Or questions that I would ask myself if I were someone else ...
What made you start off on this trip?
I ended up quitting my job at
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in July, 2002.
This trip was not yet conceived. At first, I thought I would take some time
off and then look for another job, saving as much money as I could.
Then, less than a week later, I was talking to a friend in Austin about a trip
she made to Italy, Nepal, and Thailand, and she gave me the
web site where she
got her air tickets from. I submitted a route, talked to a one of their
representatives, and pretty soon I was planning my trip!
How long are you traveling for?
Well, I don't know. I'm thinking I will travel for 3.5 years, then find work
somewhere, then maybe travel more. But this could and does change any day. See
my itinerary for more info. I keep claiming I won't
be coming back to the US until we get a new
president ... Now that the
citizens of the United States of Hysteria have decided to keep Bush in the White House,
it may be 2009 before I can come back. Unless Cheney (shudder ... SCARY thought) takes
over from the current madman - then maybe I'll just move to Canada.
When are you going home?
This question, a top question from other travelers and backpackers I meet while on the road,
is often already answered to some before they ask it. After asking how long I've been traveling
and hearing the answer, this one is next, though a lot of people expect that someone traveling
for so long is usually pretty loose about their plans, and doesn't really have an answer to
this question.
What's the longest you've stayed in one place
Two weeks. Yes, I've been moving around a lot. Haven't stopped to work or anything, either.
I spent two weeks in Easter Island in
Chile, and then two weeks again in
Port Moresby, in Papua New Guinea. I've spent more than 10 days in a few
spots in Laos such as Luang Prabang and Vientiane, mostly to enjoy the relative comforts and the
cheap(er) internet access. Other than those spots,
the most I have really stayed anywhere continuously is 5 or 6 days.
Why are you traveling?
Well, I always wanted to see the world. Here's some more
reasons.
Where are you going, and where have you been?
See my itinerary for this. See my daily itinerary for more detailed info, and to see the cities/towns I've visited. For a page with useful links and information on the countries I'm visiting, click here.
What other countries have you visited before this trip?
I've been to Canada and Mexico a couple of times, though haven't traveled extensively in either country.
I visited Germany once in 1996 for an exchange program, for 3 weeks.
I took a three week Contiki tour of Europe in May/June 2000, where I visited England, France, Monaco, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Also in 2000, I spent 6 weeks in Nagoya, Japan.
What's your favorite country?
I can't pick a favorite. There are definitely some countries that are favorites for certain things. For example, for food, Brazil, Argentina are the winners. New Zealand and Australia of course have good food, it's just too expensive to eat out all the time. The mountains and landscapes of Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand are fantastic. Australia was an all-around great trip. There's no place quite like Papua New Guinea, be that bad or good ... Indonesia was great and felt a bit like home after 3 months. And so on ...
What were you doing before you started traveling
I was working as a computer engineer at AMD. You can view
my resume for more detailed info.
What did your parents and friends think about you deciding to travel?
Alot (maybe most) of my friends were envious about my trip (and still are). Many said they wished they could
do the same, but they either didn't have the guts, or had previous commitments or debts. A few friends less fortunate
with their jobs thought I was a little crazy to give up a "good" job. One or two definitely were quite struck at
first and couldn't believe it. Two years later, many "can't believe" that I'm still doing this. Most thinks
it's awesome, and love looking at my pictures online.
After two years, I finally asked my parents what they thought about my trip, and my decision to
travel. They'd never said much on it before, and enough people asked me this question, that I felt
prompted to find out. I was curious too.
My mom said that at first she didn't like the idea because she knew she wouldn't see me as much
anymore. Though she has said she got to see me more than she expected during the first part of my trip,
with the visits to Bolivia and New Zealand. She also said that she was at first a bit worried about
my safety, because of the "world situation". I told her that was ignorant American-speak. They're both
a bit envious, and point out that I'm lucky to do this now, as most people [Americans] wait until they're
retired to do much travel.
What's it like traveling alone?
Great! Well, most of the time. It does get lonely every once in a while. I wouldn't
personally travel any other way (or maybe I just haven't found the perfect travel
companion). For me, I
just naturally feel a bit more free and independent when I'm by myself.
When traveling with someone else that you don't click with, your differences can
start to frustrate both/all of you, and you can end up paying more for
something than you wish, end up going somewhere where you don't want
to go, or missing something that you wanted to see.
Solitude has it's own
special peacefulness attached with it, as well. One thing not
to forget, is that as a solo travel, I always have the option to travel
with someone else, and often I do: for an afternoon, or even a couple
of days.
I have spent almost 5 months traveling with a friend from Sweden. See below ...
Do you ever travel with anyone else?
Yes, sometimes I meet someone along the way and we decide to travel together for a short while.
I've traveled with other people anywhere from 1 day to almost 2 weeks. My parents also visited me
twice, once in Bolivia and once in New Zealand.
Starting May 2004, I traveled with my friend Fredrik from Sweden in Thailand, Cambodia,
Vietname, China, and Laos, for 5 months. We'll somehow managed not to kill each other. In fact,
we made a pretty good pair.
You can find a list of my travel companions here.
Do you meet a lot of people while traveling?
Sure. If I'm traveling on the tourist trail, I'm always meeting other backpackers, either on tours, or at hostels and guesthouses. I meet locals too, though I don't make a specific point to go meet locals just for the heck of it. I meet all kinds of interesting people while traveling.
Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend?
Nope. Never married nor engaged either. For the record, I'm straight, as well.
What's the coolest thing you've done on your trip?
Once again, I can't pick a favorite. Here's a list of some cool things I have done while traveling.
Where did you get the money for this trip?
I saved more than I spent while working, so I had a bit of cash on hand when I quit
my job (Engineering pays pretty well too ...). I also didn't have a mortgage, a car loan, nor any student loans to pay off.
How much does it cost to travel like you are doing?
Well, I try to travel relatively cheaply. I budget like an average backpacker, if that means anything. I don't try to live dirt cheap, staying at the absolute cheapest places, always cooking to save money, nor skip more expensive activities. If I see something I like or want to do, I'll usually spend the money on it. Big expenses that pop up include airline tickets, scuba diving, all of Australia. I keep it simple, and avoid hotels and expensive food. I don't buy souvenirs. I've paid between US $1 - $20 for a room, averaging higher or lower depending on the country. I use public transport to get around. In south america, I spent around US $25/day in most countries. In Asia, I'm shooting for average US $15/day or so. Australia was the most expensive: US $60/day. Some days I've spent only $3, including food and accomodation. Other days, when I've gone electronics shopping, I've managed to spend over $1000 in a day. But of course that's a rare day (it has to be!).
Have you worked anywhere during your trip?
No. I don't plan on stopping for work until after about 3 years or so. I saved enough money while working at my
engineering job that I don't need to work for a while. I think I might like to work in Taiwan, China, Korea or Japan later, either
teaching English, or doing some sort of technical work.
What kind of visas and travel documents do you need?
My passport in the main essential item, of course. In many countries, I don't need a visa. Some countries that I've had to get visas for: Brazil, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Laos. Proof of Yellow Fever vaccination is also required in some places - there's a special WHO card for this. For some visas and entry permits, I've had to show proof of onward travel: airline tickets, for example. A few places want to see traveler's checks or something like a bank statement as proof of funds.
How do you keep contact with friends and family, and get news?
Internet. Email. Phone calls are too expensive. Sometimes I'll peek at a local newspaper.
How do you plan your trip?
Little by little. I don't plan anything in a country until I get there, typically, though I may have heard of a few places I want to go. I use a Lonely Planet guidebook for most of my planning. I use the internet to get a lot of information and to do planning as well. See my links page, or my country information link page.
How do you get around while traveling?
Walking, bus, car, boat, airplane, train, tour, taxi, campervan, outrigger-canoe, bicycle, motorbike,
horse cart, you name it ... For long distances, I usually try to go by bus. In South America, I traveled almost everywhere by bus. In New Zealand, I rented a campervan for 5 weeks. In Australia, it was mostly tours and public bus, though I also flew several times. In Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, I've taken some boats, and done a bit more flying, but still plenty of local buses, and a few trains in Java.
How do you find & book places to stay when you travel?
To find places, I often use a Lonely Planet guidebook. Many places, locals will either assault you trying to get you to come to their place to stay. Sometimes I ask locals or other backpackers. I almost never book accomodation. I just show up at a place and ask for a room. Occasionally, places are full. But just about always, there's another place close by that won't be.
Is it easy to communicated with people in non-english speaking countries?
Relatively. I learn languages very quickly. So, I usually jump straight in with a phrasebook and dictionary and start learning, rather than relying on finding English-speaking people. It's relatively quick for me to get to the point to understand enough for getting by while traveling. To talk about more complicated things is much harder, and takes a lot longer.
In heavily touristed areas of south-east asia, many locals speak at least basic English. In China, no one spoke English.
We used a Lonely Planet Mandarin phrasebook for a while until we lost that. I learned Chinese characters for food items
and train/bus station signs, and took to reading/writing these, as my Chinese pronunciation was awful, and a picture
often really did seem "worth a thousand words".
Did you have to get a lot of vaccinations?
Yes. My first trip to the doctor I got six shots. I had to go back for more. While in Australia, I got even more. I've had vaccinations for Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Polio, Tetanus, Hepatitis A & B, Japanese Encephalitis, Menningoccal Meningitis, and Rabies. I'm also carrying and have used preventative anti-malarial tablets.
Have you had anything stolen, or been mugged?
Never been mugged. I don't think I've ever had anything stolen out of my bag, nor have I been pickpocketed that I know of. I did have a watch stolen off my arm while I was wearing it, in Brazil. Usually, I just forget things where I stay. I've lost clothing, towels, soap, and other misc. things by forgetting them.
What do you carry with you while you travel?
See my list of gear.
Is that all you're carrying?
I've gotten very good at carrying only what I want, need, and use, in my backpack. This question gets
asked when people hear I'm away for two years, then see the size of my "relatively" small backpack. It did used
to be much bigger, but I've ditched the sleeping bag and warm clothes for SE Asia, and my hiking boots wore out.
My list of stuff (above) may be long, most most stuff is small.
I like to gloat and tell some people, "Yeah, that's it. Oh yeah, I've got a laptop in there too ... :-)"
What's it like traveling with a laptop? Why are you traveling with a laptop?
It's great. I don't think I could live without it now, though I have had to for short times, but it's
annoying and inconvenient not to have it. I decided after 4 months of travel that I wanted to have a
laptop, so I bought a very portable
Sharp Actius PC-UM30W laptop computer on the internet, and my parents brought it to me in
La Paz, Bolivia.
After a year and a half of abuse, the space-bar was barely working, the battery was dead, the system fan didn't
turn on, the whole thing was SLOW, the USB ports stopped working, and a few lines of the LCD stopped working, so
I got online, and bought myself a new ultraportable
Asus M5N laptop computer, complete with a DVD/CD-RW this time. My parents delivered this one
to me on their visit to Thailand.
It's fairly light - though it's true my backpack would definitely be lighter without it - so it's not
too much of a burden. I don't show it off much, and it's insured anyway, so I don't worry too much
about it getting stolen. If someone doesn't know you have something, they won't try to steal it ...
I use my laptop for several things: saving my digital pictures, writing and reading email, updating my
web page, reading news, internet articles, etc., chatting on
Instant Messengers, updating/planning my
itinerary and budget,
online shopping, and listening to music (MP3s). It saves me money to read and type my emails on my
laptop, because I don't have to sit in an internet cafe and do it. My laptop is also highly
configured for my own use, so it's faster and easier to use for me than a computer in an internet
cafe.
How do you connect your laptop to the internet while traveling
Easy. Usually. I go to an internet cafe, and read the IP settings from the computer I sit down
at (this usually easy, unless there's some stupid pain-in-the-ass security software installed that
won't let me do it easily). I change the TCP/IP settings on my laptop, unplug the RJ-45 ethernet cable
from the back of the computer, and plug it in to my laptop. Done! Ready to surf ... (unless
the cafe uses dreaded and annoying Proxy servers. Yuck!)
If I'm lucky, and in a relatively technologically advanced area (Singapore), I can sometimes use the
built-in wireless internet on my laptop. This is a rare, but pleasing experience.
Have you gotten sick while traveling?
Yup. I got traveler's diarhea after only a week in Peru, at the start. I've had Giardia four times (Peru, Boliva, PNG, China). It's not pleasant. I am not as careful with what I eat and drink as I could be. I was sick for 5 days with a fever in New Zealand. I've also had some fevers in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam.
Is this trip safe?
Well, I think it's plenty safe, or I wouldn't be doing it. I've had my share of near accidents, been around crime-ridden areas, etc. and made it out OK. Travelling is probably much safer than driving to work in rush hour every day. I think I'm fairly good and taking care of myself and avoiding trouble, and not making myself a target.
Am I ever going to get to see you again?
Sure, if you get off your butt and plan a trip to come meet up with me! See my itinerary to find out where you can meet me. (I'm sure I'll return to the U.S. at some point as well ...)
What are you going to do after this trip?
I don't know yet. I don't even know when this trip will "end". My current thought is to look for work in Japan or Korea teaching English or doing some kind of techinal work, when my money runs out. I could get a job as an engineer again, go back to school for an M.S., Ph.D., or M.D. I could do lots of things.
How did you make your web page?
Little by little. I use a combination of HTML, Javascript, CSS, PHP, and Perl/CGI scripts to make my page. Some
things (such as the picture index pages, the country pages) are automatically generated from
simple text files. I upload my pictures from my digital camera(s) every so often at internet
cafes that have high-speed connections. I now do most of my web page work on my laptop,
and upload it at an internet cafe later.
To see detailed information about how I designed my web page, what software I used, where the pictures
came from, etc.,
see my credits page.
Back to Matt's homepage.