Sally Carroll - Around-the-World Traveler

1. When do you leave?
   May 2002

2. How long do you plan to be away?
   6-12 Months

3. How much have you saved?
   Never enough

4. How old are you?
   22

5. Nationality
   England

6. Where do you live now?
   Hertfordshire, England

7. Occupation
   Database Administrator

8. 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

9. Have you traveled around the world before?
   No

10. What is the route you plan to take/places you plan to visit?
    USA (north and national parks), Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Easter Island, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, USA (south)

11. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    I graduated from university last year and decided I wanted to travel before committing to a career. So while others around me applied for sensible jobs I set my sights on something more adventurous. I've travelled before, but never for this length of time, and I am looking forward to full immersion in the travelling culture.

12. What is your biggest fear about this trip?
    Missing out something amazing and never having the opportunity to go back.

13. Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
    When you start to talk about going on a trip like this, it's amazing how many people confess to regretting that they never took the opportunity to do likewise while they had the chance. My family are amazingly supportive, but I think that they question my ability to organise myself across four continents and twelve months. They may have good reason.

14. How much planning and preparing have you done?
    Just Enough

15. What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
    With a good pair of walking shoes and a travel journal there isn't much else you can't acquire along the way.

16. 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?
    Maybe it will make me more organised, maybe more open and receptive; maybe it will make me value home comforts or make me long to move to the Andes. Who knows? I don't, but I'm going to enjoy finding out.

17. If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    If I don't go and see what's out there beyond the area I know, I'll always be wondering about it.

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?
    RTW trips allow you to take the full-time course in other cultures rather than the evening classes.

19. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    If you don't want to eat guinea pig, swim through leech-infested swamps and career through the mountains chauffeured by bus drivers on a death wish, you don't have to! Though many of us choose to put ourselves in these situations, people shouldn't be put off by thinking that it's compulsory.

20. Why do you like to travel?
    When you look out of your office window every day at the same houses and the same shops and the same people and wonder what you're doing with your life, travel is the answer. It clears your head, puts things in perspective and returns you full of energy and ready to face the world again.

21. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Make a wish-list of where you want to visit and then go and see a specialist travel agent to discuss an itinerary. You'll be surprised what you can do, even on a tight budget. Don't assume you are constrained by the typical RTW ticket, you'll be amazed how flexible they can be.

Sally also has a web site that talks more about her round-the-world trip.