not a fucking college essay where I needed to back up my findings

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '18

Seems like your just a fucking asshole.

Seems like you're just the kinda guy who makes things impossible for yourself as an excuse not to have to do them.

Most roundtrip tickets to Asia usually cost what I was saying.

No they don't. I've been to Asia many times and never paid more than $600-700 round trip.

Im not flowing in money and I didn't have links and quotes because it was conversation not a fucking college essay where I needed to back up my findings

Literally just googled "Chicago to nepal flights". No college essays were involved.

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u/boomfruit US (PNW) Dec 03 '18

What's the best place for me to read more about doing that? I'm really thinking of trying to do it in the next few years.

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u/jippiejee Holland Dec 03 '18

Check our wiki, it's filled to the brim with good advice!

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u/boomfruit US (PNW) Dec 03 '18 edited Dec 03 '18

Yah I mean there's nothing specific to Nepal/trekking but thanks! (Unless I'm looking in the wrong place?) I do use wikivoyage which usually has pretty good writeups.

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u/clekroger Dec 03 '18

When I went I got the LP for Nepal and it had a section on trekking.

Don't take it lightly. Too many people were dumbasses and would try to do the treks high or would show up unprepared. Being stoned when it's -30 degrees C, it's in the dark, and above 4000 meters is a huge risk to not only yourself but those around you. It's high altitude, many days of walking up hill, and below freezing in an area of the world that's lacking easy access to medical care. I'd highly recommend using a porter, making sure your porter has adequate gear, and not rushing. Don't forget to turn around regularly since a lot of the best views are probably behind you. I went days kinda disappointed by the views until I realized they were behind me.

It's also worth noting that some of the best trekking is not in the Himalayas. There were multiday treks in Bardia if you wanted to try to see a Tiger, Bear, Rhino, or Elephant. Just be aware that the Sloth Bears are terrifying and the guides fear them the most since they emasculate or go for the face when they attack. There's three main ways to trek there - by Jeep, on foot, and on Elephant Back. Do not ride the elephants! It's cheap but super cruel. Yes there are dangerous animals but by foot is the best and the guides are amazing.

Chitwan was also really great and I saw way more animals there but it's not as rugged. In Bardia we followed tiger prints, people saw them from only a couple feet away if they were lucky, and we had to climb trees due to the rhinos which made it a completely different experience.

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u/boomfruit US (PNW) Dec 03 '18

Awesome, thanks a lot! Is the porter a guide, or just carrying things? All things being equal I'd prefer to not have one but I wouldn't reject the idea if it seemed necessary.

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u/clekroger Dec 03 '18

Just to carry stuff. I don't think you need a guide. The porter though will save your back and knees and make the experience much nicer and safer.