How long could I travel abroad for $20 000?

Depends on where you intend to travel, if you like hiking, nature, cultures.. You won't find a place more diverse, beautiful, affordable and colorful than India! Stay away from the big cities and you will see the real beautiful country! As you travel along the length of the country you will even find ppl welcoming you and treating you like one of their own!

We're doing a trip on a budget like this and from our research you'll be able to get a decent way around Asia with much comfort. However I would guess you could burn your budget easy on luxury and things that you can get cheaper shopping around. If you don't mind you can get cheap places to sleep and street food can be delicious and inexpensive, giving you a taste of local cuisine. I expect to be spending no more than $1000 per month in some places, I believe this is very much possible. Enjoy

I'm assuming that this is $20K USD. Where are you planning on going and how well are you planning on living. There are places where $20K would get you one night in a suite and places where that could keep you in good stead for a year. Personally, I was thinking of doing something similar. My goal was to stay in a short stay apartment to save money on a hotel and to get a bit of the local culture by going to a supermarket and not just eating out of restaurants. The downside with this is that unlike a hotel it can be more difficult to change how long you stay (extend or cut short your stay.) Also depending on where you decide to stay you might incur some expensive travel charges. If you're in a city centre, chances are that you'll pay more for the stay but save on travel. Some cities are well served by public transit, others not at all. Some places you can take a cab and go almost wherever you'd like for a few bucks. In others, not so. If you post some details on where you'd like to go you might get better information. If you're just looking for ideas, then you should reword the question.

My friend budgeted on 6k for 6 months plus return airfares to the middle east. She came home with 2k. She rented a cheap flat, ate food bought at the markets and travelled by bus. At that rate you could easily be away 18 months.

I love travelling, nature, photography and foreign cultures too so I will answer this question. Man $20,000 is a lot of money! This can last you for a long long time as you travel, easily for months! So, first of all, look up for nice cheap hostels or guest house and stay there and go out to local restaurants to eat good, nice and cheap food (specially for Asian countries like India, Pakistan). This alone will save you so much money, because usual travelers who stay in face 4-5 star hotels eating in posh restaurants blow up so much money for nothing. My parents like doing that but I always want to blend in with the locals and experience the local lifestyle and habits. Secondly, carry you bike and bike around. This is perhaps one of my favorite things to do. Bike in the Himalayas in the nearby cities and I'm pretty sure you'll find people along the way giving you food and shelter too, at a very cheap cost if not free. Next, travel by cheaper means such as bus and train, don't use flights for travelling between cities, etc. Try spending the least on your flights where you have to and try to find the best deal possible and this will pretty much keep you going for months! If I had $20k, I'd be out on my holiday right now!