Cost isn't what you're maximizing though. Sure, RTW ticket will run you $1500, whereas three one-way tickets will cost upwards of $2000, but compared to the $12k you'll spend all in, it's just not worth the constraint it places on you.
As an example, five years ago I started a trip that would start on the beach in Thailand, then go up through China and follow the Silk Road across to Turkey. 3 months in, I ended up detouring down to Australia to do a couple month's surfing with a girl who I'd eventually follow back to England and marry.
Had I booked, say, a flight from home from Istanbul ahead of time, I might not have wanted to blow it off and follow that girl who I'd only known for a month.
Traveling is all about freedom to do whatever you want with absolutely zero constraints. Keep that in mind before you buy a piece of paper that forces you to be anywhere at a given time. Even if that anywhere is "Asia" and the given time is "Sometime in the next six months". It's still a constraint, and it will still mess things up.
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Cost isn't what you're maximizing though. Sure, RTW ticket will run you $1500, whereas three one-way tickets will cost upwards of $2000, but compared to the $12k you'll spend all in, it's just not worth the constraint it places on you.
As an example, five years ago I started a trip that would start on the beach in Thailand, then go up through China and follow the Silk Road across to Turkey. 3 months in, I ended up detouring down to Australia to do a couple month's surfing with a girl who I'd eventually follow back to England and marry.
Had I booked, say, a flight from home from Istanbul ahead of time, I might not have wanted to blow it off and follow that girl who I'd only known for a month.
Traveling is all about freedom to do whatever you want with absolutely zero constraints. Keep that in mind before you buy a piece of paper that forces you to be anywhere at a given time. Even if that anywhere is "Asia" and the given time is "Sometime in the next six months". It's still a constraint, and it will still mess things up.