A man who visited every country in the world without boarding a plane (2023)
12 comments
·May 17, 2025userbinator
omoikane
He had a longer blog entry for North Korea, but I like how the FAQ summarized it as "DPRK is a far more normal country than what we are lead to believe".
The rest of the FAQ is great reading as well:
qw
Yes, it's #176 on his list of countries:
scott_w
The article said all 195 UN countries, so yes.
Stealthisbook
Graham Hughes did that years ago.
gregorvand
"Then came his eureka moment: “I discovered that no one had ever gone to every country in the world completely without flying [in one unbroken trip].” (A British man, Graham Hughes, has set foot in every country without flying, but took two breaks from the journey for personal reasons.)"
akoboldfrying
> without boarding a plane
Speedrunning tip for future contenders: Be born inside a plane
sandspar
I'm struck by his quotes. They sound like basic advice. "People are generally good, few people want to hurt you" etc. Normally people say this without thinking but with him it's backed up by so much experience. It's hard to share experience. I remember seeing a man whose son was murdered in a shooting. He kept trying to describe his pain, using simple, profound language. I felt sorry for him because of course few people in the audience could relate to him. So his words kind of went in one ear and out the other, at least for me. It's hard to know how deeply truthful something is unless you've lived it. I imagine that this guy in the article may feel very lonely sometimes. Plus it's hard to be "post adventure" etc. Olympic athletes and astronauts etc always talk about how hard it is to be on the other side of the mountain. "What now?"
gabrielsroka
2023
IncreasePosts
Every country according to which governing body or society?
doubletwoyou
Apparently those 195 recognized by the UN as well as countries like Taiwan. 203 in total according to the article.
null
Presumably including North Korea? (Due to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44033310 currently on the front page.)