4 ms·
A man who visited every country in the world without boarding a plane (2023)
- gabrielsroka 1y ago2023
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- IncreasePosts 1y agoEvery country according to which governing body or society?
- doubletwoyou 1y agoApparently those 195 recognized by the UN as well as countries like Taiwan. 203 in total according to the article.
- userbinator 1y agoPresumably including North Korea? (Due to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44033310 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44033310 currently on the front page.)
- scott_w 1y agoThe article said all 195 UN countries, so yes.
- qw 1y agoYes, it's #176 on his list of countries: https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/journey https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/journey
- omoikane 1y agoHe had a longer blog entry for North Korea, but I like how the FAQ summarized it as "DPRK is a far more normal country than what we are lead to believe". The rest of the FAQ is great reading as well: https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/more/faq https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/more/faq
- lurk2 1y ago> Propaganda. Isn’t that just telling people what you want them to believe? If so then there’s plenty of it to go around. In the USA the republicans have one story and the democrats have another. DPRK has its version of the events which unfolded throughout and after the Korean War. Is propaganda being spread in DPRK? Yes...I’m sure it is. However I have quickly come to believe that there is far more propaganda being spread outside of DPRK about the country than within it. When I enter a country today I do that with the experience of visiting and analyzing 175 other countries. I’ve been observing DPRK and what I have seen are just people being people. You can’t interact with the people. They are clearly not interested or maybe they are afraid to interact with foreigners. There could be consequences I imagine? DPRK is not a country which promotes individual freedom. You don’t say…
- lifthrasiir 1y agoI think the GP is meant to say that it is somehow a functioning country (contrary to what clueless westerners believe), but that doesn't mean that it is [EDIT: was "isn't"] in the good state. Just that the belief is too strong to be true. Added 2025-05-20T08:40: I realized what happened, double negations ruined the comment. I'm very much aware that DPRK has serious human rights problem and economic issues (after all, I am South Korean), and it also makes use of a western curiosity for business, but they are often exaggerated to the completely impossible extent.
- dgfitz 1y agoThey recently held the Olympics, yes they are a functioning country. Or are westerners too clueless to make that connection? A functioning country is the bare minimum requirement. The recount of experience here does not mean that somehow the country isn’t horribly repressed and poverty-stricken.
- Stealthisbook 1y agoGraham Hughes did that years ago. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Hughes https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Hughes
- gregorvand 1y ago"Then came his eureka moment: “I discovered that no one had ever gone to every country in the world completely without flying [in one unbroken trip].” (A British man, Graham Hughes, has set foot in every country without flying, but took two breaks from the journey for personal reasons.)"
- sandspar 1y agoI'm struck by his quotes. They sound like basic advice. "People are generally good, few people want to hurt you" etc. Normally people say this without thinking but with him it's backed up by so much experience. It's hard to share experience. I remember seeing a man whose son was murdered in a shooting. He kept trying to describe his pain, using simple, profound language. I felt sorry for him because of course few people in the audience could relate to him. So his words kind of went in one ear and out the other, at least for me. It's hard to know how deeply truthful something is unless you've lived it. I imagine that this guy in the article may feel very lonely sometimes. Plus it's hard to be "post adventure" etc. Olympic athletes and astronauts etc always talk about how hard it is to be on the other side of the mountain. "What now?"
- akoboldfrying 1y ago> without boarding a plane Speedrunning tip for future contenders: Be born inside a plane
- dmurray 1y agoOr have one built around you.
- Caelus9 1y agoThe first person in the world?
- WillAdams 1y agoThis was done back in Victorian times by an Englishman using nothing more than a visiting card and a letter of credit from his bank. I have been led to believe that it is: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/133405977-an-overland-journey-round-the-world-during-the-years-1841-1842 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/133405977-an-overland-jo... which arguably should be contrasted with: https://goodreads.com/book/show/5144131-a-woman-s-journey-round-the-world https://goodreads.com/book/show/5144131-a-woman-s-journey-ro... The history of circumnavigations (esp. solo), and the books about it are an interesting set: - sailing (solo): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/881902.Sailing_Alone_around_the_World https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/881902.Sailing_Alone_aro... - bicycle (solo): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/301255.Around_the_World_on_a_Bicycle https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/301255.Around_the_World_... (all the more remarkable since it was a penny farthing rather than the essentially contemporary "safety bicycle" invented shortly after his departure Those are in the public domain, and I recommend them highly as a view of what the world was once like, and how people are still much the same. Been meaning to read newer accounts, but still need to track down copies and decide which are worth reading: - amphibious landing vehicle (husband and wife): https://goodreads.com/book/show/17208213-half-safe https://goodreads.com/book/show/17208213-half-safe - walking (solo): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/436398.Letters_From_Steven https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/436398.Letters_From_Stev... - human power (solo): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5215427 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5215427 - air (military unit): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23167711-first-flight-around-the-world https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23167711-first-flight-ar... - submarine (submerged, military vessel): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1018686.Around_the_World_Submerged https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1018686.Around_the_World... and of course, one would presumably include the obvious records of Magellan and arguably the _H.M.S. Beagle_ and Darwin. (obviously, this is something of an interest of mine, having been delighted by: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54479.Around_the_World_in_Eighty_Days https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54479.Around_the_World_i... when I was younger)
- londons_explore 1y agoHow many hours did he spend being interviewed for visas etc? Some countries I cross off my 'worth visiting' list simply because they have a Byzantine and expensive visa process which is going to use at least a week of time and effort to navigate whilst I was only planning to visit the place for a week in the first place! And some countries have a 'not allowed if you've ever been to this other country' rule, making it very hard to visit them all.
- ycombinete 1y agoHe's Danish. Danes have visa-free entry to 189/195 countries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henley_Passport_Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henley_Passport_Index So I guess that he had to do about 6 visa interviews.
- bloak 1y agoThanks for that link, but Denmark's "189" seems to be out of 227 ("all 227 possible travel destinations for which travel restriction information exists in the IATA database"), while 195 is the number of "states recognised by the UN".
- ta1243 1y agoAccording to that list Saudi Arabia is one of the 189 countries. Saudi is a nightmare to get into, even as a Dane.
- BeetleB 1y agoIt's been very easy for the last few years. They've opened up the borders significantly. Lots of tourists go there.
- ta1243 1y agoSeems to have been just before covid - certainly wasn't when he did his trip though https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/blog/259-saudi-s-in-audi-s-and-the-two-seas-of-bahrain https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/blog/259-saudi-s-in-audi-s-and-...
- vander_elst 1y agoHow can you stay 24+ hours in Vatican City as a tourist? Are there hotels there? It seems there is https://www.residenzapaolovi.com/en/ https://www.residenzapaolovi.com/en/, but it's not within the Vatican.
- thinkingemote 1y agohe slept on the ground. https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/blog/205-how-to-spend-24-hrs-in-the-vatican-and-wonderful-albania https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/blog/205-how-to-spend-24-hrs-in...
- agos 1y agothe offended tone is quite bizarre
- prmoustache 1y agoI found it more factual than offended.
- mr_toad 1y agoWhat sort of hacker can’t stay awake for 24+ hours?
- decimalenough 1y agoHis book just came out: https://www.amazon.com/Impossible-Journey-incredible-through-country-ebook/dp/B0D364ZTWY https://www.amazon.com/Impossible-Journey-incredible-through... (not an affiliate link) And there's a documentary apparently coming out soon. I followed his journey live on https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/ https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/ and it was a weird mix of inspirational and very sad. He was clearly struggling with severe depression towards the end of it, but he could not bring himself to stop, so there he was, squatting in a filthy boat for weeks on end with cockroaches crawling over his toothbrush, while he waited for the country's sole oceangoing cargo ship to be repaired so he could get the hell out of there. https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/blog/489-most-definitely-possibly-maybe-leaving-tuvalu https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/blog/489-most-definitely-possib...
- lkuty 1y agoSad that it is only available as a Kindle Edition, not a paperback.
- wiether 1y agoI have a paperback version on amazon.fr so it actually exists ; not sure why it's not offered on the .com https://www.amazon.fr/dp/1472149777/ https://www.amazon.fr/dp/1472149777/
- lkuty 1y agoThanks. It is noted as "This title will be released on April 23, 2026." on Amazon.de which explains the long delay on Amazon.fr. However the hardback version looks available now. EDIT: well it is not yet published on paper.
- lifestyleguru 1y agoTop Scandinavian hipster. Still better than going berserk after alcohol and drugs in Prague, Barcelona, or Ibiza.
- aidog 1y agoI followed Thor's journey over the years. Great dude and a incredible achivement. Imagine planning for 4 years but hanging on for 10! He also had bad luck being stuck during covid.
- alabastervlog 1y agoPlanning for a shorter trip but running into trouble that stretches it to 10 years seems like almost the ideal outcome. The full Odysseus experience. Minus starting it with ten other years away at war, I guess.
- gaiagraphia 1y agoHaha, what a small world. He stayed with me in Spain, back in the good old days of Couchsurfing. Not sure if I feel honoured or guilty by being able to set his plans back a day or 2 by introducing him to the local nightlife...
- FlyingSnake 1y agoBack in the days I hosted a lady who also had been to ~190 countries. I miss the old world internet and community.
- hakonslie 1y agoAh, the good old days of Couchsurfing. So many good memories from 2009, all the way up to 2015, for me.
- mellosouls 1y agoAn article from last month in the Guardian: I visited every country in the world without flying. Here are eight things I learned https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/apr/21/i-visited-every-country-in-the-world-without-flying-here-are-eight-things-i-learned https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/apr/21/i-visit...
- fuzzythinker 1y agoWow, that waterfall is majestic.
- darkstar_16 1y agoI miss reading Blogs. Old school, detailed blogs written in a plain and simple language. It's easy to follow and almost be invested in the journey.
- user070223 1y agoA great place to mention Karl Bushby whom is on his way from Punta Arenas, southern Chile to his home in the UK since Nov 1998 by mostly hiking. He crossed the Darien Gap, the Bering sea walking on ice / glaciers / swimming, as well as swimming the Caspian sea. In Mongolia he trained to work with camels Had a lot of issues of course with Russia due to crossing the Bering sea, and maybe the war, as well as covid lockdown in countries, limited days issued for visas etc. And he just left Turkey and entered Europe! so the only major challenge is swimming the channel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Bushby https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Bushby
- shelled 1y agoHow much of a motion sickness one would normally experience on giant cargo ships? Do they also toss and turn in storms like small boats?