In November, Susan Jo Humphrey took off for that ‘trip’ of a lifetime’ and headed to Australia and New Zealand. By the time she was finished planning, she had added a cruise and seven other countries to the trip, including Singapore, Bali, and Vietnam, and didn’t return home for three months.

Susan Jo had just published her first book, and realized that in spite of all her other travels (she was born and raise abroad and worked for the airlines for 25 years), she hadn’t taken that ‘one’ fantastic voyage she had promised herself forever: to the ‘land down under’. It was time.

What were the highlights of your trip?

1. My fellow sojourners. People who love to travel are interesting, interested in you, happy joy-seekers, and are largely easygoing. You’ll meet someone from Switzerland and by the time you say goodbye, they will have offered to put you up in their St. Moritz alpine home anytime – and they mean it.

2. The locals –who are mostly welcoming and pleased you’ve come. They’re eager to teach you about their culture, food, hobbies, and thoughts – tourism is important to their economies. They’re thrilled you chose their corner of the world. Locals will also offer you a room or a bed if you’d like to return; it always melts my heart.

3. New Zealand. More specifically: New Zealand, Thailand, and Vietnam were the highlight for me on this nine-country trek. New Zealand was breathtakingly more gorgeous than I dared hope for; that’s all I’ve heard my whole life, and it’s true. As the most recently human-inhabited place on earth, it’s pristine and pollution-free; you can fill your water bottles in the lakes. As the world’s capital for outdoor adventuring, it’s magnificent to explore. It’s as green and gorgeous as Ireland, but as lush and exotic as Hawaii. And, they speak English!

4. Thailand was a nostalgic stop because I lived there as a child for three years. I wasn’t sure what I’d feel, five plus decades later, but in no time, I was skipping down the very busy, overcrowded streets of Bangkok, speaking the one or two phrases I remembered, and having a blast. I found the old house we lived in – it had just been built when we arrived in 1967, and now it’s aged, rundown, and in great need of repair. I was overwhelmed with memories. I also found the old river stop my brothers and I would board each day to take ten-minute trips to and from school. The rides were on long, skinny motorboats, and cost us one baht, which was about five cents. One baht today is worth about twenty cents. Of course, the local spots looked familiar, but Bangkok is also now home to many McDonald’s, Starbucks, Subways, Dior, Channel and Burberry shops; that’s a huge change.

5. Vietnam, like New Zealand, has had an allure to me for decades, but more of a haunting one. When I lived in Thailand, the Vietnam War was in full swing; we couldn’t travel there. Tragically, I lost an uncle in that ugly war; he was a Gunnery Sgt. in the Marine Corps flying on C-130s. It was his third tour and two weeks before shipping home… as a Navy town, you all know this story. He left behind a wife and four young children and we never, ever, found out what happened or exactly where/how he and his crew disappeared. His name is on ‘The Wall’ in Washington D.C. My uncle Galen had given me a doll from Vietnam. She was so beautiful and I loved her. Well, the country is spectacular. I traveled from the north to the south, making several stops, including Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Hanoi, Hoi An and Halong Bay. It’s a wondrous place. The people were so friendly that I was taken aback. That war just doesn’t seem that long ago to me, so I expected them to be more stand-offish – boy was I wrong.

6. Being in sunny Sydney for a warm, delicious New Year’s Eve, down near the Opera House, watching fireworks around the cruise ships was spectacular. To my delight and surprise, a few weeks later, I found myself in the middle of Singapore’s Chinatown for Chinese New Year; I hadn’t even realized it. Oh, what a night that was!

7. I love adding to my data set of trivial facts. Did you know that there are more wild camels in Australia than in any other country?

What advice would you offer to anyone planning a trip?

1. Mix it up! Save a few bucks in one spot by touring with a bunch of 20-year-olds staying in hostels for an amazing, grouped delightful trip, and then splurge on that solo cabin aboard a cruise ship with a balcony. You’ll laugh as you hear the ‘savers’ exclaim that those who are always at the Ritz never enjoy sleeping below a canopy of stars on a mountain top and roll your eyes at the 5-star cruisers who consider a room at the Ramada Inn ‘camping out’. They both have uniquely different pros and terrific experiences in store.

2. Don’t have anyone to travel with? Go solo. My best trips are alone; sure, I love company too, but the freedom makes the journey special – and you’ll meet plenty of other solo travelers if you want to. The less you ‘plan’ for a long-extended trip, the better.

3. Be flexible; if you need a few more days in one spot, you’ll be glad you didn’t hastily buy that non-refundable airline ticket in advance.

4. Don’t overthink it. Have you ever watched the parade of tourists on Orange Avenue frantically searching through TripAdvisor to find out if they should get in line at Night & Day Café or Claytons? Just get in the shortest line; you’ll get a good meal. It might not be THE BEST one in town, but are you really willing to lose hours poring over minor details? If you’re on Kensington Street in Sydney, grab a seat at any café. They’re all going to please your palate. And if not, so what? It’s one meal. Learn to laugh off every mistake you make; you didn’t pack enough contact lenses (I didn’t); you lost your only debit card (I did); you rented a car and now realize you have to drive on the left side of the street and you don’t know which odd looking named gasoline to choose (I did that too); your hotel has roaches staying with you, but they’re not sharing the costs – travel has its tough moments and its pitfalls. Like anything else, just remember, you’ll be laughing about it later. You being foolish, by getting on the wrong ferry, or missing your flight, spices up your future travel stories.

5. Do not overpack; do not overpack; do not overpack. I took two full suitcases and a backpack for three months. By the time I’d finished touring New Zealand and Australia, I mailed a large box home. I didn’t need that much. Wow was I happy I didn’t have those extra 20 pounds jaunting around for the next seven countries.

6. Keep smiling. Stay “open to everything but attached to nothing.”