I would take part in a wildlife volunteer project, in my opinion a great chance to connect with nature. See if there are projects in the countries you want to visit anyway.
Ask HN: What would you do with six months?
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Re: Ask HN: What would you do with six months?
#12I was just over on Bantayan island in the Philippines a few days back. Met a lot of Europeans that stay their for 4 months at a time. You can find rooms for around $165 a month if your ok with something minimal. Summer time is just starting so there will be nice sunny days. There is wifi on the island, just not super fast. Bring a Kindle with some books etc.
The Philippines is such an awesome country, I loved my time there. Beautiful, friendly, great food, cool culture. Downsides: Extreme poverty juxtaposed with extreme wealth, thousands of homeless children in Manila alone, I met some of them and I wished I could take them all home with me.
The best thing you can do is give them a little food. If you give them money, it is usually going to an adult that is exploiting them.