I hope this gets to you.

You've been living my dream that I've had for the last 10 years.

My question is... How did you do it?

I'm 23, about to start paying off a $20,000 student loan debt and feel like I'm just going to get stuck in a dead end job for the rest of my life without chasing that dream. :(

Not sure why you're getting downvoted.

I've met people who have enormous student debt while travelling who decided to travel in the amnesty period after grad before they had to start paying it back. I even met a dude who had just graduated from Harvard Medical and owed them $280,000.

Whether you travel before or after you pay it off, the key is to just force yourself to book the ticket and get out there. Its fine if you wait 5-10 years to pay it off and then go. There's no shame in being a 30 year old staying in hostels with 20 year olds. I've met 60 year olds at hostels who have more energy than some people my age I know.

The key is just booking that plane ticket. If you ever need someone to motivate you, message me in 5 years and ill travel with you somewhere, we will tear the world up!

I was pretty rude to a Canadian in 1997. Several times, actually. Mike. Could you pass on my apologies, I still feel bad about it.

Sorry that you were rude. He lives just down the road so Ill let him know.

[deleted]

More than 5 and less than 15.

I've heard couchsurfers have a hard time getting laid, unless it's with the host, because their hosts don't usually approve.

How was it for you? Did you face any difficulty convincing your hosts?

1 rule: Never make the first move when staying at a Couchsurfers house. Its a travel experience foremost, but if it has to be, then let them make the first move.

Good rule, but I may have been unclear in my question:

Did you sleep with anyone other than your hosts (eg. hooking up with a stranger at a bar). If so, did you have any problems bringing them home to your host?

There was a few hosts, a few friends of hosts and a few randoms. I never brought back a random to a hosts place though.

What was the worst experience on your trip?

Probably puking up blood from drinking too much vodka in Bulgaria.

How much money did you leave with? Did you have enough left over for your return flight, or did you have to find a job to save up for that?

Sorry, didn't include flights in that. Flight over was like $300 and flight back probably $600. I spent about $4000 total for all travel, food, drink etc during the 6 months.

That's incredibly cheap, when was this/did you just get a really good deal?

Sorry, thats not including flights from N. America. Which was about $1000 total. This was July 2012 to end of December 2012. I couchsurfed almost every night, so i never really had to pay for accomodation.

Any tips for finding hosts? I'm having a really hard time. How far in advance did you normally start looking for hosts?

Have at least 5 pics. Fill out your full profile. Use humour. Send a PERSONAL couch request, at least put the persons freaking name in it.

I never really had a plan for this trip, so I would decide where to go next, then find a CS host 1 or 2 days before.

I think its almost easier to find a host 2 days in advance instead of 2 weeks, because people actually know if there free at that moment.

Cool. Any advice for finding cheap, memorable things to do? Thanks for the advice/doing the ama, my girlfriend and I depart Vancouver next month, we're landing in Dublin and gonna make our way to Copenhagen so this all really helpful

Free walking tours for sure. I dont really like touristy things, but these happen in almost every big city and you just tip what you want at the end. You learn so much about each city and the guides know about good shit to do in each city.

Copenhagen eh? I'm an American currently living there. Hit me up when you arrive if you wanna grab a drink.

Ooh me too! I live in Malmö but I visit CPH every month. Mostly for open bar events. I might even bring along the Malmö CS group. It's a common spot for us! :)

I spent a lot of time in Malmo. Three different visits. Lovely little university town!

How long did you usually stay with one host. I find 3 days to be max.

Yea ususally 2 days. Shortest was 1 night, longest probably 5.

where did you fly from/to?

Going. Vancouver to Frankfurt.

Coming back. Bucharest to Frankfurt to Vancouver.

Wait... Vancouver Canada to Frankfurt for $300? Was that some last-minute deal?

Air Transat, its one step above a cattle-car.

But seriously, it was a one way, last minute

What was your favourite country you visited?

Poland. Best combination of awesome people and cheap prices. I probably spent about a month total in Poland because I liked it so much. I also really like Ukraine and Bulgaria.

Have you been to the Netherlands?

Yes

Was it nice?

Very nice, lovely people, everybody is nice, I would love to have a little apartment in Amsterdam to retreat to on vacations.

how many languages do you speak?

English and French. I can also say "I love you" "Hello" "Thank you" and "Cheers" in Polish and German.

how much did the "I love you" help in germany and poland?

It helped with 2 german girls, 2 polish girls and I used Spanish, French and English for the others.

How much of an issue was the language barrier?

Nowhere but Ukraine. Young people who I stayed with everywhere spoke English fine. Sometimes (like in Germany, almost better than myself).

Are you saying that you told these travel flings that you love them? Serious question, do you tell every girl you have sex with that you love them? Before or after the sex?

Thanks

No, in fact I've never told a girl that I love them. We throw that word around too much.

What was your favourite European drink? As in, something you may not have drank at home previously.

(I appreciate you've stopped drinking, I'm not taking the piss.)

And were you in the UK?

When I was hiking with a group of people from all over the world in Poland, we would drink this special Polish vodka almost every night. It was called Żołądkowa Gorzka and its like a special herbal vodka that means "stomach vodka". It reminded me a lot like fireball whiskey (although I don't like fireball). That was good stuff.

I absolutely love beer as well, the best I've ever tried is from Dusseldorf, called Alt-bier. Literally means Old Beer. Its a dark beer and its like drinking the face of God.

I didn't manage to get to the UK. Its on my list!

Will you do this more times?

Yes.

how did you manage all of this on only $4000 dollars?

Couchsurfing. Staying with locals almost everynight and sleeping on their couch for free. I also took a lot of busses and ride shares. And in Eastern Europe, things are pretty cheap. I also don't buy any tourist crap when I'm on the road.

What made you decide to do this?

After I graduated high-school, I traveled to Europe with a few buddies for 3 months and I fell in love with travelling. When I graduated from college (two-year accelerated program) I just decided to go by myself. Figured I would be free to do anything if I went by myself.

Pics? I have seriously considered this, but I decided to get a college education first.
What language(s) do you speak?

Where are you from?

What if any, border issues did you run into?

Isn't it hard to enter a country with a one way ticket and no permanent or long term visa?

I speak English and French fluently. I am Canadian. I live near Vancouver. I honestly didn't have any border troubles, aside from having to get a visa to go to Belarus.

I actually had a German work/travel visa, so that allowed me to stay in the EU past the 90 day tourist period. I guess this is why they let me in with a 1-way ticket.

wtf bulgaria hated my canadian passport with a passion

Hmmm, its funny that you say that. I took a bus from Macedonia to Bulgaria and the driver came along at the border and collected all our passports for inspection. Finally he came back and gave everyones passports back, but mine wasnt there. I was so scared that it was gone, so one of the girls there told the driver and he waited until a border guard came running back with mine. I guess they gave it an extra check or something.

me and some guy from Israel held up the bus crossing the border (to leave buglaria, bulgaria wasn't sure whether to let us out or not..). The girl beside me when leaving macedonia got pulled off the bus, sort of explains why she started praying while we left ohrid. I thought she was commenting on the uh... thriftiness of the bus. man balkans were good times (i went on a similar trip as you last summer)

Haha good times. Did you eat the white cheese in Bulgaria? :) Its like Feta but Betta

buddy I could not get enough of that shopska salad! bulgaria had great food(not as good as poland though), the onyl place where the waiter would be like, "is it okay if the fries are handcut potatoes thrown with dill and garlic? not froze" yes!! shove that stuff in my mouth please.

did you try the squeaky cheese in finland? so gross cold but it it's really good cooked up

No never tried the squeky cheese. Ill get around to it next time Im there.

Cool. I am an American but I have Canadian citizenship through my mother. I have always thought of applying for a Canadian passport as I have heard you can get much better treatment if they do not think you are American. The biggest obstacle in this whole thing I think is the Visa. But I must ask, did you take any pictures?

I wouldn't go through the trouble of getting another passport just for that. People don't hate Americans like you might think. As a Canadian, I often get mistaken for an American (due to the similar accent). I really don't mind either, however I do make the correction so I don't get comments on American politics. People never seem to change their opinion of me when they find out.

The secret to getting good treatment while traveling abroad is this: Don't be a dick.

This guy knows whats-up. Literally everyone just assumes you're American. But once you tell them you're Canadian they almost seem like they're more accepting. But the key is to always be humble. No citizen is better that another country's.

I only took about 500 pictures, (which is low, but I'm not a usual tourist) I'll upload a couple to the AMA.

Ok, so maybe Bulgaria doesn't like Canadians, but how awesome would it be to have an American and a Canadian passport?

Yes, I think many Americans and Canadians...(and Brits, Australians etc...) dont understand how lucky we are to travel with that passport. There are many places in the world if you're born, you can't just "decide to go somewhere on a whim"

You're a girl, right? (Your photos.)

How do you screen couchsurfing hosts as safe or not? I had a bad experience with a cs guest once and don't want to repeat that.

No Im a guy. Thats a girl I met in Poland and she said she liked hiking, so I asked her to take me hiking.

I doubt almost any girls would attempt this unless they had superior self defense skills/weapons.

I met a few girls travelling by themselves. I think a lot of people just think of other countries as a scary place where everyones out to get you, but its not like that.

On your next trip will you be going back to Europe or trying out a different continent?

Also, what was the weirdest or scariest experience during your trip?

I want to visit every country on earth before I die. (Im at 30 right now). So ill definitely be back to Europe at some point in my life, I just dont know if it will be the next trip. Next trip will probably be India/China, or maybe ill buy a motorcycle and ride overland from N.America all the way down to the tip of S.America. That would be cool.

You going to try to offroad the Darien Gap?

Maybe Ill take a boat around, I dont really feel like dying from Malaria in the bush.

If you do China, make sure you hit up Sechuan and especially Yunnan province. That is where the adventure is. I know a bangin Tibetan monastery that also functions as a guest house in Shangrila.

Thanks for the tip!

What different coutnries did you go to?

How long ago was this?

edit: how many english speakers were there in Poland?

All the young people speak English in Poland. I never had trouble with the language barrier except in places like Hungary and Ukraine.

I went to: Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Czech Repub, Austria

Why havent you decided to visit Italy or Slovenia if you were so close?

I've been to both of those places, but on a trip 3 years ago. Not hating, but Italy was probably my least favorite country in Europe.

Why was Italy your least favorite country to visit?

I dont like tourist crowds (even though I guess I technically am one). Rome, Firenze, Venezia are all cool but they are busy crowded tourist meccas. Cinque Terre is sick though, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre

another question, have you kept in contact with anyone you've met in europe?

Yes, I have friends in every city Ive been. Totally going back to visit them.

As a Dane I'm curious about your time in Denmark, so how was it?

Awesome. I actually worked on a Dairy farm near Aarhus about 3 years ago and stayed with a family there. I LOVE Denmark. I feel like it is the Canada of Europe. Ive been to Copenhagen 3 or 4 different times and it is such a livable city.

Nice to hear that you had a good experience here. So did someone tell you to say "Rød Grød Med Fløde" while you where in Denmark?

haha I've never heard that. I know jeg elsker dig though.

are you single? ;] juuust kidding.

I am curious about the no daylight thing in Romania? What happened?

Well patient readers, our story first starts back in Bulgaria where our hero walks into his hostel room and meets 4 people from Portugal. These 4 friends studied on in exchange in Bucharest and decided to come to Bulgaria for the weekend. We spent several alcohol fueled nights partying together and when it was time to head back home, they asked me if I wanted to come stay with them in Bucharest for a few days. We hopped on a bus to the border and then once off the bus, we found a taxi to take us across the border (because its a bridge and you cant walk it). So the taxi driver says, "Ill take you across the border for 30Euros, or all the way to Bucharest for 50Euros. Since we are smart people and Bucharest is an hour away, we agree. The taxi driver says he needs to make a stop at his house, so we go there and switch cars to an unmarked personal car. He says that it will be cheaper to take a personal car across the border because taxis are taxed. The 5 of us passengers hop into the new car quite illegally since there are 4 of us in the backseat, no-one is wearing seatbelts, and Ive got a small Portugese girl on my lap. The border guard waves us through and we rip off into the night to Bucharest.

So anyway, the point of my story is that while I was staying with these people in Bucharest we would party until 5 or 6am and then go home and sleep until 5 or 6 at night. This happened every day, so we would wake up, have breakfast (which is actually dinner) after the sun set and start pre-drinking before going out at 1 or 2 am. When I finally left the city, I had to catch a 8am flight, so I truly never did see the city in the light of day.

how bad did the cab driver scam you? I got in an argument with a driver in a sofia, trying to charge me 35 lev for a 7 lev ride. bunch of a drunk teenage boys had my back.

I was in Plovdiv and my Couchsurfing host had sent me a message saying that it would only be 5 lev MAX to get to their house since it was so close. I hopped in a cab at the bus station, showed him the address and he said he knew where it was. I had looked it up on Google maps so I knew generally where the place was. He drove around pretending to look for the street and ran the meter up to 25 lev. At one point he stopped and "asked" another cab driver where it was. Although I knew it was fucked because when we were stopped the meter kept going up and up, which shouldnt happen, it should be by the kilometer. When he finally got to the place I angrily told him that I knew what he was doing, it was bullshit, and this is all I was giving him, (I think I threw a 10 lev note at him) and he just fucking smiled cause he knew that I knew.

Would definitely like more breakdown of your equipment, spending, and activities, if you have them at hand!

Also, what general tips have you learned during your trip to safe even more money?

Pack: Osprey Aether 85 Litre. Tent: MSR Hubba 1-person

7 pair of shirts, boxers, socks 1 pair of Jeans 1 pair of shorts 1 hoodie 1 down jacket 1 thin rain jacket 1 pair of boat shoes 1 pair of normal shoes I also had a small sleeping bag, a blow up pillow and a sleeping bag liner. And obviously all the other random shit like toiletries and odds and ends.

Save money: dont buy tourist crap, cook your own meals, buy drinks from the supermarkets, couchsurf, dont ever stay in hotels, do free walking tours.

I actually wrote a book about my travels that covers every day. Ill ship it to you for $20 if you want.

I took a weekend trip to Canada with no real plans of where I’d be staying or exactly how long... I was help up at customs for 2 hours cause they thought that was "unusual behavior" fucking Canada.

Haha Sorry man.

As one canadian to another, can you go travel to southeast asia, make an AMA about it, and let me live vicariously through you?

Thanks.

Ill be doing it one day, so stay tuned.

Did you ever have a night where you just didn't have anywhere to stay? What did you do?

I would just find a mcdonalds, pilfer their free wifi and find a nearby hostel that had room.

One problem many solo travellers encounter is a feeling of loneliness or boredom. How did you overcome these two problems (if you encountered them).

To be honest, I was never alone on the trip. Only on some busses and trains. But if you think about it, Im either staying with a couchsurfer, who is now my friend; or im staying in a hostel. In that case I just ask anyone I meet if they want to go out for drinks or buy drinks and chill at the hostel. You just have to have that I-dont-give-a-fuck attitude about self conciousness. Ive always been that guy that sings songs to himself in a room full of people without caring if anyone judges me. For me, I find it way easier to make friends on the road than walking down the street in my hometown.

But when I was alone, I would read, listen to music, watch movies. I probably read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain 15 times.

Congrats! How many girls did you sleep with in the journey? Were there any creepy incidents during travel?

More than 5. Less than 15.

so 6

10

I'm looking to do travelling like this too and i'm also from canada! My question to you is: do you think doing something like this would be safe for an attractive(sorry for not trying to be modest) woman In her 20's?

Yes its safe, you just have to be much more cautious as a woman. I think eastern european guys might be a lot more forward than canadian guys, so maybe you'll be uncomfortable more often. But if your self-confident, go for it!

And where are you from in Canada?

No question, just saying that you just did something I dream to do and I admire that.

That rocks.

Cool, lets go travelling one day, Im always looking for people to travel with!

How did you pay for the alcohol? Even at a modest $20/drinking session, that would amount to $3600.

This guy below me knows whats up. You can get a 750ml bottle of vodka in Poland for like $4.

How much of a toll did it Take on your Health?

Definitely took a toll on my health. When you're drinking every day your body adapts to that and it becomes normal for your body. So coming back, it took a while to get healthy again.

where's the first place u went?

I started in Frankfurt. Stayed with two Lesbians with a baby. They were great!

This is something I would totaly love to do, but there is something in the middle of my brain, and I just have to ask. How do you manage to disregard the "man, you could break your leg and you'd be fuckd up!" little voice in your head?!? I mean, every trip has a risk, and travelling the way you have doesn't seem exactly safe in a lot of aspects.

Just a for instance, in my country (Argentina) I would never dream to hitchhike because of the chance of ending up mugged/killed/worse.

edit: typo

You have to look at it as you only have 1 life to live. Theres going to be a day when you are 80 years old, in a hospital bed and cant move. Seize the day, you only get one life for fucks sake, why not see as much of the world as possible. The biggest fears I have are not whether I will break my leg or get robbed; its that I would never have the courage to get out of my city and see the world.

Oh wow. you dont look 30 at all in the last pic. anyway, how do you stay with the locals? do you just happen to get to know them at a bar or something and ask? or couchsurf? are locals not reluctant to let a stranger stay at their house? btw, your trip sounds incredible. id love to do it soon

Im not 30, im 21, it says that in my post title. Where did you get the idea that im 30?

I mostly couchsurfed with locals. I think the majority of people are reluctant to let a stranger stay at their place, but the people on couchsurfing are mostly travellers who are more open.

Which cities did you visit in Ukraine. How did you find it

Lviv and Kyiv. I loved it, stayed with locals in both cities. I would take Lviv over Paris ANY day.

I've been wanting to go traveling once my job ends. What advice could you give to getting started? Kit/attitudes/locations?

Get a good pack. Definitely dont bring a suitcase.

Have you ever seen "Yes Man". When you're on the road, be that guy who says "Yes" to everything. You will have amazing experiences.

Don't buy touristy crap.

Eastern Europe is awesome and less touristy than western Europe. Go there.

Did you take a laptop for the internet?

Yes I had a $250 HP laptop, she's still going strong.

As a Canadian why did you decide to travel Europe and not North & South America? Given your language skills did you ever encounter situations where knowing a different language (non-EN/FR) would have helped or been a hindrance?

I really wish I could speak German, so I could have understood the Oktoberfest songs better. I never really had any problems with the language barrier except in Ukraine. Thats the only country where the older generation didn't know even a few words.

I'm going to be doing something very similar this summer, any tips for things like getting from place to place, how to stretch your cash etc? I'm from the UK and have so far found a coach to Amsterdam for £9 which I figure is a good start.

Yea man, definitely bus when you can. It kind of sucks that it takes longer, but its way cheaper. Also try ride sharing sites. Germany: Mitfarhzentrale, and theres others. In order to stretch your cash, dont buy tourist crap, stay at hostels that have kitchens so you can cook your meals, and couchsurf.

I know that people that live in France are probably a lot different than their stereotypical view, but how? Like what are their favorites foods, what is the style there, etc.

I would say that Parisians are not the nicest people but maybe they are just fed up with tourists. Roman Polanski said it best "In Paris, one is always reminded of being a foreigner. If you park your car wrong, it is not the fact that it's on the sidewalk that matters, but the fact that you speak with an accent. "

I actually have family in Burgundy and I stayed with them in their countryside cottage for a week. They eat SO WELL. Lunches would last like 2 hours long, of a few courses followed by different cheeses and bread; and wine at every meal. I would consider these people REAL french people. Very hospitable, similar to North American families but with a more relaxed way of life. The cheeses they eat are absolutely digusting from a N.american point of view. You've never smelled such strong things in your life.

I'm an 18 year old who's been travelling around the world solo for the past year but I have yet to do any couch surfing. Have been thinking about pushing school back another year and doing something like this. How have your experiences been with CS? Everyone always seems to have that one horror story!

My experience couchsufing was UN-REAL. I dont really have any horror stories, but my worst experience was probably like the host was boring or something. I filtered the searches so I just stayed with people around my age. I stayed with 18-25 year olds mainly, with a couple around 30 or so. And I also only stayed with people who had a few references. CS just changed their site when I was done my trip and it is definitely worse. I think the golden age of couchsufing is over since they became for-profit, but still, get out there and start surfing. You'll go from drinking with travellers in hostels, to drinking with locals :)

I definitely see the benefit. Will have to try it for myself when i return to Amsterdam this june, thanks!

You live in Amsterdam? Ill have to come visit next time Im there.

How difficult was it to travel between countries? Did you really not need to fill out any paperwork beforehand?

Nowhere except for getting the visa in Belarus, and then I had to fill out a little form when leaving Belarus for Lithuania. Everywhere else thats not in the Schengen Zone, they just check your passport and stamp it.

What are you doing now with your life since you've returned?

Do you have any motivations to travel regularly for the rest of your life or was this trip simply a bit of fun before you settle down?

I majored in Entrepreneurship in school, and I am just in the middle of launching a company.

did you have to check your bag or did you carry it on your flights?

Yes I had to check it. Its 85 litres. I could fit three midgets and a roast turkey in there.

Considering your expenditures: Have you been to Switzerland? And if yes: how could you keep cost low?

Yes I was in Switzerland about 3 years ago, not on this trip. Its sooo expensive there, even McDonalds is like $15 for a meal. I was there in the winter, but if I was there in the summer, I would bring a tent and camp to save money.

May I come with you next time?

Sure, lets do it.

What did you find yourself eating? I just got done with a European CS'ing trip, and I found I ate carrots, bananas, apples, bread, and the cheapest gyros I could find. I wonder if I missed out on good cheap food ideas.

I cooked a lot of my meals to save money. Other times I would eat a lot of Doner. My go to travel meal was bread, salami and cheese. One time I was so hungry that I just eat peanut butter straight from the jar by itself.

Was there a point, when you was scared of something?

Getting off the train for the first time at midnight in Ukraine was kind of sketchy. It was like being in a different world.

This'll get buried but I was in that exact mountainous area on the Czech border about 10 years ago! Is it near Liberec? How did you decide where to go?

Yes its near Liberec! Theres a bunch of Inn's on top of the mountains where hikers can stay overnight.

Hey.

What prompted you to do such a thing? Curiously, I imagine that's a goddamn great story!

I love meeting new people and being on the move more than any other hobby. I guess my only true hobby love is travelling. I could pick up any day and go anywhere.

Could you talk more about what you did in France?: How you got around? How you met people? Where you stayed? What you visited? Tips, tricks and recommendations? Useful websites?

I'm kind of doing the same thing you did, only I'll be staying in France the whole time.

I did WWOOfing, you should look it up, its really sweet. I took a lot of trains in France and there are some cheaper buses. I stayed on a farm for over a week, and with my french family in Dijon for a week.

Do the wwoofing though, you get to work with people from all over the world.

How did you get a job in France ?

Tell me one thing , can you get a good companionship when you are travelling alone ?

I did this thing called WWOOFing. Its Willing Workers On Organic Farms. Basically you do 5 or 6 hours of work per day and the farm gives you a place to sleep and feeds you.

Isn't it illegal on tourist visa?

Once again what did you say - WWOOFing?

Its not illegal because theres no money exchanged. I also did have a German work/travel visa while I was in Europe.

Hi.

Hope this gets to you. I had a life long dream of doing this.

1)Out of all the countries , which one was most different from your home town ?

2)Which country did you like the most ? Which one had the best weather ?

3)I also want to do such a thing . But I dont have the social skills you seem to have ,(i cant "couch surf") so how much would you think it will cost me ?

4)Which other country would you want to visit in the future?

Lastly , I want to ask you to write a blog about your travels. It's alright that you dont have pictures.

1) Probably Minsk in Belarus. 2)Poland or Ukraine 3)Add about 20Euro a night for hostels. You can live on about 40euro a day, if you cook your meals at hostels and buy liqour at grocery stores. 4)I want to go to every country in the world before I die.

I have a blog and I wrote a book about each day of my travels.