Linh Altork is a 33-year-old dot-com refugee from North Carolina, USA, who set off on a round-the-world trip in 2004.
As youthful as I wish I’d stay, I know my eggs are expiring and I need to get the wanderlust out of my system before we settle down and have kids. My original plan was to visit a foreign country every year til I die, but then the thought of dragging little kiddies along everywhere made that seem less appealing. So I’m doing it in one fell swoop. As important is that I love different cultures and languages. I want to experience the interaction of societies around the world because people are such fascinating creatures.
The Snapshot
- Departure: 2004
- Age at departure: 33
- Nationality: USA
- Location: North Carolina, USA
- Duration: 1-2 years
- Occupation: Dot com victim
- Original budget: Not specified
- Regions: Southeast Asia, Oceania, Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Europe
The Route
In Their Words
Here's what Linh Altork shared about their RTW journey:
What is your advice for other travelers?
Read other people’s experiences, take the sum of all their hints and tips, divide by 100 and you got yourself a formula. Keep peoples’ advice in the back of your mind so you’re aware, but don’t let the anxiety about all the things that could go wrong ruin your trip before it’s started. And if you could keep your mind open to all possibilities, then you can’t be disappointed.
What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
A couple of outfits and stuff here and there. I’m only packing a daypack and keeping it below 20 pounds, including our tent and sleeping bags, because we plan on alot of wilderness hiking where possible.
What is the biggest myth people have about round-the-world travel?
That the only way around is by air.
2026 Context
- Budget inflation: This traveler did not report a trip budget, so no 2026 equivalent can be calculated; comparable mid-2000s round-the-world budgets carry roughly 75% cumulative inflation to 2026 purchasing power.