Counting Countries

Download Episode! Gunnar Garfors is the youngest hobby traveler who has traveled to all 193 countries while still being employed full time. Besides traveling to every country in the world, Gunnar has also completed several other challenging feats.  In 2012, he traveled to five different continents in one single day.  In 2014, he traveled to 19 countries in one day, a world record.  You can read about some of his amazing adventures in his book, 198: How I Ran Out Of Countries.    More about Gunnar Garfors: Subscribe on iTunes!!

• Born in: World's northernmost town: Hammerfest, Norway
• Passports from: Norwegian (two of them!)
• Favorite travel book: 198: How I Ran Out Of Countries
• Favorite travel site: momondo.com.  It is great for comparing flight tickets
• Must carry:  Two pens and an old fashioned notepad (made by paper)
• Favorite food: Fresh natural oysters
• Favorite drink: Dry bubbles (champagne)
• Favorite Airline: Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)
• Favorite Hotel: To me, a hotel is for sleep, work and showers – and preferably a good breakfast. A hotel has never been my reason to go anywhere, I travel to see places, meet people and explore cultures. So I guess I have never spent enough time in a hotel to fall in love with it.
• Website: www.garfors.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/gunnargarfors
• Instagram: Instagram.com/garfors
• Twitter: twitter.com/garfors

Subscribe on iTunes!! About Counting Countries Counting Countries is the only podcast to bring you the stories from the dedicated few who’ve spent their lives on the singular quest of traveling to every country in the world. Less people have traveled to every country in the world than have been to outer space. Theme music for this podcast is Demeter’s Dance, written, performed, and provided by Mundi. About GlobalGaz Ric Gazarian is the host of Counting Countries. He is the author of three books: Hit The Road: India, 7000 KM To Go, and Photos From Chernobyl.  He is the producer of two travel documentaries: Hit The Road: India and Hit The Road: Cambodia.   Ric is also on his own quest to visit every country in the world. You can see where he has traveled so far and keep up with his journey at GlobalGaz.com How Many Countries Are There? Well… that depends on who you ask!

• The United Nations states that there are 193 member states.
• The British Foreign and Commonwealth office states that there are 225 countries and territories.
• The Century Club states that there are 325 sovereign nations, territories, enclaves, and islands.
• The Most Traveled Person states that there are 875 unique parts of the world.
• The Best Traveled states that there are 1281 unique places in the world.

Me? My goal is the 193 countries that are recognized by the UN, but I am sure I will visit some other places along the way. Disclaimer: I will earn a fee if you order from Amazon/Agoda.