Next Backpacking Trip?

[jj03]

I just wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts or ideas on what I am planning for my next backpacking trip. I haven't decided on which trip yet.

1. Peru - Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Manu Biosphere Reserve, Colca Canyon, Lake Titicacca, & a few days on Bolivia's Altiplano. (within my budget right now.)

2. S.E. Asia - Thailand - Chiang Mai and surrounding hill villages, Bangkok, Koh Samui, Khao Sok National Park. Cambodia - The Angkor Complex. Laos - Vang Vieng Region along the Mekong R. (a bit outside of my budget.)

3. Australia - Sydney, The Blue Mountains, Daintree National Park, The Great Barrier Reef, Alice Springs & Uluru, Broome. (a bit too much right now, but could wait another year to go.)

Any thoughts?

[demerum]

Peru or Southeast Asia. Ill be backpacking in peru this summer, landing in lima and doing machupichu and then the amazon stuff. Im also going down into brazil and seeing san paolo, bahia and rio before making my way back up to lima.
Im actually doing southeast asia the following summer.

if you do peru in the summer we should meet up in a hostal for a day or two.

dem

[jj03]

Thanks for the offer.
I probably will wait till the end of the rainy season or right before it when I go (either 2006 or 2007). Travel can be treacherous or impassable on many mountain roads and in the Amazon Basin during the rainy season. Even though all of Peru is at a tropical latitude, the winters at higher altitudes would require me to take extra gear, so I would be travelling during the winter or late fall in the Northern Hemisphere.

[nakamichi217]

First of all you have to work within your means financially. So if you can only afford a Peru trip i would go to Peru then. Also you can try to figure out some cost cutting advantages on the Internet that can slice portions of expenses away to make things a little more comfortable for you as you go. I hope everything works out!

[lovesit]

All good choices, and if Peru is in your budget, you are in luck. It is a wonderful country, and the sights are magnificent.

Please note that to hike the Inca trail to Machu Picchu you are REQUIRED to have a guide. You can find many of them in Cusco.

Manu Reserve is NOT cheap. I hope you factored this in yor budget. You also are required to hae a Yellow Fever vaccination record to enter.

Lake Titicaca (the city is Puno) is great, although I took the plane there and got altitude sickness. You can take the bus, but I've heard the trek is pretty nerve-wracking. I took the bus from Puno to Cusco, which was nice.

I am planning a trip to SE Asia, and I figure that to be pretty inexpensive - on par with, or cheaper than, Peru.

[oenghus69]

If I had the money Peru and South America, I am doing South East Asia in August.

[jj03]

Thanks for all the advice. I don't travel on a backpacker's budget because I actually like to do things besides talk to other traveller's about how little I can live on for months on end, so a place like Manu would definitely be budgeted for.

Actually, I am heading back to Costa Rica this November. Going to Do the Los Patos to Carate trail in Corcovado National Park, then a bit of surfing in Cabo Matapalo before heading to Granada, Nicaragua.

Peru and Bolivia will have to wait a bit longer.

Anybody ever have a bad experience with malaria pills? I was on those for a trip to the depths of Mexico a few years back and the stuff I was on made you go nuts and gave you bad nausea. I think I will just take my chances next time I go to a place with malaria outbreaks.

[lovesit]

You probably took Mefloquine, which has been shown to cause schizophrenic behavior with long-term use. My friend works for Roche Pharm., and when he found out I was prescribed Mefloquine for my trip to SE Asia, he steered me away from it. Roche also makes TamiFlu, which is currently being tested against H5N1 Influenza (bird flu.)

I asked about this on the LonelyPlanet website, and all the long-term visitors say to stay off the drugs and just mount a good defense against being bitten in the first place: long-sleeve, light-colored clothes, and DEET insect repellant, plus a mosquito net in your room. Have the owners (or do it yourself) spray the room before you go out at night, so that it's bug-free and odor-free when you get back.

Sorry this was so wordy. Have a great trip, and post here about your travels.

LovesIt

[mistershow]

Careful in Peru because of the exotic parasites. I've seen some scary documentaries made about that.