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It is said that many people had the same wish when they were young-to travel around the world,

Nowadays, transportation is so developed, especially.

As long as you have money and leisure, it is not difficult to realize this wish. More than 211 people around the world have achieved the goal of "traveling around the world", and even more than 511 people have been in space.

But if you don't fly and only rely on land and water transportation, it will be difficult to travel around the world. Most people don't "seek abuse" on their own.

However, a Danish man just doesn't believe in evil and wants to give it a try.

sleeping in the wind, enduring loneliness and perils, all the hardships and surprises of traveling have gone through.

After seven years of hard work, he is now only one step away from his ultimate goal ...

Torbj? Rn Pedersen was born in Denmark in 1978, and everyone around him called him Thor.

Before he was 6 years old, he lived with his parents in Canada and the United States. In 1984, he returned to Denmark to study business at the university. After graduation, he served as a soldier, and was also sent to Eritrea and Ethiopia as a UN peacekeeping soldier.

After he retired, he worked in shipping and logistics, and he went to many countries in a few years.

2111.

Thor is a man who likes to look around, and his work needs have kept him traveling all these years.

Seven or eight years ago, his father sent him an email with an article about traveling around the world.

Thor suddenly had an epiphany after reading it, and he wanted to travel around the world in a special way-

instead of flying, he only relied on land and water transportation.

Before him, an "elder" had already completed a similar journey.

Graham Hughes, a British TV presenter, visited 193 Member States of the United Nations and several individual regions in just 4 years and 31 days without flying, and

also set the Guinness World Record of "Visiting 133 countries by land transportation in 1 years".

slightly different from this "predecessor" in Britain, Thor set himself a goal:

A person will go on the road without flying (not even hot air balloons), and he can only take long-distance buses, trains and boats, and he is not allowed to rent a car to drive himself.

He will travel to 213 countries and regions in the world, and each country will stay for at least 24 hours, and he must complete the whole journey before he can go home.

Thor was appointed as a goodwill ambassador by the Danish Red Cross in 2113.

He also has a mission on this trip, and he needs to visit the Red Cross societies in various countries and regions along the way.

Some of his travel expenses are paid by himself, and some are funded by the society and the Danish Red Cross.

Thor named his project "Once Upon a Saga",

The Viking called the story of adventure and hero Saga, and he hoped that his journey would also become a feat.

After a period of planning, Thor's journey around the world officially began at 11:11 a.m. on October 11, 2113.

Thor took a backpack from the southern Danish town of Dybb? L Take the first step of traveling and enter Germany by train, because Germany is the only country bordering Danish territory.

Thor's travel route is arranged as follows:

Starting from Germany, he first traveled to 37 countries in Europe,

set foot in North America via the North Atlantic, and visited countries in Central America and South America all the way down, then returned to the north to travel to all countries in the Caribbean,

The next stop was the African continent, and Thor started from Morocco, a country in northwest Africa, and visited all countries in Africa.

Then it landed in eastern Europe from Africa, crossed the Middle East countries to Asia, then went to Oceania,

and finally arrived at the destination of the trip from Oceania, the Indian Ocean island country Maldives.

(schematic diagram of the route)

Thor spent seven years completing most of the above journey, and at first he felt quite relaxed.

"It was very pleasant to book a train ticket, catch the train on time, eat and drink in the car, enjoy the beautiful scenery outside the window, meet new friends, read books and listen to music."

"When you arrive in a new city, go to the embassy to apply for a visa for the next destination, and then prepare for the next journey."

However, when this process is repeated hundreds of times, Thor inevitably feels a little bored.

He doesn't intend to give up, but keeps finding fun on the trip, such as meeting friends from different countries and observing the special manners and living habits of people from different countries. The freshness keeps him motivated to keep going.

For travelers who like "poor travel", money and language are two major difficulties that must be faced, and Thor should also make good plans for himself.

Thor's trip is also a poor trip, but an ultra-long trip, so he must be careful in terms of funds.

Thor has set himself a daily budget of 21 dollars (about 129 yuan), which should cover four major expenses of food, transportation, accommodation and visas.

Different countries have different consumption levels, so Thor has found the trick through practice, as long as he lives in the way of local people. Food and clothing are basically guaranteed.

He sometimes saves money on accommodation, such as sleeping on transportation. Some new friends he knows locally will invite him to live at home for a day, and even sleep in slums and streets when he is miserable.

Besides speaking languages, Thor needs to go to so many countries, and everyone speaks any language, which is arguably a problem.

However, Thor said that he really hasn't encountered any language problems. He can speak English and a little Spanish, French and German,

But even if the other party doesn't understand it, there are still languages that are common all over the world-body language,

such as taking a car, finding a place to live, etc.

It is impossible to say that traveling to more than 111 countries has always been smooth sailing.

In fact, Thor encountered numerous difficulties during his trip, especially the unexpected circumstances that caused troubles, which often made people crazy.

For example, regarding the visa issue,

Thor's Danish passport is one of the most convenient in the world, and it is very quick to get visas from most countries.

But there are also two or three countries, such as India.

Probably he didn't think carefully when planning. At that time, he planned to enter India from the border area of Pakistan, and the relationship between the two countries was well understood.

He had to go to the Indian Embassy in Pakistan first to explain why he didn't fly to India honestly like ordinary tourists.

After some investigation, the staff confirmed that he was telling the truth and finally issued him an Indian visa, so that he could enter India by land smoothly.

(Pakistani soldiers photographed by Thor)

It is more difficult to get visas from war-torn countries than India, as well as some countries that don't welcome tourists at all.

It is extremely difficult for ordinary people to get visas from these countries.

Thor has traveled to every country that has been at war in recent years,

Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia ...

(the 161th country, Afghanistan)

Anyone who goes to these unstable countries will be extra vigilant,

But dangers usually don't give people a chance to prepare in advance, and they often come quietly and make people unprepared.

Thor has also encountered many thrilling situations along the way. He summed up two kinds of dangers, one is to fall into danger unconsciously, and the other is that someone has ulterior motives and wants to harm him.

Even though he is a soldier and has certain self-protection ability, he has no advantage in being a stranger.

From the smallest point of view,

Thor wants to go to a small island in the Pacific Ocean, usually only by plane, but he can't violate the regulations.

He decided to go by boat, and after asking around, he didn't find a passenger ship that could carry passengers.

No way, Thor finally crustily skin of head and arrived at the island by container ship.

Tell me again the distress experience that impressed him deeply.

On the night of New Year's Day on October 1, 2116, Thor took a taxi from Cameroon to Congo. Both he and the driver were very tired.

There were dark Woods on both sides of the road, and when the car drove by, it raised a dust and could not see the surrounding environment clearly.

Suddenly, three figures appeared in the middle of the road to block their way.

Thor and the driver got off the bus and saw that the three men were dressed in uniforms and armed to the teeth with guns in their hands. It seemed that they were the guards of the local leaders.

All three were drunk, and what's worse, one of them was hostile to them.

Seeing them get off the bus, the three men were holding guns and kept asking Thor.

On the first day of the New Year, on a forest road in a strange country, he was stopped by three drunken men with guns for questioning. Anyone who caught up with him would be scared to break into a cold sweat.

Thor thought in his mind that it was probably a mistake to come here.

He had already made the worst plan, and he might explain it here today.

Fortunately, the goddess of fortune stood by Thor this time.

He was questioned for 45 minutes, which seemed to be the longest time in his life. Three guards finally let them go.

Thor escaped unscathed, but in retrospect, he was inevitably worried.

I haven't been home for seven years, and I haven't seen my family and friends.

Thor is not discouraged.

He said with a smile, "I think about giving up almost every day, thinking,' Should I continue?'

jokes are jokes, but Thor really considered giving up twice.

One time was in 2115-2116, and he suffered a series of setbacks.

During this period, he was unfortunately infected with malaria in Africa, first in Ghana, and it happened that his grandmother died, so he couldn't get back to attend the funeral.

Later, malaria recovered, but there was something wrong with the entry procedures, and some documents were just unavailable, which once made him desperate.

Then, he was short of money. During that time, he didn't have any income, so he lived on nothing, and soon became financially strapped.

All kinds of bad worries add up to make Thor physically and mentally exhausted. He feels lonely and no one cares about his life or death.

In a depressed mood, he decides to give up the rest of the trip.

He takes his passport and calls a taxi. Thor goes to the airport, intending to buy a plane ticket and fly back to Denmark.

As luck would have it, the taxi driver was an acquaintance that day. He often solicited passengers in that area, and Thor tried his car several times.

Although the driver master only knew little English, he could guess from Thor's expression that he was close, so he smiled and said something to him.

Thor didn't understand the driver's words at all, but it really comforted him and calmed him down.

On the way, they decided to have a cup of tea together, which allowed Thor to clear his mind.

It only took him 5-11 minutes, and he made up his mind again to finish the next journey.

"It's easy to go home, just take the luggage to the airport, and everything is over."

"But giving up is actually very difficult, so I will never achieve my goal, and all my previous efforts will be in vain."

"After all, I have worked my ass off to fulfill my wish."

finally, faith overcame the difficulties, and Thor decided to stay and continue the unfinished journey.

Of course, the trip is not only bitter, but also sweet.

Thor enjoys the scenery along the way, while enjoying the customs of various countries and regions.

From the coconut beach in Nauru,

to the frozen river in Kazakhstan,

from the Ascension Church in Vasily, Russia,

to the ancient stupa in Nepal,

from the high-rise buildings on the streets of Tokyo,

to the ancient mysterious Muslim buildings in Uzbekistan,

He also visited China in 2119.

I photographed the Temple of Heaven and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses,

I met many new friends all over the world. They spoke different languages and lived different lives.

The colorful world was an eye-opener.

to say that Thor was most surprised by the trip, there are still two things.

First, when he was traveling in Florida, he met a local.

The local asked him if he wanted to watch the rocket launch. Thor thought it was very new and went with him.

Seeing a rocket fly into the sky with his own eyes was the most amazing thing he had ever seen in his life.

The other thing is that his girlfriend agreed to propose to him during the trip.

Le Gjerum, Thor's girlfriend, is a Danish doctor. Because of his plan to travel around the world, their long-term love abroad is a big test for their feelings.

Thor was in Kenya in October 2116, and his girlfriend came to visit him.

In Thor's long journey, this is the hundredth time for his girlfriend to visit him.

The number "11" means something to him.