Travel Addicts'Gap years are not ju

Travel Addicts
'Gap years are not just for young people. But before you give up your job, remember that coming home is the hardest part', says travel addict Ben Williams.
My name is Ben. I am 32 years old and I am a travel addict. I've been back home now for almost six months, but I know that I will always be an addict. If I see just one travel brochure I know I will want to go away again.

Two years ago I was on an island in Fiji, at the start of a year-long break that took me and my girlfriend,Jane, to 14 countries. We watched fireworks over the Sydney Opera House at New Year, saw the sun rise over the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and spent my 31st birthday on a Thai beach.
It was without doubt the best year of our lives. No work, no boss, no worries. No grey skies of Britain, just carefree months going into the distance. True, there wasn't much money, but it didn't matter.
We loved having the freedom to go where we wanted, when we wanted. If we liked a place, we stayed. If not, we just got the next bus out. We only had one worry in the world. We knew we had to return to Britain
'We loved having the freedom but coming back was awful.'
Coming back was awful. We had huge debts, and we had to find work. The routine of getting up, going to work, going home, eating, sleeping, and getting up again is just about killing me. I'm finding it difficult to do waht other people tell me to do.
Before I went travelling, I worried about earning more money, buying a bigger car, a house , etc. Now that I'm back, I don't care about those thing any more. I'm living like a student again, and saving all my money.As soon as I have enough, I'll be off on my next trip around the world
Sandie and Ian's story ...
While I was travelling, I met other people like me. Sandie,28 and Ian,33, got married and spent a year travelling on their honeymoon.We met on a beach in Thailand. They were both IT consultants with stressful jobs. Now that they are home, they are making big changes to their lives. 'Work just isn't so important anymore', says Sandie. 'But I suppose we'll have to stay in these jobs until we find a way to escape'
Rebecca's story ...
I met Rebecca, 26, in Australia during her round-the-world trip. Now she's back home and she's also having trouble readjusting to life.'It's terrible', she says. 'During the first couple of weeks back at work, I couldn't sit at my computer. Nobody understands. My parents and friends just aren't interested in my experiences. I don't know why. It was such an important time in my life. I keep looking at my photos, so that I won't forget'.
For me too, I wonder if life back home will ever feel normal again. Next week I'm starting an evening course to learn Spanish. And when I've finished that, I'll start Portuguese. They'll be very useful languages in South America!