- When do you leave?
August 2002
- How long do you plan to be away?
6-12 Months
- How much have you saved?
£5000
- How old are you?
23
- Nationality
Norway
- Where do you live now?
Sheffield, England
- Occupation
Student/journalist
- Is this job one that you actually like, or are you only doing it to pay for the trip?
It's my career
- Have you traveled around the world before?
No
- What is the route you plan to take/places you plan to visit?
Brazil - Argentina - Chile - New Zealand - Australia - Bali - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand
- Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
I've always been interested in the world and I like long bus journeys...
I come from a beautiful country myself, and I'm convinced there are more beautiful places out there to be seen. I enjoy meeting people, and I've always been a dreamer. Time to do something about that. There must be more to life than getting an education and working until you die. I need to do "something" before adult life catches up on me.
- What is your biggest fear about this trip?
Getting robbed or assaulted. It has happened before and I don't want it to happen again. I'll be careful, but hopefully I won't miss out on anything.
- Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
My mother doesn't like it; my father grudgingly approved as long as I come back and start making a living for myself. Most people I know would like to come with me.
- How much planning and preparing have you done?
Just Enough
- What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
I'll try to go light. I do want to bring my SLR and my zoom lens though. Being a bleak Viking, sunscreen will be pretty indispensable...
- How do you think your round-the-world trip will change your life? How do you think it will affect and change you as a person?
From what I've heard I'll learn to be even more patient than I already am.
I hope more than think that the trip will let me "settle down" a bit more and take up a "normal" lifestyle. At least for a couple of years... to please my parents.
- If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
I am incredibly excited, and worried, but the excitement by far outweighs the worry.
- 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?
One and two weeks vacations are fine, as long as you escape the resorts. RTW travel opens for exploring different aspects of the country you're visiting.
- What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
Don't know that one.
- Why do you like to travel?
Because the world is too big to be seen from my armchair at home.
- What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
Do research on the internet, but don't overdo it. Keep some surprises till when you get there.