Paul McNeil

Home: San Diego, California

Age: 37

Job: "City planner/politico and (most recently) carpenter"

Longest trip: "16 months on the road, but in my heart I am still not back. As a result of traveling, I have developed a vision problem: I just can't see going back to the office 60 hours a week."

Places visited: Australia, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East

Favorite country and/or place to visit: "Without a doubt, it's Burma. It's an amazing place for the people, the terrain, the monumental temples and the amazing beaches. Bagan, the field of temples created at the turn of the first millennium, is a peaceful and tranquil place that inspires your mind and dazzles your eyes."

Inspiration for traveling: "I worked 60 hours a week! I had to develop some dreams to take me away, so I put a world map on my office wall and things began to take shape."

Biggest challenge on the road: "Getting from Angkor Wat in Cambodia to the Thai border. It was a living hell. It took nine hours to go 170 kilometers with 17 people in the back of a small Isuzu. Dirt road, rain, land mines, overturned trucks: hell on wheels."

Biggest sacrifice of the vagabonding lifestyle: "I lost a girlfriend when I told her, 'Hold that thought, I'll be back in about a year.' Really though, you miss being around people who you know and can relate to your sense of humor."

Biggest reward of the vagabonding lifestyle: "It's personal. The things you gain you cannot explain with words. I could try to explain — but for the real deal, you just have to pack a backpack and go."

Advice for travelers: "Just go. You could wake up dead tomorrow, and then where will you be? Taking a big long dirt nap. When you go, be smart — do your research, allow for mistakes, stay out of trouble, and drink regularly. And if something sounds too good to be true, if probably is."