
So, I haven't even made it to Japan and started my JET position yet and I'm already planning what I'm going to be doing AFTER my contract ends.
Even though I will be touring many parts of Asia during my stay, there are many more places around the world that I wish to see.
My friend was telling me about getting an Around the World ticket and I did some research. I found about three different airline alliances that would work for what I wanted to do, then compared their prices.
Seems like SkyTeam and Star Alliance are what I'm looking for. Skyteam more than Star Alliance because Star Alliance doesn't seem to have ANY flights coming out of Cambodia for some reason.
Anyway, I researched the places I really wanted to visit, thought about how much time I wanted to spend in each and decided that I could afford at the most a 3 month trip.
The trip's cost (plus food, lodging, travel insurance, and other transportation costs) will be about $6550.
If I save about $546.00 a month (around 66,449 JPY) in addition to my other savings then I can afford it. I will actually need to save a bit less if I factor in Christmas monies, birthday monies, pension reimbursement, and if my JET contracting organization decides to give me my return ticket in cash rather than pay for the ticket itself.
I can then use my Around the World ticket to fly back to Japan (you have to depart and ultimately return to the same country) and the sky miles I accumulate (something like 23,108) to go towards my one-way ticket home.
Sounds like a plan!