Rather than doing one around the world trip, setup one "home base" and focus on seeing that region. For example, I live in the Philippines and I can get tickets to anywhere in SE Asia are very cheap. I can work hard for a period to bust out some projects and then take time off to travel to another area in the region for a week or longer. Then go back to "home base" and repeat the process.

The author seemed to be working on his own projects during his trip. Doing contract work on the road is far more difficult, so the "home base" strategy also works better if you have to continue contract work while abroad.