travelling wilbury...
The people who have travelled to all the countries in the world and spent at least a week in each would be our hero..
Maybe for example Luxembourg etc can be three to five days or something like that. For us travelling is about getting to know the local culture and this takes time. We have a general rule that is to spend at least a week in a country and visit two major towns and maybe a smaller town to get more of an idea. If you have been to Berlin do you understand Germany, been to Sydney you understand Australia.
But ew understand that people wish to see as many places as possible but what would they remember from each?
Reply to this Well I have found an example of someone who is visiting countires for a little amount of time but he is still one of our heroes.. I am not sure how many countries he has visited also he is not a member of travelblog but still an inspiration 😊
😊
Reply to this Oh I love
Where the hell is Matt?
his original video inspired Faye and I no end and the opening scene of him walking out on the Salar in his
2006 video, firmly put Bolivia on our list of must sees (which we did in 2007).
If you check out his maps though it does suggest his itinerary for making his later videos.... it seems he probably spent more time flying to the countries than actually in them. Looks like he may have been hurried by his sponsors eager for the next video... Still great videos though! 😊
Reply to this Where the hell is Matt's videos make me smile so much and make me really proud to be a human - even if it probably has changed in reasons for doing it it still had to start somewhere!
Reply to this I agree with Pierre-Alexander. There are just some countries that I have no interest in visiting. While I am a goal oriented person, setting a goal to visit every country just so that I could say that I did isn't very appealing. And I agree with those who say that visiting a country for just a few days doesn't really qualify one to say they know a country. And getting to know other peoples and cultures is what I find most rewarding.
Reply to this Ah, what a great discussion.
I believe that most of those who frequent this site agree with the philosophy of traveling to get to know the people and understand the culture rather than checking off one more tourists sight or country from the list. Going slow and enjoying the country is the gig we embrace when we travel.
Centuries ago I dated a guy who went on one of those group tours in the 60's where they took you to 15 European countries in 21 days. To this day he thinks he has been to those countries. To each his own.
Have any of you been on the Century Club web site? It is a group of people who have been to a minimum of 100 countries. I find it interesting that if your plane touched down in a country and you did not get off they count it. I personally would not.
What criteria do you use to measure whether or not you have been in a country. If you changed planes in a country but never left the airport would you count it? My husband and I have had this discussion. In the old days he would have counted it but I would not. I have brought him over to my way of thinking.
Yes, Matt makes us smile. His intensions were pure when he started out. If they wanted to send me around the world I would not turn it down.
Reply to this I actually just Googled this Century Club you mentioned and had a browse of their country list.... Seems quite odd indeed.
For example they say Australia and Tasmania count as two different countries... even different Greek island groups count as separate entities...
They say this is because:
Although some are not actually countries in their own right, they have been included because they are removed from parent, either geographically, politically or ethnologically
some I might let slide... China and Tibet for example as these fit right into the above statement, but others just seem like an excuse to increase the list raising the number of visit-able countries and thus increasing status within the club.
According to the above criteria I'd argue that certain US mainland states should be separated (Alaska and Hawaii excepted), yet they're not. I suppose having travelled all around the US gives you no bragging rights in this club?
according to their rules I go over 50 'countries'... I think I'll stick to the 41, travelblog says I've been to! 😄
Reply to this I find it interesting that if your plane touched down in a country and you did not get off they count it. I personally would not.
What criteria do you use to measure whether or not you have been in a country. If you changed planes in a country but never left the airport would you count it?
I tend to have a list of 'places I've been' and 'places I've really been'. I once spent a day travelling through Switzerland. I have used numerous public toilets and had a leisurely lunch with view of the Alps. Have I been to Switzerland? Well I tend to say 'yes, but not properly'. I went to Holland when I was 2 years old and more recently spent a night there between flights but have I been to Holland? I still feel I need to go again to really count it.
There are different ways to experience a country. I do count countries when I've been there on a city break... yes I only spent three days in Prague and there's obviously a lot more to the Czech Republic, but I have been and have done as much as possible in the limited time.
Besides is there any real criteria for having 'done' a country? I mean who has been to India - the person who took a two week coach tour and ticked off all the important tourist sights, the person who spent three months working with street children in Mumbai, or the person who spent a year in a secluded ashram? Who has experienced China, the person who backpacked across the country for three months, the person who lived and worked for two years in one area, or the person who has never been to China but is from a family of Chinese immigrants and has grown up with Chinese culture, understands all the traditional festivals and is fluent in the language?
I think it's personal choice when to say you've been to a country. Personally I have to have actually have done something within the country, something more than just changing flights or sleeping, but even when I say I've been to a country I don't think I can ever really put a tick beside it and call it done. There is always more to see and experience and though I love to see new places I'd never write off somewhere I've been before, and in some cases there are certain countries I could visit every year and still be happy to go back to again
Reply to this I believe my portuguese passport will allow me to go every country. We are as free as it gets, but still a quiet country, so no country would forbide us to go in... not sure though.
And of course I would need at least 2 passoports and some countries wont let you in if you have the stamp of a country they dont get along with. but that is the easiest part
Reply to this What I know is the person and he is, Dave Kunst, verified to have completed circling the entire land mass of the earth (with exception of the oceans) on foot.
Reply to this I'm 21 and I've been to 28 countries. Hope to increase that number by a long shot.
To travel to literally all 191 countries on the globe would take your whole life's dedication. Personally, there are some countries that I don't want to go to; but I would sure like to see most of them. Hoping I can do it.
Reply to this Have any of you been on the Century Club web site? It is a group of people who have been to a minimum of 100 countries
I just had a look at the Century Club and it is a strange list. Still is there any perfect way of defining a country? I mean travelblog counts Vatican City seperate to Italy - and yes technically it's a seperate country. However if someone asks me which countries I've visited I never count the Vatican City, I just say Italy. In contrast I will say I am from England and I have visited Scotland and Wales.
Reply to this Hi,
There are 192 countries today recognized by the UN. There will a new one coming in July: South Sudan.
It doesnt take a lifetime to visit all of them. It took myself and Stephanie 5 full years to visit AND work in each one of them for the children art project Art in All of Us <snip>.
I have also a European passport, and believe for at least 1/3 of the countries on earth having visas, has been difficult or very difficult. For North Korea, it took us 2,5 years of negociation with the local government to get in and work in their public institution (it would take only 3-6 months if you go as a normal tourist).
safe travels,
Anthony
Reply to this Just checked the Century Club....it's a serious joke! I'm way over 100, close to 120, but it's at the end of the day a big cheat....Greece is divided in something like 5 parts...go figure out...Zanzibar a country?!? Ok, some could argue on how you count Tahiti...but Gibraltar...or worst Arlderney separted than Jersey....
I'm the first one to agree that 100 is pretty often not 100....even in my case, and I'll make a special case of it next week...
Reply to this Well PA you have a genuine 98 now, what will be your number 100?
And I agree, I thought the definition of what was a territory or country on the Century Club site was a bit of a joke - splitting Australia into Tasmania and the Mainland is preposterous - the reason cited is so that places are correctly identified "geographically, politically or ethnologically". Same silly reasoning is applied for splitting Lord Howe Island from the rest of the Commonwealth. And please don't get me started into splitting Antarctica into seven countries!
The only reason they do that is to increase the possibility to reach 100 countries so that more people are eligible to join.
Just a clarification, visas to North Korea don't take 3-6 months, DPRK travel companies inform their clients the process is usually a month (I applied for mine two months in advance which was plenty of time) but obtaining a visa to work for a public institution in that country would be a protracted process!
Reply to this Hi Shane....well my 98 is not even genuine....Antartica does not qualify as a country...and my 100th won't be a country by is own right neither...but that's coming soon...
Reply to this Country or territories count the same for me - you may be referring to Greenland I suspect, and even though it is part of Denmark, there is no way you can equate a visit to Greenland as visiting Denmark or vice-versa.
Anyway, looking forward to seeing you reach you hundreth country/territory - I still have a few years to reach that milestone!
Reply to this Hi Sally and Nick. Viajerong Pinoy is nominated for Hall od Fame. Fyi.
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