It dawned on me the other day. I like to think I’ve travelled a fair amount in my lifetime. I’ve always enjoyed a bit of adventure and with work and family commitments I’ve moved around a lot. But it wasn’t until very recently that I actually asked myself “how many countries have you visited Chris?”
I went online to try to find a website that would allow me to input all the countries I’ve been too. From there, I could visualise and see for myself how much of the world I’ve seen.
Here’s the result:
Turns out, I haven’t really seen that much yet. There are still a LOT of places to go, places to experience. It shocked me a little bit. If you had asked me a week ago How many countries have you visited? I would have said, “I’ve been around a fair bit”.
Now that I can see it, on the screen in front of me, I realised just how little of this world I’ve really seen.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with how much I have travelled, I just honestly thought I had been to more places.
So far this year, I’ve been to 16 different countries, a few of which were not new on the list. But nonetheless, a fair amount of them have been.
On this recent trip that I’m currently on (Nomadic 2017), it was the first time I had been to Scotland, Gran Canaria, St Kitts, Curacao, Aruba and Panama.
Earlier this year, I finally ticked off a place that was on my bucket list for a very long time, Cambodia and more importantly, the temples of Angkor Wat.
I even got to spend a couple of weeks in Vietnam too, which was a nice surprise. But even then, in terms of statistics, I’ve only actually been to 34 countries so far. This time next week, it will be 35, but looking at that map is when you realise how much of the world I still haven’t seen or experienced at all.
There are plans to be made in 2018, places to be visited, that’s for sure. I want to tick off more countries, but not as flying visits. I actually want to explore and experience these places.
Most of the countries I’ve been to this year, I’ve managed to spend at least 2 weeks in (bar a couple of islands whilst on the cruise, those were day trips).
When you’re in one place for a while, I feel like you get to know it better. You blend in with it more. Learning the best places, where the locals drink, where to go snorkelling and where to avoid being robbed.
So, how many countries have you visited?
Why write this article? Really I’m just looking for some feedback, how many countries have you visited?
Do you have a list of the places you want to go to next? Do you have a list of countries you really HAVE to visit? I’m curious.
