South Sudan – 145th Country
South Sudan – 145th Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. South Sudan is my 145th country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! South Sudan is the world’s newest country in the world gaining its independence in 2011 from Sudan during a very lengthy civil war. Eleven million people can be found in this north-east landlocked country. They are mostly Christian and animists. Despite having immense oil wealth, South Sudan remains one of the world’s poorest countries on a per capita income basis. One of South Sudan’s claims to fame is Manute Bol, one of the tallest players ever in the NBA. While South Sudan has its hard-earned independence, the country faces many challenges from food insecurity to a refugee crisis to political instability. The capital Juba is not exactly tourist friendly with little to see in terms of monuments and a population that is extremely angry if not outright violent when [...]
Saudi Arabia – 144th Country
Saudi Arabia – 144th Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. Saudi Arabia is my 144th country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! With 35 million people, Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East and borders both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The modern version of the state was founded in 1932 as King Ibn Saud unified four states. Saudi Arabia is the home of the Islam’s two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina. Saudi Arabia is influences by the ultra-conservative Wahhabi movement but under MBS, the young leader, the country has moved to modernized itself, including opening itself to tourism. I managed to visit Saudi Arabia in October of 2022 after an aborted attempt in 2017. Saudi Arabia had traditionally been known as one of the most difficult visas to get. Saudi Arabia simply did not issue tourist visas. At that time, I had signed up for [...]
Chad – 143rd Country
Chad – 143rd Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. Chad is my 143rd country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! Chad is a landlocked country, located at the crossroads of north-central Africa. Sixteen million people make their home there with 10% found in the capital, N’Djamena. Chad is a smorgasbord of over 200 ethnic and linguistic groups with almost an even split between Christianity and Islam. Chad is also a mix of desert, savannah, fertile grounds, as well as wetlands. Chad was once a colony of France and gained its independence in 1960. Idriss Deby ruled the country from 1990 to 2021, when he was killed on the frontlines fighting an anti-Chadian internal faction. I touched down in N’Djamena, the capital on October 2, 2021. It was my first new country since March of 2020. I arrived to witness the amazing Gerewol Festival which did not disappoint. After one night in [...]
It’s A Small World
It's a small world. If you know me, you know I love small world stories. As we know, it’s a small world, after all. It's a small world after all It's a small world after all It's a small world after all It's a small, small world There is just one moon and one golden sun And a smile means friendship to everyone Though the mountains divide and the oceans are wide It's a small world after all As an avid traveler, these lyrics are a fair reflection of my experiences. No matter where I am, there really is only one sun and moon. And I think it is also fair to say, when you see someone smiling, they are happy. These are known knowns. So despite the annoying music, I’m a proponent of the song’s message. The small world concept can also nicely be summarized with the Six Degrees of Separation. Wikipedia sums it up as following: “Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. [...]
Mette Ehlers Mikkelsen … Four Generations Of Female Travelers
Mette Ehlers Mikkelsen Counting Countries has traveled to 172 countries Mette and I had been connected on Facebook via Every Passport Stamp, but we recently crossed paths in Jeddah for an evening of dinner and shisha with a group of extreme travelers. We were connected by former guest Henrik Jeppesen who was aware that both of us were traveling in KSA. While I was aware that Mette was a seasoned traveler, over dinner I heard more of her stories and thought she would be a great fit for Counting Countries. After my conversation with Mette, I will be checking in with Thor Pedersen again, of Once Upon A Saga. I have been documenting Thor’s journey to every country in the world and all of the challenges he has been facing with this pandemic. You will hear a snippet of this conversation, but my patrons will hear the entire conversation. The next episode will be the 100th episode. Our first episode was in 2016. I would like to thank everyone for their support of Counting Countries, especially [...]
Faces Of Iraq
Faces Of Iraq, Breaking Stereotypes. Iraq has been in the news for all of the wrong reasons for as long as I can remember. There was the brutal war between Iran and Iraq which took the lives of over 1,000,000 souls. Iraq invaded and occupied its diminutive neighbor, Kuwait. Iraq and its leader, Saddam Hussein, were brushed back by US and allied forces; embarrassed and punished by crippling sanctions. This was followed by another invasion of Iraq with disastrous consequences. Civil war followed for years, ISIS terrorized many in the region, and ordinary people suffered greatly. Add in the persecution and killings of the Kurds, the genocide of the Yazidis, beheadings and car bombings, and it can all be overwhelming. With all of this in mind, it would not be surprising if someone had a negative opinion of this Middle Eastern country. But it is unfair to label Iraq by simply judging the last two generations of history. Iraq is known as the “cradle of civilization” as it hosted the earliest known civilization dating back 7,500 years. [...]
