I am hesiting as to whether to help you or not here - it seems almost you are asking for financial advice rather than travel tips. I'll do it once only.

Your best bet at this time, if location is not concerned, is buy a RTW fare ex-Taiwan. RTW fare ex-Taiwan is usually even cheaper than ex-Canada, one of the lowest of all countries in the world if not the lowest mainly because the Taiwanese tend to be very price conscious. Under normal cicumstances, this is easy because CX has great connections between TPE to NRT, ICN or HKG so that you can start your trip on a strong note. Another factor is the Taiwan dollar is highly correlated to the USD for the sake of its exports. Almost like Argentina Peso a few years back, the Taiwan dollar usually follow U.S. dollars's up and down. Furthermore, the U.S. for Taiwan dollar exchange rate is at one of its highest in decades at this time at 1 for almost 35. a RTW in First can be have for something around $190,000 NTS [I am not up to date with the numbers, if I made error, please correct me] means it will cost you only $5,000 something U.S. I think that's a very good deal.


[This message has been edited by Guava (edited 05-06-2003).]