Collecting flags by traveling to as many countries as possible is probably just as senseless as collecting stamps. These days though, when no one asks "how was Thailand" out of interest in the country - nothing new there - but out of politeness, it does however bring you some leverage in a bar chat if you get to tell people that you've already been to, let's say, 50 countries.
That would mean that one had been to about every forth country in the world.
(United Nations has recognized 192 countries. In addition to that there are a few countries which have proclaimed themselves independent, but which have yet to be recognized by the international community.) To most people at least that's more interesting then having stamps from 50 different countries, unless of course all the those countries were ruled by blond Amazonian Xena - warriors who in their free time like to flash their grape fruit sized tits to unassuming dolphins, making Paris Hilton gulp in awe of their imagination.
So if you don't have a billion dollars and a private jet, here's what you can do to increase your country count, and see a bit of the world in the process, while staying in budget.
1. Travel Europe, but plan well. With the strong euro Western Europe is probably dearer than ever. Instead, book a no frills flight to Split, Croatia (www.airberlin.com, www.easyjet.com), or Belgrade, Serbia (www.germanwings.com) and tour the Balkans. All the former Yogoslavic countries are rather small, so getting around does not take much time. I spent three weeks traveling Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia. Ad two weeks to that and see Montenegro and Macedonia, from where you can easily make it to Albania. That's seven countries in five weeks. Doable, if a wee bit rushed.
2. Hop on an overland truck in Africa. As Africa tends to be awfully expensive, overland trucks are a cheap way to collect a few flags. Taking a truck tour usually means lodging at campsites and participating in cooking and shopping food. This crazy-ass tour for example at African Trails takes you to 29 countries such as Burkina Faso and Malawi in 43 weeks and costs around 7000 euros, including meals (cooked by you or your fellow travelers) and accommondation. There are shorter tours as well of course. And if you hit Kenya in the fall you can witness the wildebeest migration which is so much more hip than any lion will ever be.
3. Skip India! You'll only get stuck. For monetary reasons skip Oz and US.
4. Central America is packed with small countries. Choose them instead of Brazil.
5. Travel to any country that is in the verge of splitting up and then decide that if you've been to the territory it counts as a country even if it wasn't at the time of visit. A Soviet Union trip added Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaidzan to my country count in 1991, a few years after the trip.
21 comments:
Hmm- that is one interpretation of the rules. Not sure everyone will agree. I do not oppose (nor agree) but am interested to hear your opinion of the questions that rise:
1) Can you also count Soviet Union as one of the countries you have visited?
What about the DDR? If someone has visited DDR can they add two flags in their collection (the DDR and the unified Germany)?
2) If one wants to collect countries rather fast and not spend too much money, one should opt for the Baltic states. One can do 3 countries in 6-7 days enjoyably and see the best parts of them. Price level very moderate.
Then from Lithuania to Poland and further to Hungary and Slovakia. Another 3 countries, doable in 2,5 weeks I think. And does not cost too much.
1) For Soviet Union you either count SU as one or count the countries that came into being but not both. In the opposite case of DDR I think it's fair to count Germany and DDR, but then not West Germany, as that's kind of Germany.
2. I agree on the Baltics. I'll add it, Cheers.
If you visited East- and West Berlin, would that allow you to add the DDR, West Germany AND unified Germany? Or do you mean that West-Germany and unified Germany count as one?
Yep. West Germany and Unified Germany count as one. But that's just because I've only been to Unified Germany. Everyone is free to choose though.
Counting countries can get tricky. There are plenty of places in the world which are not part of any sovereign country, and at the same time are not themselves an independent country. Not as many as there used to be, but still plenty. Gibraltar is a good example; Greenland is another. Then you have the Palestinian territories: the only place on earth (outside Antarctica) that are neither part of any country nor belong to any sovereign country.
Then there's the question of what "counts" as having been in the country. What if you didn't leave the airport?
Airport is easy. That doesn't count. I'd be tempted to count Greenland as a country as well. I'm preparing a post on this one...
Not to mention diplomatically challenging areas: Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan and so on. If you visit autonomous Xinjian, do you visit China? Shaksgam-valley between China, Pakistan and India. Which country have you visited, if you have visited Shaksgam? Oh, what a tangled web we weave!
Jersey? Ahvenanmaa (outside Finland)? I know Merja says everone decides by themselves, but this still could lead to seriously long debating and drinking sessions.
Interesting topic. First off, I do agree that pre-unification West Germany and the present republic count as one country as it has politically and culturally stayed the same. However, this begs the question whether geographically unchaged nations that have undergone drastic political and cultural transformation could be consired as one country. For example, South Africa of the Apartheid-era is drastically different of the modern one. Had you visited them both would you count them as two different countries? An even better better example is Iran which after the overtrhow of the Shah underwent severe reform under the theocratic government. Even it's name changed to ”Islamic Republic Of Iran”. Had you been to both Irans, would you list them as two different countries?
Secondly, as The Incredible Hulk mentioned above, under which nation would you place the diplomatically challenging area of Shaksgam (a valley that was ceded by Pakistan to China while at the same time being claimed by India. It has no cities or infrastructure nor are authorities of either country present, and it is inhabited by pagan nomads that bear no allegiance to any nation.). Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that you were parachuted into the Shaksgam valley from some far away country and later picked up by helicopter while never leaving the valley itself. Which country did you visit, and why? An even more complicated area would be Bir Tawil between Sudan and Egypt.
Finally, you stated that by just visiting the airport one could not claim to have seen the country itself. I agree, but let us dissect this argument further.How far from the airport would one have to go and how long must one stay in the country before one claim to have visited it? When I was two years old I, being an awesome ninja, escaped the Moscow airport to the streets of the great Soviet Union. I don't remember how long I was outside or how far I gotten before my mum, who nearly suffered a heart failure when she found out that she had lost her son in the Soviet Union, found me wandering the streets and brought me back to the tax free zone of the airport. The question is: can I claim to have been to the Soviet Union? Incidentally, could somebody who has has only attended MDMA filled psychetrance parties of Goa (which is an integral part of the India experience) claim to have seen a nation a diverse as India?
Given all the aforementioned problems of counting countries, when does this discussion boil down to the level where the only plausible answer is ”who cares”? As you said, everyone makes their own rules.
Why do you consider Ahvenanmaa to be outside Finland? It is unquestionably a region of Finland, albeit an autonomous one.
In addition to my list of countries visited, I've spent time in the following places:
- Jersey
- Isle of Man
- Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
- Svalbard
- Gibraltar
- Ahvenanmaa/Åland
- Guam
Maybe the best approach is to maintain a separate list for those places.
First, you can't claim to have visited a country if you've only been to an airport transit lounge or land border post. You must pass through border controls (if any) and actually enter the country.
Second, you can only count currently existing countries, not former countries like the Soviet Union, DDR, Yugoslavia, South Vietnam, etc. But I think you can count the successor state of the former country you visited. I haven't been to Russia since 1991 but I consider I've been there because I visited Moscow twice and Leningrad once before the breakup of the USSR.
Third, to make your list of countries visited meaningful, only count the 192 countries which belong to the United Nations. This isn't entirely fair as Taiwan certainly rates as a separate country but it's not a UN member. So maybe keep two lists as dara suggested.
Looking at it that way, I've been to 172 of the 192 UN members and 205 of the 245 countries and territories on an expanded list I keep. Next month I'll be adding two more real countries to my list: Saudi Arabia and Yeman. I booked the trip last week.
Ahvenanmaa is no different to Jersey or Gibraltar. True, it is a part of Finland. Then again, it is not part of the EU. Finns are not allowed to own land in Ahvenanmaa. Finnish is not an official language there. And so on.
I have to disagree big time. Once you have collected a flag it can not be taken away. If visited the DDR, it was a not visit to the BRD. The DDR was a country of its own, a state of its own, with a completely different political structure than the Bundesrepublic. It also was a member of the UN. So was the BRD. If we would follow your logics, those two flags would have disappeared from my collection at the day of the reunification. To me it makes no sense. The BRD remained, the DDR vanished.
And do believe me, visiting the DDR was an experience. I rather enjoyed it. Such a shame there is not Rotkäppchen available in stores anymore.
And again, if you have NOT visited the DDR, that is something which will remain beyond your reach for the rest of your life. Unless they re-revolute, of course.
I visited the German Democratic Republic 30 to 40 times between 1986 and 1989. I once spent two week touring the DDR on my own. So I understand what you mean but I still don't count it as a country today. That wouldn't be fair to anyone who began traveling after 1989.
It is different in the following important respect: it is a part of Finland, whereas neither Jersey nor Gibraltar is part of the UK.
On the question of leaving the airport: a very marginal case for me is South Korea, where I did in fact leave the airport terminal building, on foot, but never left the airport grounds (I was looking for a geocache).
Another example that springs to mind is Monaco, where my first "visit" involved passing through the country by train without stopping. I have since visited "properly" although never stayed overnight.
True, but Jersey is part of Great Britain though. They carry British passport. On the other hand, if one asks people of Jersey what they think, they would probably say that they are not British but citizens of Jersey (nobody, I believe, says "I am British"). People from Ahvenanmaa say they are Åländare, not Finnish. Anyway, that does not really make a difference although it could be used as an argument.
I agree that these areas could maybe be listed separately.
"That wouldn't be fair to anyone who began traveling after 1989."
http://www.scienceblogs.de/frischer-wind/picard-facepalm.jpg
I don't think you can claim to have been to South Korea just because you walked around the airport parking lot during a transit stop, dara. The purpose of travel should be to visit countries, not simply to rush around ticking them off a list. If you had taken the train into Seoul for the day it would have counted.
I think Dara's visit counts as he visited Seoul on purpose, looking for a geocache. And I'm racing you again David, I hope third time will do the trick! (And have been to Nanaimo, out of all places.)
To be fair, I wasn't trying to add South Korea to a list of "countries visited". I was just passing through on my way back from Japan. But it's an example that shows how hard it is to fix criteria of what counts as visiting a country. Earlier you said "You must pass through border controls (if any) and actually enter the country". In this case I did pass through border controls (and have a stamp in my passport to prove it), but did I enter the country?
Just found your blog and I love it... have you been the The Hutt River Province Principality in Western Australia! No? Ha! Gotcha!
Seriously though - its a cool blog.
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