- When did you go on your RTW trip?
August 2002-October 2003
- How old were you when you took this trip?
29
- Including your air ticket and other expenses (from accommodation to souvenir-buying), about how much did your trip cost?
$20,000
- Nationality
USA
- Where do you live now?
Panajachel, Guatemala
- Occupation
Before your trip: Reporter/Teacher
Now: Bar Owner
- How did your travels affect your career when you got back?
I am not sure. I didn't end up going back to the newspaper business and tried my hand at teaching again. I realized I could not live in the Corporate world. I was only surviving, not living. I was always thinking about traveling.
- What is the route you took/places you visited?
Dallas - Fiji - New Zealand (South Island) - Australia - Indonesia - Malaysia - Thailand/Cambodia - China - Russia - Eastern Europe - Greece - Turkey - Israel - England - Dallas
- Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
Becaue two weeks of vacation a year are not enough to really get to see what you want to see. Wanted to have the independence to go where we wanted, when we wanted.
- Out of all your experiences traveling around the world, what was the:
- Best Moment
Bicycling with the locals through Angkor Wat/Trans-Siberian Trip
- Worst Moment
Getting robbed on bus ride from Bali to Jogyakarta
- Biggest Hurdle, Obstacle or Difficulty?
Language in China
- Biggest surprise?
Cambodia, especially the friendliness of the people
- Who is the most memorable person you met on your trip and why?
Brian and Melissa from Canada. Met them in Rhodes. Coincidentally ran into them in Selcuk, Turkey at a grocery store and then intentionally met up with them in Istanbul. They were a lot of fun with many experiences.
- How much planning and preparing did you do?
Winged it a lot
- What was your favorite piece of gear?
Sleeping bag.
- What did you bring, that in hindsight you could've left at home?
Many, many clothes.
- How did your round-the-world trip change your life? How did it affect and change you as a person?
It made me realize that no matter where you go int he world the majority of people want the same things: peace, a better life for their children and happiness. Not to mention everyone appreciates a good joke.
- If you had to sum up your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
I survived, had fun and want to do it again.
- Are you planning more trips and travels for the future? Are you planning another round-the-world trip?
Not in the immediate future. But the idea is always on my mind.
- 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?
Not enough time to see and do everthing that you want to see and do. Plus you don't get the relax time.
- What is the most valuable thing you learned?
Patience goes a long way, especially with language. Learn a couple of words everywhere you go.
- What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
That it is undoable and you need to be rich to do it.
- Why do you like to travel?
I love seeing new places and experiencing new things. It's a thrill.
- What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
Put everything you plan on bringing in a pile and then only take a quarter of it. You can buy clothes along the way. In fact you can pretty much get everything you need albeit maybe for a price along the way.