Back to the "real" world

To catch everyone up to speed...

I am now working for a new company in Atlanta and Beth is currently doing freelance graphic design work at a firm in North Atlanta. We are both getting back into the groove of our normal, busy lives. We think about our trip daily and often wonder what else is out there. What else is there to see? What did we forget to bake into our round the world trip? Many say, "man, I bet all that travel only made you more liable to be get "bug" bitten again." Well, as much as we love getting lost around the globe, we are ready to move forward with our careers and goals. Don't worry though, we have talked about the next destination for vacation, and it is going to be REAL good, but its going to be a while before that happens.





Some notes I wrote on the last flight of the trip...

Beth and I tried new foods, drinks, and experiences, pushing the limits of our comfort zones. We used public transportation everywhere possible, attempted to communicated in the native tongue, and always had a pocket full of coins and bills from different countries. We took 38 flights, 7 ferries, 10 buses, and 7 vans to fully circumnavigate the globe. In India alone we used at least 14 different methods of streets transportation (mototaxi, elephant, horse rickshaw, etc). 25,000+ miles around the earth and here I sit.

I am here in the Austin airport about to board the last and ONLY delayed flight of my entire trip. I feel as if nothing ever happened. No trip, no experience, nothing. I really have to focus to remember just how I felt in the abscence of warm showers, potable water, air conditioning/heating, and how life seemed so hard and frustrating on one hand, but completely pure and comfortable on the other. I try to tell myself that I am a completely changed person, but after a shave and a few days of R&R in Austin, I am suddenly back to my old routines. I guess what I am trying to get at is that it is hard to step outside of our fantastic US of A and see what the world has to offer, even after you have seen it. Thoughts of the children in Laos, the street hustlers in India, the surreal landscapes of New Zealand, and all the fellow travelers along the way, made the whole experience worth it.

My only advice to anyone considering a trip that you have been dreaming about: stop dreaming and do it. That is was a buddy of mine told me. "Tietz, do it"

Thanks for reading, Beth and I have appreciated your comments and questions.


...Soon I will be posting a round the world checklist for y'all out there who don't know what to pack.