- When do you leave?
- How long do you plan to be away?
6-12 Months - How much have you saved?
Not enough - How old are you?
25 - Nationality
Netherlands - Where do you live now?
Amsterdam, Netherlands - Occupation
Incident Investigator - Is this job one that you actually like, or
are you only doing it to pay for the trip?
I’ll come back if they’ll have me - Have you traveled around the world
before?
Yes - What is the route you plan to take/places
you plan to visit?
Fly to India;
Go overland to Nepal (to do some development work), Tibet, Burma (to do some development work), Thailand;
Fly to Australia and travel along the east coast;
Fly to New Zealand and travel around;
Fly to the French Polonesian Islands;
Fly to Los Angelos and travel overland to South America (to do some development work in Guatamala) (the road depends on the money I have got left by then);
Fly back to The Netherlands; - Why did you decide to take this trip? What
got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
I wanted this for years. After I travelled through Asia by myself I was sure I wanted to do this. I worked for more than a year to save money. I have to look for a new job and I think the economy is going to be better in a year. - What is your biggest fear about this
trip?
That I get robbed of all my things and/or attacked aspecially if it is at a moment I don’t know anyone who is willing to help me. - Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc.,
supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the
world?
Most of them know I have been wanting this for a very long time. Everyone is very enthousiastic. - How much planning and preparing have you
done?
Just Enough - What are you packing? What do you consider
your most indispensable item(s)?
Traveler cheques
Visa card
Money belt
Saron
flash light
quick dry towels
tefa shoes
disc man
thin sleeping bag
a bag that keeps your important things dry
a copy of all my important papers - How do you think your round-the-world trip
will change your life? How do you think it will affect and change you as
a person?
I hope I will learn some other wisdoms of other cultures. And I will get more relaxed because I did what I have always wanted to do (travel around the world) - If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings
about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it
be?
Totally teriffic, Total freedom - 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?
To learn to depend on yourself and get more open minded. - What is the biggest myth that people have
about round-the-world traveling?
That you will be alone - Why do you like to travel?
So I can get to know other cultures - What is your advice for people planning
their own RTW trip?
Just do it!
If you want to meet people and travel together, don’t plan to much. Let
it be possible to change your travel plans.
Keep in mind that traveling through development countries goes very
slowly (it can easely take 5 hours to travel 40km)
February 2004