INTRODUCTION TO FIRST-TIME AROUND THE WORLD
The world is flat. Or so the thinking went, until someone actually went off to circumnavigate it. You may not make such a colossal discovery during your own global journey, but what awaits you “out there” is something only you can find: your very own adventure. Beyond your part of the planet lie mountain ranges with echo-bending canyons, tangled jungles, deserts that stretch into sanguine sunsets and yellow savanna veiling lions, wildebeest and springbok. There are retina-burning white beaches tapering off into gin-clear waters that serve as a playground for dolphins, turtles and manta rays. Not to mention over six thousand languages, countless botanical wonders, architectural masterpieces and geological anomalies. All that is already out there. The decision to find it is yours. Who knows, you may just find a best friend, even the love of your life, along the way.
My own plan was to walk out the front door, head to Florida and try to hitchhike on yachts to South America – all on a budget stretched tighter than an ageing Hollywood forehead. Without getting into details, my yacht-hitching scheme only got me as far as the Virgin Islands. And the only reason I made it that far was because I flew there. (Turned out I was trying to hitch south during hurricane season, when all the boats were headed north or into safe harbours.) This start, however rocky, did launch me on a two-and-a-half-year trip that forever changed my life. And not just because it ended with a car accident in Bangkok, which left me in the unfortunate position of having a broken ankle and amoebic dysentery – a tragic combination of constantly having to go to the loo, and never being able to get there quickly enough. I ended up travelling for another seven years as a travel columnist, meeting my Swedish wife, and then living in five countries over the next fifteen years.
Before I get ahead of myself, though, I just want to assure you this guide is not going to try to persuade you to travel, nor make grandiose assertions that stomping around the planet with a coated-nylon pack will somehow fulfil whatever may be missing from your life. Travel is an urge best cultivated from within. In fact, one of the biggest favours you can do for yourself is to travel if and when you’re ready, not when someone else thinks you should. The more eager you are to open yourself up to life on the road, the more willing you are to embrace the unknown rather than sign up for a pre-packaged, air-conditioned experience, the more likely you are to reap real rewards.
Believe it or not, nearly anyone can get around the world in one piece (or in my case, two), and I’d be lying if I told you that you needed this guide to come back alive. However, the downside to blindly winging it is that you’ll make mistakes, some potentially dangerous, many costly and some just plain embarrassing. By the time you get through the first section of this guide, you should be savvy enough to chart an itinerary for your trip and avoid nearly all the snares that await you. With a glimpse of life on the road, a feel for the essentials, and by addressing a number of travel’s most testing issues ahead of time, you’ll be well on your way.
The regional profiles in the second part of the book tell you what it costs to get around, how long it’ll take to cross the various landmasses and if there are any rail, bus or air passes you may wish to buy ahead of time to make things cheaper and more convenient. You’ll notice we took some liberties in dividing up the world into eight regions: North America, for instance, normally includes Mexico, but because of popular overland routes, a shared language and its latitude, Mexico has been placed in the Central America and the Caribbean section. The regional maps are meant to provide ballpark estimates (see Journey times) of the times of overland travel on common routes. They are by no means instructing you to take such routes (it’s always better to find your own way), nor are they completely accurate, since delays do occur, particularly in less-developed regions.
Of course, you’ll want more specific information eventually, either from websites or publications listed in the Directory section at the end of this guide or from your guidebook once you arrive. But at this point, much more information than what you’ll find provided here will bog down your planning process instead of helping it along. And remember that there’s such a thing as too much planning. One of the greatest thrills of travel is trying to make your way between two points by the least travelled, most arduous route, chancing rides and roads and climates as you go.
WORLD FACT FILE
- World population over 7 billion
- Circumference of the earth 40,000km
- Height of Mount Everest 8850m/29,035ft
- Depth of the Mariana Trench, Western Pacific Ocean 10,924m/35,840ft
- Highest temperature Death Valley, USA 134ºF/56.7ºC
- Lowest temperature Vostok, Antarctica -128.6ºF/-89.2ºC
- Tourism The World Tourism Organization’s most recent figures show there were 1,133 million international tourist arrivals, which generated $1.5 trillion and accounted for six percent of the world’s GDP. More than six percent of all jobs worldwide are supported by the travel and tourism industry.
- Worldwide, according to UNHCR, an average of 42,500 people became refugees, internally displaced or asylum-seekers every day during 2014, bringing the total to 59.5 million worldwide.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT LONDON EYE AND HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, LONDON, ENGLAND; DESERT FESTIVAL, JAISALMER, INDIA; TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK, CHILE
MEETING LOCALS
It’s hard to pick up a travel magazine, brochure or guidebook without seeing an exotic cast of faces. The unspoken message seems to be that this is who you’ll meet in these countries. The people you’re far more likely to encounter, however, are other travellers. And the local people you’ll mostly come in contact with are vendors, taxi drivers, guides and hotel clerks – people serving you. To make more genuine contacts takes some effort, but is perhaps the single most important aspect of enriching travel. Volunteering or working in a place is one of the most traditional methods. You can also use the web. Get in touch with local organizations (eg if you’re a fencer, get in touch with the local fencing clubs and attend practice when you are in different cities) or find out about Couchsurfing opportunities. But even if you’re just looking to take a picture of someone, a thoughtful approach might lead to a more meaningful connection.
TIME AND SPACE
One thing that travellers often forget to mentally prepare for is the different conception of time and space on the road. With buses that don’t leave until they’re full, boats that wait at the harbour for the captain to return from his family holiday, and mechanical problems that require spare parts sent by cargo ship from Australia, the hardcore traveller’s mantra “no watches, no calendars, no worries” begins to seem like a healthy response to seeing your carefully planned itinerary fly out the window. Your personal space, on the other hand, is likely to shrink, whether you’re speaking with someone who insists on standing almost nose-to-nose during the conversation or you’re packed into a six-person minivan with seventeen other passengers.
Plan for twice as much transport time as you think you need, try to grab a seat near a window so you can control the fresh-air supply – and make sure you’ve got something to read.
25 IDEAS TO ENRICH YOUR JOURNEY
There are many lists telling you what to see before you die, but that’s not a very immersive way to travel. Thinking in terms of “doing” rather than “seeing” will enhance that most vital, often elusive, dimension to your travels: depth.
