shrubbery

Not a single one. I suppose I was lucky. Someone once told me that about 30 percent of all the backpackers travelling in central-america gets mugged, but I would take that with a grain of salt. Anyways; when I went out at night in unsafe cities I never carried anything more than the cash I intented to spend. So, if you get mugged you won't risk your life as you'll just give them what you've got and they'll leave you alone. I never heard of anyone that got hurt while being mugged. I wouldn't worry about travelling to unsafe destinations; just use your common sense and you'll be ok. Travelling alone does make you an easier target, but I for one would prefer that from travelling with my significant other. I met a guy that was travelling with his blond attractive girlfriend, and he was anything but comfortable with all the attention she drew from sleezy mexicans.

Anyways; if you're going to both safe and unsafe destinations consider going to the safe one first. Being a experiened traveller does not only makes you better equipped to make the right and safe decisions but it also shows. An unexperienced traveller makes an easier target.

I don't mean to scare you at all. Go whereever you want, I'm sure you'll be ok. Just be updated on the situations and current crimelevels so that you can adjust your behaviour accordingly. Anyways; you'll feel the vibe when it isn't entirely safe anymore. In the biggest Guatamalan cities for instance, the streets suddenly empties when it gets really dark.

Anyways .. don't worry about criminals. Food poisoning is a much more likely problem The (horrible) tales I could tell...

A bit of everything, but I guess I was sitting on a bus 80% of the time. When you get there you'll quickly figure out the best way to get around. And you'll meet other backpackers ALL the time that will tell you where they recommend that you'll go and how you should get there. I didn't really have a plan when I got to a country. Sometimes I bought a guidebook and read up on the different locations, but most of the time I just talked to other travellers and got their advice.

I travelled for about 7 months. In some ways I wished I stayed longer, but at the same time I was looking forward to getting home and start an everyday life again. The last month or so I started to feel very unproductive; I was yearning for being useful. I suppose that coincided with the thoughts of soon going home and meeting my friends and family again. But be warned; most people suffer from post-travel depressions when they get home from a backpacking trip. Going from adventures everyday to working, watching tv and sleeping can be tough


My total costs ended up somewhere around 8.000 USD. That's with airtickets and travel insurance included. I travelled on a roomy budget. I travelled like most other backpackers and stayed and ate cheap, but I did spend a lot of money on adventures such as skydiving, bungyjumping, sailing trips, black water rafting, mountain climbing, scubadiving license etc. How much you'll end up spending depends a lot on where you go (Asia is cheap, Australia & New Zealand expensive, Central-America is moderate). How many adventures you'll do and how much you'll party will also make an significant impact on your economy.

A really rough estimate of a budget for an average backpacker (that means it includes an unhealthy amount of alcohol) would be something like this:

Central-America: 700 USD a month.
Australia and New Zealand: 1200 USD a month (you'll end up doing a lot of adventures and partying alot in these countries)
South-East Asia: Anything between 200 USD and 800 depending on your need for luxury. Food and lodging can be dirt-cheap. Some days I got a bed and 3 meals for about 5 USD.

South-East Asia is great place to start your travels: it's beautiful, cheap, easily travelled, great infrastructure and has some of the best and cheapest meals you'll ever have in your life. But at the same time it's overpopulated by backpackers.