Money is a tool.

I sold everything I had. It was easy: I had very little. This also means that I got very little money for it.

However, our society is not fit for human consumption. So leaving it is equivalent to quiting smoking: it´s something you do for yourself and something that must be done radically to be achieved. If health should come before pleasure... it should come definately before ambition, competition, stress, selfishness, ugliness, slavery and indifference.

So now I´m in Brazil after having travelled 45 000 kilómeters in South America for close to a year.

Sometimes I think I don´t have enough money to afford so much freedom and beauty. But "enough" is such a relative term that it doesn´t deserve to be taken seriously.

As far as the "going back into society" bit... No thanks, I quit a year ago...

Balam

Bank loan, overdraft and credit cards and ebay. That is how I'm financing my three month tour of the Baltic Sea. Being 43 and with no ties and no money, I think I can happily class it as a mid-life crisis. Admittedly, I was planning to do it in my mid 30s - but then I had my bike nicked. Doh! Hopefully this is only a practise run for 2007 - RTW or China and back. Financially I have no security for the future, but I have decided to stop worrying about it since realistically there is little I can do about it.

See you in the Baltic.

Sometimes you dont need to sell everything to go and do a trip you dream of. You would be amazed at what you can achieve in as little time as 4 weeks. For those of you who can't give up everything, or choose not to, why not try to take a block of time off work (maybe unpaid) and be imaginative. You may not be able to 'do the long trip' but you will have access to finances. And they can often 'buy you time'. In less than four weeks holiday I have managed the trips below, always coming back to my job (and new debts) refreshed. Admittedly I always want more, buy hey, dont they say too much of a good thing is bad for you? Consequently I dream almost all the time, but with a little ingenuity and effort I can usually turn my dreams to reality for at least 1 month a year....

Around Ireland with no map only ever turning left.....(honda dominator)

Over the himalayas and back on an Enfield (solo)

Exploring Central America by TS185

Turkey, Aegean to Iran and back by DR350

North West African Desert and back XT600

Across the USA offroad 5000 miles by XR400

Western Europe (all over the place) various bikes

This summer.....The 'All Road Tour' 2000km competative rally in northern Finland by KTM640


GO ON......where ever you want to ride, just go and do it. The way I figure it, the last thing I will EVER say on my death bed (wherever it turns out to be) is :

'Thank GOD I sat on my arse and didnt do anything about going on 'that trip'. I'm so glad I stayed at home/went on another package tour'


All the best and safe riding to you all out there.

Dave

'its all about doing what you can with what you've got...'

Wow, has this thread struck an accord! I met up with my fellow Aussy mates, Cheryl and David in Chiang Mai.I have just arrived back in Oz after 11 months on the road thru S.E. Asia,
How I funded the trip was to "Grow Old Discracefully",spend the kids inheritance and go and enjoy myself. If the shit hits the fan, I could always go and live in the backyard of my daughter's and baby sit my grand kids!
As far as settling back into society when you get back, you have to be joking! I have lasted 8 weeks in Brisbane, began a well paid job,planning my next bike trip to S.America, when I was offered a job in Shanghai.So guess were I am heading now? Maybe I will find some devious way of getting my bike into the PRC!

I notice a few people who work with NGO's, but none who are working while travelling. This is what I've been doing (photography/writing) the last 1 1/2 years in the US, after living in Africa for 12 years. Despite the exotic location, at times I felt stuck in suburbia there. Which is ironically where I am right now in California staying at a friend's house, getting some work stuff done I can't do on the road until I get a satelite phone.

So this morning I woke up in a real funk because... I feel stuck in suburbia again!!! So, went straight to Horizons Unlimited which I always do when I feel like this! I don't have the bike because of my two dogs, (I have a van instead) but when they're gone, I'll be on a bike again!!!
Looking forward to seeing some of you folk when I leave here for South America this summer. Thanks for the inspiration.
Lorraine

http://OnaMissionFromDog.com

I like many have commitments to kids, wife, etc etc so the round the world journey aint going to happen just yet. But i still manage some decent journeys, most of europe, to the med,next was all of scandanavia, this year the baltic and a week into russia. so bit by bit I am moving towards the bigger journey. How do I finance it, simple I live in a smaller house, run a older car, packed in working for the company and work very hard on lower pay for myself but this gives me the flexability to take months rather than weeks off when it suits me, then I save like hell its amazing how much people spend to have the bigger house the newer car or be keeping up with the neighbours. Then they think I am rich when i take off for a month or two on the bike. Even got my wife coming along on this trip this time she is taking unpaid leave. It kills me every time I come back i start planning the next bigger journey. so it can be done on a budget. Two weeks and off to russia - five or six years the world trip is on the horizon. Jake.

You all are some pretty amazing people. Got to love the fact that there are so many consiously lost souls out there (i mean that in only the best way).

I took the route of international school teacher. A 2 year contract here and there plus huge summer holidays for travel. I leave in a week for Vietnam where I'm hoping to ride a minsk through the region. Last year I was based in Tanzania with my Suzuki 650 to explore the bush. Another perk of teaching international schools is you get multicultural holidays. They gave us a week off for Chinese new year, a week for Thai new year, and 3 weeks for christmas/western new year. BONUS for reci.s to the places you'll visit on bike later.

Still dreaming of quiting for a year or two and taking it around the world. In the mean time short trips with lots of educational and inspirational reading on this site.

Happy trails,
Poa

I'm happy knowing that I haven't found it because that leaves me to search.

Great quote Stephano, that is one of my favourites.

[This message has been edited by Tathagata (edited 08 December 2005).]

Hi everyone,
Interesting thread.
heres my 2 cents worth. Look at the salary u earn in an hour.(more for those in Europe) That same amount can sustain you for at least a day or two in Asia.

I am from Singapore, for South east Asia we earn quite a bit of money but in Europe, its a fraction. But if you are in Europe, Asia is soo cheap its hard to see why not to do it.

If you stay in your own country, you will have similar standard of living as almost anyone in a similar position anywhere in the world, (with your dvd, hi fi entertainment, car, phone bills, other bills ..... in europe you earn big salaries but cost of living is big too) but if you leave your continent (Europe Especially) the whole world is cheap. I just spent the last 4 months working in ireland behind a bar, and the money i saved there will prob take me for my ride back to Singapore or to almost any destination. Camp in Europe or stay with friends, or ride quickly, and after that... everywhere is affordable, when u have earned in euros.

For our american friends i sympathise with u. In 2003 when i left singapore, i had travellers checks in Usd. 1 USD was worth 1.15 or more Euros, when i got to europe it got the other way around and worse. So my travel money evaporated and for u its more expensive to travel.

How to afford to this lifestyle. Prioritise what u really want. Every pint of lager u skip in Western Europe, u could have two or more further east. Every packet of cigarette u buy in Uk for example could buy u five or easily pay for your guesthouse in asia. Im not suggesting to stop enjoying yourself, but think what that money could do u in another country. I know i'm having lots of beers starting from poland onwards. If you live in Europe and wish to travel, you are in a way blessed that u are born there.
Think about the locals in Asia and Africa, South America, for them overland travel is not an option, well definately not in Europe anyways.

So go out an enjoy your luck of being born in Europe or America or for me in Singapore, cause we can afford it. I didnt have a house to sell or a rent to collect, but enough luck and money to buy an old 1989 dommie and travel. I know i am lucky cause i am born in Singapore, and all of you are too.
So go and enjoy it, travel, and do spread good vibes to the locals in the poorer countries, even if they try to con u and ask for more money than they should. At the end of the day they are not as lucky as we are. But they have other things we dont either, and they are usually happy to share them.

So for all of u earning euros and pounds, go now, before the other currencies catch up.

Besides how much money is just relative. Its never enough or if u choose it can be enough.

Cheers
Dalbir

I put off my dream of driving across the sahara for years because I didn't think I could afford it. Plymouth to Dakar challenge proved to me that I could. me and my dad did it in a 200 pound pink suzuki jeep ( www.plymouth-dakar.com ), then I bought a ford sierra on ebay for 100 pounds and drove to poland and back, now gone up market and bought a 2050 pound landcruiser for another africa trip next year. just driven it to russia and back, all in my annual leave periods (had to kill the mileage for russia though!) cheap cars have lots of advantages. carnets are cheaper and it's not a disaster if something terminal goes wrong. break your 25000 pound td5 defender in the sahara and your going to be a bit sick!! Also driving a shed, leaving all the dents in the car and having a coathanger as an aerial keeps down the cost of bribes!!
never had a reliability problem, except my back wheel coming off the landcruiser at 70mph on the autobahn!!! then that was user error! (check your nuts regularly, in all senses of the word!)

Andy
land rover 101 ambie/camper
landcruiser 60 series
ford escort and 1968 morris minor!

[This message has been edited by moggy 1968 (edited 26 June 2005).]

[This message has been edited by moggy 1968 (edited 30 June 2005).]

Im am desperatly wanting to do a 6 month trip to South America.. My problem is that at the moment im working for £10k a year with debts of over 7k. My other problem is I have no savings and cant afford to ship my bike or even survive 2 weeks. The only good thing is i already have my KTM 620 adventure but alas not the £1000 to get it to SA. I am a qualified bike mechanic and experienced computer technician but i feel these skills will be not required in SA so no chance of "working my way around"

Any suggestions ??? I was thinking of doing a TEFL (teaching english qual) but not sure where this will get me..

I'd have thought that an experienced bike mechanic & computer tech would be capable of earning considerably more than £10K?

If you're currently living & working in a depressed area, perhaps you should consider relocating for a year or two to go where the money is?

It was hard for me to get back into a normal life after sailing around the world.
So I then went out and bought a Dakar and took a small job to save money and do more travel. It worked for me.

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Hi all,
It really is fascinating to read your stories, they are moving and inspiring. At the moment I am taking a year out from college and education. I am 17, haven't yet passed my bike test, and ride a Vespa 50 which at the moment is seized up and in the garage. I think I will find it easy to save up for a journey around the world if I live cheap before and during the trip and get a cheap bike to do it on (obviously not this one lol!), but I don't think I'm ready to do that. Could any of you recommend to me some less committing journeys that will fulfil my motorcycling passion in the short run? Obviously finance is a big issue here, and things are still unclear because I don't have a bike yet.
Thankyou, from James.
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Unseize your Vespa and start exploring your own country. It's beautiful!