Leanne Currie-McGhee
Round-the-World Traveler Round the World Travel GuideYour One-stop Source to Plan & Book Around-the-World Trips
Leanne and her husband Keith just couldn't stay home for the holidays. So they spent Christmas 2001 in England and Wales.
December 2000-December 2001
29
USA
Norfolk, VA, USA
I completely changed careers and am now giving my love of writing a full-time chance.
Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal, India, Australia, Tonga, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales
Ever since listening to my father's travel tales from the Navy, I have wanted to see the world. I served in the Navy, but did not travel outside of the US. When my husband, also a travel lover, and I got married we made a list of things we wanted to do in life. An Around-the-World trip was on the list, so a few years after marriage we decided to make it happen.
Paul, our Kenyan safari guide, stands out in my mind because he was so proud of his country and its people. We spent the evenings around the campfire listening to his stories about his tribe, safari adventures, family and Kenya life. He shared his great love for his homeland and I came away with a deep appreciation and love for Kenya.
To the Nth Degree
I loved my backpack (except for carrying it miles on end). It is great to have all your possessions in one small place. I could have left behind my scuba mask, as I could have rented one wherever we dove.
I met hard-working men and women who were worrying where their next meal would come from. I met children who would be ecstatic for the opportunity to attend school just for a little while. Things like this really gave me a new perspective of my own life and how lucky I have been. This trip made me vow to do more to help people around the world.
Amazing.
We plan to keep traveling – our list continues to grow. Someday we would like to do another extended RTW, but that is some years off.
Being on an RTW allows you to become totally immersed in the travel. You don't have a house, career, or a "to do" list to worry about. On an RTW, your life is about what you see and experience each day.
I learned how much kindness there is in the world. Every country I visited I met many people who went out of their way to welcome me and assist me if I needed it.
A lot of people thought we would get tired of constantly moving and living out of bags. We didn't. It gets in the blood and becomes a way of life. We were excited every time we moved on because there would be new people, new places and new adventure.
I love to meet people with an entirely different outlook than my own. Talking to them makes me think.
The most important thing we did before the trip was develop a reasonable budget and actually follow it on the trip. We made sure we had the budget as accurate as possible by researching each country's costs beforehand. We met people who were not enjoying traveling because they never had enough money and had not realized what things would cost.
