Vectis Birder
Itchy feet
I have decided to do a spot of birding travelling next year, possibly USA - Mexico (maybe Costa Rica too) - Australia - Thailand - Malaysia. This may be a little ambitious, given that I have got a lot of saving to do (I can - just about - manage to squirrel away £200 a month and will attempt to get my bank loan rescheduled by an additional £2000) and have 6 months to do it in (I can jack my job in and go back if it's 6 months or less, they said they'll take me back as I'm going to need employment on my return!). So as I'm soliciting advice (I've not done a trip this long or ambitious before) I have several questions so please bare with me.
I'll get a round the world air ticket which should be cheaper than buying seperate tickets and I'm wondering roughly how much budgeting I'll need to do (I'll be doing the motel/hostelling thing as I tend to think of posher, more expensive, accommodation as a bit of a waste of money!).
I'm thinking of setting off in April/May 2008 as this coincides with an event in Texas that I want to go to as I'll be meeting up with friends there, then going on from there. Birding in Texas is good, and when I was there last year I didn't do as much as I should have (another reason for going back) and I have heard good things about Arizona.
Question is do I head down into Central America (Mexico, Costa Rica, etc) or do I head off for Australia straight away? If I go into Central America, is it feasible to travel by road (public transport) from Mexico or would I have to fly (thereby adding unwanted expense to the trip)? How much would I need to allow for spending several weeks in the area?
Australia I've been to before, so I know what's what there. As for Thailand and Malaysia, how much will I need to live on for a month or two?
Am I stretching myself too thinly as regards places visited and finances as I'll be starting off with two or three thousand pounds (more if the bank agree to extend my loan by a couple of grand)? If so I can revise my options as I'm pretty flexible.
Also, what field guides would anyone recommend, especially for C. America, SE Asia and Australia (I had a field guide to Australia but it got lost last time I moved house)?
Many thanks for reading this ramble and I will be grateful for any advice.
Cheers
VB
I'll get a round the world air ticket which should be cheaper than buying seperate tickets and I'm wondering roughly how much budgeting I'll need to do (I'll be doing the motel/hostelling thing as I tend to think of posher, more expensive, accommodation as a bit of a waste of money!).
I'm thinking of setting off in April/May 2008 as this coincides with an event in Texas that I want to go to as I'll be meeting up with friends there, then going on from there. Birding in Texas is good, and when I was there last year I didn't do as much as I should have (another reason for going back) and I have heard good things about Arizona.
Question is do I head down into Central America (Mexico, Costa Rica, etc) or do I head off for Australia straight away? If I go into Central America, is it feasible to travel by road (public transport) from Mexico or would I have to fly (thereby adding unwanted expense to the trip)? How much would I need to allow for spending several weeks in the area?
Australia I've been to before, so I know what's what there. As for Thailand and Malaysia, how much will I need to live on for a month or two?
Am I stretching myself too thinly as regards places visited and finances as I'll be starting off with two or three thousand pounds (more if the bank agree to extend my loan by a couple of grand)? If so I can revise my options as I'm pretty flexible.
Also, what field guides would anyone recommend, especially for C. America, SE Asia and Australia (I had a field guide to Australia but it got lost last time I moved house)?
Many thanks for reading this ramble and I will be grateful for any advice.
Cheers
VB