Non-Actuarial Pursuits of Casualty Actuaries
Around the World in 13 Months

by Brian D. Haney

For those of you contemplating your next vacation, this story may give you some food for thought.

The story begins in November 1995, when the actuary in question (AIQ) and her fiancee, a lawyer, set off for South America. Their itinerary was basically: enter Brazil at Rio de Janeiro and leave from Buenos Aires, Argentina, 10 weeks later. In between, the AIQ and her beau backpacked across much of South America, including a four-day trek on an ancient Incan trail.

The fun didn't end there, however. The AIQ and her husband-to-be then flew to Cape Town, South Africa, where they both picked up jobs in their respective professions. They worked there for five months, while making time for rock climbing and bungee jumping. In July 1996, they left their jobs, bought an old car and spent eight weeks driving around sub-Saharan Africa. In this sojourn they covered Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and Mozambique, including a four-day canoe trip down the Zambezi River.

From Cape Town, they traveled to India via Mauritius (the island just to the east of Madagascar). They spent three weeks in India, and after a brief jaunt to Oman, they proceeded to traverse Southeast Asia, hitting Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. From Hong Kong, they flew to San Francisco and were married two weeks later on New Year's Eve.

In all, their journey took just over 13 months. During that time they made "touristy" excursions, like visiting the Taj Mahal, as well as unusual trips such as traveling for two days on a cargo boat down the Mekong River.

One amazing fact about this trip is that so little of it was planned. As a result, the travelers resorted to every and any means of transportation available, including trains, planes, cars, camels, boats, and even walking. It is also amazing that neither the AIQ nor her fiancee spoke the native languages in any of the countries they visited.

Readers, if you'd like to hear more about this journey, you might ask Jacqueline Frank Friedland about it the next time you see her.

(Editors' note to travel bugs: Stay tuned to this column for another article on an around-the-world trip.)