Veronika Taylor - Round-the-World Traveler

1. When do you leave?
   October 2006

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

3. How much have you saved?
   15K

4. How old are you?
   42

5. Nationality
   Canada

6. Where do you live now?
   Ontario, Canada

7. Occupation
   Entrepreneur

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?
   No

10. What is the route you plan to take/places you plan to visit?
    Don't have a route - but I know where I want to travel to - north africa - south africa / mauritius - india - china - japan (2nd visit) - new zealand - antarctica - turkey - eastern europe, baltic regions - scotland - costa rica

11. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    My business is tea and I am eager to learn how other cultures embrace their unique individual style of tea ceremonies.

12. What is your biggest fear about this trip?
    regions with war and other civil conflict

13. Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
    somewhat supportive

14. How much planning and preparing have you done?
    To the Nth Degree

15. What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
    not sure yet as it depends on my route. still poring over packing lists from other traveler's websites.

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?
    travel always changes people. perspectives and interactions between cultures has always fascinated me. Objectivity is also important.

17. If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    no comment

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?
    one or two-week vacation is such an antique way of traveling esp from a north american perspective. stay home and renovate your house instead. being herded off on tour busses or shut inside resorts, what can one possibly learn from that except aggravation.

19. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    no comment

20. Why do you like to travel?
    sensory experience knowledge and understanding learning bits of new languages

21. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    read read read ask lots of questions research