Scott Amundsen - Round-the-World Traveler

1. When do you leave?
   November 2005

2. How long do you plan to be away?
   1-6 Months

3. How much have you saved?
   8,000

4. How old are you?
   29

5. Nationality
   USA

6. Where do you live now?
   Montclair, NJ, USA

7. Occupation
   Bookkeeper/Grad student

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?
    Montreal to London by freighter, London to Athens by rail, by air Cairo to Israel, Bombay to Delhi to volunteer, Delhi to Kathmandu by rail/bus, Bangkok to Singapore by rail, Hongkong to San Francisco, rental car back home.

11. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    It's been a dream of mine for a very long time, I'm turning 30(!), and things in my personal life have unfolded to allow me to do it. That and I can't stand my job.

12. What is your biggest fear about this trip?
    Language barriers, running out of money, getting lost and missing an expensive flight.

13. Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
    They all think I've gone completely insane.

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)?
    It's all about mobility so I'm packing light - one rucksack that I can wear and a smaller bag. Indispensible? my camera, travel documents and maps and my journal (which includes in the back hotel addresses and airline phone numbers). Everything else could be easily replaced.

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?
    I'm not sure really - I don't expect too much. I'm happy that I stumbled upon a volunteer program in india and I suspect and hope that that will problably be the most rewarding and lasting aspect of the trip.

17. If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    A quote I found on a travel related site: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.....Explore. Dream. Discover."...Mark Twain

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?
    Because it's so easy to lose perspective. I think the idea is to take enough time and travel a sufficient distance to make memories of home and your life there at least a little hazy. So that what's left in your thoughts - family, your work, your cat, whatever is really important - reminds you what you love about home.

19. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    That it's too expensive.

20. Why do you like to travel?
    I've always liked airports and hotels - I think they are exciting places. In the traveling I've done, I've learned a lot about the beauty and contradictions of the world, the scope of vast history and the remarkable similarities between all people. It's always an education and always better than work.

21. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Money is important but so is taking time to really enjoy what you're doing. Once you've decided to go - DONT LOOK BACK. Commit yourself to the trip even if you have to buy your first and last plane tickets...