Callum Jones
A man who's remarkably traveled to every single country in the world without flying has revealed the best place he's ever been to.
We've heard all about Drew Binsky, who traveled to every single country in just under a decade, but Thor Pedersen completed the same feat in an even more impressive way.
Thor, from Denmark, reached the Maldives in May 2023 and in doing so, made it to his 203rd and final country in the world without catching a single flight.
As he prepares for the launch of his new book, The Impossible Journey, which releases on Thursday (April 24), Thor sat down with UNILAD to discuss his incredible journey.
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As a keen traveler myself, I was quick to ask Thor what's the best country he's ever been to so I could add it to my bucket list.
Thor explained that if you're planning to visit said country, then you'll have to act fast, as the traveler explained he probably won't be able to recommend the nation to tourists in the future.
He said: "If I had to single out a country, I would have to look for a country which doesn't resemble another country too much. And, you know, I'm from Denmark. Denmark's a little bit like Sweden. It's a little bit like the Netherlands."
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Such thinking took Thor to the country of Cuba.
"Cuba is its own thing. It's gradually changing," Thor said. "You would have to go soon, because it wouldn't be my recommendation down the line, because it will get gentrified."
Thor had initially hoped to complete his epic challenge in just four years, but political unrest, visa issues and a global pandemic had other ideas.
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Despite the challenges, one of which saw Thor spend much of the Covid-19 lockdown in Hong Kong, the Dane got to the Maldives a decade after he started his incredible journey.
But that doesn't mean things weren't tricky.
Thor added to UNILAD: "I was down to the last nine countries when the pandemic broke, and I was in Hong Kong. I was in Hong Kong as transit to get to another country, so I was waiting for a ship that would pick me up, and it had all been coordinated.
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"I'm so close [to completing the challenge] and the pandemic broke. That part of the world in China, you must remember, China was a different level when it came to the pandemic. Hong Kong was in that bubble as well. The Pacific was in that bubble."
Thor ultimately spent two years in Hong Kong before he was able to leave the country and continue his mission of visiting every country without getting on a single plane.
'The Impossible Journey: An Incredible Voyage Through Every Country in the World Without Flying' by Thor Pedersen is out on Thursday (April 24) in hardback, eBook and Audio (Robinson, £25).