How old were you when you took this
When did you go on your RTW trip?
October 2003-January 2004
How old were you when you took this
trip?
25
Including your air ticket and other expenses
(from accommodation to souvenir-buying), about how much did your trip
cost?
$8,000
Nationality
USA
Where do you live now?
San Francisco, California, USA
Occupation
Before your trip: Research Scientist
Now: still looking...
How did your travels affect your career when
you got back?
I'm not looking to go into lab work anymore, but I still love science. I
would love to teach, maybe abroad, and work with children.
What is the route you took/places you
visited?
LA - Spain - Thailand - Malaysia - Singapore - Indonesia - Australia - New Zealand - Fiji - LA
Why did you decide to take this trip? What
got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
I hadn't traveled much and knew I was changing careers so I started planning and getting very excited.
Out of all your experiences traveling around
the world, what was the:
Best Moment
Scuba diving whenever and wherever I could
Worst Moment
Losing my backpack in Thailand
Biggest Hurdle, Obstacle or Difficulty?
Trying to find money for everything!!
Biggest surprise?
Making great, lifelong friends
Who is the most memorable person you met on
your trip and why?
A girl from Australia, Layla, who I met in Bali. She stuck by my side throughout a loss of credit card fiasco and I met up with her again in her hometown of Surfer's Paradise, Australia.
How much planning and preparing did you
do?
Winged it a lot
What was your favorite piece of
gear?
Black, ankle length wrinkle free skirt - you can wear it in temples, lounging around, and going to restaurants.
What did you bring, that in hindsight you
could've left at home?
Pants that convert to shorts. I never wore them, but I'm not a shorts girl.
How did your round-the-world trip change
your life? How did it affect and change you as a person?
It made me open my eyes to the thought processes of other countries. As
an American, I learned a lot about how people feel about us and our
terrible president (just my opinion.)
If you had to sum up your round-the-world
trip in one sentence, what would it be?
An experience to last a lifetime.
Are you planning more trips and travels for
the future? Are you planning another round-the-world trip?
Definitely - I'm applying for a job in Costa Rica and I would love to
spend much more time abroad. I have the rest of my life to be in California.
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?
RTW trips are not much more than a roundtrip ticket to Australia and you
can experience much more. One or two week vacations never enable you to
see enough of the country or their people. Travelling lightly and for a
length of time, meeting other travellers from all over, that's the way to
see the world.
What is the most valuable thing you
learned?
That I can travel by myself and meet a ton of fantastic people and never
be lonely. Or feel threatened.
What is the biggest myth that people have
about round-the-world traveling?
That it's too expensive, but if you do it well you can travel for a year
on a tight budget. And see a ton of the world. You can always work, even
without a permit.
Why do you like to travel?
I love meeting new friends and experiencing beautiful countries.
What is your advice for people planning
their own RTW trip?
Just do it. Plunge right in and have a blast. Never say "no." My friend
told me that and it worked beautifully.