johnspenceruk

OK then, I quit my 9-5 job, then paused my business indefinitely, and embarked on a Quest to achieve 2 things:

1. Visit every country in the world
2. Reach 10 million miles of travel (that’s roughly equivalent to circling Earth 400 times).
Yes, I am mad. And yes, I DO realize how much flying it is and that I’ll need to spend the next 10+ years on a plane.

I will be producing trip reports, the ones involving different airlines I may put on FT in the Trip Report threads on the relevant airline forum.

Check out my vlog where I explain what I am doing:
 
https://youtu.be/kADbTzyyP2M

John

chris19992

Assuming a plane speed of around 400mph, that's around 1000 solid days of being on a plane.
Good luck to you

johnspenceruk

Hi Chris, yes, I know. I am prepared for it to take 10+ years.

Thanks, WILL need it.

kiwicanuck

I guess it must be that April Fools time of year again

johnspenceruk

I assure you it's not If you check my vlog, you can see I started the Quest in March!

DesertNomad

So how many countries have you been to? I have been to about 90 and feel like I have been to most of the world, but it is still less than half of the countries. I have done much of it overland without airplanes, so I doubt I am even at 1 million miles.

MSPeconomist

There are some countries that don't accept tourists as visitors or might not depending on one's passport. Saudia Arabia is one example; they don't issue tourist visas. So it might not be possible for the OP to visit all countries--unless he counts a connection there without entering the country in the case of KSA.

airmotive

BUT...taking Einstein's relativity into account, he will only age 999.998 days.
He'll be spry and young after his trip, and we'll all be that much older.
I see an 'anti-aging' book deal in his future...

State of Trance

10M miles...are you trying to be this guy?

johnspenceruk

I am in touch with someone who actually did it – he was the first person who managed to visit all 193 countries by the age of 35 (using UN member states definition of a country). So I hope to rely on his guidance when I run into visa issues.

I love flying and the whole "travel experience", hence the quest is also about reaching 10 million miles (air miles and ground miles). I have rented a micro camper van and will be driving all across Japan starting Aprill 22, then I am off to drive Route 66 from Chicago to LA and back.

From the “difficult countries”, I will likely first go to North Korea with Koryo Tours (organized from Beijing) and will attempt to get a visa for Iraq.
I don’t want to spam the forum, but check out my vlog in first post for how I am attempting to achieve this.

Hahaha, yes, sort of!

That’s impressive, you are 10 short to make it to the Travellers’ Century Club (with over 2000 members). I will be revisiting all countries I have been to before this quest. I have seen most of Europe, China, Canada and USA, so you are well ahead of me.

burbuja0512

I would think that the easiest way to visit all countries would be NOT to quit work, but to change jobs.

I do a ton of travel with my job and while I haven't stopped to count lately, I think I may be around 50 countries, 47 of which have been fully funded by companies I work for.

Not to mention that if I really wanted to go to KSA, it would be a heck of a lot easier for business than for "fun." Well.. ok I am a woman, so I really don't want to do business there, but I do have a couple of female friends who have gone for work!


Granted, I don't stop and do cool things in each country, but what I've learned from biz travel is that there are some AMAZING places that I want to come back to again and again, and there are some really crappy places, and that most places are just in-between. I'm very glad that I've visited so many places on the company $$ so that I don't have to spend my own $$ to fly there. My travel habit is very serious and would make my family go broke, but as a job, I'm a wonderful employee who makes lots of money for my company in many different countries.

johnspenceruk

It is great that you have a job that allows you to travel to so many destinations and one that you seem to love. You are the lucky one.

I saw yet another depressing survey that showed most people are unhappy at work. Many stay simply for the money, safety or prestige.

I had such a safe, well-paid and prestigious job and, as the protagonist of Tolstoy's "Death of Ivan Illych" said as he was going through final stages of terminal illness:

"It is as if I had been going downhill while I imagined I was going up. And that is really what it was. I was going up in public opinion, but to the same extent life was ebbing away from me. And now it is all done and there is only death."

The story is extremely powerful and can certainly change the way we look at life and risk-taking. Once we remember our own mortality, we discover that there is no risk at all. If there is risk, it is to do with not living an authentic life and suffering the consequences.

burbuja0512

I completely agree.. I knew my passion was to learn about other cultures and to travel around the world. However, in my B2B sales job in the US, I had no idea how to do this.

So what did I do? I got an international masters and learned a 3rd language. I networked like hell and got a VP of Global Sales job at a very small company. After three+ years at the small company, I got enough experience in int'l biz to get a decent offer and am now at what people would say is a "good" job. And guess what? I'm happy.

I really respect what you're doing and if I didn't have kids and a husband, I might be inclined to do it myself. However, I still feel like what I did is a much safer route. I don't have to pay for my travel most of the time and even when I'm on vacation, it's mostly free by using miles and points accrued during biz travel.

However, by documenting your journey, I'm certain that you're getting job experience.. just make sure you do quality work. Create a blog, attract readers, etc. Just make sure you try to find yourself along the way so that you don't finish up and then end up in the rat race hating your job.

rankourabu

Do not use Koryo Tours! Its a ripoff, once inside the country, everyone follows the same itinerary. Check out Juche Travel
Iraq, you can just show up in Erbil without a visa

Are you going to be a country collector, and simply step into a place for an hour, just to "count it" or are you actually going to visit places?

I admire your dedication, I simply have no desire to visit all the countries in the world, I find myself going back to old favourites year after year now, added just one new one in 2014, and only 5 new ones this year.

Congrats on quitting the job

johnspenceruk

Doing what you love is my definition of success, so well done!

I am not the type who can continue being an employee, but it is just me, each of us is different and there is no "right way". Yes, learning about myself will certainly be a big part of this. As to the (v)blog, have a look here if you haven't already. Many thanks for taking your time to comment.