Every year, people young and old delay going to school, starting careers, or they abandon bad ones in order to take the plunge towards seeing the world. While it takes much courage to diverge from the path that society has laid out before them by default, another problem crops up once this individual makes the fateful decision to hit the road: where do I start?

Fears surrounding communication with the locals, the quality of infrastructure, and the security of the nation to which you are headed wear on the minds of these people, making it important to find places where one can get their bearings and speak to fellow travelers about where to go and what to see in the country they are visiting. These places also contain attractions that are well-renowned throughout the world, making them destinations in and of themselves.

To help you with your impeding trip plans, we will review 5 backpacker meccas around the world that will get your RTW adventure off on the right foot, just make sure you get your Cambodia Visa online before heading there!

1) Bangkok, Thailand

If Southeast Asia is squarely in your sights, then Bangkok is likely the place where you will begin your wanderings, as it has been for many decades now. As such, Khao San Road has developed in the past 30 years from a quiet street in the historical district to a flashy, party-filled traveler’s ghetto dedicated to entertaining, informing and coordinating the onward travel plans of countless backpackers.

In addition to this, shopping here seems to be the national pastime of locals, as there are malls, stalls, and shops everywhere you look, and many religiously significant Buddhist temples exist here (Wat Pho, Wat Arun, etc), making it easy to spend several more days here than you ever anticipated upon arrival to this hectic, polluted megalopolis.

Khao San Road has played a big role in turning Bangkok into a backpacker mecca!

2) Siem Reap, Cambodia

Anyway you slice it, Cambodia is not like Thailand. Having emerged from a devastating genocide and civil war that spanned a couple of decades just 15 years ago, it is one of the poorest nations on Earth, despite its rapid development in recent times.

This makes for rough journeys during much of your time in Cambodia, but once you arrive in Siem Reap to see the much vaunted temple ruins at Angkor Wat, it is like stumbling upon an oasis, as this magnet for international visitors has caused many western conveniences to crop up here to grant them as comfortable a stay as possible.

Be sure to try out the outstanding restaurants and bars on Pub Street after a long but productive day doing your best impersonation of Lara Croft, as they will round out the intellectual pursuits of travel with a measure of earned hedonism.

3) Berlin, Germany

The perception is that Europe is an expensive place, and much of Western and Northern Europe seems to confirm this assertion. This tends to dissolve somewhat the further east you go, and Berlin is one of the first centers where this holds true.

Travelers, be they slow or fast, can find excellent deals on apartments and hostels respectively, and beer is dirt cheap. The art community is alive and well here, and bars pound with the reverberations of dance, techno and rave music.

All told, Berlin is one of the most fun capitals in all of Europe, so carve out a healthy part of your schedule for this place.

4) Medellin, Colombia

As recently as a decade or two ago, Medellin’s only association seemed to be with drugs or murder (and often both). In more recent times, the drug lords have been subdued, and crime has fallen dramatically as a result, leading to travelers returning to this pleasant and beautiful mountain city for the first time in many decades.

From gorgeous gardens to legendary nightlife, flamboyantly expressive festivals to paragliding and yes, even tours that visit the haunts of former drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, there is no end of the list of things to do in Medellin.

5) Buenos Aires, Argentina

If your South American journey is taking you further south down the continent than Colombia, then Buenos Aires is an excellent place to start your backpacking adventure. Known as the Paris of the Southern Hemisphere, the architecture, and the culture of life down here reflects that sentiment, as beauty and a love of life seems to be a recurring theme here.

If you love sweets and animal flesh, you will certainly be loving your life during your visit to B.A., as dulce de leche and asado will have you in a state of bliss for comparatively less money than you would pay for a similar experience back in North America, Oceania, or Europe.