- Torbjørn "Thor" Pedersen left
Denmark in 2013 with a mission to visit every country in the world, all without ever stepping on a plane. - With only nine countries left, Pedersen's journey is on pause in Hong Kong.
Travel 's uncertain future has left Pedersen unsure of how long it will take to complete his goal.- "Now it's time to think, 'How much is this really worth?'" Pedersen told Insider.
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Torbjørn "Thor" Pedersen was supposed to spend a meager four days in Hong Kong during his journey to every country in the world.
Today marks day 93, and, unfortunately, there's no end in sight.
Pedersen was heading to the island of Palau when his ship was canceled due to the coronavirus.
"In those few days the world started to fall apart," Pedersen told Insider.
Now he's waiting in Hong Kong until travel bans are lifted and he can book another trip to the island country.
Pedersen set out in 2013 with the goal of traveling to every country in the world without ever stepping on a plane
He's also added a couple of additional rules: He must remain in each country for at least 24 hours, and he can't visit home until he's done.
If he accomplishes it, he'll be the first person to consecutively visit every country without flying.
Six and a half years later, and he's checked 194 countries off his list. He has nine countries to visit before he can head back home to Denmark, where he plans to start a family.
While nine countries might not seem like a lot in comparison to how many he's visited, Pedersen estimates it'll take another 10 months to check off those last destinations, which are Palau, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.
But the coronavirus presents an uncertain future of travel, and 10 months would be his quickest route. The reality is that it's likely to take much longer.
For now, he's spending his days with a host family, blogging, hiking throughout Hong Kong, giving motivational speeches, and volunteering at the local Red Cross, where Pedersen serves as a goodwill ambassador.
Pedersen's journey started in 2013 when his father sent an article that caught the traveler's eye
While Pedersen's email inbox usually has a link or two from his father, this one article his dad shared with him caught his attention. The article explained the possibility of traveling to every country without taking a plane ride.
After a little research, Pedersen learned that no one has ever completed it as one unbroken trip.
"There was a chance to do something that had never been done before in history, push the envelope, and hopefully inspire other people in the process," Pedersen said.
He spent the next 10 months planning, and he left his home on October 10, 2013.
Pedersen's 12 years of experience in the shipping industry gave him the upper hand in understanding how to plan and travel. Over the course of his six-and-a-half-year journey, he's traveled on cargo ships, sailboats, tuk-tuks, ferries, trains, and buses.
For long distances, his only option is a cargo ship. A journey across oceans would typically take hours on a plane, but on a ship, it may take days or weeks.
That, along with time waiting for visas, natural disasters, and planning, has caused the journey to take years.
Pedersen compares his journey to going to a challenging university.
Students go to a school where they meet friends and have life experiences, but for the most part, they read a lot, study a lot, and have to pass every exam.
"It's good fun to look into the future and dream about what life's going to be like when this is done," Pedersen told Insider. "For the most part, it's not a lot of fun to be in."
It's the challenge of accomplishing something that's never been done before that fuels Pedersen
But this challenge has hit an unexpected — and timely — roadblock.
"Now it's time to think, 'How much is this really worth?''' the traveler questioned.
He has other goals beyond traveling, and he isn't sure how much longer he'll have to achieve them.
He wants to start a family, but his fiancé is getting older. He wants to spend more time with his parents, who won't live forever.
But he also wants to be the person who never quit.
"I do want to complete this because it's the difference between being the guy who can look at other people and say, 'You can obtain a hard-to-reach goal. I did it,' or being the guy who said it's OK to quit," he explained.
Pedersen considered quitting his journey on one other occasion
While he was traveling through central Africa, Pedersen caught malaria, his grandmother passed away, and he was facing extreme racism.
On top of those challenges, he struggled to get visas and couldn't cross borders. "Everything was just hell on Earth," Pedersen said.
After four or five months of challenges, he had enough. He got his passport and called a taxi to the airport.
But on his way, he ran into a friend. Although the friend didn't speak much English, his positive energy was the push for Pedersen to keep going.
"I just kind of found the energy within meeting up with Karimou to say that the system's not going to beat me," he said. "There's no way. Nobody cares, but nobody's going to beat me."
He hopped in the cab, but instead of taking it to the airport, he took it about 500 miles to his next country.
Pedersen emphasizes that his journey is more about the people than the actual travel
"I'd say that travel is sort of a side effect of what I'm doing," Pedersen explained. "Travel is not the headline. The headline really is that people should feel inspired to go out and reach their goals."
He laughs, knowing that this article will be published on a travel vertical.
Pedersen hasn't explored many of the tourist destinations in each stop. He doesn't prioritize seeing famous landmarks or architectural triumphs.
He's invested his time in people.
"Probably, a stranger is really a friend you've never met before. People are just people, and the world is not this scary place that's on fire," he said.
His current host family in Hong Kong has reassured him of that message. He met the family through connections and had planned to stay with them for just four days. More than 90 days later, they still haven't kicked Pedersen out.
"A funny thing about this is that I've never in my entire life spent this much time with a family that wasn't my own," he said.
He's grown close to the family's two children. They go on hikes, play video games, and eat dinner together.
He imagines that if he had been in a hostel or guesthouse he'd feel much more alone.
"People are truly amazing," he said.
"I cannot explain why I'm not dead," Pedersen added. "The only way I can explain it is that the world must be immensely more friendly than what we give it credit for."
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