- When do you leave?
- How long do you plan to be away?
1-6 Months - How much have you saved?
3000 - How old are you?
46 - Nationality
USA - Where do you live now?
St. Petersburg, USA - Occupation
machinist - 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?
Not sure yet, but have a keen interest in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia. Maybe I will hit a few European or Middle East cities enroute. - Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
I just feel that I need to see how the rest of the world is coming along. I am a bit of an anthropologist and enjoy other cutures. - What is your biggest fear about this trip?
That I will not want to return home. - Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
I would not even tell them. Maybe I will send a postcard. 🙂 - How much planning and preparing have you done?
To the Nth Degree - What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
Ultralight as possible. I have everything for camping, but I will not bring it, instead I will use hostels and such. I will try to buy local when possible. - 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?
It should bolster my Kantian cosmoploitan beliefs. - If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
- 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 think it is incumbant on people to leave their “comfort zone” in order to understand others. - What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
- Why do you like to travel?
It seems to energize me like nothing else. It gives me a bigger sense of mental imagery to think with, to be more creative. I am always fascinated with how things are done in other places. - What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
Read a lot. Avoid revolving debt. Stay healthy.
December 2005