Tal Gutstadt

1. When did you go on your RTW trip?
   November 2002-June 2003

2. How old were you when you took this trip?
   30

3. Including your air ticket and other expenses (from accommodation to souvenir-buying), about how much did your trip cost?
   C$25,000

4. Nationality
   Canada

5. Where do you live now?
   Torontor, Canada

6. Occupation
   
   Before your trip: Lawyer
   
   Now: Writer
   

   How did your travels affect your career when you got back?
   Traveling gave me the time out that I needed to switch between careers.

   What is the route you took/places you visited?
   Western U.S. - Tahiti - New Zealand - Australia - Thailand - Hong Kong - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam - Thailand - Nepal - Israel - Spain.

   Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
   I was fascinated and influenced by friends' stories of long-term travel. The decision to switch careers and relocate from Manhattan to Toronto gave me the opportunity to take a time out and go.

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

   • Best Moment
     Trekking in Nepal

   • Worst Moment
     Being frustrated in Vietnam

   • Biggest Hurdle, Obstacle or Difficulty?
     Gihardia

   • Biggest surprise?
     How easy everything was

   Who is the most memorable person you met on your trip and why?
   Too many...

   How much planning and preparing did you do?
   Just Enough

   What was your favorite piece of gear?
   My backpack.

   What did you bring, that in hindsight you could've left at home?
   Most of my clothes. Everything is available everywhere, usually for a fraction of the price at home.

   How did your round-the-world trip change your life? How did it affect and change you as a person?
   Too soon to tell...it definitely gave me the bug to go out traveling again. It also gave me some perspective on how most of the world lives, and with that, the confidence to pursue a more fulfilling career than my previous one.

   If you had to sum up your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
   Living a dream.

   Are you planning more trips and travels for the future? Are you planning another round-the-world trip?
   I hope to something similar in scope again someday...

   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?
   The difference is: a regular vacation is simply a short break from your everyday life, with all of its ups and downs. A long-term RTW trip, after the first few weeks, becomes your life, and all the stuff that stays in the back of your mind throughout your one- or two-week vacation, stops mattering. There is a freedom in that state of being that is not possible back in the "real" world.

   What is the most valuable thing you learned?
   How to budget.

   What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
   That it's hard.

   Why do you like to travel?
   To observe other ways of living. To eat amazingly different food.

   What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
   Take lots of money, get your shots, don't worry about anything else, it's easy...