A project doesn't have to be unique as a whole. You can always take an already existing idea and add your own twist to it (new UI, new feature, better optimisation, etc). What's important is actually doing something instead of being stuck in an infinite loop of brainstorming idea.
And if you want to travel cheaper, youth hostels are very affordable. Though you are not garanteed to have a private room, it's perfectly ok if you just want a place to sleep imho
In Canada, tap water is perfectly fine to drink as is. There are some exceptions when it comes to more remote places, especially in some camping grounds, but they'll tell you or write it somewhere if that's the case.
I went to Iceland last year and the water's very clean and safe! There's no problem drinking it from the tap.
Hard to say, really. It would take a huge blunder from them to completely erase one of these companies from the map. Since they are so diversified in the services they provide, if one of their product dies they'll simply pursuit other business opportunities while relying on the other ones that are still doing great.
We can also go full pessimistic and think people will just stay chained to the websites and services of these companies. But if other great alternatives come up, people will jump to the next big thing.
I'm not against pirating, I'm all for it. But copyright infringement is a crime (it might not be the case for all countries though!) Companies might not necessarily act on it on an individual level, but they still can put pressure on ISPs to track this kind of traffic. Either way, it's better to use a VPN than not using one just to be safe!