Special Editions of Dr. Travelbest Podcast: Part 1 and 2
Responses to Your Questions….. About the Around the Globe adventure that I recently took.
1. Tell me about your 90-day adventure. How long had you waited to go on this adventure?
I took a 90-day trip to every time zone in the world, starting in San Diego to the Philippines, Asia, and finishing in Iceland. It was from May 7 to August 7 when I arrived in Seattle. I was on 18 airlines, flew out of 25 airports, and had 70 roommates at 16 hostels and 17 hotel/AirBNB’s.
I had been planning it for about 15 months. It started out by thinking about round-trip airline tickets and why not just keep going all the way around the world.
2. What were some challenges you faced during the courageous adventure?
I have a terrible sense of direction. I get lost a lot. There was a lot of mental challenge ahead. I also broke my wrist last May, which was a physical bump. or maybe it made me more human and realize that my bones are more brittle.
I did not have any role models for this trip. I have never met someone who did this before.
During the trip, one day in Italy, I fell. I was standing and then went to take a step, but the step was higher than I thought, so I tripped myself in my long dress. No one was there to see me fall. I injured my back, my wrists and bruised my shin. However, I was ok, with a few cuts and eventually healed. It was July 4th. I was not sure I was going to continue the trip. But I did and I’m glad for that.
3. Why did you go Solo?
I've been solo before; as early as age 15, I went solo to NY. I stayed there for three weeks with friends, pre-cell phone days. What an experience that was.
Now seemed the best time for me, as I'm an empty nester, and my husband did not want to travel out of the USA. If I hadn't gone now, I might have missed the window of access, health, and courage that it took.
Solo because I didn’t know anyone with the same availability and mission.
4. What did you hope to achieve on this mission?
1. My primary mission was to bridge cultural understanding through peaceful interchange with locals around the world.
I joined a non-profit organization called SERVAS, which stands for "SERVICE," and several families hosted me in 5 of the countries, where I stayed for up to two nights for no cost.
It was a way to live like they do and see their lives firsthand. This organization is all volunteer-run, started after WW2 and the mission was relevant to my outreach. I also tried to inspire other female travelers to go places, even if it was uncomfortable at first.
2. I've written several books on solo travel, so I'm gathering content for the next books in the series.
3. As a professor, I'm naturally curious, so I wanted to see what marketing looked like in these regions of the world outside of my current experience.
5. What is the treasure that you returned with?
The treasure is outside of counting countries or sites visited. The treasure is in the stories that came from the people I met.
One of the comments I heard often was I needed to learn how to pack light, so I tried to teach others how to do this. I carried a “personal item” weighing less than 15 lb./7kg, and it was a small backpack that could go under the airplane seat in front of me. I was on a budget, and this saved hundreds of dollars in baggage fees.
6. How did you navigate language barriers and cultural differences? Tell us a couple of stories.
In my first country, the Philippines, my daughter, age 28, met me at the airport from Taiwan. She and I traveled for the first week together. That was great as a starting point. She returned to Taipei, and I went to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It wasn't until ten weeks later that I landed in an English-first country and could easily converse. I used a lot of gestures and facial expressions and tried to learn a few words in each country.
In Agra, India, I met a SERVAS host family who was having a wedding. Their daughter was betrothed in an arranged marriage, and I was invited to attend. I was, unfortunately, unable to go to the wedding, but the morning I left, we got stuck in traffic (which included cows, rickshaws, and semi-trucks), and I saw but missed the bus to Dehli. However, we had a high-speed chase and caught up with the bus at the next stop about 10 miles away. It was dramatic and quite an adventure that was unexpected.
In Tel Aviv, Israel, I was hosted through SERVAS by a mom and her two kids. We went to a peaceful protest rally with plenty of kids and dogs in the community square, where I did not understand any of the speakers, but by being there, I knew that they cared about their community and rights.
Listen to the next episode next week for Part 2 of this Special Edition. Ask a question of your own.
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