Jamie Greene

1. When do you leave?
   April 2003

2. How long do you plan to be away?
   1-2 Years

3. How much have you saved?
   $10,000 USD

4. How old are you?
   24

5. Nationality
   USA

6. Where do you live now?
   Baltimore, Maryland, USA

7. Occupation
   Collections manager

8. Is this job one that you actually like, or are you only doing it to pay for the trip?
   One more paycheck and I'm gone

9. Have you traveled around the world before?
   No

10. What is the route you plan to take/places you plan to visit?
    London, Paris, Munich, Prague, Krakow, Warsaw, Vilnius, Riga, St. Petersburg, Moscow, TransSiberian, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Tibet, Nepal, India.

11. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    I'm going to Asia because I haven't been there yet. I got turned on to independent travel through work I was involved in Africa. This trip was sparked while in Morocco two years ago.

12. What is your biggest fear about this trip?
    That I don't have enough money saved. Also that the numerous language barriers may pose a problem (practically as well as emotionally).

13. Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
    They are all extremely supportive and jealous. I couldn't ask for a better group of people. My girlfriend will be teaching English in China so we won't be completely separated for the entirety of my trip – as I'm going solo.

14. How much planning and preparing have you done?
    Winged it a lot

15. What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
    Haven't really thought about packing yet, but I won't take a lot. Indispensable – my journal and camera.

16. 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?
    Changed Life I have no idea – my name isn't Kreskin. Since I'll not only be completely engulfed in new experiences every waking moment, but will also be engaged in research and writing while traveling, I'm sure I'll change more than I can even imagine. Let's hope for the better.

17. If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    Opportunities like this don't happen in the real world unless you MAKE them happen.

18. 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?
    There's nothing wrong with short vacations – not everyone has the luxury of breaking all ties and taking off on a whim. However, you'll never really know a place or people unless you devote a lot of time to the effort. I'm interested in understanding the energies which drive humanity, and obviously that'll take more than a couple weeks on a package tour.

19. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    They are all college-aged kids from privileged backgrounds who are more interested in Voltaire than showers.

20. Why do you like to travel?
    Whoa – WAY too much to write in response to that. In a nutshell, I travel to experience what the world has to offer. See how others live, taste what others eat, feel what others feel, think/dream/imagine in a completely new environment.

21. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Even if you don't plan at all – figure out how much money you'll need and suffer until you get to that point. Then the world is yours!