An avid traveller from Denmark visited all countries of the world without a single flight: Here is how he did it

Torbjørn "Thor" Pedersen, an avid traveller from Denmark, has done the unthinkable. Back in 2013, he left his family and his job to visit every country in the world without taking a single flight.

The man finally returned home after travelling to a staggering 203 countries over the course of ten years. Pedersen spent 24 hours in each country and $20 a day, NewsBytes writes.

Pedersen set three travel rules for himself before embarking on this journey: he stayed in each country for only 24 hours, spent no more than $20 a day, and did not return home before visiting all the countries in the world.

He mostly travelled on container ships, except for a few places where he took buses and trains. Sometimes strangers offered him accommodation, food and all the help he needed.

During his journey, Pedersen made friends with several strangers who offered accommodation, meals, translation support, and directions for a smooth trip. His experience in transportation and logistics helped the traveller. Before conquering the world, he worked in transportation and logistics. This helped him simplify complex routes and adapt to the roads.

It is noted that in 2020, Pedersen arrived in Hong Kong on a container ship from Micronesia, and only nine countries remained on his list, including Palau, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was stuck in Hong Kong and remained there for two years.

Months of delays in waiting for a visa added additional problems to the original plan. According to sources, the traveller initially thought that visiting 203 countries would take only four years. However, in addition to COVID-19, even months-long delays in obtaining visas to Syria, Iran, Angola, and Nauru prevented this.

During his journey, Pedersen survived a severe bout of cerebral malaria in Ghana, a four-day storm in the Atlantic Ocean, passed through numerous closed borders, spent several days quarantined in hotels due to the pandemic, and got stuck in a truck because of bandits. In total, he used the services of 3,576 container ships, 158 trains, 219 taxis, 351 buses, 33 boats, and 43 rickshaws during his 223,000-mile journey around the world.

While speaking to CNN, Pederson inspired people by saying that if he could travel the world in such difficult conditions, people could lose weight, get their dream job, learn a new language, get a better degree, or achieve anything they set their minds to.