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Author: Sean Keener

Kirstin Mooney – Around-the-World Traveler

  1. When did you go on your RTW trip?
    April 13-July 17, 2001

  2. How old were you when you took this trip?
    34

  3. Nationality
    USA

  4. Where do you live now?
    California, USA

  5. Occupation
    Before your trip: Art Department Coordinator (film)

    Now: same

  6. How did your travels affect your career when you got back?
    It hasn’t so far. Except that I have a lot of great photos that I use for research materials.

  7. What is the route you took/places you visited?
    Tahiti; Auckland, New Zealand; Sydney, Wiseman’s Ferry, Gold Coast, Australia; Hong Kong; Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan; Bangkok, Thailand; Bombay, New Delhi, Agra and Benares, India; Cairo, Egypt; Istanbul, Turkey; Lesbos, Greece; Rome, Florence and Venice, Italy; Paris, France; London, England

  8. 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 taken a vacation in 3 years and, after a particularly arduous project, decided to take a big break. Actually, planning the trip is what got me through the last 4 months of the project. It started because I was going to visit a friend in Australia. And then, I thought, as long as I’m going this far, I should go see my cousin in Tokyo and then another cousin who is in India. Pretty soon I was going half-way around the world so, why not go all the way? It was the best thing I ever did for myself. I took 3 months and every day was wonderful. I can’t think of any other 3 months of my life that I can say that about.

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

    • Best Moment

      Seeing everything with my own eyes.

    • Worst Moment

      Almost missing my flight to Bangkok.

    • Biggest Hurdle, Obstacle or Difficulty?

      My luggage was toooooo heavy!

    • Biggest surprise?

      How easy everything was.

  10. How much planning and preparing did you do?
    Just Enough

  11. What was your favorite piece of gear?
    Backpack that has pull-up handle and wheels

  12. What did you bring, that in hindsight you could’ve left at home?
    Lots of clothes

  13. How did your round-the-world trip change your life? How did it affect and change you as a person?
    While I was traveling, I read a book about an American woman who was living in New Delhi. She moved there thinking it would change her but she found it “made her more herself”. I definitely found this to be true. Although there is nothing like seeing, touching, tasting and experiencing other countries for yourself, still, you end up confirming yourself, in a way. Perhaps the change in myself is not just feeling more myself but feeling more substantive. It’s a little like turning 30.

  14. If you had to sum up your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    It was everything I ever dreamed a trip like this could be.

  15. Are you planning more trips and travels for the future? Are you planning another round-the-world trip?
    I want to make travel a habit now. And I would go RTW again in a heartbeat.

  16. 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?
    Traveling from culture to culture gives a perspective on the world that can’t be seen in a couple weeks. Also, you can get a sense of the flow of cultural influences, both historical and current ones.

  17. What is the most valuable thing you learned?
    To convert currencies in my head.

  18. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    That it is difficult. I booked my air travel and all my hotels through the internet. It was really easy. The hardest part is deciding where to go and what’s going to have to wait for next time.

  19. Why do you like to travel?
    I love being on my own, meeting people, seeing new and old things. I think the better question is why would someone NOT like to travel?

  20. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Give yourself plenty of time both in the planning and on the trip. It is certainly easy to book hotels etc. from the road (just stop in any internet cafe), but I think it’s better to have an itinerary and reservations in advance. I left things very loose while in Western Europe, and now wish I had planned in advance because by the time I got there, I was really tired of planning!