Kinga & Chopin's Trip at a Glance
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|---|---|
| Departure Year | |
| Duration | |
| Route | Multiple destinations |
| Budget | (~ in 2026 dollars) |
| Age at Departure | |
| Occupation | |
Route
Round-the-world journey.
2026 note: Route information from early 2000s travel planning; current conditions may differ significantly.
In Their Words
When did you go on your RTW trip?
October 1998-September 2003How old were you when you took this trip?
25-30Including your air ticket and other expenses (from accommodation to souvenir-buying), about how much did your trip cost?
US$5 a day (excluding the ticket)Nationality
PolandWhere do you live now?
Gdansk, PolandOccupation Before your trip: English teacher (Kinga), electrician (Chopin)Now: English teacher, writer) Kinga, computer specialist (Chopin)
How did your travels affect your career when you got back?
We’re not really thinking in terms of making a career – although, yes it did influence something – I (Kinga) have written a book about our journey which is just being published now. How this will influence any future career – we’ll see. Or maybe there will be no career any time soon, as I’m heading to Africa in the nearest future…What is the route you took/places you visited?
North America, South America, New Zealand, Australia, and then… Asia, and overland all the way back home – to Europe – you can see the detailed maps on our website.Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
We just wanted to see the world.Out of all your experiences traveling around the world, what was the:Best Moment
There wasn’t just one – there were many highlights – hitching a ride with an airplane in Alaska, with a hang glider in Rio de Janeiro or a yacht to Vanuatu – these are just a few.Worst Moment
When we got a ride with a Russian cargo ship from Japan to the island of Sahalin, and when they turned us back for not having a “voucher”.Biggest Hurdle, Obstacle or Difficulty?
Dealing with beauracracy – just like in the example above.Biggest surprise?
To find out how small, and at the same time how big our world is.Who is the most memorable person you met on your trip and why?
It’s hard to choose just one of many, many people we met every day during these five years. But our captain with whom we sailed to Vanuatu was a
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This profile was originally published on BootsnAll. Budget figures have been adjusted for 2026 context.