As Christine and I were getting ready to let our family, friends, and co-workers know about our impending RTW, we weren't really sure about how those closest to us would react.
Now that we've let the cat out of the bag, I've categorized the general reactions we've received:
1) The Excited
a) "I'm so excited for you guys!"
These people are the most common; they are genuinely excited for us and wish us well and safe travels.
b) "Let's meet up somewhere!"
These people are rare, but the best reaction; upon hearing about our plans, being fellow adventurers, they plan to pack up a bag and meet up with us somewhere in the world. Awesome!
c) "I'm planning a trip!"
Also a great reaction. These people enjoy traveling, and are now inspired to take a trip with their 2-4 weeks of vacation some time this year.
2) The Envious: "....wish I could do something like that" / "...always wanted to do that"
These are probably the 2nd most common. These are people who have always wanted to do something, but are more than willing to live vicariously through us. They tell us to take alot of photos, and put up a blog post every once in awhile. They will give a number of reasons as to why they can't take a career break or travel, such as student debt, mortgages, or car payments (or children).
For those with children, I understand. For reasons related to money, if you make saving for something like this a priority, it is very possible. Yes, sacrifices will have to be made (e.g. getting that $6 frappucino from Starbucks everyday, that online shopping addiction, or that newest and latest iToy device), but it's definitely worth it.
3) Career People: "What...? What about your job?"
These are people who I like to call "career people", who take their careers very seriously, and probably dream about traveling in between their daily commutes to/from the office but never follow through because they're too dedicated to project they're working on.
4) Interrogators: "How much will it cost? How are you affording this?"
These people may be of a cross-breed between Career People, and The Envious. They want to know every single detail. "How are you affording this? Are you using up your entire life savings? How much did you save? Where are you staying? Where are you going? How did you save up so much money? What's your plan when you come back? Why did you decide to do this?"
While most of these questions arise from a natural curiosity, these people take it to the next level!
5) Great for You: "That sounds great...for you!"
These people are excited for us, but mention that it isn't something that they would ever do as they don't find it appealing to travel long-term (due to various reasons), may have other interests, or prefer a more grounded life.
6) Non-Reactionary: "Oh nice, have a good trip, see you later"
These people don't seem to be interested or have much of a reaction.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Monday, May 12, 2014
How Did We Get Here, and Why Travel? (Thomas' Perspective)
During my childhood, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel alot as my parents brought my brother and I to many different places, and so I have always had an appreciation for experiencing and learning new things about the world. However it wasn't until I went on my first solo trip to Hong Kong in 2008 that I became hooked on the exploration and adventure. I had a brief 2-month internship in HK during the summer of 2008, in which I was chained to a cubicle by day, and out exploring the city by night. I had been there before, but this time it was without anyone elses' agenda (other than work).
The next couple of years after that, I took a few more solo trips out to San Diego, Vancouver, Seattle, Boston, Calgary, and Chicago. All of these destinations were just within North America but still I felt a great sense of freedom by stepping outside of familiar territory, and each time felt truly alive.
Now this brings us to around 2011 when Christine and I began dating, and we took a few trips out to the US (San Francisco/Vegas, Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, and Orlando), as well as a big trip to Europe (a whirlwind of a trip through Paris, Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Dresden, and Prague). So we clearly shared a love of travel, exploration, and adventure.
Since then we had alot of discussions about how we want to live, where we want to live, and what we want to do with our lives. In particular, we somehow landed upon this idea of taking a Round-The-World (RTW) trip while reading on the interwebs. We talked alot about what we think about the 'American Dream'; this crazy notion that everyone has conformed to - go to high school, go to university, get a job, get married, buy a house, have 2.5 kids, retire, die. The question we kept coming back to was: Is it going to make us happy?
We ultimately decided that we did not want to conform to the expectations of others and of "society", but instead truly live and go on a long-term RTW trip. This decision was made around April 2013, and the rationale behind this was that so many people spend their entire lives living in the same environment, subscribing to a life that is dictated by the norm, and never getting outside of their comfort zone. We wanted to do something that would make us happy, and give us an experience we would never forget, and then worry about the rest later. After all, you only live once.
So now by April 2013, we've made a decision to do this. What was stopping us? Well I was in the middle of completing my Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation, and wouldn't be done until June 2014. We set an initial departure date of September 2014 (which has since moved up to June 2014), and started to work on a plan to get all of our ducks in a row.
On the list were the following. We will create separate posts about each of these items:
1. Saving enough money for the trip and for a parachute fund.
2. Laser eye surgery - We felt this would really help us on the road, as we would not need to worry about glasses and/or contact lenses. We both went through with the PRK procedure in September and October 2013, respectively, and could not be happier. Unfortunately this averaged out to $5,200 each.
3. Telling family and friends - We made a plan of telling our family and friends closer to the departure date in case anything came up to change our plans.
4. Leaving our jobs.
5. Travel Route - We have changed our departure date and route many many times, but have finally decided on one.
6. Flights
7. Vaccinations
- CS
The next couple of years after that, I took a few more solo trips out to San Diego, Vancouver, Seattle, Boston, Calgary, and Chicago. All of these destinations were just within North America but still I felt a great sense of freedom by stepping outside of familiar territory, and each time felt truly alive.
Now this brings us to around 2011 when Christine and I began dating, and we took a few trips out to the US (San Francisco/Vegas, Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, and Orlando), as well as a big trip to Europe (a whirlwind of a trip through Paris, Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Dresden, and Prague). So we clearly shared a love of travel, exploration, and adventure.
Since then we had alot of discussions about how we want to live, where we want to live, and what we want to do with our lives. In particular, we somehow landed upon this idea of taking a Round-The-World (RTW) trip while reading on the interwebs. We talked alot about what we think about the 'American Dream'; this crazy notion that everyone has conformed to - go to high school, go to university, get a job, get married, buy a house, have 2.5 kids, retire, die. The question we kept coming back to was: Is it going to make us happy?
We ultimately decided that we did not want to conform to the expectations of others and of "society", but instead truly live and go on a long-term RTW trip. This decision was made around April 2013, and the rationale behind this was that so many people spend their entire lives living in the same environment, subscribing to a life that is dictated by the norm, and never getting outside of their comfort zone. We wanted to do something that would make us happy, and give us an experience we would never forget, and then worry about the rest later. After all, you only live once.
So now by April 2013, we've made a decision to do this. What was stopping us? Well I was in the middle of completing my Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation, and wouldn't be done until June 2014. We set an initial departure date of September 2014 (which has since moved up to June 2014), and started to work on a plan to get all of our ducks in a row.
On the list were the following. We will create separate posts about each of these items:
1. Saving enough money for the trip and for a parachute fund.
2. Laser eye surgery - We felt this would really help us on the road, as we would not need to worry about glasses and/or contact lenses. We both went through with the PRK procedure in September and October 2013, respectively, and could not be happier. Unfortunately this averaged out to $5,200 each.
3. Telling family and friends - We made a plan of telling our family and friends closer to the departure date in case anything came up to change our plans.
4. Leaving our jobs.
5. Travel Route - We have changed our departure date and route many many times, but have finally decided on one.
6. Flights
7. Vaccinations
- CS
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
RT Dubs!
We have finally begun to execute the preliminary parts of our first ever round the world trip. As this is the first post of the blog, I suppose it would be appropriate to provide a back story to how we got here. CS and I have always loved to travel. In the first month of dating we even contemplated a short weekend trip to Chicago. Looking back now that was probably a little ambitious lol, while CS did end up going solo opted to stay behind.
Our travels have mainly consisted of short trips to the US, including Vegas, San Fran, Orlando, Philly, Boston and NYC. We did do a big trip to Europe in January 2013 which was great but just not quite enough for our wanderlust selves. On the last few days of our Europe trip we were already planning the next destination. We had contemplated the idea of moving to another city (like London) where traveling would be a little bit more affordable and convenient. But then came to the idea of taking time off to just travel. After doing some research we stumbled across this "Round the World" idea and the rest was history!
That brings us to today where we are 7 weeks away from our departure date. First stop - Buenos Aires Argentina. We will be spending two months in South America, making our way from Argentina to Bolivia to check out the Uyuni Salt Flats, then to Peru where we will hike the Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu, and from there head over to Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena in Colombia. Its all just the beginning stages and although I am excited, a tad nervous too!
Look out for the next post!
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