irish lad need advice

Hey guys,

Basic story is I have worked really hard for the last couple of years(jobs, college etc) but now i feel like i've achieved enough. I feel like life is getting too much like a hamster on a wheel....i wonder does everyone else in here feel like that?

I'm from a small village in Ireland, where the mentality is to settle down and have a good job and babies and "sure isnt that all you get out of life" ya know. Some of the lucky ones have gone to australia for a year( which consisted of only drinking and pulling) and then they come home thinking they can die happy.

I've done a bit of traveling (europe, us etc) but i still haven't found what I'm looking for (don't sue me bono).

My plan is to go from ireland in the middle of sept 08 to Beijing(1 week), Hong Kong(1 week), Then to Bangkok from which I will spend the next 2 and a half months traveling round thailand, cambodia, laos, vietnam. I was thinking about doing some volunteer work for a couple of weeks( heard of a school near angor wat) etc, but basically just see new things, find out new ways of life. I think i will then fly from Phuket to sydney in the early part of dec.

When in sydney hopefully relax for couple of weeks( enjoy xmas, new years), and then in Jan 09 work in sydney or somewhere else for a few weeks. I should have about 10,000 still left in the bank when i get to Australia so hopefully i wont have to work too hard. I may even get a cheap flight to New Zealand for about 2 weeks and then go back to sydney and buy a small campervan ( looking online some are about 2000 euro and if i went halves with someone it would be even better and we hopefully should get that money back!). With the camper van hopefully 1 or 2 people I want to travel up the coast and just see what happens.

Hopefully leave Aus in June 09 and head to fiji for a week or 2 and the the trek home through USA

Just wondering if any other cool people( dont worry I dont think I'm cool) are in the same boat and would like to meet up at any part? Or even if anyone has any advice? I might put this in the round the world forum too.

Thanks Neill

If you plan on being in Sydney for New Year and don't have a place to stay, I would begin looking now because when I checked in mid January most of the hostels were already getting full and some were booked out for New Years Eve/New Years Day 2009.

Cool i never thought about that! i better start looking!

Hey,

Sounds like you will be around the same destinations as myself...we (myself and cousin) are planning to start our travels in Nov 08....starting in Bangkok and making our way down to Singapore (by train) then across to Borneo to visit the orangutan sanctuary in Sandakan. Plan is to be in Oz around mid December for as long as possible so would be coolio to meet up for a bevvy along the way!! Your camper van idea sounds good!

Hey irish-nikc,

You will have a ball. You are certainly going to find a different way of life and maybe it will put everything into perspective. I came home to ireland after just over 3 months travelling alone around S.E.A. with the conclusion - life is what you make it. I honestly thought I was missing out, stuck in Ireland with a rip off government, crap weather etc etc. But when you visit a place like Cambodia you realise how good we have it. We are all on a hamster wheel just some wheels are a hell of a lot better than others
T.

hey,

i'll be in australia januarish! going to the uk in august, bit of europe, india in november, then thailand and to australia for a bit to whm-it a while.

kat