Aidan Williams
Round-the-World Traveler Round the World Travel GuideYour One-stop Source to Plan & Book Around-the-World Trips
January 2003
1-6 Months
£5000
28
England
Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK
Programmer
One more paycheck and I'm gone
No
Fly London - Bangkok, then overland from there to Singapore. Fly Singapore - Melbourne, overland from there to Alice Springs. Fly Alice Springs - Cairns and make my way down to Sydney. Fly Sydney - Auckland, tour around New Zealand or possibly go to one of the Pacific Islands briefly. Fly Auckland - Santiago and travel from there into Peru. Fly home from Lima.
The fact that I never did this kind of thing after/during my time as a student, and that I may not get the chance again if commitments come along. Once the idea was in my head, I knew I'd end up regretting it if I didn't do it!
The fact that I am giving up a job (albeit one I don't like) and not having a job to come back to afterwards.
Mostly very supportive. Some think its an odd thing to do on your own, but mostly they just say that they wouldn't/couldn't do it themselves, but are supportive of me doing it. Mum thinks I should do it if its what I want to do, and both my sisters think it's an excellent idea.
Just Enough
As little as possible hopefully. Being in the southern hemisphere in their summertime should mean that I can get away with less clothes, although I may need to buy some warmer things when I reach the Andes! My most indispensable item will be my clippers to keep my hair sufficiently short, or to be more precise, almost non-existent.
I am hoping that it will change me for the better. I hope that it will give me many new friends from all over, and that it will teach me a fair bit about other people, and also about my own abilities to cope with such a trip. I'm hoping that it will give me a better perspective on things, ie, my first step is giving up a job I really don't enjoy, then going off and doing something I really want to do. If it gives me more conviction to do the stuff I want to make me happier, then it'll all have been good!
Scared, nervous and excited.
For the adventure, and hopefully to realise that you're capable of more adventurous stuff than you may have thought, although it certainly wouldn't suit everybody.
That you'll be completely on your own all the time (at least I'm hoping that this is a myth).
It beats the hell out of staying at home. Also I have always enjoyed going to new places and seeing new things.
If it's something that you really want to do, then just do it... worry about what happens afterwards when the time comes.
