I just bought a one-way ticket to Cape Town, South Africa.

That's not true funkgab. Only 9% of South Africans are white.

Things white people like: Vacationing in places you not supposed to vacation at. "WE'RE GOING HIKING IN RWANDA!"

Jokes aside, have fun and be safe.

Quote-o-rama!

Would it actually be possible to see the US base in Djibouti, or just see the outside? I think it would be great to meet a bunch of your army buddies, I bet that would be a ton of fun! Without a doubt we will end up diving in Egypt, I've been told it's one of the best dive spots in the world and both my travel companions are dive instructors It's going to be quite a while before we get to northern Africa, so I'll have to hit you up for more specific advice when that time comes.

Other than buying gear to start off, such as a full SCUBA setup, I think our expenses will be pretty low. I think a lot of the time we will be car camping and making a lot of our own food, so that will cost almost nothing. The thing is a lot of travel doesn't have to be expensive. The biggest costs tends to be transportation itself (flights, bus tickets, etc) and then tourist activities, (like the kayaking trips, rock climbing classes, bungee jumping, etc I did in Asia). We will be splitting costs 3 ways for the 4x4 and whatnot, so our transportation shouldn't be that expensive, and we won't be doing 'tourist' things all the time, not to mention the simple fact there isn't much/any tourism infrastructure in most of the areas we will be where we could spend money anyways

No lotto for me. Honestly I don't even make a lot of money, hell, I haven't worked an entire week in the 6 months I've been back in America, not to mention about 2 of those 6 months I've been traveling the States...

Am I getting in over my head? I don't think so, if I worried about every little thing I'd never go anywhere.

I say this all the time, but I'll say it again: travel doesn't have to be hard!

The only thing stopping most people from doing it (besides if you just don't have any money) is that people get so wrapped up in their daily lives and think it is all so important that if they took a month off everything would fall apart! It's just not the case, and once you escape that daily life for a little while, you come to realize how trivial so much of it is, and that makes you even more free. Almost anyone can do it if they choose to.

For me, it's just a matter of priorities. I've decided that travel and exploration is my number one priority, with that in mind anything is possible. Over the summer since I've come home I have been getting my life in order to the point where I can just walk away from it for the most part. The thing is, it will all be there when I come home, I'm not missing out on anything!

Once you have kids, or a mortgage or something obviously it becomes much harder, but it's still not impossible.

Jealousy is just plain a lot easier than changing priorities. Much as is "thinking about doing a thing" is much easier than actually doing it. You enjoy life or do not,
you own it or it owns you. Grab hold Fiddy, you own it!

yo i found fiddy's plane

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/mq1xn/this_is_how_a_first_class_seat_looks_like_at_the/

Oh yeah, it just occurred to me, you're not going to fly any African airlines are you? Safer to share needles in a Haitian crack house.

My flight in is Lufthansa and South African Airways, I will be taking a domestic airline from Cape Town into Mozambique, it should be ok

I dunno, I'd seriously consider alternate transportation.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/1855531...afety-record-among-worlds-worst/#.TtGud7JIC40

pssshaw i flew egypt air numerous times and hardly anything went wrong

All I know is it's gotta be hard having well maintained planes when the folks turning the wrenches went from spears to lasers in a single generation.

in b4 fiddy climbs the pyramids. (me plays ss3 and cries in jealousy)

man, if i wasnt so stuck in my routine, i'd join you. im really jealous though. but that trek up north could be VERY VERY dangerous.
theres just too much shit going on inland. if youre a journalist with caravan of guides and protection, thats fine. but if you can, i would stick to the coasts east or west.
SA isnt what everyone thinks, alot of racial tension going on. blacks are killing whites and farmers, pushing them off land, etc. the slums are pretty nasty too, unless youre in the elite white class in SA, youre living in shit. (from what ive read and from what travelers have told me) Ive been planning a trip myself and im just hearing too much crazy shit from that country. BUT, its no different than here or there. Just, BE SAFE bro.

the secret to traveling the globe is closing off your current lifestyle, having money (dunno what dope fiddy is selling, but it must be good shit), and having nothing to connect you to the mainland, besides family.
like fiddy mentioned, its harder when you got financials tying you down, like myself Maybe one day, but i'd like to travel over there when shit gets a bit more settled.

and if i goto africa, i may not come back.

with fedex discount, i can get a delta flight to west africa for little less than $100, probably far less like $50. So as long as im with the company i still got a good option to travel.

If you really want to get out and travel, you can make it work. Seriously, what is holding you back? Explain what it is and why it can't change.

Ha, I met a girl at the bar last night who is also headed on a big trip starting in Africa, might meet her in Tanzania.

I would imagine that his travels are a lot cheaper than you think. The plane ride over is going to be the major expense. Let's guess at $1000. From there he's not staying at the Hilton, we're talking hostels, with friends, camping, etc. And remember, this is the 3rd world we're talking about. Maybe an average of $5 for lodging. And food, maybe another $5. Misc travel expenses, buses, etc, let's guess at maybe another $5 per day. So $1000 + $15 per day. So if his initial budget was $2000 he could travel for over two months! Plus if you suck the occasional cock you can just keep going. I would think that a west coast granola like Fiddy would be pretty exotic bang for the average African fag.

Not talking about you ninefivezero, as you have done ok since getting back. Self employed tree surgeon?

I wouldn't say anybody can do these trips, maybe if you are still living with your family and don't have a decent job. Or you can get a sabbatical (wouldn't think you could get one the way the economy is).

Think about it in less you have a bum job, you will be leaving a job during a period were unemployment is very high. Remember you lost your job as a tree surgeon when you got back, if you hadn't gone who knows, you may have still have had that job. You will probably be spending all remaining money on this trip, possibly had to sell things to pay for it. When you get back you will have pretty much nothing, if you don't have a supportive family then who's going to pay for everything you need?

If you keep doing these trips then you turn 30 and apart from having great memories you have nothing to show for it, no savings, no job, no car/house.

On the job front, say you get an interview and the interviewer is reading your CV, hmmm this guy/girl has a record of getting jobs then quitting to travel the world. If we hire them will they still be here in a year, do we want to train them up only for them to leave? We have another 100 people to interview... NEXT.

Not saying to people don't do it, but if you have a good job, you need one hell of a good CV when you get back, or someone who can get you a job.

Since Im reading River of Doubt, I figure Ill throw in some quotes from Colonel Teddy Roosevelt.

"Life is a great adventure…accept it in such a spirit."

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”

“Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.”

And a few other good ones worth remembering

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain

To travel hopefully is better than to arrive. Robert Louis Stevenson - Virginibus Puerisque, 1881

Life is a promise. Fufill it. Mother Teresa

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable. Helen Keller Let Us Have Faith


Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Steve Jobs - Stanford University commencement address (12 June 2005)

What the hell is a CV? Is that like the British version of a resume?

Maybe I'll sound like a dick, but I guess the answer to all your questions is that I have no interest in the life/lifestyle you are so worried about protecting

That was "Life: Spaniard Edition."

No you're not sounding like a dick, hopefully I wasn't either (probably did actually, I didn't mean too). I was just pointing out that I don't think everyone can "just" do it and these are the reasons why etc. Most important one being you need people or money to come back to.

If you get a chance go to Tunisia, I had a great time there. The highlight was maybe going on camels in the sahara desert, it's also where some of Star Wars was filmed.

@Commissar. There's no need to be sarcastic, I like to think I work to live rather than live to work, in other words I go to work to earn money so that I can go on holidays, have the things I want, do the things I want to do etc. So in other words I earn money so that I can "Travel and experience the world". I get just under 6 weeks a year to do this :-D. At the same time it's also nice to own some things, have some money saved away for a rainy day.

You should be in a good mood Tim Tebow got you another win.

The real trick, is to find balance. I grew up too far to the "free spirit" side of life and have regrets because of it. Mark Twain's quote is wrong in my case.

Exactly. Fiddy's a special case, the guy's living an extraordinary life. But the vast majority? Somebody has to produce things, repair the bus, pick the produce, pave the road, etc. It takes all kinds for society to stick together.

Obviously I'm not saying everyone on earth should do this, not have a job ever and let society collapse

What I mean when I say 'almost anyone can do it' is that if you want to, and make it a priority in your life, it is very much possible.

I figure that it takes a unique combination of skills, attributes and desires to accomplish goals like that. While you say almost anyone can do it, it's not the case. Not everyone is capable of changing their lives to accommodate it it even if they did put their mind to it.

I'd like to say 'sounds like a fun trip, have a great time' but I can't because it just sounds like the least interesting thing in the world.

Good luck!