11 years on the road, and still traveling

Last night I met an American who has been on the road for 11 years. Currently he’s working at a restaurant in Melbourne, Australia, as a way to make money for his next trip — to India. He’s made trips back to the States, but just as another travel stop. I asked our waiter if he’d read Rolf Potts’ “Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel,” fully expecting him to say yes.

No, he hadn’t even heard of it. I was surprised, but figured it made sense because this guy was doing it, living the dream. He wasn’t working in a job at home talking about a round-the-world trip he’d take some day, he was living in a hostel and actively planning his next continent jump.

How long is too long to be on the road? What’s your limit?

This weekend, Tim Leffel, author of “The World’s Cheapest Destinations,” listed the favorite books of round-the-world travelers (measured with a bit of admitted bias, by sales through links on his posts) on his website.

After Tim’s own book, Rolf Potts’ “Vagabonding,” Doug Lansky’s “First Time Around the World” and Susan Griffith’s “Work Your Way Around the World” were the top sellers.

Do you know any global nomads, or are you one yourself? What inspires you to keep going?

Related Links:

Rolf Potts: Isn’t traveling the world expensive?
It’s never too early to sail the world
Planning an itinerary for flying around the world

— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel Deal Blogger

[Photo: Crimson Publishing]

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 1:23 pm by Jen Leo and is filed under Book Reviews, Global, News, Tips & Advice, Outdoors & Adventure, Pacific & Australia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.