Danish man aims to visit every country in the world without getting on an airplane

As his homeland is plunged into sub-arctic temperatures, one Dane is much warmer than his compatriots this winter.

Intrepid 35-year-old Torbjorn Pedersen is contemplating Christmas in the Caribbean as part of his quest to visit every country in the world without stepping on an aeroplane.

"I've wanted to visit every country in the world for as long as I can remember," Pedersen said over the din of cockerel calls on a crackly line from St Lucia. "It was one of those childhood dreams, like being a fireman or a ninja. Then you grow up. I was told: 'It's impossible unless you're a millionaire.' But my father saw an article about Graham Hughes from Liverpool , who set a world record in 2012 for visiting all the countries in the world without the use of aircraft. I thought, maybe I could do that.

"All my friends were settling down with children and Volvos and cats. And I wanted that too, just not yet."

Pedersen spent 10 months researching the possibility of taking off into the unknown, with a daily budget of about HK$145. As a shipping and transportation consultant by trade, he secured sponsorship from Ross Offshore and Ross Engineering to cover some of his costs, then sold most of his possessions and sublet his apartment. The Danish Red Cross got wind of his mission and asked him to be a goodwill ambassador, writing about his trip in return for help with access to some of the more closed countries such as North Korea.

Planning was going well, but there was one obstacle. "I have a serious girlfriend," says Peder sen, "and even if I only spend a week in each of the 203 countries on my list, it will take me at least four years."