A Full year backpacking

[BeVeryHappy]

Hi,

Was wondering should i post in the thread for travelling alone or should i start a new one.
End up i decide to start a new one because the situation here is kinda different.

Just some background,
i have been travelling alone for many years like slightly more than 10 years, however not every year i get to travel, so approximately i did like 8-9 trips on my own varies from 2-3 weeks depending on my leave available. most of the time per trip is only 1 country but i travel many cities. So i do not have issue travelling alone.

i always wanted to make a year long or at least 6 months of backpacking in my bucket list.
Since it is more than just 2-3 weeks. i do have the following consideration, so not sure anyone did a long trip before can share their experiences.

1. since will be travelling very long, it is not safe or not viable to carry different currencies with u and so much money. while travelling i saw those angmo traveller will withdraw money from ATM as they go, while this make sense but the exchange rate or bank charges will be high. any other alternatives?

2. as i stay alone, while i am away what should i do with my monthly bills like internet, mobile phone especially those are with contract. will they allow me to freeze and continue after that? or else will be wasted. even say i time it such that my contract already ended but i wanted to retain my phone number can i do so by paying a fee to retain? usually when i travel i will buy sim card oversea so will not be using my sg mobile anyway.

3. how to pack as you may encounter difference season, things like winter wear take up lots of space and the backpack will be full, or should i just buy over there when i encounter winter?
i ask is because so far my trip i never travel during winter closes will be early spring or autumn which already quite cold.

4. if anyone willing to reply to this thread i suppose you have done this before, so if yes beside the above 3 points anything else need to take note or consider?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Din0saurus]

1. I treat it as paying a premium for safety. Sort of like buying travel insurance. The alternative is to carry USD but I’ve had an entire backpack with half my money stolen once. Also, I don’t think the bank charges a lot more compared to paying for the money changer’s spread twice and the exchange rate variability over the entire year.

3. Wears synthetics to shorten your laundry turn over. They also hold up in a variety of temperature. The only cotton item I bring is a pair of jeans for going out. Lightweight base layers can be worn very comfortably in 30 degrees weather. Throw on a fleece, synthetic puffy and waterproof shell and you’re good to go down to negative temps. My fav pants are the prana brion. Works from 5-30C and you can just wear base layer pants underneath. Merino socks are also great for huge temperature variations. That means you can get away without bringing boots. Or, just move to a place with milder temps in winter.

4. Check out the visa requirements and how to apply. Be prepared to be stuck somewhere without a passport for a few days.

 

[dilphinus]

1. since will be travelling very long, it is not safe or not viable to carry different currencies with u and so much money. while travelling i saw those angmo traveller will withdraw money from ATM as they go, while this make sense but the exchange rate or bank charges will be high. any other alternatives?

Citibank has no overseas ATM withdrawal fees. Not every city/country has Citibank though. Alternative is to have a multi-currency account or debit/credit card. DBS has a Multi-Currency Account that you can link your debit card too.

I usually carry USD (even for travelling in Europe) and the EURO. When I was in North America for 3 months, I just carried USD.

2. as i stay alone, while i am away what should i do with my monthly bills like internet, mobile phone especially those are with contract. will they allow me to freeze and continue after that? or else will be wasted. even say i time it such that my contract already ended but i wanted to retain my phone number can i do so by paying a fee to retain? usually when i travel i will buy sim card oversea so will not be using my sg mobile anyway.

I rented out the common room when I was travelling and the tenant need the internet anyway. So just continued paying for it. I have a $0 Circles Life sim card and a Starhub pre-paid card which I use for data roaming. Telcoms do allow temporary suspension of services.

3. how to pack as you may encounter difference season, things like winter wear take up lots of space and the backpack will be full, or should i just buy over there when i encounter winter?
i ask is because so far my trip i never travel during winter closes will be early spring or autumn which already quite cold.

You can always buy and/or send back your clothes. I usually bring 1 set of thermal wear if I'm travelling during months nearing/ending winter and 2 sets if it's during winter. I have a very packable/foldable downjacket. Takes very little space and weight. I bring along a wool sweater as well. I pack these clothes (when not in use) into a packing cube and use it as a pillow.

 

[invisible999]

People already got right answers here, but let me add couple of points:

1. You need to minimize amount of cash carried around, so ATMs/credit cards are your friends. There are couple of ways to minimize fees: you can and should apply to YouTrip card where you can transfer from your regular bank/credit card account some amounts and then convert that to the destination country's currency very close to interbank exchange rates. Plus you can use the card to withdraw from ATMs as well.

In addition to above, you should consider to apply to CIMB account which comes with an ATM card. There are no withdrawal fees from ATMs using that card if ATM belongs to VISA network. So these two cards can be bases to access cash.

2. Find a house sitter/someone who will stay at your place at least with exchange to pay utility bills. But I would not trust blindly to promises to pay bills. Instead I would ask prepayment of 3 month of bills in advance and use that funds to prepay telco and sp power bills.

3. Minimize number of clothing carried around. Better to buy cheaper clothing at the country of arrival which you can discard/give away once you leave.

 

[triumphaliff]

Isn't it troublesome to keep purchasing a new travel SIM for every country you step foot in? During my Scoot flying days, I purchased a card Knowroaming Global SIM card. Very convenient, 1 card for all countries. Charges very reasonable.

 

[invisible999]

Isn't it troublesome to keep purchasing a new travel SIM for every country you step foot in? During my Scoot flying days, I purchased a card Knowroaming Global SIM card. Very convenient, 1 card for all countries. Charges very reasonable.

Depends... some of these global SIMs charge 10x-20x local SIM rates, I've seen like 1GB data for USD $15 in Indonesia. For that price in Indonesia you can get 20GB of data for sure...

 

[BeVeryHappy]

1. I treat it as paying a premium for safety. Sort of like buying travel insurance. The alternative is to carry USD but I’ve had an entire backpack with half my money stolen once. Also, I don’t think the bank charges a lot more compared to paying for the money changer’s spread twice and the exchange rate variability over the entire year.

3. Wears synthetics to shorten your laundry turn over. They also hold up in a variety of temperature. The only cotton item I bring is a pair of jeans for going out. Lightweight base layers can be worn very comfortably in 30 degrees weather. Throw on a fleece, synthetic puffy and waterproof shell and you’re good to go down to negative temps. My fav pants are the prana brion. Works from 5-30C and you can just wear base layer pants underneath. Merino socks are also great for huge temperature variations. That means you can get away without bringing boots. Or, just move to a place with milder temps in winter.

4. Check out the visa requirements and how to apply. Be prepared to be stuck somewhere without a passport for a few days.

thanks for the advice, i need to research more on clothings, never wear synthetics before need to see what is it like? is it like rubber?

 

[BeVeryHappy]

Citibank has no overseas ATM withdrawal fees. Not every city/country has Citibank though. Alternative is to have a multi-currency account or debit/credit card. DBS has a Multi-Currency Account that you can link your debit card too.

I usually carry USD (even for travelling in Europe) and the EURO. When I was in North America for 3 months, I just carried USD.


I rented out the common room when I was travelling and the tenant need the internet anyway. So just continued paying for it. I have a $0 Circles Life sim card and a Starhub pre-paid card which I use for data roaming. Telcoms do allow temporary suspension of services.


You can always buy and/or send back your clothes. I usually bring 1 set of thermal wear if I'm travelling during months nearing/ending winter and 2 sets if it's during winter. I have a very packable/foldable downjacket. Takes very little space and weight. I bring along a wool sweater as well. I pack these clothes (when not in use) into a packing cube and use it as a pillow.

wow many useful info, especially i like the last one use it as a pillow. hmm didn't know about multi currency account gotta check it out and also telecom suspension of service. i am using normal post paid card.
one thing is i do no like renting out my place, so most likely no one will be at home. haha.

 

[BeVeryHappy]

People already got right answers here, but let me add couple of points:

1. You need to minimize amount of cash carried around, so ATMs/credit cards are your friends. There are couple of ways to minimize fees: you can and should apply to YouTrip card where you can transfer from your regular bank/credit card account some amounts and then convert that to the destination country's currency very close to interbank exchange rates. Plus you can use the card to withdraw from ATMs as well.

In addition to above, you should consider to apply to CIMB account which comes with an ATM card. There are no withdrawal fees from ATMs using that card if ATM belongs to VISA network. So these two cards can be bases to access cash.

2. Find a house sitter/someone who will stay at your place at least with exchange to pay utility bills. But I would not trust blindly to promises to pay bills. Instead I would ask prepayment of 3 month of bills in advance and use that funds to prepay telco and sp power bills.

3. Minimize number of clothing carried around. Better to buy cheaper clothing at the country of arrival which you can discard/give away once you leave.

i have seen you trip card ads before but never heard of it till i saw the ads so very sceptical about it. will check it out and also the comb account too.

 

[BeVeryHappy]

Isn't it troublesome to keep purchasing a new travel SIM for every country you step foot in? During my Scoot flying days, I purchased a card Knowroaming Global SIM card. Very convenient, 1 card for all countries. Charges very reasonable.

nono like what i said i am planning to have a full year trip. my past travel are just one country per year type.

 

[Din0saurus]

thanks for the advice, i need to research more on clothings, never wear synthetics before need to see what is it like? is it like rubber?

Dri-fit and heattech would be the most common examples of synthetics. You must have encountered them before at some point? Natural materials like wool and down insulate better but I like the compromise of quick drying. The $5.90 quecha t shirts from decathlon are one of my favs.

Are you intending to do any outdoor activities in winter or are you more of a city person?

 

[g_t2006]

Have a look at Flexiroam for data roaming
https://www.flexiroam.com

 

[invisible999]

Have a look at Flexiroam for data roaming
https://www.flexiroam.com

That's the prime case of overpricing. 1Gb for USD $29.99. With Starhub prepaid data roam for that price you can get 5GB of data roam for US for example. Which is one of the most expensive places to buy local data SIM. For other, lower cost counties price difference would be even higher.

So unless you put convenience on top of everything and money does not matter - I would personally look for other options.