We bought our plane tickets in December of last year. The first destination of our nine-month tour is Istanbul. Why nine months? Well, 12 months seemed too long and six months seemed too short.
The reactions to our decision to travel have been interesting. Some say, “It must be nice to be independently wealthy.” But we’re not wealthy. We are, however, avid planners and we’ve been frugal, making sacrifices so that we could save money for our big dream. It is simply a matter of deciding what is important and what is not.
Most people have no idea how affordable this kind of travel is, if you’re not picky. For example, our accommodation in Istanbul is a local woman’s spare bedroom. One of us gets the single bed, one of us gets the couch, and this sets us back $25 a night.
Still other people, when they hear of our plans, have completely surprised us with round-the-world stories of their own! People who drove across South America in the 70’s, people who hung out on the beaches of Bali for a year, people who lived on a houseboat in Thailand…it’s been amazing to hear so many incredible stories, often from the people you least expect.
So far, the response to our trip has been overwhelmingly positive.It’s surprising how many people secretly want to do the same thing – I hope hearing about our trip gives them the courage to take the plunge.
As I have said in a previous post, Regina and Robert have prepared me in many ways to take on this world tour, and in fact they were among the first to share their enthusiastic congratulations. After all, they are quite the international travelers themselves, and their amazing stories have definitely played a part in the inspiration for the trip.
Dave and I will be telling a few stories of our own on our blog. Until we meet again ...
post 3 of 3 by Emily Carlson
