If you were going around the world...

[Rain Man]

would you go west or east? Why?

Assume that you're doing a six-month leisure sojourn.

[mlyonsd]

Go west young man. And I honestly don't know why.

[AustinChief]

heading around the world to the WEST feels like I'd be swimming upstream... no idea why, but east seems most natural.

Austin-"Phileas Fogg"-Chief

[Rain Man]

It seems to me like going west is easier in terms of time zone adjustments, because you can leave later and get to your destination earlier. But on a six-month trip I don't know if that would make a big difference. It seems like at some point you get a free day out of it.

But then you have the other factor that is cultural. Do you dip your toes in easy European travel first and then get more exotic as you go, or do you dive straight into Asia and then get more comfortable as you go?

And yeah, maybe going west is also in our American DNA.

(Edit: And two seconds before that sentence Austinchief says the opposite.)

[Buck]

If i go east, then the last part of my trip home is just a lot of water. I'll go West and my last stop before home would be Vegas.

[Discuss Thrower]

London, Ibiza, UAE, South Africa (for God knows what reason), Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii. Yep, I'm going East.

[mlyonsd]

heading around the world to the WEST feels like I'd be swimming upstream... no idea why, but east seems most natural.

Austin-"Phileas Fogg"-ChiefI feel the opposite way since I'd be following the sun.

I also think for some reason I'd like to experience Asia before Europe. And I'd definitely skip Africa. Nothing there I really want to see other than the wildlife.

[mlyonsd]

If i go east, then the last part of my trip home is just a lot of water. I'll go West and my last stop before home would be Vegas.For a SD fan that's pretty solid logic.

[Rain Man]

One reason I was asking is that I was looking at this (click on the Round the World tab in the middle), and it got me wondering if there's a preferred direction. You're only allowed to cross each ocean once.

http://www.staralliance.com/en/booking/book-and-fly/#

[ShowtimeSBMVP]

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[AustinChief]

I am probably heavily influenced by my reading of Around The World in 80 days.. it just seems that going around the world means you head east!

My buddy did the whole one way around the world trip a few years back... and if memory serves me.. he did it by going west... which I remember thinking was backwards at the time.

[MoreLemonPledge]

Time zones would dictate that I would travel east. It feels like you're going farther when the time keeps getting further ahead.

[whoman69]

You have to go pretty far south to hit ice. If you want to see the world you would have to go either east or west, but may be moving north or south at times. Otherwise you would miss a whole hemisphere.

[BillSelfsTrophycase]

West, in a hot air balloon


There are three stadiums out that way just waiting for me to take a dump on them


I apologize in advance if I accidentally hit your BMW on my Denver run

[big nasty kcnut]

i would go east because as soon as you hit japan hop a flight to the Bering strait and 90 mile trip to us soil alaska baby. Then Canada for beer and hockey.

[-King-]

North East.

[Ebolapox]

east seems more natural for some reason.

[Aries Walker]

I'd go east. I'd spend a week each in Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, northern England, southern England, London, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands and Belgium, France, Spain, Malta, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Romania, Greece, Athens, Russia, Israel, and Egypt, and then use the last week for everywhere else.

[ThaVirus]

East would seem to be the only natural way for me.

Leave Florida and head to the Caribbean. Not too different there so no culture shock. Cross the pond and hit up Europe. They have so much to offer so I'd probably spend most of my time there. Then I'd get down and dirty in the homeland: Africa. Follow that up with Asia, then Australia. Skip across the ol' Pacifico and ease my way back into 'Merica for the last few days before arriving back in the sunshine state.

EDIT: Balls, I forgot about South America! I'd probably hit that up after Australia but before I got back to North America. The places I'd most like to spend my time would be western Europe (don't give two shits about eastern Europe), South America, Australia, and Japan (particularly Tokyo). I'd focus largely on visiting natural and man-made wonders. I'm not xenophobic but I've met foreigners in America. They don't interest me.

[cdcox]

But then you have the other factor that is cultural. Do you dip your toes in easy European travel first and then get more exotic as you go, or do you dive straight into Asia and then get more comfortable as you go?


East for this reason.

[prhom]

East, I hate driving or walking with the sun in my eyes in the afternoon. It doesn't seem so bad in the morning though.

[chiefkingdom]

rain man: you have not participated in the how rich are you thread

[chiefkingdom]

i would go east

[Rain Man]

East for this reason.

East would seem to be the only natural way for me.

Leave Florida and head to the Caribbean. Not too different there so no culture shock. Cross the pond and hit up Europe. They have so much to offer so I'd probably spend most of my time there. Then I'd get down and dirty in the homeland: Africa. Follow that up with Asia, then Australia. Skip across the ol' Pacifico and ease my way back into 'Merica for the last few days before arriving back in the sunshine state.

EDIT: Balls, I forgot about South America! I'd probably hit that up after Australia but before I got back to North America. The places I'd most like to spend my time would be western Europe (don't give two shits about eastern Europe), South America, Australia, and Japan (particularly Tokyo). I'd focus largely on visiting natural and man-made wonders. I'm not xenophobic but I've met foreigners in America. They don't interest me.



The nice thing about Europe is that it's a good place to get some comfort after visiting all of the more stressful non-western places.

If I went east, I think I'd dip south first and hit South America, and then bop over from there to Africa and work my way north up the continent. Then you spend some time in Europe that's more comfortable. From there, I'd hit Russia and then go down through the Middle East and India and Indonesia (maybe the Philippines), and now I've got a nice comfortable break in Australia and New Zealand. From there you then go up to the Far East up through Thailand and Vietnam and hit China and Japan, and then cross up into Alaska and work your way back down to the Lower 48.

If I went west, I'd simply reverse that route.

I initially said west, but for some reason the Eastbound route does seem more natural. However, the time zone thing still bothers me. If I'm in Denver and get on a 10-hour flight east, I get there probably 15 hours later. If I'm in Denver and get on a 10-hour flight west, I get there probably 5 hours later. I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around the impact of this if I go all the way around and keep repeating it.

[chiefkingdom]

does this stem from your vacation hours thread

[boogblaster]

west .....

[Rain Man]

rain man: you have not participated in the how rich are you thread

Oh, I participated. I just didn't post.

[ThaVirus]

The nice thing about Europe is that it's a good place to get some comfort after visiting all of the more stressful non-western places.

If I went east, I think I'd dip south first and hit South America, and then bop over from there to Africa and work my way north up the continent. Then you spend some time in Europe that's more comfortable. From there, I'd hit Russia and then go down through the Middle East and India and Indonesia (maybe the Philippines), and now I've got a nice comfortable break in Australia and New Zealand. From there you then go up to the Far East up through Thailand and Vietnam and hit China and Japan, and then cross up into Alaska and work your way back down to the Lower 48.


That would be the more tactical route and I could do that just as well. Truthfully, I'd just be so happy to be seeing all that the world has to offer; I wouldn't even give a shit about the itinerary. I've never even been out of the country.

[Rain Man]

That would be the more tactical route and I could do that just as well. Truthfully, I'd just be so happy to be seeing all that the world has to offer; I wouldn't even give a shit about the itinerary. I've never even been out of the country.

You should go check it out. From Florida, you can do some place like Peru really cheap. Of course, Europe is a great place to try as a first destination, too.

[ThaVirus]

You should go check it out. From Florida, you can do some place like Peru really cheap. Of course, Europe is a great place to try as a first destination, too.

Hopefully I'll be able to get around to it one day. They say you should travel while you're young, but I'm young and I'm broke! I'm not going to have money to truly do some travelling until I get older and by that time I'll probably have kids!

[Rain Man]

Hopefully I'll be able to get around to it one day. They say you should travel while you're young, but I'm young and I'm broke! I'm not going to have money to truly do some travelling until I get older and by that time I'll probably have kids!

Understood. It's the classic problem of either having time and no money or having money and no time.

[Rain Man]

does this stem from your vacation hours thread

What vacation hours thread?

[CrazyPhuD]

South...it's where the happy place is.

[listopencil]

If i go east, then the last part of my trip home is just a lot of water.


That's exactly why I would go East the whole way, which I have done. The last part of the trip would be very relaxing. It's a nice way to make your vacation feel like it is lasting longer.

[Phobia]

Which way did Amelia Earhart go? Do the opposite of that.

[Aries Walker]

I think the direction she went was down, actually.

Thank you, I'm here all week. Try the fish.

[midwest]

east first, save the best for last