- When do you leave?
- How long do you plan to be away?
6-12 Months - How much have you saved?
£8000 - How old are you?
27 - Nationality
South Africa - Where do you live now?
London, England - Occupation
Bond Marketing - Is this job one that you actually like, or are you only doing it to pay for the trip?
One more paycheck and I’m gone - Have you traveled around the world before?
No - What is the route you plan to take/places you plan to visit?
Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, North America - Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
Technically I have been travelling since 1997. I left South Africa to travel and have only been home on short visits since. After my Middle East and Africa trips I just kept finding more and more places that had to be done. This kind of travel is not easy to shake – it’s on my long list of bad habits. - What is your biggest fear about this trip?
That it won’t satisfy my curiosity enough to let me finally go home and I will have to stay in London to save again for another big one. Also I fear anything that I am not familiar with – so I have to change that. - Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
People are mostly amazed and envious. I could kick people who say, “You’re so lucky – I wish I could do that!” Well, I don’t see them chained to their desks and their dreary lives. - How much planning and preparing have you done?
Winged it a lot - What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
Heavy-duty tick spray. It’s the strongest anti-everything-that-crawls, but mostly it is a bedbug and flea terminator. Otherwise I’m travelling so light that I could skip around the world on my tippy toes… - 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 am hoping that Africa hasn’t ruined me for other countries – if this RTW trip can give me even a quarter of the insight into both myself and other people that Africa did, then it will be worth every penny! I think travel makes you realise that life’s not about you but what you do with it. - If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
The realisation that fears are only in your head if you just confront them head-on. - 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?
A vacation is like going to the zoo and seeing an animal in an enclosure; extended travel is like heading out into the wild and running into a rhino in it’s natural habitat – suddenly you’re the one that’s vulnerable. - What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
That they will be giving up too much for it to be worthwhile. - Why do you like to travel?
I can’t help myself – it’s a sickness. I’m happiest when I don’t have things cluttering up my life and my feet are moving and there’s always something new to look forward to – no time for anything to get stale. - What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
Be very flexible when it comes to making plans – the best times are always the unplanned ones.
February 2002
Follow Megan’s RTW trip with her travelogue, What Do Travellers Do All Day?