David Rich: Happily Homeless

 

David Rich is an intrepid writer, braving blizzards, monsoons, desert heat and State Department travel advisories to visit the world's most out-of-the-way places from the Karakoram Mountains in Pakistan to the wilds of Borneo to the Harley-Davidson Rally Week in Sturgis, South Dakota.

 

David retired in his forties to become a full-time international traveler, an occupation he finds far preferable to his former professions of law professor and trial lawyer, from which he says he’s now "mostly recovered."

 

He has pursued freelance travel writing and exotic travel for sixteen years, living so far in more than 140 countries. However, with 191 countries in the United Nations (and 202 at the Olympics) he’s barely halfway through the list. He says he has "sold everything" and is "classically homeless."

   

With his wife Mary he RVed Europe, Scandinavia, Northern Africa and the Middle East for three years, Australia for over a year, New Zealand six months, and South America for two years.

 

Then it was on to Nepal, India and China before helping sail a 39-foot steel cutter from Malaysia to Thailand. Then on to Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia and Hawaii.

 

In 2004 they took a 4x4 overland trip from Johannesberg, South Africa to Yemen via "a bunch of interesting countries."

 

Next was Japan, then Korea, Bangkok, Borneo, sailing the Philippines and driving for a month through Java. They popped back to South Africa for Namibia, Botswana and Victoria Falls, then dipped into Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho before taking the Garden Route back to Capetown. Their next stops were Rome, Tunisia, Malta, Sardinia and Corsica.

 

Next Albania and Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraqi Kurdistan, Iceland and Greenland. Then Kazakhstan and Georgia.

 

Visit the Rich website, which has been featured on LonelyPlanet.com: mytripjournal.com/RichWorld

 

David has written numerous stories for GONOMAD many of them with supplementary photo galleries, and there are plenty more coming up.

 

Be sure to pick up a copy of his new book RV the World.