Bill Sheehy

1. When do you leave?
   June 2003

2. How long do you plan to be away?
   I Ain't Never Comin' Back

3. How much have you saved?
   Not enough (about $140K)

4. How old are you?
   62

5. Nationality
   USA

6. Where do you live now?
   Brooklyn, New York, USA

7. Occupation
   Attorney

8. Is this job one that you actually like, or are you only doing it to pay for the trip?
   One more paycheck and I'm gone

9. Have you traveled around the world before?
   No

10. What is the route you plan to take/places you plan to visit?
    About a month or two each in: Ecuador (4 weeks language school, 3 weeks travel, including Gallapagos), Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile (including Easter Island), Thailand, Laos, more Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bali/Lambok, Java, Malaysia, Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo), Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Nepal, Tibet, India, Egypt, Morocco, Spain and Europe (I beacame an Irish citizen in December 2002).

11. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    I always wanted to do something like this and in the last few years have had several reminders of my own mortality (e.g., death of two parents, 7 bouts of pneumonia, my boredom with the same lifestyle – lots of things inluenced me, including a marvelous bartender in the East Village who seems to live to travel!

12. What is your biggest fear about this trip?
    THE unknown and untested is always unsettling.

13. Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
    Family will miss me but have not yet freaked out at the thought of my departure.

14. How much planning and preparing have you done?
    Control Freak

15. What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
    Packing very, very light – A friend gave me his 3-page, single-spaced list of essentials, all of which will fit in one back pack. My camera and classical music MP3 collection will have to fit in my backpack or else!

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 hope to become mellower, less concerned with material things (all of which, including the lght of my life, my black BMW R1150R motorcycle, I have sold or will sell or give away before the end of this month.

17. If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    I'm tired of looking at a movie like Baraka and thinking, "Why can't I see these great places and people for myself?"

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'm not sure who should choose a RTW trip. It's all about personal preferences, of course.

19. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    It is not an overwhelming planning job. Just nibble at it a bit at a time and your plan will become focused and take on a life of its own.

20. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Read a variety of travel books( e.g., Lonely Planet, Let's Go, Rough Guide, Footprints) on the same country or area of the world, and absorb the best. Chat with travellers who have been to at least some of the places you will be going to, and beg or wheedle the most knowledgeable advice advice you can get.