Marie Javins

1. When did you go on your RTW trip?
   January 2001-December 2001

2. How old were you when you took this trip?
   35

3. Including your air ticket and other expenses (from accommodation to souvenir-buying), about how much did your trip cost?
   US$32,000 inc. vaccines, travel insurance, cargo ships fare, excursions, rent in Berlin, safaris, visas, incidentals and food.

4. Nationality
   USA

5. Where do you live now?
   Nowhere (still on the road in Australia), but I consider New York home.

6. Occupation
   
   Before your trip: Comic book colorist and editor
   
   Now: Nothing at the moment.
   

   How did your travels affect your career when you got back?
   TBD. Trying to get a book published.

   What is the route you took/places you visited?
   Went mostly without airplanes. Crossed the USA by Amtrak, the Pacific by freighter, crossed Indonesia by ferry and minivan, to Singapore by ferry, through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia by local transport, Vietnam south to north by train, then around China by local transport. Across Mongolia and Russia by Trans-Siberian, train loop through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Moscow to St. Petersburg by train, bus through the Baltics to Poland to Germany, cargo ship to Cape Town, bus and local minivans through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, canoeing in Zimbabwe, train to Tanzania, safari through Tanzania, local transport to Uganda and Kenya, overland truck through Ethiopia, local truck through Sudan, train through Egypt, bus to Israel, cargo ship to Italy. Trains through Italy, Switzerland, France, ferry to UK. Cruise ship to Florida, Amtrak and bus to New York.

   Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
   I've been excited about travel since I was 17 and went on an exchange program to Finland. But what really changed everything was when I saw an ad for a $650 trip down the Amazon. It was only a week long, and was in '91, but it opened up a whole new world as I was presented with options I'd previously thought over only as remote daydreams.

   Out of all your experiences traveling around the world, what was the:
   

   • Best Moment
     Too many too count. Sleeping under the stars on an island on the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe, having canoed there while avoiding hippos, and listening to lions ranks up there. So does sleeping with two Ethiopian women in the "Ethiopian Compound" in Gederaf.

   • Worst Moment
     Easily when I was watching the World Trade Center disintegrate, live on CNN, from an internet cafe in Zanzibar. It was awful enough on its own, but that day, no one knew if the next morning would bring World War III, or more attacks, or retribution.

   • Biggest Hurdle, Obstacle or Difficulty?
     Getting an Ethiopian visa was extraordinarily frustrating. You must get it in your home country, but if I'd gotten it in my home country in December of 2000, it would have expired before I got to Ethiopia.

   • Biggest surprise?
     East and Southern Africa is easy. I expected something a lot tougher.

   Who is the most memorable person you met on your trip and why?
   I call him the German Marlboro Man. He was fluent in Arabic and had spent 2 years teaching auto mechanics to Sudanese small business entrepreneurs. He greeted me on the squalid ferry from Sudan to Egypt, where I was panicking from having to sleep in the urine-soaked hold. He was riding his Yamaha motorcycle back to Germany, and all the Sudanese were anxious to speak Arabic to him. We snuck up to the flying bridge with our sleeping bags and watched Abu Simbel, the stars, and the Nile float by. I met dozens of aid workers who had given up hot water and flushing toilets to make a difference in the world, or to work for better quality of life in young countries. He was just the most distinct, and this survey asks that I choose one.

   How much planning and preparing did you do?
   Control Freak

   What was your favorite piece of gear?
   I wouldn't leave home without a thing I call a coffee sock. It's a cloth coffee filter on a plastic rim. Fill it with high-quality coffee grinds, dunk it in hot water, and you get good coffee no matter where you are.

   What did you bring, that in hindsight you could've left at home?
   Money belt. I used it once. Uncomfortable, hot, and thieves know where it is anyway.

   How did your round-the-world trip change your life? How did it affect and change you as a person?
   It got me off my ass and gave me confidence. But travel always does this, and then when I'd go back home and get back into routine, it would all disintegrates. Travel gives the incentive and encouragement to make lifestyle changes, but the rest is up to the individual.

   If you had to sum up your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
   Sorry, this one has me at a loss.

   Are you planning more trips and travels for the future? Are you planning another round-the-world trip?
   Currently in Australia, but not touring, just sitting in one place. Not planning anything on a scale as massive as RTW. Thinking about shorter trips where I stay in one place for a long time, such as going to Alaska by the Marine Highway or to Tunisia for a look around. Other "short-listed" countries include Cuba, Romania, Bhutan, Philippines and Papua New Guinea.

   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 don't. Giving up one's life to take to the road isn't for everyone, and going RTW means you are seeing the tip of the iceberg of a lot of places, but not seeing anywhere in too much depth. But one advantage is that any trip takes time to get used to, and when you're on the road for an extended period of time, you do get used to the challenges presented in new places. When you're "in practice," it takes less time to get used to being in a new place. Another advantage is that it offers the opportunity for contrast and context. When I first went to Vietnam and China, I laughed at the "Red Menace" of the Cold War. But it was put into context when I went to former "Soviet republics," where millions of atrocities were practiced by agents of Stalin. I recommend extended travel to anyone who can get away for a long time, but RTW is just one way of taking an extended trip.

   Some people just want to get away from their jobs and rest on the beach or in a resort for a week or two. For those who prefer to experience other cultures, there are trips to other countries. The first week is just about getting used to a place and getting over your time adjustments and culture shock. But there are ways to maximize your trip if you can only get away for a week. People who really want to see a region in-depth need to give it a month or two at least.

   What is the most valuable thing you learned?
   I don't know as much as I thought I knew. For every "truth" I've believed, there are dozens of exceptions. For every exploited laborer, there is someone happy to have a job, who has no other way to make money. For every child laborer, there is a family desperate for income. For every "anti-American" protest, there are dozens who are protesting American policy while embracing American pop culture.

   What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
   It's a vacation. It isn't. It's hard work.

   Why do you like to travel?
   Travel energizes me, supercharges my creativity, and sharpens my wits. It also defeats my fear of the unknown. You're never afraid of a place or foreign people after you've seen how they live. They become normal people to you, just like the ones at home.

   What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
   Be sure to build flexibility into your schedule. Leave time for cancelled trains, and don't cut anything too close.

Marie has also written a travelogue for BootsnAll about her journeys, and she has a web site that talks about her round-the-world trip.