So you finally did it?
How many countries and how do you define "country"?
✔ Visited all 193 members of the United Nations.
✔ Plus visited the three entities with diplomatic recognition by a
majority of UN members: the Vatican (Holy See); Palestine; and Kosovo. [I
previously wrote about 195 countries without realizing most countries
recognize Palestine.]
✔ Total visited = All 196.
What about Taiwan?
I have visited other places that, for better or worse, have limited
diplomatic recognition, such as Taiwan (Republic of China), Transnistria
(Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic), and the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus. But, to keep consistent criteria, I am not counting those because
they are not widely recognized.
I'm also not counting my visits to countries that no longer exist — East
Germany (DDR) and Czechoslovakia.
What counts as a "visit"?
Airport transits alone do not count. Most of my stays ranged from a couple
of days to almost a month with repeat visits to larger countries like
Brazil, India, Russia, Canada, and China — plus repeat visits drawn by
infatuation with, for example, Sri Lanka, Italy, Cuba, Myanmar and all of
Southeast Asia. Shortest visits were to a few micro-states like
Lichtenstein, Andorra, and San Marino where a full day seemed reasonable.
What took you so long?
My travel addiction did not originally focus on "country counting." I
visited many countries repeatedly, not always going to "new" countries.
As I started to venture off the beaten path, I discovered that I loved going
to nontraditional destinations like Eritrea, Belarus, Laos, Algeria, to name a few. That encouraged me to undertake more unusual journeys
to places that pushed me more out of my comfort zone (but were fascinating)
such as North Korea, Libya, Mauritania, and Iraq.
As I realized that exploring all 196 countries might actually be possible
for me, then I forged ahead.
Why?
Love of diverse cultures, politics, history, cuisine, nature, animals — and
people! Plus, the thrill of new and often unexpected experiences that
provide the adrenaline rush that fuels travel addictions like mine.
Have many people done this?
No way to really know for sure. Three organizations attempt to keep lists (TCC, MTP, and
NomadMania).
NomadMania has a process for verifying UN country visits (mainly using past
passports). In June 2021, I became the 100th person that NM had verified so
far and here is the cute resulting badge put by my name.
Using an
honor system, MTP (Most Traveled People) now lists almost
80 people
and, I'm told, TCC lists about 200 as visiting all UN countries.
A
friend argues that people compulsive enough to count countries would
have learned about these three sites over the years. I'm not so sure. So
is the total 200 people? 1,000? I do not know.
Your Favorites?
Tough question. One measure is my most return visits:
● Brazil, Egypt, Malaysia, and Thailand.
But I really cannot pick favorites among experiences as widely varied
as, to name just a few that jump out at the moment:
● mountain gorillas in Rwanda and in the Congo,
● the Trans-Siberian Express across Russia,
● fabled old Timbuktu in the Sahara,
● Castro's May Day rally in Havana,
● drift snorkeling in the Aldabra Atol,
● hot air ballooning over Bagan's many temples,
● a total eclipse over the Libyan desert,
● sunrise over Machu Picchu,
● the 2011 Egyptian Revolution in Cairo,
● hundreds of thousands of penguins on South Georgia island,
● gigantic Iguazú Falls and crazy Carnival in Rio,
● working in an orphanage in Vietnam,
● seeing Mt Everest after hiking up to Namche Bazaar,
● teaching at the university in Kuala Lumpur,
● savoring chocolate croissants with my nieces on the Eiffel Tower as
the sun set over Paris.
What now?
I eventually want to visit Western Sahara (the Sahrawi Arab Democratic
Republic) which Morocco controls but is the most widely recognized "country"
(by 44 others) that I have not yet visited.
Other priorities include:
● Norway to try yet again to see the Northern Lights; ✔
● Back to the heart of Texas for the 2024 eclipse;
● The Basque region of Spain for the 2026 eclipse;
● Back to Egypt (or Libya?) for the 2027 eclipse;
● Brazil's Pantanal wetlands;
● More of Pakistan;
● More Greek islands; ✔
● South and central Poland; ✔
● River cruise across Europe; ✔
● Far western Australia for the 2023 eclipse; ✔
● and more parks in the western USA!
Any regrets?
Only not starting serious traveling sooner.
My Last 30 Countries
I finished visited the countries of the Western Hemisphere first, then those of Europe, thanks to proximity and the (general) ease of entry. Of the final 30 countries, 17 were scattered across Africa, 4 were in Asia, 9 were in "Oceania."
The video below counts down my final 30 in order of my visits but of course these took many trips over seven years — 2014-2021.
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