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An 8.9 hostel rating hides the four things that actually decide your stay: dorm size, lockers, kitchen, and whether the bar is under your bed.
India rewards a narrow route and punishes an ambitious one. Pick one region, learn the train system, and give yourself a soft first few days.
Europe is three price tiers pretending to be one continent, and a backpacking budget lives or dies on which of them you spend your weeks in.
Vietnam is 1,650 km long with one transport spine, which makes the route obvious and the direction the only real decision.
The banana pancake trail still works, but the visa rules and border crossings decide your route far more than the sights do.
Nepal's trekking is the most accessible high-mountain walking in the world, because you sleep in villages rather than carrying camp. The permits are the part to get right.
Thailand splits into two trips with a long journey between them. Most two-week itineraries try to include everything and spend a third of the time in transit.
Cambodia is small, cheap and easy to move around, and it asks something of visitors that its neighbours do not. Going respectfully is part of going well.
France has the densest waymarked trail network in Europe. These seven GR routes cover the range, from a week in the Alps to a month across the Pyrenees.
Bolivia is the cheapest country in South America and the hardest on your body. Altitude is the thing that decides how your trip goes, and most people underestimate it.