<AkulA> wrote in post #2882754
I envy you sooooo much - I wish I HAD a savings to escape to 3rd world countries with! (and I wish I had a couple nice bodies like the 1D and 5D to do it with, LoL)
I've been coming up with ideas, and trying to plan a way to travel around the world for cheap/free... still working on it tho! By the way, I've been perusing your site, and I love your work. You must have such a good time traveling and be so proud of your photos!
couchsurfing.com is a great way to keep costs down and learn from locals (or expats) about an area. aside from that, it's the food that is most expensive. my rule is to always eat at places crowded with locals....that way you know it's fresh, cheap, good, and safe. a lot of guidebooks will tell you to avoid a lot of places like that....but i've never had a problem and have had more authentic meals and conversations there than anyone eating only at their hotel restaraunt with triple boiled everything. 
thanks for the compliment on my work. I am just so excited to have this opportunity and am truly ecstatic with a lot of the pictures i've taken so far. hopefully they'll continue to improve as the trip goes on. I'm completely humbled by the places i go and the experience i am enduring.
<AkulA> wrote in post #2882969
Yea, I did 2 months of backpacking thru Western Europe right outa high school - that was more expensive than say India would be I'd imagine... How do you guys deal with the language barrier? In Europe, it wasn't so bad - most people speak english.
luckily, language hasn't been such a barrier. because of all the languages and dialects, a lot of people (locals) speak english to cross language barriers even just within india...so it helps for travellers like me. Plus, most travellers also speak english, even if it's not their first language. I've actually heard from a lot of people that it's tougher to get by speaking english in France than it is in India. I'd believe it....no troubles at all, however I am playing a forever game of charades here (hand motions and body gestures to signify what I need). The best is going to a restaraunt with languages that even the characters don't translate and the people don't speak a word of english. I usually just look at what other people are eating and whatever looks good i point to. that, or i just get adventurous and just point to one thing on the menu and hope 