ironmanjt

I would, only because one has to draw an arbitrary line somewhere.

TCC has a broad list if you want to count "distinct" places, but for the purposes of countries, Hong Kong is a part of China, Gibraltar is a part of the UK, and Guam is a part of the United States. Sure, you're not getting the most representative view of that country, but a one day stop in one city doesn't give the whole picture either....

DanielW

I would count Kish Island as 'visiting Iran', but obviously not the same as going to Shiraz, Tehran etc. Living closeby and with a 'VOA' passport, I'm going to try and see the mainland though.

I've been to the Korean DMZ from the south side and 'crossed the border', but do not count that as visiting North Korea.

I'm going to the island of Bali in October, and will count that as visiting Indonesia, which is essientially a bunch of islands anyway.

I've been to Don Sao Island, and paid the 30 baht 'border fee', but not sure if I count that as visiting Laos though(?).

Forrest Bump

No doubt this challenge faces two realities:

- UN 193 member states + 2 observer states
- a customizable list of independent territories

One has only to decide where to draw the line, as personal criteria are virtually endless.
Kish island is Iran? Yes, but I would not flag it on my world map on the wall in front of me now. DMZ North Korea? lol
Likewise I have few entries in countries where I've been staying few hours (eg Malaysia from Johor Bahru and Botswana from Namibia) that I'm ashamed to count in the list and to which I plan to pay a proper visit, but which I could tick with good rights.
Time spent in, level of independence, degree of recognition by other member states make the matter hard to get everyone agree with, besides the UN official list.
Part of the fun, if you ask me.

DanielW

Holy See & Palestine?

hauteboy

I'm leaving for Fiji in a few days to do a cruise on the Paul Gauguin ship, stopping in Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea. Also am doing a day trip to Kiritimati (Kiribati Christmas) Island out of Fiji. Then a trip to Malta in early July So that will be 6 new countries for me in the next month.

I have quite a few more trips planned. I should have only 24 countries remaining by Jan 2015.

Remaining:

Baldpacker

Finally entered the TCC after a trip through Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the Aland Islands. I'm pretty happy with that given I just recently turned 30.

Before the end of the year I'll also be spending time in Tasmania, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Island, Palau, Guam, Saipan, Yap (Micronesia), and the Hawaiian Islands so that will be a few more off my list. Can't wait!

DanielW

Had to google that one.

So when does the Islamic Caliphate start being counted as a 'country'?

If 5 years from now they still control a chunk of Syria and perhaps a bit of Iraq, does it become the middle eastern equivalent of Transnistria?

Baldpacker

I'm more curious if Crimea will be added to the list in 2015 or not!

DanielW

Depends how apolitical they are I guess.

Interesting few words on how the 'the worlds most travelled man' defines as having 'visited' a country:

hauteboy

Yeah.. I fall short on a few countries by his criteria. There's a few places I don't have a picture of myself in a place, or used credit cards, or have stamps...

FallenPlat

I've been to hardly any countries, but I did spend a few months, over two summers, as a college kid zipping through all of Europe (ex Poland & Finland). The iron curtain was still up and there was no Schengen Agreement yet, and so I actually had to work at it a bit; Albania was flatly off-limits with a US passport. Anyway, I've never felt sillier than when I actually bothered to go to Andorra -- which you can't get to by train -- and asked to have my passport stamped. The border guard looked at me as though I were nuts, and then did it anyway. I certainly wasn't going to bother with the likes of San Marino. I had my self-respect, even as a teenager.

The irony here is that the whole ridiculous Andorra side trip was actually a lot of fun: I hiked for a day near the youth hostel I was staying at in France and seeing even part of the Pyrenees was fascinating.

And I'm also not fooled by any of you for a second. For all your tough talk about doing the equivalent of just tagging a base and then moving on, most of you actually go to places and write truly interesting, and sometimes even terrifying reports. Maybe the country-tag thing just adds a mite of motivation?

rankourabu

For some, yes, its about country tagging, they will spend an hour in a place, and say they've been there, or a day. Whatever floats their boat my friend, who are we to say, thats wrong, or that doesnt count?

Now that I've gone over 35yo, I personally have no intention of visiting every country in the world (20 countries this year - only one new one), nor do I have any interest spending insane amounts of money to go to Tuvalu for a day, to "tag" it as visited.

Point is, everyone is different, and whatever the motivation to travel is, whether it be to explore new places, or tag them on a list, its a personal choice.


Credit card is dumb, good luck using it in Iran lol, as are stamps since that would eliminate most of Europe. Pictures can be photoshopped.

The TCC list is ridiculous, does anyone actually use it??

Baldpacker

I only learned about the TCC last year but don't think it's ridiculous at all. It has motivated me to travel to a lot of places that I would have otherwise never considered going to (Aland Islands, Christmas Islands, Cocos (Keeling) Islands for example).

At the en of the day I'm not traveling with the purpose of "tagging" a list, but I will admit keeping track motivates me to go to places off the beaten path a little more often.

rankourabu

No, it is ridiculous to list Turkey Europe and Turkey Asia as separate territories. Or Sumatra and Java. Or Greece and Corfu.

I will give you Aaland and Christmas/Cocos - those I would count as well - they are distinct administrative entities - like Guam, Cook Islands or Gibraltar.


I am surprised they only have 2000 members, does one have to pay to join?

ironmanjt

Well-written...my feelings as well. I want to do the UN list, and with a goal of at least spending more than a few hours in a place. But I monitor the TCC list as well, because it at least gives some insight into different places. Aland was neat...and I admit I wouldn't have gone without TCC either.