Briton Graham Hughes sets Guiness Record as first person to visit all world’s 201 countries without flying (VIDEO)
A British adventurer became the first person who had traveled all the 201 sovereign states of the world without flying. The challenging journey ended on Monday when he arrived in South Sudan, world’s newest country (scroll down for video).
British traveler Graham Hughes became the first person to visit all states around the world without flying
Graham Hughes used buses, boats, taxis, trains and his feet – but no aircraft – to browse over 250,000 kilometers in 1426 days, spending an average of less than $100 a week.
“I love to travel. I guess the reason I made this journey is because I wanted to see if it is possible, if a person with a limited budget can visit all countries over the world,” said Hughes to CS Monitor. “I also wanted to show that the world is not a big scary place, but is full of people who want to help you even if you are a foreigner,” added Hughes by phone from Juba, capital of South Sudan.
33-year-old Graham Hughes went on this trip on January 1, 2009, starting in his homecity of Liverpool. Since then, the Briton has visited all 193 UN member countries and Taiwan, the Vatican, Palestine, Kosovo, Western Sahara and the four nations that make up the United Kingdom.
Organization Guinness World Records confirmed that Hughes is the first person who manages to visit all countries without flying. The British filmed his adventures throughout the trip and now intends to produce a documentary. Furthermore, along the journey Hughes raised money for a charity, Water Aid.
“At this moment I feel a great sense of gratitude to everyone around the world who helped me get here, whether they took me by car, let me sleep on a couch or just showed me directions,” said Hughes. “There were also difficult times, e.g. waiting at a bus stop in Cambodia or traveling in a truck on a terrible road, and during those moments I wondered” why do I do this?. But I always found a reason to go on,” said the Brit.
Among the special moments of the trip, Hughes had the chance to swim in a lake full of jellyfish in Palau, opportunity to witness the final launch of a NASA space shuttle and dance with tribes in the jungles of Papua New Guinea island.
“People asked me how I would go to Afghanistan, Iraq or North Korea, but these were easy countries, I had no visa for Iraq, I just simply passed the border from Turkey,” said the daredevil traveler.
“The most difficult countries to reach were Nauru, Maldives and Seychelles, island states around which pirates sail sometimes,” said Hughes.
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To cross oceans, Hughes “hitchhiked” being taken on board cargo ships. The brave man spent four days in a fishing canoe traveling from Senegal to Cape Verde, where he was arrested upon arrival.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities kept him in jail for 6 days, claiming he is a spy. “Nothing made me quit, on contrary these challenges gave me strength I continue my trip,” said Hughes.
The toughest moment, “when I really wanted to quit” was two years ago when his older sister, Nicola, died of cancer at the age of 39. Hughes rushed to get home to see her before she died.
“She told me not to quit traveling, but I felt terrible. I had visited 184 countries and was only 17 to go and thought I would stop there,” recalls Hughes.
The Briton passed over this difficult time, traveling in the honor of his sister. He was thinking at all people he met along the expedition and the money he raised for Water Aid organization, which strives to make drinking water available to all people in developing countries.
“If you think about everything you know about the world from the news, then you conclude that everything is evil and become paranoid that everyone wants to hurt you,” says Hughes. “For me it was great to discover that everyone I knew took care of me despite they did not even know me”.
Hughes stayed a few days in South Sudan, and after that he wants to continue in the same spirit of adventure. Britain will go on traveling through Africa and Europe by bus and boat and will return to Liverpool by ferry before Christmas.
After a long rest, Hughes says he’s going to try to make a career as a filmmaker.
Video: Graham Hughes in South Sudan after visiting all world’s nations (26.Nov.2012)