Trip Cost Total: $9574

It's been a week since I wrapped up my 5 month trek around the world. I am happy to report I achieved my goal of keeping the trip under $10,000. Below is a breakdown of my expenses which I tracked and converted to US dollars using the current exchange rates at the time.

Flights: $3370

I purchased my flights in advance through Airbrokers.com--travel agents specializing in around the world itineraries. My route included 8 one-way flights and many logical overland segments so I did not have to backtrack (i.e. flying into Sydney but out of Melbourne). I also purchased 2 short hops in Asia for a total of 10 flights.

Insurance: $225

My regular insurance policy does not apply to travel abroad for longer than 90 days. Worldnomads.com offers reasonably priced policies offering emergency medical coverage (thankfully I never had to use it!)

Visas & Visa waivers: $105

Two entries into Cambodia, one in Vietnam, and New Zealand visa waiver. I only needed my passport to enter all the other countries on my route.


Below are my day to day expenses. This category includes everything I purchased pertaining to the trip from the time I landed in Fiji on January 5 until my departure from the Netherlands on June 3---Food, lodging, surface transportation (buses, trains, car rental, boats, tuk tuks), communication (sim cards, internet cafes, skype credit), activities (snorkeling, caving, cycling, massage, park entrance fees, museums, sightseeing, etc.), shopping (from tolietries to thai dresses), and airport departure taxes. I have listed how much I spent and the daily average for each region.

Fiji, New Zealand, & Australia: $2318 (daily average=$51.51)

Time period: January 7 through February 20. Couchsurfing in Auckland, Napier, and Christchurch and staying with friends in Sydney and Dunedin mitigated car rental expenses. I ate alot of veggie quiches, salads, and sandwiches from cafes for around $5. Intercity Coachlines, Naked Bus, and Atomic Shuttles are great companies for inexpensive bus travel all over NZ.

Southeast Asia: $1038 (daily average=$26.62)

Time Period: February 21 through March 31. Huge $2 indian meals in Tanah Rata, $25 snorkeling trips in Railay, and swimming in hidden lagoons for free made for cheap living. Guesthouses were regularly under $20 (and this was split with Laura!) Haggling is expected in the markets. Street food is cheap, delicious, and usually safe. If you want to reduce travel costs, definitely spend a chunk of time here!

Europe: $2518 (daily average=$40)

Time Period: April 1 through June 3. Several factors contributed to lower than expected costs in this region. First of all, I was only in pricey Western Europe for two weeks. Most of my time was spent traveling north from Athens to Prague. Destinations such as Albania, Bosnia, and Slovenia proved to be quite reasonably priced. Between couchsurfing and staying with friends, I arranged 20 nights of free accomodation (Many thanks to Marcela, Petra, Katja & Tobias, Tine, and the Vienna crew!) I used bus services such as Eurolines more often than trains. Finally, not only did I travel during Europe's shoulder season (spring) but I experienced the most favorable euro to dollar exchange rate we've seen in years (1 euro = between 1.20 and 1.30 usd)

Total Trip Cost=$9574

Overall, I think my tendency to embrace a lifestyle of simplicity aided my ability to keep day to day costs low. It would be easy to burn through thousands of dollars doing every tourist activity under the sun. I did some of them, but the experiences that really interest me also happen to be the ones that cost little or nothing. One of my favorite places is Meteora, Greece where I trail ran Holy Spirit Mountain, (free) celebrated Easter in the town square by candlelight and fireworks (free), and toured monastaries atop rock formations with new friend, Yannis ($2 entrance fee) My souvenirs are my journals and photos (ok, and a few thai dresses!) Long term travel for people of modest means is possible, but it behooves such a traveler to prioritize carefully. If you are contemplating long term travel, I encourage you to go for it. My trip was one of the most satisfying and liberating experiences of my entire life!


"Vagabonding is about looking for the adventure in normal life and normal life within adventure. Vagabonding is an attitude--a friendly interest in people, places, and things that makes a person an explorer in the truest, most vivid sense of the word. Vagabonding is about time--our only real commodity--and how we choose to use it."

--Rolf Potts, author of my favorite travel book--Vagabonding

Amsterdam

Church bells ring. Trams growl over tracks. Coffee shops exude conversation and wafts of weed. Women ride side saddle on double-seated bicycles steered by boyfriends. Boats glide under bridges in canals past leaning brick houses. Men negotiate prices with the prostitutes in red light district windows. I must be in Amsterdam!

I take the train from Schipohl airport to Centraal Station then walk around the city. I see a couple with backpacks studying a map and strike up a conversation. ''Are you looking for a hostel too?" I ask."We are just trying to find the one we already booked" the guy replies. "You can follow us and see if they have any beds left. I think it's this way." The three of us walk towards the Nieumarkt area, passing the beautiful Waag building until we arrive at a place called The Shelter. The Shelter turns out to be a Christian hostel right next to De Wallen--otherwise known as the red light district. Too hilarious. Actually, the place is pretty great with a spacious kitchen, cute courtyard, and a friendly staff. Some ingenious ways of getting Jesus into your life include the ''God mail box'', Christian music videos, and a Jesus computer program. Pretty soon it feels completely normal to go for a run past prostitues shimmying in their windows then returning to the hostel to find a bible study taking place.

In Amsterdam you can:

• Learn from the scholars at Cannabis College where their mission is to offer ''free advice on safe recreational cannabis use in addition to educating the public about the many uses of the hemp plant."
  


• Legally smoke a joint or consume a space cake inside a coffee shop. However, smoking tobacco cigarettes indoors was banned in 2008. Interestingly, only about 7% of the Dutch population smokes marijuana.


• Visit the sex museum which contains art, photos, and information about sex through the ages as well as animatronic mannequins engaged in a variety of debaucherous activities


• See the World Press Photo 2010 exhibit at the Oude Kerk.
  

• View photos of a professor's strange anatomical specimens at FOAM, marvel the world's largest collection of Van Gough paintings at Van Gough museum or take in some Rembrandts and Vermeers at the Rijksmuseum.
  


• Chillout in Vondelpark and climb on the I amsterdam sign


• Listen to street performers playing music near the National Monument.


• Interact with colorful characters such as a celebratory guy in the skintight red sequined nurses uniform or a wandering guy talking to himself about Saddam Hussein.

• Eat amazing Indonesian food at places like Toko Joyce

Amsterdam was the last stop on this 'round the world itinerary. Time to fly home!