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Author: Sean Keener

Kirsty McLeod – Round-the-World Traveler

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

  2. How old were you when you took this trip?
    18

  3. Including your air ticket and other expenses (from accommodation to souvenir-buying), about how much did your trip cost?
    £5000

  4. Nationality
    Scotland

  5. Where do you live now?
    Aberdeen, Scotland

  6. Occupation
    Before your trip: Just graduated from highschool
    Now: Going into University

  7. How did your travels affect your career when you got back?
    I didn’t have a career… But I do have better ideas about what I want to do and where I want to do it (and what I want to do before that 🙂

  8. What is the route you took/places you visited?
    London – Delhi, India – Mumbai, India – Goa, India – Mumbai – Jaipur, India – Agra, India – Delhi, India – Singapore – Bangkok, Thailand – Siem Reap, Cambodia – Phnom Pehn, Cambodia – Saigon, Vietnam – Singapore – Sydney, Australia – Singapore – London

  9. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    I decided to take the trip because I didn’t want to go straight to University from High School (yes, I am lazy).
    I wanted to see the world.
    Meet new people.
    I’m quite a shy person so I hoped to build more confidence and get a more realistic take on life.

  10. Out of all your experiences traveling around the world, what was the:

    • Best Moment

      travelling up north in India with the Australian guy I met, it was so romantic and perfect. How could we not fall in love?

    • Worst Moment

      Sydney – having a MASSIVE argument with the girl I’d been travelling with. Her deciding to leave for New Zealand without me… my fault of course

    • Biggest Hurdle, Obstacle or Difficulty?

      getting E.coli in Inida (and bronchitis) and my travel buddy bitching at me because I couldnt walk or leave to hostel. and she was bored and blamed me :'(

    • Biggest surprise?

      How I changed (for the better)

  11. Who is the most memorable person you met on your trip and why?
    Scott –
    I met Scott in Mumbai (my 2nd time there).
    We met by chance and fell in love.
    He was going back to Australia (where he was from) and I was going to SE Asia for 1month. Then I came to Australia and spent the best 4 months of my life with him.

  12. How much planning and preparing did you do?
    Just Enough

  13. What was your favorite piece of gear?
    defintely my sleeping bag.
    it was lined with quilt material (which I cant sleep without, even in hot places)
    Gave me so much comfort and I loved it.
    Great for freeezing cold train in N.india too!

  14. What did you bring, that in hindsight you could’ve left at home?
    stupidly i brought things like water purifier… which i never even removed from my backpack.
    I wasnt goin off the beaten track enough for that gear!

  15. How did your round-the-world trip change your life? How did it affect and change you as a person?
    it made me realise that yes, there is a massive world out there.
    the u.k. is rubbish (sorry, very biased opinion…) and I want to get out there as soon as possible however i can!
    I’m more confident and reliant upon myself instead of others

  16. If you had to sum up your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    How much great food can Kirsty eat in seven months?

  17. Are you planning more trips and travels for the future? Are you planning another round-the-world trip?
    probably not Round the World.
    I’ll go to New Zealand after Uni and hopefully Cuba or Costa Rica during Uni summer hols

  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?
    dont even consider that tourist resort in spain!! how dare you!
    Get out there and see real people…
    yes it’s ugly
    yes it’s scary
    but it’s out there

  19. What is the most valuable thing you learned?
    Their culture isn’t going to change for you, you have to ADAPT to their culture!

  20. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    that it’s a big drugs fest.
    I never witnessed one drug (and I went to Goa)
    If youre not looking for it, you wont find it!

  21. Why do you like to travel?
    because i like being Kirsty, the foreigner, rather than that local girl.
    I love meeting new people and seeing different things

  22. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Go for it.