chasing the 30 before 30 dream
Before you forget the curious backpacker I once was, I'm still chasing a personal milestone of backpacking across 30 countries independently before I turn 30 this November.
I did 25 when I was 25 and had slowed down since, covering just 3 more in 4 years, as I channeled my efforts to realise the other big dream of being an actor.
The remaining two are likely to come from this list - India, Nepal, Russia, The Philippines, Myanmar, Taiwan or North Korea. Number 30 would likely be Russia or India.
Click on the link to see pictures of the 29 countries on my picture website www.picturetrail.com/wehoth
Here's the rule - if it has a flag of it's own, I count it as a 'country'. For.eg. North Korea and South Korea are two countries. And Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are counted seperately from China. If you've been to those places, you'll know why I do that. I'm tempted to count Tibet seperately too as it definitely is very different from the mainland China in my eyes.
Here are the 28.
1) Singapore
2) Hong Kong (at least 10 times: most recent Jul 2006)
3) South Korea (2 times: Dec 2000, May 2004)
4) China (at least 20 times covering 16 provinces: most recent Aug 2006)
5) Thailand (at least 5 times: most recent Aug 2004)
6) UK (2 times: Sept 2001, Sept 2002 - Oct 2003)
7) Malaysia (at least 5 times: most recent Mar 2005)
8) Cambodia (2 times: Jan 2002, Aug 2004)
9) Vietnam: Feb 2002
10) Macau (at least 10 times: most recent Jul 2006)
11) Japan: May, Jun 2002
12) USA: Dec 2002
13) Mexico: Dec 2002
14) Ireland: Feb 2003
15) Belgium: Apr 2003
16) Germany: Apr 2003
17) Austria (2 times: Apr & Aug 2003)
18) Czech Rep: Jul 2003
19) Croatia: Aug 2003
20) Hungary: Aug 2003
21) Romania: Aug 2003
22) Slovakia: Aug 2003
23) Italy: Sept 2003
24) Vatican City: Sept 2003
25) France: Oct 2003
26) Indonesia: Dec 2003
27) Laos: Aug 2004
28) MONGOLIA: Aug 2006
29) The Philippines: May 2007
AND...
in China, I've previously visited these provinces -
1. Beijing
2. Shanghai
3. Guangdong – Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Dongguan
4. Sichuan – Chengdu, Leshan, E’mei
5. Yunnan – Kunming, Lijiang, Dali
6. Guangxi – Guilin, Yangshuo
7. Shaanxi – Xi’an, Huashan
8. Henan – Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Dengfeng (Shaolin temple)
9. Ningxia – Yinchuan, Zhongwei
10. Zhejiang – Hangzhou, Hengdian
11. Liaoning – Dalian
12. Tibet
13. Qinghai – Xining, Golmud
14. Tianjin – Tanggu, Taida
The Chinese say there are 30 provinces in China, including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Oh, and Tibet.
