Well guys, the green newbie is finally earning his wings!
I didn't sleep at all last night. I'm catching a flight to japan, staying there for a month then heading for Mongolia for two months or so.

oh man, I'm so nervous! my stomach is turning over. but oh so excited

Ok, I'll try medifire, or just tone down my resolution!  thanks

Allright, I'm trying to upload my first batch of pic here on Photobucket, and I think I'm going to have to shave again before this thing is all done its so slow. I have my cam on the highest resolution...should I tone that down, or is it a problem from a site?

-question from the definitely not "I.T." guy.

Lol, thx guys 

Hey man, one bad first date it just more material to laugh about on the next first date. Bad things makes good conversation!

I hear that South Korea is the safest county in the world for Women. =shrug= 

Hey Tom!

Don't worry. Its quite normal and alright for guys our age (yep, I'm only a year ahead of 'ya) to travel.

The thing to realize about traveling is, Its not as complicated as you might be inclined to think. Its as simple as getting your passport, getting travel insurance, getting some shots, a trip to the doctor and getting a plane ticket.

Thailand is a great place to start. Just remember that the most expensive part of your trip is going to be plane tickets, so it requires some time looking at them and getting a feel for it. Just spend some time checking the costs of flights every few days to get an idea for your options, that should do it. And it isn't a really "Looking for the best case scenario" Just focus on knowing whats fits your options and decisions.

What I mean is, don't sweat over getting "good tickets" and making sure you take advantage of them, Just get there and know how much it will take to get back from each of the countries you are visiting. Its not worth (In my opinion) Trying to map out your open, or closed JAW flights in order to get from one country to the next because buying them at the same time saves you 800 bucks. Then your under time constriction.

It blew me away when I realized that I can buy a round trip ticket to Mongolia for 3000 USD, when I could get a one way return ticket from the country for only 800 USD.

Second piece of advice I have for you, is go ahead and pay for the "travel insurance" with your ticket, forget about the whole plane might crash thing! It covers canceled flights!

All that aside, save up, cry when you have to buy such expensive seats on a plane, and enjoy life in a different country!

Pre-travel is such an adventure tom, you will learn a lot just getting ready to leave...I know I did.

Ok guys, Its honesty time.

Lets say that I'm not crazy, and that I want to reserve my extra money, and not use it while traveling, effectively shrinking my budget to around 2,000 USD. Thats right. So, just how much can I go on $2000? Backpacking through Mongolia, and Kazakhstan? Maybe even more?

I'm not satisfied with youth hostels, and public transportation. I really want a push, to really rough it at least ounce. I think I heard someone call it "zero budget travel".

I know nobody can give me a clear anwser, but any insights would be appreciated.

Scratch that, I spoke to soon,

I don't know witch one you are taking about alex, but if you are talking about those platypus things...forget it! Mine leaked, and upon returning it I discovered that I was the 4th person that week to do so, and I'm not happy with the zipper, or the weight. My average blue tube I got from a biking store seemed to do the trick just fine, feels lighter, and holds just as much while keeping the weight vertical, opposed to a flat brick of it sitting there. But if you are going to a country, Nepal, Mongolia, Some parts of India, you get the idea, I would definitely take it. I won't be using mine on my first trip (a tour of japan), BUT, on my second through Nepal I sure will!

This looks like a great resource, http://www.teachabroad.com

I'm looking into the 120 hr course, that one doesn't require a BA/BS degree, meaning that I can get "certified", but can't work legally in some countries. But what that does mean is that I get to trial it out, and travel, and give me quite a bit of flex time and experience. So, maybe I can't teach in Japan, but Maybe Nepal.

If anyone has some experience teaching English, by all means share it here!

=Koudee clicks on the link repeatably = No problem Greg! Maybe I can get you a few dollars 

Ah, ok, well i got a round trip ticket anyways, what are you doing in Indonesia? I envy you guys that can work anywhere from your laptop!

Ended up droping a 4 lb hatchet on my bare toe...cutting side down. I avoided any major injury, but I got stitched up and it should be healed enough in 6 days or so when I leave, I can take out the stiches, but I still have to baby it a little bit. It will take an infection for it to take a toll on my trip.

Wow! Thats a large order. I haven't been there yet, so I don't have anything to really reccomend, but just look online for things you may want to do or see, and just get lost inbetween those points. I'm sure there are good ideas online and in the bookstore if everything else fails,

Best of travels!

Ok, after doing more re~search, I'll let you guys know what I found.

It does look like getting a one way ticket is trickey buisness, and its better to get a roundtrip. Because they will hold you in immigration.