The man who traveled to every country in the world without getting on a plane

Have you ever dreamed of traveling to every country in the world?

Less than 300 people have realized that dream; three have been to all countries twice; two did so without returning home.

But only one has managed without flying, says the author of such an achievement.

“My name is Torbjørn C. Pedersen, which is a terrible name for a traveler. But that never stopped me, just call me Thor”, the Dane introduces himself on his website Once upon a Saga (Once upon a saga).

And he says he was inspired by something Danish scientist Piet Hein said: “You have to travel to understand that the world is round.”

About 9 years ago, he left home to become a globetrotter and left with the goal of not returning home until he completed the journey.

Yes indeed, had some simple rules: I would spend at least 24 hours in any country and not take any planes. I would travel the world by land or water.

“I’m not going to buy, borrow or rent a vehicle to get from A to B and I certainly don’t have a driver. This way I will definitely spend a lot of time with locals and travelers, a great way to see the world!” he wrote.

it cost 3,512 days travel through all the countries of the world, on foot, by car, bus, train and boat.

And that “everyone” encompasses more than the official list of UN countries, whose membership is 193 plus two observer states; Thor says he visited 203 countries and has also listed disputed territories.

The adventure started at 10:10 AM on 10/10, 2013 and originally estimated to end in 2018, but fate made it finally complete 5 years later than expected.

In May 2023, he arrived in the Maldives, the island nation in the Indian Ocean, determined to enjoy a new country for the last time… there were none more on his list.

He was still there in June, on Thilafushi, the island made of rubbish, when he spoke to BBC OS on BBC World Service.

What was most memorable about your trip?

So many things! Getting married for the first time, getting married for the second time.

Seeing a rocket launch into space and realizing that this was the first time I’d seen anything leave the planet…that was an amazing moment!

Being on a container ship in a storm, watching whales jump, being invited to a wedding in Sudan…so, so!

How did you manage to see your wife? How complicated was it?

She has come to visit me around the world 27 times and the hardest part was when I was stuck in Hong Kong for two years during the pandemic.

Hong Kong was pretty strict. I couldn’t get on any ships and most of the countries I had to go to had closed their borders.

And my wife couldn’t visit me in Hong Kong because we weren’t married and because I wasn’t a resident. So I had to find that out.

I managed to find a job and become a temporary resident. And we managed to get married online through a Utah agency.

It was not an accepted marriage in Denmark, but it was in Hong Kong, which was enough for me to process the paperwork and send her a visa.

So she could go and we spent about 100 days together.

What was the hardest country to enter?

Equatorial Guinea. I practically gave up. I was in trouble.

I visited 4, 5, 6 different embassies and consulates to get a visa and they did not treat me politely or well.

I crossed national borders and at many checkpoints everyone in uniform made my life a nightmare.

It was really a difficult period.

It took me almost four months to get into Equatorial Guinea.

But was it worth it?

Well, that was the 100th country, so it was worth it in terms of progress.

It’s a wonderful country. It is very beautiful and the people I met there were very friendly.

Many of us, if we are lucky enough to travel, buy keepsakes. Is it something you do and then send them home?

I can’t buy anything that doesn’t fit in my luggage.

I generally don’t buy souvenirs because I should wear them anyway until I see my wife next time and she can take them home.

But I have collected some souvenirs all over the world and people have also given me many gifts. The people are very nice and generous.

Since I am a goodwill ambassador for the Danish Red Cross, I have met the Red Cross in about 190 countries.

They have a habit of giving me coffee cups, so after 10 Red Cross visits I travel with 10 Red Cross coffee cups.

When you see the planes flying overhead, do you ever think, “Wow, that would make everything so much easier!”?

Absolute.

You don’t know how many times I’ve been on a long, long, uncomfortable bus ride and I look up at a blue sky and see an airplane and wonder, what am I doing with my life now?

My longest bus journey was 54 hours. I don’t know if you can imagine how sore you are after such a journey.

Have you ever become tired during this long period of travelling?

Naturally.

I haven’t met many people who have traveled much longer than six months or maybe a whole year.

I know a few people who have been doing it for a few years, but that’s almost like meeting a unicorn.

That was my limit too.

Two years was enough: I had met so many people, tried so many different foods, and everything from the transportation, the visas, the paperwork and all these things… I was ready to go home.

Honestly, I’ve wanted to go back to Denmark since 2015.

But I set myself a goal and I tried to achieve something that had never been done before.

I thought there was a lot of value in it and I hoped people could get inspiration and motivation from what I was doing.

So I kept fighting to reach the goal.

In 2019 I was really tired and I did not lack many countries to visit.

The shipping companies told me they could take me back home via the other countries within 10 months.

And the pandemic broke out, which put me back three years back.

So now I’m ready and excited to go home.

When Thor left his home almost ten years ago, he was not sure what the purpose of such an adventure was.

But along the way he found it, and it was not one but several, he says on his website.

1. “No one had done it before.

“Doing something new is exciting and has proven to be a source of inspiration and motivation for many.”

2. I had the honor of traveling as a goodwill ambassador for the Danish Red Cross.

“Like most people, I knew very little about her, but the stories of volunteers from all over the world surprised me. I salute the millions of volunteers who make a difference in the lives of millions of people every day.”

3. The world is not what most of us think.

“The main media shows us the sensational part (…). We often hear a lot about terror, corruption, conflicts, natural disasters, deaths, extremists…

“Fortunately, I discovered that while the world isn’t perfect, most of the people we share this planet with are people with good intentions.

“For some, politics and religion are important. But I often find that these five things are much more important: family, food, music, sports, and talking about the weather.

“Every country in the world has the right to be seen as the best potential country in the world.”

4. You can travel low budget.

“Sometimes it feels like torture to limit myself to a low budget. Sometimes I want a good bed, more luxury and a big juicy steak.

“However, I stick to the budget because according to many, their dreams are held back by a lack of time or money or both.

“You have to make your own time, but this project shows that you don’t have to be a millionaire to travel, discover cultures and make new friends.”

In the end, Thor was driven by curiosity.he was encouraged to discover how wonderful the world was and how much there was to learn.

In addition, he was excited by a phrase that always accompanied him: a stranger is a friend you still don’t know… “Who can I meet tomorrow?”