Bill Sheehy – Around-the-World Traveler

Bill Sheehy is a 62-year-old attorney from Brooklyn, New York, USA, who set off on an open-ended round-the-world trip in 2003.

The Snapshot

• Departure: 2003
• Age at departure: 62
• Nationality: USA
• Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA
• Duration: Indefinite
• Occupation: Attorney
• Original budget: Not reliably recorded in the source
• Regions: South America, Southeast Asia, Africa, South Asia, Asia, Europe

The Route

About a month or two each in Ecuador (four weeks of language school, three weeks of travel, including the Galapagos), Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile (including Easter Island), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bali/Lombok, Java, Malaysia, Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo), Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Nepal, Tibet, India, Egypt, Morocco, Spain and Europe.

In Their Words

Here's what Bill Sheehy shared about their RTW journey:

Why did you decide to take this trip?

I always wanted to do something like this and in the last few years have had several reminders of my own mortality (e.g., death of two parents, 7 bouts of pneumonia, my boredom with the same lifestyle – lots of things inluenced me, including a marvelous bartender in the East Village who seems to live to travel!

What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?

Read a variety of travel books( e.g., Lonely Planet, Let's Go, Rough Guide, Footprints) on the same country or area of the world, and absorb the best. Chat with travellers who have been to at least some of the places you will be going to, and beg or wheedle the most knowledgeable advice advice you can get.

What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?

Packing very, very light – A friend gave me his 3-page, single-spaced list of essentials, all of which will fit in one back pack. My camera and classical music MP3 collection will have to fit in my backpack or else!

How do you think your round-the-world trip will change your life?

I hope to become mellower, less concerned with material things (all of which, including the lght of my life, my black BMW R1150R motorcycle, I have sold or will sell or give away before the end of this month.

What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?

It is not an overwhelming planning job. Just nibble at it a bit at a time and your plan will become focused and take on a life of its own.

2026 Context

• Budget inflation: This traveler's original budget was not reliably recorded in the source, but early-2000s round-the-world costs are substantially higher in 2026 (roughly 70–80% cumulative inflation since 2003).