Travelling advice...

[Bobthemanofsteel]

A what?

Commodore

OH MAN I JUST DID THE BEST BURNOUT GRAB ME A VB

[Mickk]

What is a 'drop bear'?

It's a mythical animal in Australia. It is said to sit in trees that have dense foliage to wait for an unsuspecting victim to pass underneath, whereupon it falls from the tree, stunning it's target. What it does after that I'll leave to your imagination.

A what?

A Holden Commodore is a car we have down here. It's rather a rather popular make. I believe they are sold in England badged as 'Vauxhall' (sp?). I know the Monaro is sold there under that badge.

I'm rather attached to my anus, so I'll avoid dark alleyways while I'm there.

Do the same in any city and you should be right.

In Australia I'll be working to raise funds for Asia, does anyone have any suggestions about where to apply?

No idea, but maybe someone out there can do a little research on this for you.
Possibly ask at a backpackers hostel and they may be able to point you in the right direction.

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[Sandman]

Who/what are they?

They are Istanbul's two major football clubs, if you don't know who they are and don't follow football then that's fine but a few years ago a couple of Leeds United fans were killed in Taksim Square by some Galatasary supporters for being a bit too loud in their condemnation of Galatasary. Football support in Turkey is like nowhere else, the hatred and violence are extreme.
The point someone made about telling people you're Canadian is a good one, we brits have a skewed reputation amongst some people in some countries, also claiming to be Australian or Irish does just as well.
India will probably be the most problematic when walking on the street, the beggars, hawkers, con artists and pickpockets are the most persistent in Asia, you need to steel yourself a bit and keep walking away, not trying to do India a disservice here, it's an amazing country and most of the people are friendly and welcoming.

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[NixOlympica]

In Australia I'll be working to raise funds for Asia, does anyone have any suggestions about where to apply?

-Seth

That will be problem. In Australia there is crisis now and lack of any kind of jobs. My brother who finished IT university works there in the docks right now.

I think get a job there will be very very hard.

[Kontrazec (Somni)]

About the job...yeah.I heard Aussies almost have it as bad as us Croatians.And we have it...BAD. Trust me.Best thing to do is raise a good budget BEFORE you go travelling,use a belt purse to keep the most important stuff in. + If you're going as a backpacker people should generally leave you alone most of the time.However,it's always best to wear a piece of clothing with a secret pocket on the inside (I have a pair of pants with a zippered pocket at the bottom of the legging) to put your passport(visa),ID,emergency cash and a spare phone card.

I used this advice for my backpacking trip over Europe,and it helped,but it was just Europe.

EDIT: The legging pocket is to counter smarter pickpockets who know about belt pouches.

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Sucks to be a weight on the wrong side of the brilliance-insanity scale.

[John Keel]

Good advice there about zippered pockets and that. Try not to display money pouches or expensive equipment on the outside of your body. It just makes you a target. Plus if the money is in a place where pickpockets can see it, it makes their job a whole lot easier.

Without trying to worry you unnecessarily you should also be wary when travelling alone on transport such as coaches and buses, particularly non-tourist agency ones. I met someone in Bolivia who had just had his PSP, money, passport, pretty much everything important to him, robbed on a bus in Peru. He fell asleep and woke up to see some robber getting off the bus (having been let off by the driver, who supposedly was in on the scam). Now this was on a standard civilian coach going between towns in Peru, so it might not apply to anywhere you're going Seth, but if you do travel on your own, just keep your wits about you and try to either sleep on or hide your bags. Meeting new people and making friends on your journey would be good too, not only is it pretty cool meeting loads of people from around the world, but they'll probably be able to watch your back as well should you get in trouble.

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A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.
~H. L. Mencken

Levi Ripley // [Civilian]

[Bobthemanofsteel]

There isn't a lack of work at all.
There's just a lack of work for anything not Trade-related.:D

[Seth Karlo]

Well, I'll search for a job anyhow. I'm not afraid to do farm work or something. Thanks for the advice about pickpockets, I will be travelling by myself, and keeping stuff safe is a good idea.

It is a Vauxhall here, yes.

My mother is Canadian and I have spent a good amount of time there. I can easily pass as one. Thanks for the tip:)

-Seth

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[Hastings]

Here's some more advice:

http://www.youtube.com/user/communitychann.../59/yfNs4LBE0Ms

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[lolciclepops]

The taxi drivers in south east asia will usually try to charge you more if you're foreign, so look out. Not really that much you can do actually unless you look asian and speak the native language at least semi-fluently.

Eating there can also be dangerous, but generally go for the crappiest looking hawker stalls with the most people. If you're used to clean water, don't drink the water there either unless it's boiled or bottled. Try to avoid ice - it's worse than water, had me throwing up for a week after I ate one of those ice kachang thingys. Also, if you go to a malay stall in KL, well, last time I went there they served barely-warm rice, which is apparently how they eat it (o.o). The satays were good though.

That's just my personal experience, being a chinese with parents born in malaysia. We take trips to KL and other cities every now and then. I'm sure people can give better advice in greater quantity.