Seven grand and an idea...

[Ganpachi]

Okay, so I have been having a blast learning to snowboard over my last few years here in Japan, but sadly my time here is almost over. When my contract ends I will get about USD 7,000 refunded back to me from taxes. A normal person would invest those in IRAs or something, but I figure, screw that.

So I got to thinking about what I could do with the cash and then I remembered that one trip I took to Bali and just hung out on the beach and relaxed. I tried surfing once there and it seemed like something I would like to do more of. Plus, I remeber the hotel we stayed at being dirt cheap... something like 3 bucks a night.

I figure with a chunk of cash like that, and the cheap economies of the developing world, I could conceivably spend as long as a year just lounging on beaches and learning how to surf.

SO! we get to the reason why I'm here... How feasable is this, and if you had that kind of cash, where would you go, and how long could you stretch it out?

[pat42]

I've been doing that for years....working my arse off and then spending months surfing in beautiful surroundings and warm water. I personally would spend a big chunk of the time in Bali, do a deal on a room...if you tell them you're gonna stay a couple of months and pay upfront you'll get a better deal; same thing with renting a bike...do a long term deal.
If you were clever and booked well ahead you could travel around South East Asia for next to nothing on Airasia.com....you'll only get a 2 months visa for indonesia (if you apply before you go) so, I would book my flight out of there, and have a "holiday" from Bali and do Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia etc etc or wherever takes your fancy, and then go back to Indonesia and get a visa on arrival giving you another month or applying beforehand and getting another 2 months.

I reckon you could do 9 months comfortably on $25 a day or a whole year or more if you watched your budget carefully and budgeted for $15 a day.

GO FOR IT!!!