FLORIDA - USA

CONTINENTAL DRIFTER
Miami departure by Elliott Hester

For the first time in my adult life I am keyless. I no longer own apartment keys, car keys or work-related keys. The keys to my bicycle lock, storage facility and mailbox have either been returned or tossed away. Keys are no longer necessary because, as of a few weeks ago, I own almost nothing and live essentially nowhere. That's when I quit my job, sold all my possessions, abandoned my apartment and took off, alone, on a one-year trip around the world.

Well I didn't actually quit my job as a commercial airline flight attendant. I secured a leave of absence. This gives me two options: return to work at the beginning of 2004, or accept another one-year leave. With any luck, I'll be in a position to accept.

The idea for this around-the-world trip took flight in 1989 when I set out on a three-month global excursion. Armed with $4,000 in travelers checks, I nickel-and-dimed my way through the South Pacific, Australia, Bali, Thailand and Nepal. By the time I reached Europe my funds had been depleted and I returned home, abruptly, having failed to reach many destinations on my itinerary.

Nevertheless, the experience was an epiphany. Rather than spend hard-earned money on new cars and electronic toys, as many of my contemporaries were doing, I began using my disposable income to travel. Two weeks in the Greek Islands. Twenty days in Spain. Quick jaunts to Central and South America. But rather than satisfy my appetite for traveling, these trips simply made me hungry for more. I developed a taste for authentic Thai food, learned to scuba dive at Australiaís Great Barrier Reef, became mesmerized by the Balinese sunset which, for those who've never seen it, is like watching a huge ball of orange sherbet melt into the sea. With each new outing the world became more intriguing and I became more comfortable in it. But like a fisherman snagging the proverbial flounder, reality kept reeling me back to shore. There were bills to pay, after all. To satisfy my travel habit I had to work.

Thanks to good fortune, however, I've finally made the ultimate getaway. Sales of my first book, "Plane Insanity: A Flight Attendant's Tales of Sex, Rage and Queasiness at 30,000 Feet" (St. Martin's Press), were healthy enough to help stave off creditors and breathe life into my defunct savings account. Believe it or not, Whoopi Goldberg read the book and thought it was funny. Her people spoke to my person and voila! Through her production company, Whoop Inc., Ms. Goldberg purchased the film option for the book. No, I didn't get rich. But if the movie goes into production cha ching! The payday will be sweet. I"m taking fifty of my closest friends to dinner at McDonald's.

Plane Insanity's success led to a second book deal and a modest advance of royalties. This new book – which, incidentally, focuses on my around-the-world trip – is scheduled for publication in Sept., 2004. With the moderate windfall, I paid off my debts and cleared the runway for departure.

I plan to spend all of 2003 as a "Continental Drifter". I'll travel west, from continent to continent, beginning from my former home in Miami and continuing to South America, Australia, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe. The timing of this route allows for a perpetual summer. My travel wardrobe will consist primarily of T-shirts, shorts, loose-fitting cotton pants and sunglasses. I'll live out of a duffle bag, eat in low-cost restaurants, sleep in hostels, discount hotels and occasionally in the home of a benevolent friend.

After a year of continental drifting, perhaps I'll rent an apartment in the posh Buenos Aires neighborhood of Recoleta. (With the devaluation of the Argentinean peso, a stylish one-bedroom apartment costs as little as $300 U.S. per month.) Maybe I'll move to Barcelona and join my sister who has lived there for the past ten years. Or maybe I'll "go" Hollywood. By some quirk of fate, the "Plane Insanity" film option names me as co-producer. If the project gets green-lighted I could be living la vida loca in la la land. But first things first.

I called American Airlines to get ticket prices. The "OneWorld" alliance with British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific and other carriers allows passengers to book itineraries at American's "around-the-world" desk. When attempting to make reservations, however, the problem with airline alliances is that you're only allowed to fly on partner carriers. This limits your itinerary and in some situations forces you to fly hundreds of miles out of the way. The result can mean higher ticket prices and a more arduous travel schedule.

Rather than face similar restrictions with United, Delta or USAirways alliances, I contacted travel agencies that specialize in around-the-world trips. Two leading agencies, both based in San Francisco, purchase deeply discounted one-way fares from a variety of carriers and pass on the savings to customers. Air Brokers International provides excellent services. But in the end I went with AirTreks.com, mainly because their website's "Trip Planner" allowed me to add, subtract and shuffle destinations until my itinerary reached near perfection. Then I clicked a button and within seconds received an estimated price. It took a few quick phone calls to workout kinks in the itinerary and obtain a final price.

My flight itinerary looks like this: Miami - Buenos Aires - Miami - Los Angeles - Papeete, Tahiti - Sydney - (overland to Darwin, Australia) - Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei - Bangkok - (overland to Singapore) - Bali - New Delhi, India - (overland to Bombay) - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Cairo - Athens - Prague - Helsinki - Barcelona. Total AirTreks price: around $3,500 (not including the Miami - Buenos Aires - Miami segment which I secured with an airline employee pass). After Barcelona I might end up anywhere, so I haven't purchased a return ticket home. But along the way I'm planning trips to Vietnam, Russia, Estonia, Hong Kong, and will probably pop in at a few unexpected places.

First stop: Buenos Aires, Argentina.

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE RETURN TO HOME PAGE