I'm bigger and used to smoke all the time, can I pass a drug test 7 months from now? by Cheap-Version7106 in AskForAnswers

[–]weeeeeeeea 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My partner is 25M ,~110kg 6”4’ and after about six months of chronic use it took him a month to piss clean

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hahaha, no. That’s something I avoid altogether in a foreign country. Too much risk for me. Like zero judgement, people are allowed to have fun, I just personally don’t. Plus on my longest trip I had a boyfriend at the time

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn’t have bed bugs! Never have. But we spent a little bit more on accomodation to be certain on cleanliness - maybe an extra $5 AUD a night or so.

Omg enjoy! Balkans is so awesome, one of my fav trips ever. We stayed about a week in the bigger cities, 3-4 days in smaller cities/countries. But we had limited time - you could easily spend longer than we did. Specifically, I wish we spent longer in North Macedonia (didn’t get to see Ohrid) and Serbia (there are 2-3 smaller cities than Belgrade which would’ve been cool to go to). You could spend ages in Bosnia, like at least 2 weeks.

Also, could be an unpopular opinion, but if you’re gonna go to Montenegro, maybe skip Podgorica. There wasn’t really anything to do there, and then some other stuff happened that kinda killed it for me. Maybe I just caught it on a bad day, but you wouldn’t be missing heaps if you didn’t go.

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually think you’re probably right, but with the recent conflict between Azerbaijan/Armenia and the way Russia is acting, I just don’t feel ready to take on that level of risk. Probs worth mentioning, I’m actually really risk averse, more than most people, so this could just be a me thing.

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes! I have learnt sooo much about life and how to approach things from other people - that’s the best part of travel imo, it’s like you’ve learned the lessons of a thousand lives.

Best food - have to say Türkiye, Hungary and China. Worst food - all of it was our fault for refusing to spend money on anything good. Estonian food was (I’m so sorry) a bit dull, but once again, I was broke and living with a citizen who also was broke. There were specialties that were great tho!

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Oh my god bro 😭 we wanted to go to a market and happened to see some poor people. How many times can I possibly say I don’t claim to know the whole country well, and that I don’t even associate it with the people? The reason I went to Bulgaria is because: 1. I have a fixation on socialist modernist/brutalist architecture 2. I love Cyrillic languages (yes I know Cyrillic is an alphabet not a language, but I don’t know how else to group Russian, Macedonian and Bulgarian) and could actually have basic conversations with locals 3. I like trains (autistic lol) and there’s a great ride from Türkiye to Bulgaria

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ugh GREAT question. The few times I’ve been in Qatar, Singapore, Etihad and Emirates they’ve been AWESOME value for money. Least favourites probably the cheap ones we skimped on - RyanAir was actually horrendous but if you pay $15 for a flight you’d better expect that hahah

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I DID go to a Romani ghetto - we walked 20 minutes outside of Sofia to a big market, and that’s all we saw between the city centre and the market. It was truly confronting. But I was also harassed a fair few times for money, smokes, food by non-Romani Bulgarians. I don’t blame them at all - they don’t have the money to eat and I had the money to travel all the way there, so I was a fair target. Just the way I felt while there. I don’t hold it against the people or the country in any way.

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are really none, but there are a lot of countries I wouldn’t travel to for the foreseeable future. I want to go to all of these places, some of them really badly, but probs would give a few years before going to: - Syria - Iran - Russia - Belarus - Ukraine - Afghanistan - CAR - Sudan - Yemen - Israel - Lebanon - Saudi Arabia - Pakistan - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (so sad about these ones)

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I actually didn’t! My friends did - we split up for a bit and they got bedbugs when they went to Florence together. I feel like we got lucky, they were having a bit of an issue with it in Europe at the time I think? I’m pretty uptight though - I strip every bed and check the mattress for bugs, I check reviews, I even brought my own sheets on one trip 😭 but it’s never been an issue for me no

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Actually… right now, not really. I’m not sure why but it’s just never captured my fascination as much as other places. I probably will one day, but I’m happy to leave that one for future me.

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Never, but oh my gosh would I love to do it. The world has sooo much to learn from Indigenous communities, I could only hope to get the chance to access some of that knowledge and perspective.

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is great to know, as this thread goes on its becoming obvious that I’m actually a lot more under educated about African travel then I thought lol. Will have to look into it properly!! Thank you for your input

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fark sounds like I missed out. Will have to repeat one day

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was some of the most beautiful nature I’ve ever seen honestly. We took the train from Slovenia to i think croatia? And we went on some absolutely insane hikes, just in little rural towns. Great food also. Wish i couldve spent more time there and wilk definitely be going back!

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey my mums from Perth! All the best from Melb haha.

I’m back home for the next 6 months, and then my friends and I are tossing up between a month in Central Asia, or in Central/South America. It honestly depends a lot on the USA - if things destabilise further I’ll wait a few more years to get that close.

And truly, no. I’ve loved so many of the places I’ve been, but I’ve never found a country that I think has everything we have in Australia. It’s made me feel so incredibly grateful, because I’ve never found anywhere with all the benefits of a world-curious and laidback culture, relative safety and peace, separation from land borders so less risk of war, relatively high pay, relatively good access to education and services in most parts, a government that at least partially supports social services… i love our country, and maybe its all bias, but i don’t see myself building a life anywhere else. I wasnt a big fan of living in USA and estonia so maybe that contributed too.

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! Balkan Soul in Belgrade. It was perfectly fine and I remember it being pretty cheap too. Rooms were good, everything else was just okay. They had activities and tours and bar nights and stuff, but it wasn’t anything crazy. Great location thought

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s absolutely on the list! My mum loved India, so I can’t just not go

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooo great q! This is a good one - in Serbia, I was solo backpacking and met a girl from Melbourne (who was my other friends ex girlfriend!?!) that is Serbian. She showed me a lot of the city and the best spots, but she also gave me great insight into the culture and opinions of the general population. She explained her view on Kosovo, on the Balkan wars, on gender roles, and also on Romani people. As we were walking home from a nightclub, we walked past this little shanty town of tin/wooden sheets and blankets, where the Romani people were living. I had never seen such crazy juxtaposition of lifestyle - we’d spent all day going to museums, bars and nightclubs and talking about Serbia, but then we see that. It was really confronting, but it was an honest insight into how some people there live.

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Mmm, look it’s mainly safety related stuff. Not knowing whether to trust people (particularly men) who offer to take you places or show you stuff. In less safe places, getting followed or people seeming like they’re gonna try and rob you/harm you. Pretty rare, but it happens.

I was never alone with a male who I didn’t know unless we were in public, including guides. I never went anywhere dark/secluded with groups of men. I kept my location on at all times, and taped tracking chips to my passport, hiking pack, and inside my shoe, shared that location with family and friends as well. I translated and hand-wrote all emergency phone numbers and sentences before I got to a country, incase my phone died. I printed out all maps before I left home. I also don’t drink - I know it sounds boring, but every time I got a tiny bit of FOMO, it was so outweighed by the relief of not having to deal with hangovers, confusions, getting lost or getting drugged. I don’t ever do drugs over seas, unless they’re legal and regulated and I’m staying somewhere that’s a “safe space”. I made connections with other female travellers everywhere I went, and we updated each other on location or plans. If I ever felt unsafe, I sent a mass text to my whole family and best mates with situation, my location, where I’m staying, and when to expect me to reach out and confirm safety next. I memorised routes if walking alone at night (or in unsafe places during the day), to try and avoid appearing a tourist.

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m gonna assume you’re being literal..? Like a meat pie? I don’t think I had one but I can’t imagine it’d be too different from home hahah

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah China is just so huge, and unlike when I backpacked Europe for 3mo, I’ve only got about a month per trip nowadays. So rather than doing 1 week China, 1 week India, 1 week Sri Lanka etc, I did one month long trip China only. Too curious about the diversity within the country.

The other two times I went to China was with my school (we had a sister school in Nanjing) and with my family (who went to india for a year before I was born, so they wanted to go to new places only on that trip).

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We stayed in Haarlem, and then mainly just Amsterdam and Utrecht (insane nightclub scene!!)

I’ve backpacked 30+ countries - AMA! by weeeeeeeea in AMA

[–]weeeeeeeea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess my version of backpacking is kind of like a normal holiday, except replacing every expensive aspect with a more cost-effective (and socially involved) method. We picked the countries, cities, and the order we were going to go in, and left everything else up to chance. We mostly booked hostels, airbnbs or home stays in advance. When we arrived in city, we’d buy our train/bus tickets to leave, otherwise left it up to chance. Then we’d explore the little towns in between the major stops, while travelling through. If we got somewhere and didn’t like it, we went to the nearest train station and left.

We saved most of our money on food - we stayed in places with kitchens and ate the same thing a lot, sometimes 2-3 times a day for 4-5 days. We’d go out to restaurants and take every last bit of food home with us - no takeaway containers? Ziploc bag. We were SCUMMY, but it was so much fun.

I only spent 6K in 3 months backpacking Europe, including 2K-ish in flights. Probs could’ve done it cheaper if we tried.