Amanda Oudin - Around-the-World Traveler

1. When did you go on your RTW trip?
   October 2003-January 2004

2. How old were you when you took this trip?
   25

3. Including your air ticket and other expenses (from accommodation to souvenir-buying), about how much did your trip cost?
   $8,000

4. Nationality
   USA

5. Where do you live now?
   San Francisco, California, USA

6. Occupation
   
   Before your trip: Research Scientist
   
   Now: still looking...
   

   How did your travels affect your career when you got back?
   I'm not looking to go into lab work anymore, but I still love science. I would love to teach, maybe abroad, and work with children.

   What is the route you took/places you visited?
   LA - Spain - Thailand - Malaysia - Singapore - Indonesia - Australia - New Zealand - Fiji - LA

   Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
   I hadn't traveled much and knew I was changing careers so I started planning and getting very excited.

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

   • Best Moment
     Scuba diving whenever and wherever I could

   • Worst Moment
     Losing my backpack in Thailand

   • Biggest Hurdle, Obstacle or Difficulty?
     Trying to find money for everything!!

   • Biggest surprise?
     Making great, lifelong friends

   Who is the most memorable person you met on your trip and why?
   A girl from Australia, Layla, who I met in Bali. She stuck by my side throughout a loss of credit card fiasco and I met up with her again in her hometown of Surfer's Paradise, Australia.

   How much planning and preparing did you do?
   Winged it a lot

   What was your favorite piece of gear?
   Black, ankle length wrinkle free skirt - you can wear it in temples, lounging around, and going to restaurants.

   What did you bring, that in hindsight you could've left at home?
   Pants that convert to shorts. I never wore them, but I'm not a shorts girl.

   How did your round-the-world trip change your life? How did it affect and change you as a person?
   It made me open my eyes to the thought processes of other countries. As an American, I learned a lot about how people feel about us and our terrible president (just my opinion.)

   If you had to sum up your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
   An experience to last a lifetime.

   Are you planning more trips and travels for the future? Are you planning another round-the-world trip?
   Definitely - I'm applying for a job in Costa Rica and I would love to spend much more time abroad. I have the rest of my life to be in California.

   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?
   RTW trips are not much more than a roundtrip ticket to Australia and you can experience much more. One or two week vacations never enable you to see enough of the country or their people. Travelling lightly and for a length of time, meeting other travellers from all over, that's the way to see the world.

   What is the most valuable thing you learned?
   That I can travel by myself and meet a ton of fantastic people and never be lonely. Or feel threatened.

   What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
   That it's too expensive, but if you do it well you can travel for a year on a tight budget. And see a ton of the world. You can always work, even without a permit.

   Why do you like to travel?
   I love meeting new friends and experiencing beautiful countries.

   What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
   Just do it. Plunge right in and have a blast. Never say "no." My friend told me that and it worked beautifully.