Man becomes first person in the world to visit every country without flying
- It took nearly 10 years.
- He mostly used boats.
- He wanted to do it because no one had ever done it.
Published on Oct 27, 2023 at 3:41 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Oct 30, 2023 at 6:57 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Adam Gray
Thor Pedersen has just set a new world record that’s never going to be beaten.
He’s the first person to visit every country in the world without flying.
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The rules he set for himself were fairly simple and straightforward.
He decided he wasn’t going to use any form of aircraft for his journey, and he had to spend at least 24 hours in each country.
He documented his trip by sharing images and videos to his Instagram account, and it’s honestly impressive.
It took him 10 years to pull it off, covering 260,000 miles (418,000 km).
Starting in his home country Denmark, he set out on this mission and actually managed to do it.
This included visiting countries like Syria, Sudan and North Korea, among others.
Thor Pedersen said he wanted to do it simply because no one had ever done it before.
He figured it would take him around four years, but it ended up taking a decade.
Obviously, a lot of the delay had to do with the pandemic.
At one point, he ended up being stuck in Hong Kong for months.
As you can imagine, it took him so long not only because walking or driving or riding a bus is obviously slower than flying, but something else as well.
For geographical and geopolitical reasons, there are countries that are nearly impossible to visit.
And it becomes even more difficult if you can’t fly.
Furthermore, some countries deny you entry as a tourist if you have stamps or markings in your passport from certain countries.
This means he probably had to visit certain countries in a very specific order to be allowed in.
We can only imagine how complicated it must have been him for him.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
