$15000 and 15000miles

[The Sasquatch]

well, i don't talk alot on the boards, but i do read. actually, this website is one of the main reasons i did a 4 month solo trip of europe earlier this year. now i'm hooked. i had been planning a trip to se asia to start in feb., then maybe do the work thing in oz, have plenty of friends in oz from the euro trip. but now, the boss(dad) wants me to stick around and work for him till at least april. stepmom sorta offered me some airmiles as an incentive. don't really wanna do se asia in the middle of summer because of the heat so the question is.

WHERE TO GO WITH 15GRAND AND 15000AIRMILES (canadian dollars of course)

Now, i'm up for working and what not and def. want more adventure than my euro trip. I was thinking of trying to overland during late summer/fall from europe to asia. fly to iceland first, get to the uk/mainland by cheapest route. maybe do a couple things i missed in europe like france (esp. paris), a-dam, and such, then either scandinavia, estonia, belarus, ukraine, russia, and trans-siberian, or try to overland through the middle east, like turkey, syria, iran (maybe throw in a run down through israel, jordan, to egypt if possible) to india, burma, then se asia.

I'm really sorta lost and the possibilities are endless which makes it harder to decide. Also feel that if i decide to stay and work anywhere (uk, france, esl in asia, or oz) that by the time i get back i'll be an old man and have a harder time going to school (could be 26-27 by the time i start school).

Anyway, just thought that i would put this out there as i am going freakin crazy thinking about it. and the boards did help me with my first trip, albeit, somewhat unknowingly.

Thanks for reading my rambling, wally

[tumblezweedz]

Well, how far can you get on 15,000 airmiles? One way or RT? Fall's a good time for the kind of trip you're talking about, though if you're still in the northern hemisphere, you're going to be needing to take along winter gear, which equals more weight and bulk in the old backpack. Course, you'll be wearing it most of the time, anyway. But, once you get to SE Asia, you can either dump it, or mail it all back home, which will make backpacking so much more pleasant.

It seems to me, you should go as far and as long as you can manage on your budget - if you work through til fall will that give you more cash to play with? And don't worry about school, if you're motivated to do it when you get back, it won't matter how old you are, and you'll have all that accumulated knowledge and experience to draw from.

And please, 27 isn't even scratching the surface of old.

Good luck with your planning, what a dreadful position to be in!

[LiveFreeorDie]

And please, 27 isn't even scratching the surface of old. [/b]

Damn straight! Life doesn't even begin before 30!

[indierock05]

15000 miles isnt going to get you very far. You need 25000 just to do inter continental flights anyway. I would say stay home and work for a bit. That way you will have more money to play. But if the fire is really under your ass to get out there, piss off your dad and go . But the places sound great and good luck!

[LiveFreeorDie]

Yeah - unfortunately, the air miles really aren't going to get you too far - see if your stepmom will give you more!! Generall a R/T international ticket from North america to Europe or Asia will take between 60,000 to 80,000 miles depending on the airline. Many airlines allow you to buy miles if you do not have enough for a ticket, but usually they have a cap of maybe 30,000 or 40,000 a year that you can buy, so you would still be short. If you only have 15000 miles, you will have to buy your ticket I suspect.

$15,000 dollars, though, will last a long time, particularly in Asia and Eastern Europe, if you travel there and are frugal. I think you have a lot of options, even considering spending $1,500 to $2,000 on airfare if necessary. You really need to prioritize three things: 1.) what/where you really want to see 2.)How long you want to travel 3.)How frugal you want to be while traveling

For example, if you decided length of trip is most important and seeing Western European sites is least important, you could really travel a long time if you keep to inexpensive countries, such as Eastern Europe or SEA and can do a good job managing your expenses, not drinking too much, staying in cheaper hostels, etc. If seeing Western Europe sites and partying every night is most important, you can do that but your trip length will be much shorter and you will ultimately see a lot less - but maybe you would enjoy that more? It's really up to you. Good luck!!

[xanthuos]

Were the airmiles your step-mom offered you through a specific airline's frequent flyer program, or are they AIR MILES®?

[The Sasquatch]

yeah, these are actual airmiles. from here to se asia costs me like 7500 rt in the off season, or to africa, like 10000 rt, or oz 12000 rt, so i can go anywhere


but i do know what you're talking about, my sister-in-law just took a trip to hong kong with her points from her credit card and it took 100 000. but on that card you get a point for every dollar spent. airmiles is like a mile for every $20, without any bonuses and what not.

[LiveFreeorDie]

from here to se asia costs me like 7500 rt in the off season, or to africa, like 10000 rt, or oz 12000 rt, so i can go anywhere[/b]

That's great! Looks like your hooked up!