Hi there, hope everyone is having some good adventures! So I've been backpacking* twice so far, but I'd probably consider myself a beginner, both for short amounts of time (a month through SEA and 3 weeks in Costa Rica) since I only just graduated from university a few months ago, just to give myself a quick background. I used GAdventures for these trips and they worked fantastically for me, because it through me into a group of great people that I would eventually become friends with, whereas I typically struggle with making friends with complete strangers. The structure of the trips was fantastic and really well organized. What I didn't like was that I didn't have a whole lot of time to do things away from the plan, or to take a few extra hours to take the photos I wanted to in unexpected spots on the road for example.

Some other general questions

What are some ways to put considerable effort into being a social backpacker, I loved the people I met on these trips, including the people I met who weren't in the group.

I have money saved up to mostly cover traveling, I can't recall the exact amount, but I'm also wondering if there are anyways I can make any money on the road, I've heard of working in hostels but I assume that's generally only enough to cover your stay and possibly a meal, is that the extent to which you can make pocket change? is there a site I can look over for job postings for travelers?

I've thought about volunteering for some projects that might offer me some opportunities, such as working with orangutans in Borneo, if that's a thing? I've looked into habitat for humanity as well, but that seems to be highly situational and requires booking well in advance including upfront fees (is this relative to most of these volunteering programs? I'm open to considering it so I welcome any suggestions in that regard.)

Before I get into detail my main question is how do you go about the overwhelming task of planning your trip, deciding where you're going to start, and how do you catch things that are off the beaten path, is it all relentless research? I have some issues with social anxiety and as much as I'd be open to going with minimal planning I know I risk ending up wasting a day completely thinking of dozens of things I could be doing, but end up sitting in the same place. I'm wondering if anyone has a good foundation in their mind for building an effective plan for a trip. So now I've got some time before I kick off full time employment. I'm dying to go traveling again. I've got a ton of places on my mind as I'm sure even the more experienced backpackers do and although I'm struggling to decide which to kick it off with, I've got some solid bases.

I'd like to redo parts of South East Asia, particularly parts of Cambodia, Laos and possibly some of the coast of Thailand. I've also had extensive interest in places like Borneo and New Zealand and have been asking myself if its a viable option to make my way down that section of the pacific rim, through Malaysia, Borneo, Jakarta, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.

These are roughly the places I've been thinking about Keeping in my mind i did the highlights of SEA doing the Indochina discovery tour with gadventures

I've also always wanted to go through South America, but I'm more on the fence about this, because I feel like I'd want more experience backpacking before going there, potentially needing more time over there and a little more worried about safety in that regard as well at least in certain areas, although I'm aware that may never change. Apologies for the lengthy post and if a lot of it is needless, and thank you for any replies!