East or West?

One of the restrictions on our trip – pretty standard, we think, for round-the-world travel – is that travel must continue in one direction for the duration of the trip.  As we explained previously, that likely isn’t a burden.  But it does raise an interesting question: should we go East or West?

As best we can figure, each option has advantages and disadvantages.  We’ve brainstormed a bit and shared our results below, but if you have any additional insight, please share it with us in the comments!