Michelle and Charlie - Round-the-World Travelers

1. When did you go on your RTW trip?
   June 2004-June 2005

2. How old were you when you took this trip?
   29/36

3. Including your air ticket and other expenses (from accommodation to souvenir-buying), about how much did your trip cost?
   US$ 35000

4. Nationality
   USA

5. Where do you live now?
   USA

6. Occupation
   
   Before your trip: lawyer/scientist
   
   Now: looking for similar jobs
   

   How did your travels affect your career when you got back?
   we got back yesterday, so I have not a clue

   What is the route you took/places you visited?
   Eastern Europe-North Africa-South America-Easter I-Australia-UAE-India-SE Asia-Japan-cross country drive, USA For more info look up our website on lonelyplanet. search for michelle and charlie

   Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
   we met a couple 3 years ago climbing Kilimanjaro. they were on a shorter more luxurious RTW trip.....

   Who is the most memorable person you met on your trip and why?
   not one, there were lots of interesting people out there

   How much planning and preparing did you do?
   Just Enough

   What was your favorite piece of gear?
   none

   What did you bring, that in hindsight you could've left at home?
   almost everything.

   How did your round-the-world trip change your life? How did it affect and change you as a person?
   too early to say

   If you had to sum up your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
   

   Are you planning more trips and travels for the future? Are you planning another round-the-world trip?
   sure. next time we will sail RTW. Most of the upsetting moments are results of looking for a decent place to stay/transportation. The boat is both.

   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?
   I am not sure if they should. Actually I would rather recommend to do longer regional trips, like 4-6 month of South America or SE Asia. It is easy to get burned out on a longer trip and trying to cover all the continents makes the transportation part lot more expensive. Of course if you want to see things at many places, you need a job where you can get away that long every few years.

   What is the most valuable thing you learned?
   to think "whatever". there will be another bus or anything that you just missed. Eventually you start thinking, why did I spend 30 min bargaining (and worse, getting mad)over $0.50???

   What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
   It cost less than one would expect. Our 35 000 would have been much less without a few "big ticket items". Galapagos, climbing Elbrus and Aconcagua accounted for 1/3rd of the full price and less than 1/10th of the full time. BTW, do not drop these things, they are some of the best memories that we have.

   Why do you like to travel?
   

   What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
   plan on changing pace. a few weeks of running around, a week on a dive- liveaboard. a few weeks of driving around, a week sitting around in Darjeeling, reading books and eating tibetian bread upstairs in the hotel.
   Don't judge people of a country based on the taxi drivers.