Stephen Davies - Round-the-World Traveler

1. When do you leave?
   May 2006

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

3. How much have you saved?
   $12,000 US

4. How old are you?
   30

5. Nationality
   USA

6. Where do you live now?
   Miami, FL, USA

7. Occupation
   Student

8. Is this job one that you actually like, or are you only doing it to pay for the trip?
   It's my career

9. Have you traveled around the world before?
   No

10. What is the route you plan to take/places you plan to visit?
    Miami - UK - Singapore - Malaysia - Indonesia - Thailand - Vietnam - Cambodia - Laos - Australia - New Zealand - UK - Netherlands - France - home

11. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    I have done a fair amount of travelling in the past, but there is always so much more to see. I'm sort of at a point in my life that I could use the added perspective that this trip can bring.

12. What is your biggest fear about this trip?
    Losing passport/money belt.

13. Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
    Friends and co-workers are very supportive. Family is reluctantly supportive.

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)?
    Digital camera and quick drying clothes.

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 think it will be very hard for me to come back. I live for adventure and I imagine I'll just start planning another RTW as soon as I return. This kind of trip really broadens one's perspective on the world and life.

17. If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    Get me the "F" out of here!

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?
    I believe RTW trips challenge people in an entirely different way than a vacation would. Almost every day my RTW trip will put me face to face with people and cultures and languages that are totally new to me, that's hard to do on a two week vacation.

19. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    That it takes lots of planning.

20. Why do you like to travel?
    I like to experience new things.

21. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    "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. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." by Mark Twain.