- When do you leave?
March 13, 2002
- How long do you plan to be away?
6-12 Months
- How much have you saved?
enough
- How old are you?
34
- Nationality
England
- Where do you live now?
Most recently Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Occupation
Telecoms Consultant
- 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?
- London Heathrow, Delhi
- Overland from Delhi to Nepal
- Overland from Nepal back across India to Goa/Bombay
- Bombay fly to Bangkok
- Overland through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, back into Southern Thailand and then down through Malaysia to Singapore.
- Singapore fly to Bali (visit some other Indonesian Islands) fly back to Singapore.
- Singapore fly to Sidney. Spend time exploring Australia.
- Sidney fly to New Zealand. Spend time exploring New Zealand.
- New Zealand fly to Fiji (just relax and unwind!).
- Fiji fly to Los Angeles.
- L.A. fly back to London (Boo Hoo)
- Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
The truth is I am at heart a young 34.
I have worked across much of Europe and visited further-flung places for the typical 2-week vacation.
I have always had "itchy feet" and have for a long time had the urge to make a trip of this nature. I guess the truth is that I know that I will never be able to truly settle down until I get it out of my system.
Until July 2001 I was so much like everyone else who thinks "I would love to do it but I cant because...." It was at this point that I met someone who helped me to realise that I could do it, I just had to accept a few changes to in my life!
So I decided not to take another contract for a while, rent my house out and sell my car. At the time of writing this I have just about finished re-organising my life. At the end of the day, what's one year of a lifetime!
- What is your biggest fear about this trip?
That the people I care most about will still be there when I return!
- Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
I have met with every kind of reaction from "Are you crazy?" to "Wow I wish I had the bottle". Most of my friends are really interested in what I am about to do and have asked that I add them to my regular email update. I have even got my elderly parents hooked up with email (no small miracle if you knew what technophobes they are!) so that they can feel part of it.
- How much planning and preparing have you done?
Winged it a lot
- What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
The usual kind of stuff. I will probably end up taking a whole load of medical stuff just in case. I am toying with the idea of buying a digital camera to replace my film camera. It is so important for me to be able to properly catalogue this trip for future memories.
- 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?
Maybe it won't. I am sure however that if there ever was something that would change my life dramatically then it would be this.
I am sure that seeing so many different cultures and lifestyles is bound to have some effect on me.
One further thing is I truly believe this: If you have your eyes and your heart open to what surrounds you, who knows where your soul may find itself!
- If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
I've talked about doing it for long enough, it's time I took some bloody action!
- 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'll let you know when I get back!
- What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
That it is better suited for someone else.
- Why do you like to travel?
I love to see how other people live and also what the world is like elsewhere.
- What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
Look around. I was for a while convinced that I would not be able to get the flight deal with the flexibility I needed. One afternoon, bingo! I found exactly what I was looking for.
Talk to people who have done it. I found the advice I got from the guys at BootsnAll invaluable!