Introduction – Who Am I
I’m Alex, a Brit on the wrong side of 30 who had a dream in 2017. For the first time I discovered people who had been to every single country on earth. Yes that’s right, including North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia and all the other countries you probably shouldn’t tell your mother that you’re considering for a two-week summer holiday.
Up until this point I had never considered it to be possible to visit every country.
I then spent weeks trawling through blogs, images and stories about how to visit every country, fascinated by this feat. By this point, I knew it would become my goal to achieve the same.
This is something only an approximate 400 people have ever achieved.
Having since picked up a fair bit of travel experience I wish to share useful information which will guide others towards the same goal. Or even just to help people who do not wish to visit every country, but want a decent outline on the places worth visiting (and avoiding) in each country.
The Purpose of This Blog
This blog aims to share the following:
–Destinations. These will be posts on each country which tell you exactly what can be experienced in each nation, as well as providing lots of useful information. Can non-Muslims visit Medina in Saudi Arabia? What are the best 5 bars in Tokyo’s Golden Gai? How should you spend a few days in Budapest? All of this and much more can be found here.
–Logistics Reports. Whilst only covering a handful of countries, these will give detailed advice on visas, money, transport, safety and other factors necessary to navigate a specific country. They will only be available for trickier countries. If you’re looking for an in-depth guide on France then I’m afraid this is not the place for you. If you want to know how to navigate Myanmar smoothly however, this is the place to be!
–Travel Tips. Useful travel advice to help make life on the road as easy as possible for you. Includes content such as a guide to overcoming language barriers on your travels for example.
–Working Abroad. Find out how to make money on the road from someone who has lived and worked in three countries! (UK, Italy, South Korea). I’ve created a beginner’s guide to teaching English in South Korea which may be helpful for anyone looking to do the same.
–Everything Else. Miscellaneous posts that don’t fit into any of the above categories. Travel round-ups, opinions etc.
My Journey so Far on the Path to Visit Every Country
It was not until 2019 when I took my first major steps towards chasing all 197 countries. I count the 193 UN-recognised countries + Kosovo, Taiwan, Palestine and Vatican City. A trip to Sri Lanka was my first ever outside of the Western World (Europe + USA). Immediately afterwards was my first ever solo trip – to Egypt for two weeks.
A three-month trip to Asia followed in the summer, hitting typical beginner backpacker spots such as Bali and Thailand, as well as some less-travelled places including the tiny nation of Brunei. The plan was to push on in 2020. However we all know a little something happened and the world shut its borders. Gutting from a travel perspective. Fantastic from a money-making and saving perspective. You will need a lot of money to visit every country, therefore the lockdown period was not entirely disastrous.
Fast-forward almost two years to February 2022 and it was time to get going again after 2021 eased me back into travel with short visits to Gibraltar, Scotland and Ukraine. With my country count standing at 21/197 I boarded a one-way flight to Mexico and never looked back. Eight wonderful months followed from Mexico to Brazil and almost every Central American country and South American country in between. Then came a few weeks in the Middle East (via the US). I took in Jordan, home to Petra, one of the Seven World Wonders to begin with. Then it was time to visit Saudi Arabia, home of Islam’s two holiest cities: Mecca and Medina. Next came hidden gem Bahrain and my primary goal for visiting this region – the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Lastly I visited the Baltic states, with Finland tagged onto the end just before Christmas.
Then 2023 brought three months in Europe and two in Asia before settling in South Korea to teach English for the foreseeable future. This allows me to rebuild travel funds whilst also finding time to share detailed experiences through this blog. Although there was still time to squeeze in a ChatGPT-assisted quick long weekend to Taiwan. A country definitely worth seeing! Christmas saw a trip to Tokyo which quickly propelled Japan into my list of favourite countries visited.
Who is this Blog for? (Spoiler: Not Just People Wanting to Visit Every Country)
This blog is for anyone interested in wanting to visit every country in the world. Hopefully it provides some valuable information that can help you in your own quest. I aim to talk about destinations and provide information with honest opinions on what to see and do, or whether a place is worth visiting at all. You can read about what happened in each country I visited and get an idea of what you may face in each nation. Of course, travel is a unique experience for every individual and whilst your trips may share some similarities with mine, you will encounter many more differences along the way.
This blog is also for anyone who may not be interested in going to visit every country but would like to know what it is like to travel to certain countries that may not attract many tourists. Yes, there will be posts on France and Spain, but this blog will also give you trip ideas for Myanmar and El Salvador. In other words, countries with negative reputations in the media which have plenty of positives to offer.
And What Else Can You Expect?
This blog is for people who want to explore unique destinations. From Easter Island to Transnistria, I will be writing about some of the most interesting places on earth and you can decide if you want to visit each of these.
This is the blog for anyone looking for advice on how to navigate the trickier countries. How do you get a Myanmar visa, bypass internet censorship, stay safe and avoid trouble with the government? On this blog you will find out!
This blog is for anyone wanting to read about the negative experiences of travel as well as the positive ones. Yes, travel is about stunning beaches, incredible nature and amazing sunsets. But my travels to date have included fighting off a mugging attempt in Quito and narrowly avoiding arrest in Jordan. I want to be honest and realistic about what your journey may involve.