Losing Interest...

Yes!!! I will do an overland safari from Nairobi to Capetown from October till January. So I too, will get to see the world wake up at the dunes of Sossusvlei and I can't wait for that!

When I come back from Africa, somewhere 2nd or 3rd week of January, I wil book myself another ticket for either Mexico or Brasil and start backpacking South and Central America. Probably somewhere in February or March next year. I have no idea how long that trip will be. Four months? Twenty months?! No plans. I will just see how long my money lasts and how much I am going to enjoy myself.

About friends visiting... Personally I have promissed 3 friends I would come and visit them. Which in all 3 cases I did. Because I believe a promiss is to be kept. One visit was in Spain (which was nice). One was in Suriname (which was even better!) but the third one well... He had to move permanently and did not know yet where to at the moment I promissed to visit him. Well guess where I ended up paying him a visit? In Waco, Texas of all places! I would not advice you to add it to your worldtrip itiniary.

So... that was my lesson, never to really PROMISS to visit anybody anymore unless I am 100% I want and can afford to go to the place. :)

Oh... I forgot my best visit abroad... How can I forget? I promissed someone I met in Brasil once that I would come back. And I did, 4 months later. And when I go back to South America next year, I will pay a few new visits to people in Brasil. So far about my promissed visits...

Hey man,
Not sure which job you were doing and into which business / industry you were working, but having been a busy business man for 7 years, I could potentially see your points and fear. Not working and being out of "the zone" looks weird when you do 60h/week of intense work, leading projects, people & having to report & deliver results.
Anyhow, I had a nice job and important responsibilities... but i am 30ish and now touring the world since 3 months and can only say it is amazing :-)). I didn't really planed this, had always thought it would be fun to leave Europe by the East side and return from the West side, crossing Pacific and Atlantic in 1 direction only.
In January, after some very hectic professional and personal events, i decided to quit. I was out by mid-Feb, then start to look at what it takes to do a RTW.
I wanted to plan it, and check all details... a bit like managing a work-project. Well, as i wanted to leave early April, that has been clearly impossible in 6 weeks. It took me already 3-4 weeks to arrange a world-tour-ticket with Star alliance, so i left early April with just the 1st 3 nights planned at a friends in Johannesburg and that was it.
Honestly, since then it has been awesome. Joined last mn some road trips (Cape Town to Victoria falls, outstanding), met many people to stay with a bit or travel with, and overall, could arrange the next move well.
For a personal reason, i have to be back Mid November, so i'll travel "only" 7.5 months, and had booked some plane tickets which constrained me a little bit... but while you need to accept not everything nor everyday will be perfect, when you make your way crossing the world, it makes you so happy that few issues are even part of the fun & experience actually.

So be excited! It's gonna be awesome, a part and time of your life of total control / freedom of what you can and want to do. That doesn't happen much, and this "zone" is clearly more enjoyable.
I'm trying to keep a blog for my family, friends and me (to remember well in few years!), no pb if you want to check it to see a bit and get inspired: sebroundtheworld.blogspot.com

cheers
seb

PS, my highlights so far... (still have Central & South America to do!)

1. Namibia Sosusvlei desert / red dunes at sunrise... completely amazing, I agree with Miss Kelly. I'll go back there as soon as i can

2. Victoria Falls: that is Nature at its best show

3. Ko Phangan (Gulf of Thailand) : it is touristic... and was not expecting to like it, but actually the Full Moon beach is really nice, the island atmosphere relax and partying at the same time, this is cheap, I could have stayed few more weeks without noticing it. And I dived with 7m whale sharks there, that counts in the feeling ;-)

Found it funny reading this! im in the exact same position, money is saved, job is finished and i keep telling my family and friends I'm going soon or "i don't think i'll be here for that as will be away", but have made no REAL move to book anything....

i know its nerves, i'm a confident guy but still, the idea of travelling alone, for a while....so much unknown!

Also, my brother has been away for 2 years, had amazing and life changing experiences so there is a definite expectation there created by me and family . But need to realise, like someone else mentioned, just go with it and if it doesn't work out go home, shouldn't have any stigma attached to it.

Finally, this is definitely First World problems haha, feel kind of bad feeling like this when really I am in such a good position!

Evening all...like I said I took kellymojo’s advice, literally and have just returned from a 6 day retreat with my friend well retreat is debatable upon what way you look at it but yes plenty of fine wine, beer and eating! Can’t rem all of it mind you but yes we had a blast !

Yes Seb your spot on dude in terms of “where your coming from” and it’s great to hear you actually went ahead and quit the scene for a while and currently on the road! Dutchy your trip sounds pretty exciting and the fact you will wake up to the dunes of Sossusvlei amazing! Your openmindness and views regarding the significance of being flexible is something we certainly can all learn from!

I have been reading up on some off your top 3 memorable experiences and Africa seems to be coming out in at least in terms of continents , Just seen a YouTube video of the Victoria Falls - think its called the Devils Pool , Victoria Falls ..One word for that ...NUTS!

Fallowdeer ...glad you came across the post and all the comments received so far they have certainty provided me with so much insight and thinking ...I guess one thing I would say...the day you actually go buy your ticket (For me it was one way) feels totally amazing, In fact I was so excited I went partying for 2 days afterwards and then I guess the creepers slowly began to emerge hence my original post to give me a reality check...So yes, go book your ticket(s) you will def not regret!!!

Perfect! I am happy you feel better about travelling now. Indeed just be flexible and open and let life surprise you!

Ride on !

Bye the way Seb cheked out your blog nice phone and video shots ! Are you cycling the whole way?

No offense, but this thread and OP sound so whiny/privileged. Here's me advice:

DON'T
1) Buy a round the world ticket, ever!
2) Schedule your departure date from any location, region, continent, or trip before your arrival to the place
3) Schedule your departure date before your 2nd day in a Forget about your life back home and let go. Don't get angry when things are not on schedule. They will rarely be outside of a few places in the world.
place ( organized multiday tours from a locationare exempt from this rule)
4) Plan your trip around the trips and experiences of others. Your trip is your own. You could havea wildly different experience or events outside of your control could change plans

DO
1) Always purchase one way flights when you need to
2) Travel overland by buy bus and train and also cross on ferries
3) If you meet a group of people you travel well with, stick with them for awhile even if you are going places you weren't that interested in. The company you keep is usually more important than the location
4) Be aware of why places are popular. If you consider yourself past the drinking too get drunk every night phase, then skip Ko Phi Phi and the moonlight party (unless you want to shag some 18-22 year olds). Find places that are just beautiful and more in line with your own interest.
5) Forget about your old life at home. You are correct. Your friends are afraid to visit. It had nothing to do with money or commitments. It's outright fear and a lack of comprehension of what it takes to just go.
6) Enjoy yourself.

Coming back had been difficult for me after 13 months on the road. One thing I learned was a slower pace of life. I enjoy a few experiences in my downtime and discovered a few new hobbies that I love during my travels. Part of me is already planning the next trip, but most likely not a solo trip. I also keep work and personal lives much more distinct and an unwilling to work on my time off.

Didn't mean to come off as rude. Just do it!

Edited by: shikibu on Jul 9, 2013 8:41 AM

Cool to read various point of views here... I guess there are as many trips as there are persons traveling, everyone having is own travel history and likes/fears.

For the world tour ticket... i understand ocvagabond point.... sometimes I wish i do not have it, but it also defines some steps in your trip, gives some references / meeting that you have to meet. For me, it is good, otherwise I would still be partying somewhere in Thailand... ;) And you can change dates for a small fees, so still a bit flexible (cannot change the airports though)

I would say a RTW is per default frustrating: you just CANNOT DISCOVER the full world in any given time. You can have glimpses of it, and that is already a huge privilege! Spending a good amount of time in each country, to really discover the various interesting points and the locals, would take at least 2 weeks for small countries... up to 3-6 months for the big ones... Few dozen countries and you need several years already. Not sure if you heard about this French guy who did a RTW hitchhiking... quite crazy, it took him 5 years, visiting 50 countries... When I started thinking about my trip, I thought "oh shit, i need many years if i really want to see the full world"... then i start making selections!

So yes, RTW tickets can be a bit frustrating, but so as many other things... the 1 KEY thing i love on my RTW is to keep discovering new cultures and new places without "returning home". Moving from Africa to Middle East, to Asia, to Australia, to NZ, to Central America now... having different languages around, different colors, people's types, habits... this is just great, awesome, unforgettable.

So guys, just go as you think it's best for you, keep some flexibility but if you need some security, then take it too! RTW tickets, some organized trips during some weeks to help you, friends living in other countries/cities that would host you for few days to chill & relax... everything can work!

Cheers & ride on, indeed!

PS: I am not biking my RTW... did few bike days to discover cities, i love to do this, great to really see an area, people, and take photo shots