Have a great trip! It'll change your life!

Well, I'm between RTW trips, having returned from a year of backpacking/hosteling alone from West to East,in 2006, and now planning to go out again for six months, East to West, in Jan., 2009. My family, by now, knows that this is what I do. It's a flip-flop on the usual story, because I'm the parent/grandparent, and it's my kids who have to tolerate this world wanderer that I've turned into.

I kept a journal and they read that when I came home, but now, I'm turning it into a book, which hopefully, will get around the glazed-eyes-syndrome. Been there/done that! But, have you noticed that if you tell Bad News stories, travel horror stories, everyone is willing to listen? It's just the old "Good News Doesn't Sell" psychology that thwarts us. And so, in a quest to get an audience, we elaborate all the awful stories and, therefore, we are the direct cause of all the FEAR that people have about world travel. Those of us who have actually gone, know that there is very little danger out there - only adventure!

I've zeroed in on a market that I think needs to know what I have learned in this process: Leading Edge Baby Boomers, who will crash the Social Security gate bigtime in 2011 and might be thinking that they are too old to return to the sixties of their golden world travel/backpacking days. So, my book is titled: "Hey Boomers! Get A Move On!: It's Easy To Backpack Around The World On Social Security!" (by me, Linda J. Brown) It should be out in the Fall, but my new blogsite, heyboomers.com will offer it sooner. That should be up this month, so keep trying. Maybe your parents should read this book! Or grandparents, as the case may be!

I can make this claim to the Boomers because I have proved it to be possible. I did it all at age 67/68 on SS and a VW bug (sold for air tickets). On the next trip, I'll be 71 and roaming through South America, Australia, Africa, and more. Maybe I'll meet you on the trail, in a hostel or on an overland bus. Please help me publicize the book. I don't have a car to sell this time!!!

Thanks, gojonesgo.

Linda-that is so awesome! I do get the feeling that lots of people feel that they are too old to backpack around the world for a year. So glad you are proving them wrong! Good luck with the book.

Janola,

My trip starts July 1st too! Where are you going? Where are you starting?

We are still a full year away, but when we tell people that we are going to be travelling for a year, most respond:
"Wow, that sounds great! It makes sense to travel before you have kids."

I absolutely hate responding to that, because it assumes: (1) that we are going to have kids and (2) people who have kids can't travel. I guess both of these assumptions are valid for the majority of people, but we're not sure about the kids part, and if we have kids, we will absolutely travel with them.

I have been surprised by how many people have told us that they may come and meet us in X country. But I can guarantee you that less than a quarter will actually come either because people are too worried about taking vacation days (a HUGE problem in the legal profession - I read somewhere that attorneys take on average 5 days per year even though we generally get about 20 vacation days), or don't think they can save enough money.

Parents: "Do it why your young...but be careful..seriously..."

Sister: "Why are you going alone...I don't get it don't any of your friends want to go..."

Me: "I want to go alone."

Sister: "But your a girl by herself..that's not safe ..I would never do that."(went on about what could happen for a while ..still does even though I haven't gone YET, just worried I guess..BUT I hate it when being a girl becomes a problem in this argument..)

All my family (excluding above sister) and friends (who have been listening to travel talk since I was 13) were positive and many of them have started making plans to do there own trips including my parents ...everyone I know wants to be going somewhere now.

2drifters--

[QUOTE}My trip starts July 1st too! Where are you going? Where are you starting?[/QUOTE]

After spending 2 weeks in New England visiting family, our plan looks like this: France/Germany (rest of July), Tanzania/Malawi/Mozambique (Aug), Egypt (Sept), Jordan/Syria (Oct), Turkey (Nov), India (Dec), then southeast asia, china, japan, philipines/indonesia, new zealand.

*whew* what a list! Would be nice to meet you. If not, you enjoy your trip!

If you're going to quit your job, going on extended travel was the most painless way to do it. No one could be disappointed or angry at me at work, instead they were happy for me and envious of me (their words).

The reactions and conversations with the people I've told in person and by email have been identical to many of the other posts.

I got so tired of rattling off answers to (1) Where are you going? (2) What are you doing with your great apartment? (3) How did you save for the trip? and (4) Wait! You're not going to Africa / Eastern Europe / Central or South America??

So I put up a FAQ on my website and I just send them the link! Suddenly I don't have to answer those questions hardly at all.

Makes me happy!

Well, this doesn't exactly answer the initial question but, since I've just started building my RTW project, I prefer to wait before telling anybody.

I guess I'm afraid that if I talk too much about it (outside this forum), well, it's just gonna be... talk.

Also, I still got three years to go before I leave, so I have plenty of time before starting talking about my RTW. So it'll be at least another 6-8 months before I let anybody know.

Ben.

My RTW is in three years only, but I've told 2 friends and my parents. Everyone took the news very well and was very happy for me. Guess I'm lucky...

-You're going where????? You have a death wish
-It's safer than you think


-You always go so far away...
-Yeah.... Already seen a lot of North America, so I go to different places


-It is so expensive
-Yes it is!


Those are real, by the way

quote:

-It is so expensive
-Yes it is!

Hehehe, I love this one.

We've only had one *negative* response to our plans (Who do you think you are trying to save the world?). Plus a few raised eyebrows (people don't get that you can have eight kids and still travel). However, we tend to assume people don't want to hear us talking about it all the time so we don't say much. We especially keep quiet on the details - once we mentioned to someone the train trip from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur - when we realised they thought that was a crazy enough idea, we didn't elaborate on the fact that we'd be going overland all the way from there to Europe through Thailand/Laos/Cambodia/Vietnam/China/Mongolia/Russia......

It's interesting to see the reactions change. My parents have known about my 6 month RTW trip for a couple months, and they seemed to be pretty ok with it (other then my Dad's hang-up with India and cracking jokes about my being there about a dozen times a day).

Yesterday, I told them I could be moving to Ontario next week and staying there to work the last 3 months before my trip, I was excited and they seemed to be as well. However it all changed when I woke up this morning!

My Dad was on the attack..."why do you have to go for so long? I understand a trip for a month, but what are you going to get out of a trip for 6?" I tried to explain, but he's not getting it, and he never will. For whatever reason, the high possiblity of my leaving next week has thrown my parents into panic mode.

I have a TON to do before the end of the week and they doubt I can get it all done, even though this is how I always operate. My trip includes Turkey, Syria, Lebanon (which he doesn't even know about), Thailand, Cambodia, Inida and Nepal. I understand their hesitation, but I wish they could understand the draw, and that safety will always be on my mind...

Parents are fun.

Some of the life decisions I have made of late were heavily criticized by my parents then gradually accepted. The big one was selling the car this coming fall and just using my bike and the bus lines. They couldn't see that being a reality and have now accepted it.

Still haven't had the "so I have cut myself off from the church you raised me in and adopted a new faith/religion/philosophy" or "so I don't exactly tow the same political line as you" conversations as of yet.

When I get ready for my trip, I'll probably tell them about a week before.