Sven Schoof - Round-the-World Traveler

1. When do you leave?
   September 2005

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

3. How much have you saved?
   27.000 Euro

4. How old are you?
   31

5. Nationality
   South Africa

6. Where do you live now?
   Cologne, Germany

7. Occupation
   Project Manager (advertising agency)

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?
    South Africa (Cape Town, my hometown) Namibia New Zealand Australia Singapore Malaysia Thailand Myanmar Maybe Vietnam and Cambodia (depends on time and budget)

11. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    Many years ago, even though the actual route was never a set thing. Now that I have a fantastic wife that shares the same travel stoke as my self, we have been planning and saving up for about 3 years now. Moving from South Africa to Germany and living in Australia for half a year (plus loads of travelling all round) has always given me a broad horizon...I don't really have a country anymore, that I can really call home. My parents are the same (they are about to embark on a 5-year RTW trip), so it's in my genes, I guess.

12. What is your biggest fear about this trip?
    No fear...I leave those to my mother-in-law...;o)

13. Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
    Generally yes, they have great respect for what we are about to do, as most of them would never have the courage to do so themselves. Some think of us being pretty irrational (5.2 million unemployed people in Germany etc.), but life is short, right? in my mind it is all a matter of self-confidence...

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)?
    This one is fun (my list, not my wife's): -> laptop -> 2 pairs of long pants -> 2 pairs of shorts -> 2 T-shirts -> underwear and socks -> flip-flops -> one pair of shoes -> jacket (wind/rain-proof) -> 2 jurseys + beanie -> summer sleeping bag (800g) -> swiss army knife -> first-aid kit -> binoculars -> couple of travel guides -> bodyboard and gear (will leave that in Cape Town, though - too much to lug around, unfortunately)

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?
    The whole idea is the change - change of perspective, breaking out of the rat-race, getting a clear head/mind - both my wife, Isabella, and I have stressy jobs and after the RTW trip we want to settle down, have kids, stress less...so this is a clean cut from this phase and a good start for the next part of our lives. I think it will give us back alot of the enthusiasm and optimism one has as a kid!

17. If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    Vagabonding: wandering aimlessly without ties to a place or community.

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?
    Well, it has been said,written a million times: to broaden their horizons, to get rid of preconceptions, to delve into other cultures instead of being a superficial tourist...did I miss anything?

19. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    That it looks bad on your CV!

20. Why do you like to travel?
    New faces, new places, new adventures, living intensely

21. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Like Nike always say: "Just do it!"