Andy Cannon - Round-the-World Traveler

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

2. How old were you when you took this trip?
   28

3. Including your air ticket and other expenses (from accommodation to souvenir-buying), about how much did your trip cost?
   6000 (UK)

4. Nationality
   England

5. Where do you live now?
   Sydney, Australia

6. Occupation
   
   Before your trip: IT Test Analyst
   
   Now: IT Test Analyst
   

7. How did your travels affect your career when you got back?
   Well in theory I have never gone back because I decided to stay in OZ ! Currently I have a 4 year visa and am thinking about applying for residency. It's a wonderful country !

8. What is the route you took/places you visited?
   India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo (Sarawak), Singapore, Australia, Japan, Australia.

9. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
   A travelling uncle, a father who works for British Airways, watching "Raiders of the lost Ark" too many times and reading national geographic since I was a child (when I was younger i looked at the pictures!).

10. Out of all your experiences traveling around the world, what was the:
    
    • Best Moment
      Meeting wild Orag-utans in the jungle

    • Worst Moment
      Realising I had been robbed in Saigon

    • Biggest Hurdle, Obstacle or Difficulty?
      Finding a decent job in Oz

    • Biggest surprise?
      Falling in Love !

11. Who is the most memorable person you met on your trip and why?
    There are actually 2!!! Chad was the dude who helped me to chill out in India because he is soooo shanti.... and the other is Motoko my girlfriend, I don't need to go into details :-)

12. How much planning and preparing did you do?
    Planning is for tourists

13. What was your favorite piece of gear?
    My trusty Swiss Army Knife, and my cameras

14. What did you bring, that in hindsight you could've left at home?
    sleeping bag liner - no need...

15. How did your round-the-world trip change your life? How did it affect and change you as a person?
    I feel a lot more relaxed about myself. I also realise that once you break that social bind you are brought up believing is a normality, the world becomes your oyster. Staying in your hometown, working a 9-5 until you retire then wondering when it will all end is NOT the way I wanted to live my life.

16. If you had to sum up your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    It is the key to the life you want !

17. Are you planning more trips and travels for the future? Are you planning another round-the-world trip?
    Yes I am, currently I am trying to sort out my application for residency in Australia as I would like it as a base. After that a trip from cairo to Capetown is in the making, as is a trip from Mexico to Patagonia down the west coast of the Americas and then up the other side to Venezuala... I want to learn Spanish next. (I am currently learning Japanese)

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?
    You cannot see anything in 2 weeks, blasting through a checklist of attractions is no different to reading a book on them. You have to go there, absorb the atmosphere and take your time... you need to get back from a place and still see the grime under your nails for a month, then you have been there !

19. What is the most valuable thing you learned?
    Just go with the flow and don't get uptight if things do not go as planned !

20. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    That you can organise everything to the finist detail and expect to stick to your plan... NO WAY !

21. Why do you like to travel?
    It allows me to meet people that I have only read about, appreciate what this planet has to offer both good and bad, and appreciate what I have.

22. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Just go for it, get a ticket pack some stuff and see what happens... don;t expect to come back as the same person... if you do then you never really went !