The man visiting every country in the world without flying is on the home stretch, and looking forward to reaching journey’s end
- Torbjørn ‘Thor’ Pedersen left his home in Denmark in 2013, vowing to visit every country in the world without flying or going home, even for visa runs
- He caught malaria in Africa, and missed his grandmother’s funeral, and says: when I get back, I plan to sleep for a month, then get married and start a family
Six years into his epic journey, Torbjørn “Thor” Pedersen is in Hong Kong, waiting for a ship to Palau. His challenge: to visit every country in the world without flying. It is no mean feat. About 200 people have visited every country in the world, 562 people have visited space, but as of yet no one has visited every country without flying.
With 194 countries under his belt and only another nine to go, Pedersen hopes to complete his mission this year. He left his native Denmark in October 2013, long before carbon offsetting was on the agenda.
“When I left home there was no ‘flight shame’. I’m happy that my carbon footprint is tiny, but that’s not the reason I left home. The reason was because it’s not been done before. I wanted to push the envelope,” says Pedersen, who has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the Danish Red Cross since the start of his venture.
(“Flight shame” is a recent phrase coined in Sweden to express the feeling of climate guilt associated with air travel, and has led to an increase in use of alternatives.)
Pedersen has certainly pushed the envelope with this challenge, not least because he set three limitations at the start: no flying, not even using a hot-air balloon; he must be in a country for 24 hours; and no returning home until he has visited every country (or quits).
