Have a great trip, man -- happy adventures! 

about the land mines I just need a metal detektor and scan the area so I know where I can go and where i cant..

Naah, all you need are a few rats on board. 
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130222-scratch-and-sniff-mine-detectors

Hey Brad,

My parents are quite old school in their thinking and were not very supportive at first either.

The good news is now that they've seen I wasn't kidnapped, murdered, arrested for drug running, or turned into a hopeless bum, they're a little more accepting. Plus, they can see my increased happiness levels and most parents like to see that.

The best advice that I can think of is to make sure that you include them. Not easy when they machine gun questions and what-ifs your way, but keep them in the loop, show them blogs, books, people whom have done it already, etc. Psychologically, I've seen that many friends and family even take offense when you can't conform and want to bail out. They think you want to get away from them as well. Keeping family involved with the trip is the best way to overcome that, I think.

It's tough. Especially once your family gets up there in years as mine has. But in the end, they would rather see you happy than stuck in a miserable grind, I would think.

Well, not exactly fruit picking, but Amberly Young sent in a great article about her experience of working on organic farms as she traveled the world.

Good way to trade a little sweat in exchange for saving travel funds.

Check it out!
http://www.startbackpacking.com/travel/travel-organic-farm-work-wwoof/

Hey man,

I've been running around the remote parts of Southeast Asia for 7 years and never even met another traveler who had contracted malaria [knock on wood].

Africa is a slightly different story: I have met travelers who had malaria several times there. But never in Asia.

I took Doxycycline for the first week in Laos, didn't know better, and the side affects were way worse than risking malaria, in my opinion. It's a strong antibiotic, made for short runs, not sustained use. It destroyed my stomach biotics and made me sunburn in sheer minutes. Not something you have to worry about, but I've met three different female travelers now whom became pregnant because they didn't realize that doxycycline was an antibiotic and that it interfered with birth control!

I stopped taking antimalarials and never looked back. Malarone and Larium, your other choices, are just as bad.

The sad news is that even taking an antimalarial doesn't totally protect you; the new strains in Southeast Asia are largely resistant to prophylaxis.

I certainly wouldn't avoid any countries for fear of malaria. Getting dengue fever is more realistically a threat to travelers there, but both malaria and dengue can be avoided just by doing your best not to be bitten by mosquitoes.

http://goasia.about.com/od/healthandsafety/a/What-is-Dengue-Fever.htm
http://goasia.about.com/od/healthandsafety/a/How-to-Avoid-Mosquito-Bites.htm

Just like anything else, you make decisions at your own risk...but I can share my experience with you. One of those blue doxycycline pills isn't going down my throat again unless I actually get malaria (that's what they give to you when you get it!).

True enough. Giving time back is always a great way to reciprocate someone's kindness. Goes further than a material gift probably (and doesn't weight as much to carry around). 

Totally agree...you can get some ideas, but you'll get 10x the ideas by meeting people and talking to people who are already doing what you want to do.

Cambodia is a fantastic country to visit, but it is also rife with corruption. As a foreigner, you would inevitably have to bribe someone somewhere to live there 'off the grid' and not be bothered. Friend of mine there now is in trouble for teaching English after they told him that he could do so. The local police seized the opportunity and are demanding an exorbitant fine.

Also, all joking aside, land mines are still quite a serious problem in Cambodia, especially if you want to garden or live remotely.

But...anything is possible. With more than 15,000 islands, I always daydreamed about setting up a permaculture cabin/farm in Indonesia somewhere.

A guitar can go a long way at hostels and beach parties, for sure. I even met a guy in Beijing who was staying and eating for free at his hostel because he would play a couple of hours for the dinner crowd every night.

Learn 1 magic trick and work on only that trick until you perfect it. Make sure the only prop you need is something common like a cigarette, coin, whatever...sounds funny, but it works unbelievably well for breaking the ice in group scenarios.

As for paying back a couchsurfer...just be a good guest! Don't just 'use' your host for a place to crash. Hang out, chat, get to know them, become friends. That's why they are hosting in the first place! 

True, same here, but I learned over time that there are different ways of 'paying' people back.

For instance, most people (the few who still do) pick up hitchhikers simply because they want the company, or someone to chat with. People take in couchsurfers for the same reason...although I do try to take a small gift, or you can make a small gesture to show gratitude. They definitely aren't offering to host people for a profit.

As for freebies from corporations...suck 'em dry! 

Hey Brad,

I've got a site with some good resource links for finding temp work in hostels along the way: http://www.hostelworking.com

A Map for Saturday is awesome...but it's also old and prices have changed a bit. Also, he did things a little differently.

You'll find a pretty neat RTW tool for putting together tickets on Bootsnall: http://www.bootsnall.com (maybe that will give you some ideas)

Happy travels!

Great advice already given, and you are correct:

If you don't do it now, then when? Life will always find somehow to get in the way and excuses will pile up, trust me, it gets harder and harder to cut loose as you get tied down more in your 30s and 40s.

One piece of advice I would offer, with that kind of itinerary, I would seriously consider looking into a RTW ticket. I'm not a fan either, and always buy one-ways, but that much continent jumping will definitely add up. Some of the RTWs have some interesting options like sliding dates and the such, maybe something to look into a little deeper if you haven't already.

And man, if you're making $30 a day online doing something location independent, you could live in many places in Southeast Asia on that -- I do!

This topic has been moved to Europe.

http://startbackpacking.com/forums/index.php?topic=2030.0

The folks at Gobi Gear set me up with an extra couple of Hoborolls, so I'm going to gift them to readers!

Deadline is February 28, 2013. Just like my Facebook page and/or subscribe to email updates on my blog (http://www.vagabondinglife.com). Couldn't be easier!

Here's the scoop and a review:
http://www.startbackpacking.com/travel/hoboroll/

If you have no idea what a 'Hoboroll' is, go check out the review. I've learned to like this thing a lot after carrying it around for a while.

Good luck!

True, just don't let them talk you into rabies shots. Totally unnecessary and expensive. The private travel doctors here are unfortunately clueless and only err on the side of caution and clinic profit.

Most of the biggies that are highly recommended (tetanus/hep A,B) are good for 10 years, typhoid capsules vaccinate you for 5 years. We have different mixes in the U.S. than in Europe (surprise) so check with doc about how long they are good for.

The hepatitis vaccinations need to be spaced out -- allow yourself lots of time. A lot of travelers wait until the last minute then end up having to get their last shots abroad while on their trip.

Here are some suggestions for Thailand / Southeast Asia. You don't need Yellow Fever protection for Asia, really only Africa and South America.
http://www.thailandtips.info/thailand-vaccinations/

[not buy half the gear you listed there]

Wow, wouldn't know where to start either. 

Lots of variables there, but the only advice I can give since budget is important to you is to not buy half the gear you listed there -- especially not at home where things are more expensive! The best policy is to avoid spending travel funds until you absolutely have to, and then preferably only spend them on travel. It sounds like you want lots of local interaction, and the locals have certainly figured out how to live...best to learn from them. Couchsurfing is a great way to go.

New gear is a lot of fun, but in the end you will 'what if' yourself into spending more on items you won't really need.

So if you find that you need some of the items you listed (it's really hard to predict what you really will need until you land in the environment) then you can most likely find something locally, for cheap. That way you don't have to throw away/mail home/give away gear that you're just carrying around and not using.

Whatever you do, unless you'll be hacking through jungle for weeks, don't buy a GPS. Getting lost can be fun sometimes.

As for visa rules, they change frequently, so it's best to check each country's official embassy website for wherever you are. Articles with visa information on other websites may be outdated.

Anyway, that's the way I would do it.