Shane Wilson - Round-the-World Traveler

1. When do you leave?
   December 2005

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

3. How much have you saved?
   $28000

4. How old are you?
   31

5. Nationality
   Australia

6. Where do you live now?
   Carnarvon, Australia

7. Occupation
   School Administrator

8. Is this job one that you actually like, or are you only doing it to pay for the trip?
   It's my career

9. Have you traveled around the world before?
   Yes

10. What is the route you plan to take/places you plan to visit?
    Perth-Singapore-OL-Bangkok-Hong Kong-Johannesburg-OL Group Tour-Nairobi-Madrid-OL-Amsterdam-London-Lima-OL Group Tour-La Paz-Santiago-OL Group Tour-Rio De Janeiro-New York-Denver-OL-San Francisco-Honolulu-Sydney-Melbourne-Perth.

11. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    I have 6 months Long Service Leave from my job. I look forward to immersing myself in different cultures, meeting heaps of people, and having a very fun and relaxing holiday away from the grind of my day to day job.

12. What is your biggest fear about this trip?
    I feel as though I might not have enough time in SE Asia and Europe. I only wish I could take 12 months off, but can only afford 7 months (due to storage, financial situations, and commitments in Australia).

13. Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
    I think they may be a bit envious. My mum would love to meet up with me in either Europe or N.America. My work colleagues are very interested.

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)?
    I've yet to find a comfortable, well organised and spatious backpack. But I'm looking. I'm still in the process of researching internet sites to find the most important things to take. The most indispensable items will be passport, ATM cards, US cash and traveller's cheques. Everything else can be found in the countries I visit.

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?
    It will further my confidence, understanding of world issues, ability to deal with diverse personalities, test my endurance (e.g. 28 day camping trip in Africa), and hopefully enhance my fitness/general level of health (mental, social, emotional and physical).

17. If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    I can't wait to hit the road and meet heaps of interesting people.

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?
    To broaden their horizons, make them more open to the plights of the world's people and to take a break from their everyday lives.

19. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    Probably the expense.

20. Why do you like to travel?
    1. Meet people. 2. Broaden my life experience. 3. Relax, have fun. 4. See new things.

21. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Take it easy with the planning... leave yourself a lot of time to absorb the proposed itinerary (I spent about 9 months planning my initial itinerary). Have a saving's plan that enables you to absorb the cost a lot easier (e.g. I am relying on a gearing strategy that I've used for several years... providing about a third of the cost and I hardly notice). Research the internet for organisational matters pertaining to visas, innoculations, monologues, travel destinations etc.