The most famous round the world trip, Phileas Fogg’s in Jules Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days” took place at ground level because he had no choice. Now there is a choice, and in fact going around entirely at ground level is a lot more difficult than in Jules Verne’s day. Michael Palin managed it, following the same route and with a film crew along, in the 1980s, but it wasn’t easy then and is harder now, as passenger transport by sea dries up.
It’s easier, of course, if you take longer – investment guru Jim Rogers spent 20 months doing it on a bike, and then three years going round again in a customized, canary yellow Mercedes. Since I started hanging out on Twitter, I’ve come across several people planning, or already embarked on, lengthy trips. People like Uncornered Market already on the road for over three years, or “D” of DTravelsRound who’s just one month in. I suspect that for them it’s all about the journey – making it round the world is secondary.
At the other extreme are “Private Jet Expeditions”. For some reason I keep getting brochures for them, even though I’d need a terminal diagnosis before I’d contemplate actually going on one. The latest brochure is from National Geographic: 24 days by “specially outfitted Boeing 757” carrying 78 passengers. If you and a companion have a spare $64,950 each (single supplement: $8,350) you’ll get to visit Lima (for Cusco and Machu Picchu), Easter Island, Samoa, the Great Barrier Reef or Daintree Rain Forest, Angkor, Chengdu, Lhasa or Xi’an, the Taj Mahal, Serengeti or Ngorongoro, Luxor or Petra and Marrakech.
Of course, the most time you’ll get to spend anywhere is two nights: in Lima, Samoa and Chengdu you only get one night. So even at places like Angkor, where you can feel short-changed if you have three days, you get just one full day. I was considering the cultural confusion that would set in, until I realized that you’re not visiting countries on this trip, you’re just checking off “sights”. But you do go round the world – appropriately enough, from Orlando.
I’ve been thinking about this because I’m planning my next trip, using a One World award which will take me round the world for the third time. The first time I didn’t even think of it as a RTW trip – I went overland from Beijing to Islamabad and from Paro in Bhutan to Chennai, but I flew a lot, too. The second time I went overland from Scotland to Saigon by rail, and did think of it as a RTW. This time I’ll be doing almost the whole trip by plane – some overland here and there, especially in India, but lots and lots of flights.
I will start at Raleigh-Durham airport, heading west, and I will arrive back there from the east, having gone all the way round. And I will spend six to eight months traveling. But somehow, it doesn’t feel like a round the world trip. So what do you think? Leave me a comment and let me know what a round the world trip means to you. Does the National Geographic trip count? Does mine?
My Time to Travel 
Hey Kathy, If you leave point A and proceed East or West and make stops along the way until you arrive back at point A that would round the world to me… LOL
I know flying has not been your venue in the past, but I would consider what you are planning a round the world trip. You are making successive stops along the way and spending time at various spots while en-route, so in my mind it qualifies.. You have had several health issues with past modes of transportation, that you should not have using this method of travel, so I see that as a plus.. It reminds me of something that my mother used to say as she got older.. I can still do the same things I used to do, I just have to use different methods to do them.. and I would say like what, and she would say, well I used to walk to the mail box, now I scoot on my butt!, but I ‘m still going to the mail box everyday.. Love It!!!!!! I wish you the best!
Love,
Erma
Maybe what would be an even more interesting question is
What would feel like a round the world trip to you??
Erma – while I know intellectually that if you fly it’s still a round-the-world trip, it just doesn’t feel as satisfying as going overland. I think it’s partly because it’s easier, and partly because you see so much less from a plane.
“..you see so much less from a plane.”
Which is why I love helicopters! hee!
Hi, Kathy!
I think it’s ‘C’ all of the above including seeing the world vicariously through the eyes of an inspiring, courageous female Marco Polo.
As for the view of the world from waaaaaay up…I think it has it’s own kind of beauty…during a cloudless day of course.
🙂
How did you go from Scotland to Saigon by train?
See wilhelmswords.com/rtw2004 for itinerary and details. Basically, seven months and a lot of trains – I took the scenic route round Europe, then the Trans Mongolian to Beijing, a couple of months crossing China by train and finally the Reunification Express south through Vietnam.
Those overland train journeys sound truly awesome. Those are my dream trips. The trans-siberian and such loom large in my dream-plans.
Good ole RDU. My homebase for many years too.
Do you still use RDU? Have you given up planes altogether? (Very tempting….) You know they’ve redone the AA terminal at RDU, and are finishing a rebuild on the other? You don’t have to go back through the terminal after immigration any more, and there are some actually good places to eat!
Highly recommend the Trans-Siberian and siblings. I’d love to do Vladivostock to Moscow in the winter – I saw Siberia in gold and green for autumn, I’d like to see it in winter white.
Nope, I haven”t flown in ten years. I haven’t lived in NC for near 3. I will get on a flight in Sept for the first time in a LONG time. Not really looking forward but I need to do it. Tired of being afraid of them.
I didn’t realize they had rebuild so much. Is the traffic circle still horrible? Def need public transport choices there.
Sorry for the reallz late reply, didn’t hit Email Follow last time.