5 months around the world...what route?

I plan to go april 2010 for 5 months. I have just returned from 2 months in SE Asia...Thai, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and have well and truly got the bug!!

I plan to work until the end of march 2010 then head off but not sure where to go. I loved SE Asia where I travelled solo and would be doing so again to maybe OZ/NZ/Malaysia/China/SA.

I hope to have a budget of £5000 gbp...love anything, am 23, and would go anywhere in the world

Please advise

Jake

Not quite round the world but:

Depending how things work out in Iran and Pakistan within the next year you could go overland Istanbul to India. Iran is usually very safe to travel in, but difficulty is getting a visa these days. The security situation in Pakistan is currently detoriating, but this might change until March. You could easily spend 2 months in India, 1 month in Iran and one month in Turkey without getting bored.

Or fly budget to Egypt and go north through Jordan and Syria to Turkey. 3-4 months is a very good timeframe for doing this classic overland trip and with a budget of 5000 GBP you'll have some money left to go for 1-2 months around Eastern Europe, gradually heading back to the UK overland during July/August.

I suggest an African overland - It is such an incredible continent and so diverse from country to country. Im from Zimbabwe and have already seen alot of east and southern Africa but have booked an overland with Oasis for June to do coast to coast.

An overland truck will save you loads of money, ensure you get to see and do everything and will make solo travel a lot easier as the average truck has about 20 people on it so you can make plenty of friends.

Plus there are some of the greatest adventure sports like bunjee jumping the highest jump in the world, white water rafting the falls, cage diving with great white sharks, sandboarding the highest dunes, quad biking through gameparks and the list goes on!

I can't recommend Africa enough to people as it just seems that everyone does the standard route these days around the world and would rather sit in a backpackers in Aus than experience these amazing and fun countries

Do yourself a favour and check out a couple of routes around Africa and what they offer and see what you think.

Quoting xAshx

An overland truck will save you loads of money, ensure you get to see and do everything and will make solo travel a lot easier as the average truck has about 20 people on it so you can make plenty of friends.

I couldn't disagree more. Africa, especially the eastern and southern parts, are easy enough to travel on your own, providing you have a bit of time and patience. I flicked through a leaflet advertising overland trips about an hour ago and couldn't believe how expensive they were- basically, the cost of an 18-day trip is my entire budget for 2 months. There are, especially in southern Africa, enough hostels and backpackers which means you don't have to be on your own unless you want to. As for seeing the must-see sights- you just end up in the same places as everyone else, with no flexibility at all to do detours/ sidetrips. Sure, it will make life a lot easier, but a true African experience is being crammed into a 16-seater bus with 30 adults, ten kids, six chickens and a goat. Obviously people have different travelling styles, but I think anyone who's done a bit of independent travelling before is certainly able to cope on their own.

Quoting xAshx

Plus there are some of the greatest adventure sports like bunjee jumping the highest jump in the world, white water rafting the falls, cage diving with great white sharks, sandboarding the highest dunes, quad biking through gameparks and the list goes on!

Again, any hostel can book any of these activities for you, and usually for the next day, if you so wish- you don't need an overland company for it. Plus, if you book it by yourself you can always haggle a bit on the price as well
The only thing you cannot do in Africa- the highest commercial bungy, which is actually in Macao. Otherwise I agree- certainly include Africa on your travel list!

The only thing you cannot do in Africa- the highest commercial bungy, which is actually in Macao.

Sorry my mistake - perhaps Bloukrans should update their site since Macau is 17m higher:

Bloukrans is the World's Highest Commercial Bungy Jump at a whooping 216 m high! A proud record for South Africa and particularly, Tsitsikamma, Plettenberg Bay, and the Garden Route. We also offer a Bridgewalking tour and a "200m Flying Fox" out onto the arch of Africa's largest bridge.

The Bloukrans bridge is still the worlds highest commercial bungy bridge!

If I was a male, your age & with your budget, I would try this route:

Egypt > Jordan>Syria>Turkey>then through eastern Europe (slowly or just pass through quickly, depends on your interest) then into St. Petersburg & Moscow then take Trans Siberian/Mongolian rail way through Mongolia and end in Beijing.

From Beijing you can go anywhere in China and even a quick trip to Tibet. Then to India, more Asia, or home (if you've run out of money by then haha)

How about trying a world wide cruise? I have been on cruises and its totally awesome, although I have never tried a world cruise just yet. but in the future, surely I will do it...