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Author: Sean Keener

Timo Luege – Around-the-World Traveler

  1. When did you go on your RTW trip?
    January 2004-December 2005

  2. How old were you when you took this trip?
    30

  3. Including your air ticket and other expenses (from accommodation to souvenir-buying), about how much did your trip cost?
    18000 Euro

  4. Nationality
    Germany

  5. Where do you live now?
    Munich, Germany

  6. Occupation
    Before your trip: Journalist

    Now: undecided

  7. How did your travels affect your career when you got back?
    Hard to say since I’ve only been back for four weeks. My old company too me back as a freelance/contractor. But I don’t really want to stay there. Ask me again in a year!

  8. What is the route you took/places you visited?
    Bangkok – Myanmar – Chian Mai – Laos – Cambodia – Ko Pha Ngan – Singapore – Australia (from Perth by car via Darwin and Cairns to Melbourne and back to Sydney) – New Zealand – USA (San Francisco – Yosemite – Madison, WI – Washington DC, New Orleans) – Guatemala.
    Read all about it on https://www.355days.net

  9. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    A couple of reasons. For one thing I was thorougly sick of my job. And since I didn’t have a girlfriend, mortgage or debt, just turned thirty and had enough money I decided to go. Besides, 30 is the last chance to get a working holiday visa for Australia!

  10. Out of all your experiences traveling around the world, what was the:

    • Best Moment

      There were so many…

    • Worst Moment

      When I got violently sick in Guatemala

    • Biggest Hurdle, Obstacle or Difficulty?

      Getting the boat accross the Laos-Cambodian border

    • Biggest surprise?

      I was constantly surprised!

  11. Who is the most memorable person you met on your trip and why?
    There is no single person. There are a lot.

  12. How much planning and preparing did you do?
    Control Freak

  13. What was your favorite piece of gear?
    My boots (brand: Garmont), in Asia closely followed by my flashlight

  14. What did you bring, that in hindsight you could’ve left at home?
    Ducttape, String and hanger sto fix mosquito-net

  15. How did your round-the-world trip change your life? How did it affect and change you as a person?
    I think that I will take a lot of things less seriously now. Most things we get upset about are really not worth it.

  16. If you had to sum up your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    It’s MY life

  17. Are you planning more trips and travels for the future? Are you planning another round-the-world trip?
    Yes, yes, yes!

  18. Why do you think people should go on round-the-world trips? Why not just take a regular old one- or two-week vacation instead?
    One or two weeks is fine if you just want to relax, lie on the beach and take some time off. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But I think if you want to learn a bit more about the country and maybe even ge to know the locals, then you need more time. That being said I don’t think ithas to be RTW. Spending six months in Southamerica or Asis is imho just as well.

  19. What is the most valuable thing you learned?
    That there’s always a way – for everything.

  20. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    That it’s expensive.

  21. Why do you like to travel?
    With a backpack.

  22. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    1, Buy all the gear you need for your trip at the tiem of the year when the climate in your homecountry is closest to the one in your destination-country. And wear your gear for at least two days (even if it’s ridiculous). You don’t want to have any surprises once you are gone.

    2, Get your first Hepatitis A/B-shot six months before departure!