Claire Louise Salt

1. When do you leave?
   October 2003

2. How long do you plan to be away?
   6-12 Months

3. How much have you saved?
   1000

4. How old are you?
   23

5. Nationality
   England

6. Where do you live now?
   Manchester, England

7. Occupation
   Sales Assisstant

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?
    Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Raratonga, North America

11. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    Have seen many of my friends go off travelling, and heard their stories when they got back, and was begining to feel very envious and realised it was something I would like to do.

12. What is your biggest fear about this trip?
    Lack of money

13. Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
    Everyone seems to be very supportive particularly my close friends. My parents are a little worried about my safety but are otherwise 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)?
    The one object I have spent the most time thinking about is which rucksack to buy. I have also been researching what I should put into my medical kit. I will be packing as little as I can get away with as my small frame will not carry a large, heavy rucksack.

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 am looking forward to all the new sights and new experiences, and am expecting to learn new skills. However, I do not want to come home having turned in to one of those 'know-it-all' traveller types who considers themselves a better person than those who have not travelled.

17. If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    Very excited,and impatient about waiting to leave, yet I still don't believe I am going despite having bought the ticket!

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 think the experiences that you will get from a RTW trip will be completely different from that of a normal vacation. The length of the trip means you can never know everything that is going to happen or what you will end up doing. There will be much more of a chance to meet local people and experience local cultures.

19. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    Don't know, I guess i'll have a better idea once i've been.

20. Why do you like to travel?
    I have a lust for knowledge about the rest of the world, I would hate to die only having spent my whole life in one country, completely ignorent about the rest of the world.

21. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Don't bother signing up for any of the package deals the travel agents try and push at you, the ones where they sort out accommodation etc for when you arrive - you can do it a lot cheaper yourself over the internet.