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Author: Sean Keener

Deborah Kelly – Round-the-World Traveler

  1. When did you go on your RTW trip?
    October 2004-March 2005

  2. How old were you when you took this trip?
    50 on trip!

  3. Including your air ticket and other expenses (from accommodation to souvenir-buying), about how much did your trip cost?
    GBP 28,000

  4. Nationality
    England

  5. Where do you live now?
    Sevenoaks, Kent, England

  6. Occupation
    Before your trip: Management consultant

    Now: Management consultant

  7. How did your travels affect your career when you got back?
    Don’t know yet – we get back tomorrow!

  8. What is the route you took/places you visited?
    London to New York. Drive to Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara, Chicago, then drive Route 66 to Los Angeles, stopping in Las Vegas for my 50th birthday.
    LA – Auckland, then a month in a campervan touring both North and South islands of New Zealand.
    Christchurch – Melbourne, seven days driving Great Ocean Road and Victoria. Then flight to Sydney. Week in Sydney, then drive up through NSW and Queensland to Cairns.
    Cairns – Singapore
    Singapore – Hanoi, and one week escorted tour of Vietnam, including flights to Hue and from Da Nang to Saigon.
    Saigon – Bangkok – Hong Kong – London

  9. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    We were approaching 50, both self employed and able to take time off work. I had been made redundant previously, and had sufficient funds to afford it. Also, I had cancer five years ago and I was determined not to let things pass me by.
    We wanted to go ‘all the way round’ and we wanted to do lots of driving (we actually drove over 13,000 miles in total). Australia and New Zealand had been on our ‘must see’ list for a while, and Route 66 sounded exciting. The other places just sort of happened, although Vietnam was a late addition and absolutely superb.

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

    • Best Moment

      Grand Canyon

    • Worst Moment

      New York

    • Biggest Hurdle, Obstacle or Difficulty?

      Eating dog in Vietnam

    • Biggest surprise?

      Not liking New York

  11. Who is the most memorable person you met on your trip and why?
    Vinh, one of our English speaking guides in Vietnam. She was lively and helpful, and gave us a real insight into the lives of the Vietnamese people.

  12. How much planning and preparing did you do?
    To the Nth Degree

  13. What was your favorite piece of gear?
    Blu tack in the camper van – it helped to stop all the squeaks and rattles!

  14. What did you bring, that in hindsight you could’ve left at home?
    For me – too many clothes, especially smarter ones. For my husband, a second pair of swimming trunks!

  15. How did your round-the-world trip change your life? How did it affect and change you as a person?
    Don’t know yet – but I feel I’ve learned a lot about myself, and about my husband. Although we’ve been married 26 years, this has been a long time to spend essentially alone together. Successsful too!

  16. If you had to sum up your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    An unforgettable experience, and one that I would recommend to all 50 somethings!

  17. Are you planning more trips and travels for the future? Are you planning another round-the-world trip?
    Definitely more travels – there’s so much we haven’t seen, and some places we want to return to. Maybe not another RTW, but who knows – we haven’t finished this one yet!

  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?
    You simply don’t have time to really get into places on a short vacation – and if you’re in a stressful job you don’t really relax until it’s time to go home again.

  19. What is the most valuable thing you learned?
    How materialistic our western culture is, and how little possessions we really need.

  20. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    That it is prohibitively expensive.

  21. Why do you like to travel?
    To see new places – I like geography and buildings.

  22. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Do it soon – but enjoy the planning. Also, set up a weblog to let people know what you’re up to. Ours is at
    www.triquetra.co.uk/blog
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