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Outside Bangui in the Central African Republic. There is unsurprisingly a strong correlation between tourist numbers and spread of the coronavisrus. Only 16 out of the world’s 198 countries are coronavirus free, and 10 out of these are among the 24 least-visited countries on the planet. Closing the borders early, or hardly having any visitors seem to be an advantage when facing a pandemic. Two out of the four least-least visited countries have detected the coronavirus; Libya with 200 annual tourists and Yemen with 60. Neither Nauru with 130 tourists per year nor Tuvalu with 800 have detected anyone with COVID-19, according to Worldometer’s statistics, as of April 8 at 14:09 CET (12:09 GMT), with the Yemen figure addes on April 10 at 17:14 CET. Both Nauru and Tuvalu are island nations in the Pacific. In fact, out of of the 14 countries in Oceania, only four have reported coronavirus cases: Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji. There are none in Kiribati (9th least-visited country), Marshall Islands (10th), Federated States of Micronesia (14th), Solomon Islands (16th), Tonga (24th), Vanuatu (34th), Palau (37th) or Samoa (43rd). Do note that some of the countries “without” coronavirus may not belong on the list. North Korea is unlikely to report cases even if they have any and the media in Turkmenistan self-censor and do not mention the coronavirus at all. Correspondingly, the countries with most tourists are among those worst affected. The six countries with the most cases are all among the nine which get the highest number of visitors. USA (2nd most-visited country), Spain (3rd), Italy (4th), Germany (9th), France (most visited) and China (5th). The odd one out here is Iran (51st). It is also worth noticing that both Mexico (6th) and Thailand (10th) only have less than 3 000 coronavirus cases. I would not be surprised if those numbers explode anytime soon. The 17 countries without any coronavirus cases are in Oceania (10 countries): Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu; Asia (3): North Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan; Africa (2): Comoros, Lesotho; Europe (1): Kosovo You can find figures of annual tourist numbers and detected coronavirus cases for all 198 countries below. Tourist figures were collected for Elsewhere (Norwegian title: Ingenstad), my book about the world’s 20 least-visited countries. Also: How to travel while not. Least-visited out of 198CountryTouristsCoronavirus cases1Yemen60 12Nauru130 3Libya200214Tuvalu800 5Central African Republic1 00086Eritrea2 000317South Sudan2 20028Equatorial Guinea2 400169Kiribati3 600 10Marshall Islands6 000 11Turkmenistan7 000 12Somalia12 200813Afghanistan13 40042314Federated States of Micronesia24 000 15Guinea24 50014416Solomon Islands26 000 17Comoros28 000 18São Tomé and Príncipe29 000419Mauritania39 000620Guinea-Bissau44 0003321Sierra Leone54 000722Liberia57 0001423Western Sahara59 000424Tonga62 000 25Burundi66 000326East Timor74 000127St. Vincent and Grenadines76 000828San Marino78 00027929Liechtenstein79 0007830Dominica79 0001531Syria90 0001932North Korea90 000 33Djibouti103 00013534Vanuatu109 000 35Saint Kitts and Nevis114 0001136Chad120 0001037Palau123 000 38Kosovo124 000 39Bangladesh143 00021840Burkina Faso143 00038441Moldova145 0001 05642Grenada146 0001243Samoa146 000 44Congo (DRC)150 00018045Niger152 00027846Gambia161 000447Papua New Guinea179 000248Mali193 0005649Kuwait203 00085550Congo Brazzaville211 0004551Guyana247 0003352Antigua and Barbuda247 0001953Bhutan255 000554Madagascar255 0009355Brunei259 00013556Benin267 0002657Suriname278 0001058Seychelles350 0001159Monaco355 0007960Saint Lucia386 0001461Trinidad and Tobago395 00010762Angola397 0001763Tajikistan415 000 64Haiti420 0002565Belize427 000766Mongolia469 0001667Lesotho470 000 68Togo496 0006569Uzbekistan500 00053470Palestine503 00026371Gabon600 0003072Venezuela601 00016673North Macedonia631 00059974Barbados664 0006375Cabo Verde668 000776Cameroon710 00068577Sudan800 0001478Fiji843 0001579Malawi849 000880Ethiopia871 0005581Iraq875 0001 12282Ghana900 00028783Eswatini921 0001084Bosnia and Hercegovina922 00077785Belarus933 0001 06686Honduras936 00031287Nepal940 000988Bolivia956 00021088Zambia956 0003990Senegal1 000 00023791Luxembourg1 046 0002 97092Namibia1 095 0001693Rwanda1 173 00010594Pakistan1 207 0004 07295Tanzania1 230 0002496Uganda1 320 0005297Mauritius1 340 00026898Kenya1 360 00017299Maldives1 390 00019100Bahamas1 480 00036101Armenia1 495 000881102Serbia1 500 0002 447103Paraguay1 540 000119104El Salvador1 560 00093105Ecuador 1 610 0003 995106Botswana1 625 0006107Mozambique1 640 00010108Guatemala1 660 00080109Nicaragua1 790 0006110Ivory Coast1 800 000349111Panama1 840 0002 249112Lebanon1 860 000575113Montenegro1 880 000248114Latvia1 950 000577115Sri Lanka2 120 000188116Iceland2 220 0001 586117Qatar2 260 0002 210118Malta2 270 000299119Oman 2 290 000419120Jamaica2 350 00063121Zimbabwe2 420 00011122Algeria2 451 0001 468123Azerbaijan2 454 000717124Lithuania2 520 000912125Romania2 760 0004 761126Costa Rica2 960 000483127Andorra3 000 000545128Kyrgyzstan3 100 000270129Finland3 200 0002 487130Estonia3 250 0001 185131Laos3 260 00015132Nigeria3 330 000254133Myanmar3 440 00022134Georgia3 480 000208135Slovenia3 600 0001 091136Israel3 610 0009 404137Cypros3 650 000494138Uruguay3 680 000424139New Zealand3 730 0001 210140Jordan3 840 000353141Vatican3 900 0007142Cuba 3 970 000396143Colombia4 027 0001 780144Peru 4 032 0002 954145Bahrain4 370 000811146Albania4 640 000400147Kazakhstan4 800 000709148Iran4 870 00064 586149Slovakia5 520 000581150Cambodia5 600 000117151Dominican Republic6 200 0001 956152Norway6 250 0006 086153Chile6 450 0005 116154Brazil6 550 00014 072155Philippines6 600 0003 870156Argentina6 700 0001 715157Sweden6 900 0008 419158Tunisia 7 050 000623159Egypt8 200 0001 450160Belgium8 400 00023 403161Australia8 800 0006 013162Bulgaria8 900 000581163Ireland10 100 0005 709164South Africa10 300 0001 749165Taiwan10 700 000379166Denmark10 800 0005 386167Switzerland11 100 00022 789168Morocco11 350 0001 242169Portugal11 400 00013 141170Czechia12 100 0005 033171Vietnam12 920 000251172Indonesia12 950 0002 956173South Korea13 300 00010 384174Singapore13 900 0001 481175Ukraine14 200 0001 668176India15 500 0005 480177Croatia15 600 0001 343178Hungary15 790 000895179United Arab Emirates15 800 0002 359180Saudi Arabia16 100 0002 795181Poland18 400 0005 000182Netherlands19 800 00020 549183Canada20 800 00017 897184Russia24 400 0008 672185Malaysia26 000 0004 119186Greece27 200 0001 832187Japan28 700 0004 257188Austria29 500 00012 824189Thailand35 400 0002 369190Germany37 500 000107 663191Turkey37 600 00034 109192United Kingdom39 200 00055 242193Mexico39 300 0002 785194China55 000 00081 802195Italy58 300 000135 586196Spain81 800 000146 690197USA84 000 000400 549198France88 500 000109 069 #corona #coronavirus #leastvisitedcountries #leastvisitedcountriesintheworld

Leptis Magna in Libya. The coronavirus has affected most people’s lives and we would all like the pandemic to end sooner rather than later. The good news is that all of us can help, by staying the hell home and by practicing hardcore social distancing the few times when you have to leave your premises. That means no travel. Many borders are anyhow closed and the availability of scheduled transport reduced to a minimum, if not entirely. So, how can we still travel, while not? Or help keep keep the travel bug at bay? In quite a few different ways, actually. I’ve listed 15 travel replacements below. 1. Read books The Norwegian versions of my books “198: How I Ran Out of Countries” and “Elsewhere”. There are millions and millions of books about places and countries other than where you live. Read your way to far-flung corners of the world. I’ll take the opportunity to mention by own two books, “198: How I Ran Out of Countries” and “Elsewhere” about the world’s 20 least-visited countries, although there is more inspiration in this Forbes article about 15 travel books that will change the way you see the world. You can find another ten on Six-Two: 10 of the best travel books and stories to transport you to distant lands. 2. Watch movies The Darjeeling Limited inspired many to travel to India. You may feel like actually seeing various places around the globe before deciding whether you actually want to go there sometime in the future. The Guardian recently published an article of the 20 of the best travel films, whereas Conde Nast Travel went all in with a lot of courage to pick The 50 best travel films of all time. 3. Browse photos A random image search on duckduckgo.com. Search for specific towns, islands, mountains or rivers in your favourite search engine, and choose images for results. This will likely take you to websites with great photos, and perhaps also a lot of textual information. And then there are various social media sites and apps that are great for travel, i.e. Pinterest and Instagram. Feel free to look me up on the latter of those, I have shared photos from every country and continent in the world: instagram.com/garfors. I currently post a new travel photo per day tagged as #pandemicpause, to try help people get a bit of a break from the coronovirus. Perhaps you’d like to post photos yourself? 4. Listen to podcasts Some travel podcasts on Spotify. There are a lot of good travel podcasts out there. Six-two is on a roll: The best travel podcasts you need to listen to right now. And Travel Noire helps you with These 11 Travel Podcasts Will Inspire Wanderlust In 2020. I actually do my own travel podcast together with travel journalist Thorkild Gundersen, but Globusrulett is still only available in Norwegian. 5. Learn a language There are many language platforms and apps out there. English will usually get you far on the road, but there is rarely better ways of getting to know people and cultures than by knowing their language. Even a few words and phrases will get you a long way. It is all about showing respect and curiosity, you are after all the visitor in their country. Quite a few people are shy about speaking other languages than their own, and I guarantee you that the barrier is lowered a lot, and usually immediately so, if you speak to them in their language. To future travellers it is hard to find a better way of turning the time spent during a pandemic into something positive than learning a new language. There are many language platforms and apps out there, several friends of mine recommend Duolingo, which is free. 6. Order from restaurants I am unsure if this chef in Cameroon delivers, but I nevertheless got some delicious take-away from him. You shouldn’t go to restaurants right now, but you can still support many restaurants that offer take away or delivery. There is a lot of culture in food, just dare try something that you haven’t tried before. And come on, be a little bit more adventurous than only going for Italian pizza, Chinese dim sum and Indian curry. 7. Look up a foreigner I met these friendlies in a bar in Curitiba, Brazil. But even at home you’ll be very likely to find friendly foreigners. Chances are there are many foreigners in your town or city. Why not get in touch with them, via online platforms, and ask them about their country? Chances are they are quite curious about your own country too. They may live init, but that doesn’t mean that they know many locals. My experience, after having lived in six countries and travelled to all, is that foreigners tend to hang out together. Foreigners typically have few local friends, perhaps because it is easier to connect with other newcomers than to befriend those that already have deep roots in a society. And why limit it to your own hood? There are many webbased platforms where you can easily find people in a country you are planning to visit in five months, or in 2022. Couchsurfing, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are only some examples. 8. Cook I helped these lads barbeque in Cyprus. These days I cook international dishes at home. The internet is flowing over with recipes from around the world, not to mention a vast selection of cook books focusing on countless cuisines. Buy the right indegredients, or at least as close to them as you can, cook a meal and decorate your table or dining room with photos, flags, napkins or other decorative elements that will help your mind fly to the country or region your cooking is taking you and your family to. 9. Go down memory lane It’s been 15 years since our Lada taxi broke down in very rural Azerbaijan. Revisit places you have been to before by going through old photographs, receipts and tickets. I can almost guarantee that this will help you remember details, things, events or experiences you had pretty much forgotten. And why not talk to people you travelled with or met there while you are at it? Chances are you are still keeping in touch, or at least have the possibility to do so, via email, social media, the phone or with the help of a letter pigeon. 10. Take out a map Cannot decide where to travel? All you need is a bow, an arrow and a map. I love exploring good old paper maps, spreading them all out over a big table and deciding on which places that look or sound cool that I will venetually visit. This can of course also be done digitally on i.e. Google Maps, although I must admit that I prefer paper maps for planning at home. They may be too big and unpractical on the road, but you’re not going anywhere soon. By the look of things. Unfortunately. 11. Plan your next trip One way to travel around the world. You may not know when it will take place, but why not start your planning already? A lot may change in terms of what restaurants and other local businesses that will make it where you are going, but that shouldn’t be an excuse for not starting to plan parts of your next adventure. Most people spend much more time planning trips than actually going on them, primarily due to a lack of funds, why not make the most of the planning too? 12. Travel locally There are a lot of amazing places in Norway. Here in Skjomen with my brother Håkon. Unless you are under lockdown, you can probably explore hoods, forests, lake districts, mountains or deserts not too far from home. And perhaps you have been too busy travelling to exotic countries to check out your own neck of the woods. To get some fresh air and exercise is a great escape during this pandemic, perhaps you can combine that with some local curiosity. Just be sure to practice social distancing while you are at it. 13. Be creative Wood carving in Bhutan is certainly something else… While waiting for your trip to commence, why not engage your creative side and create something from it? Perhaps you can draw, paint, write, wood carve or knit? Decide on a motive or a product that is inspired by where you plan to go. There is no way that I can draw, paint or knit anything that would impress or inspire anyone, but I really enjoy writing. My texts may not inspire anyone either, but I am thick-skinned and will give it a go. Organizing your photos or enhancing them in Photoshop would also qualify as creative, stop procrastinating. 14. Drink tea or coffee I am relatively certain that drinking Ethiopian coffee in Poland beats drinking Polish coffee in Ethiopia – when it comes to taste, at least. Did you know that coffee was originally only available in Yemen? It has since been exported to quite a few countries, and you can easily drink your way around the tropical parts of the world. Try different kinds of coffee beans from new and exciting regions, perhaps you’ll discover a new favourite. Unless you are a tea person, of course. Then your selection may actually be even more impressive. Buy tea or coffee from your local shop, most of them are happy to deliver in these difficult times. Or order online. 15. Get drunk Beers with international radio colleagues in Italy. Alcoholic drinks have been made around the world since ancient times, and various people have gone to great lengts in terms of their creativity when coming up with new techniques to get people tipsy or outright hammered. Whether you are a beer, wine or liquer kind of person, you’ll find a great variety of poison from a range of countries around the world. Hell, even dry countries produce alcohol, although you’ll then typically need to know the right guys or girls to get hold of it. There are additionally also many interesting cocktails from around the world, from Singapore Sling to Long Island Iced Tea. Take the opportunity to read up on the drinks and their history or specialize in i.e. Romanian red wine. #travelzero #notravel #nottravel #travellingwhilenot #antitraveling #antitravel

In a pygmy village in Central African Republic. Internationally there are thousands and thousands of organizations that provide aid to “less fortunate people”, primarily in the poorest countries in Africa and Asia. Many of these charities are engaged in a “beauty contest”, boasting about spending as little money as possible for administration of the organization, as opposed to “effective aid”. But that is not all you should look out for before deciding on who is worthy of your money. Do note that the background for this blog post comes through years and years of travel, no systematic or extensive research. On my journeys to every country I have informally spoken to or interviewed dozens and dozens of people working for NGOs, UN agencies, governmental programmes and other types of organizations involved in the aid business. Providing to those without access to what most of us take for granted in the western world is noble, by all means. But we are also talking about organizations with access to a lot of formal and informal lobbying. No sane politician would for instance remove much funding to aid without being at risk of losing large amounts of voters. Because to give aid is the right thing to do. Or so we are told by the organizations that pass it on to the needy. At least they claim that they do, although is it clever to trust the gatekeeper, the proxy, the middle man? I am not arguing that they are consciously witholding aid. I am just saying that they are not necessarily using it as well as they could – or should. There are several aspects that matter. Some money will necessarily have to be used for administration, but the figures should ideally be as low as possible. Primarily due to the fact that a lot of that money goes to western employees with wages that may be tens or hundreds of times higher than that of local employees. Instead of hiring one western person, with substantial overhead costs, an organization can hire dozens of people in low-cost countries where the aid is actually needed. To move wage costs abroad will help boost the local economy and provide housing and food on the table for many families in need. Which means that high administration costs aren’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as a lot of the administration happens in underdeveloped countries, using local people. Just make sure that these employees are given fair renumeration. And keep in mind that the local economy will benefit in other ways too, through office rental, transportation and other overhead. A lot, and I mean A LOT, of the money is usually used to employ western people that provide their expertise at home or in the field. These people typically have good educations and are not people in need. To keep them on board does however require a big chunk of limited aid budgets, which means that one of organizations’ biggest incentives for pressuring politicians to maintain such budgets is to keep their own jobs. Money you give to charity fills up the same budget chest. These western humanitarian organizations are in other words essentially fighting to keep western paychecks and overhead costs, often with actual aid as a mere bonus. Quite a few of these westerners will travel a lot to keep track of programmes, to coordinate aid projects, to provide training and to meet with local politicians to make sure that their organizations are still going to be welcome next year and the year thereafter. And be under no illusion that many of these politicians won’t demand aid money to make things run smoothly and to guarantee future access. Travel obviously costs money. But you will be surprised to learn how many of these aid workers that fly business class or first class. Just imagine how many kids you could help in the developed world for the price of a business class ticket. Naturally they gotta stay somewhere too. My experience is that disturbingly many aid workers stay in resorts or 5-star hotels. That is wrong for so many reasons. First of all, these hotels know their worth to spoilt western customers and charge heaps of money – often more than a similar establishment in a western city. Secondly, they are almost exclusively run by western companies – which means that the money these organizations spend on accommodation doesn’t really help the local economy much. They may not even hire local people if it is cheaper to fly in labour from i.e. Bangladesh or the Philippines. And naturally, most other hotel guests are westerners, locals can hardly afford such pricey accommodation, so don’t expect inside info on local matters. Thirdly, visitors here do not get anything near a real picture of the situation on the ground. These hotels are usually fenced with guards, pools, cable TV, high-speed internet and restaurants. I have heard from many NGO employees who on trips to the field hardly see anything but airports and the hotel. Of course this doesn’t apply to everyone, many venture into slums and small villages or hamlets, and work inhuman hours to make a difference. Some choose to stay in the same conditions as those they are there to help, but alarmingly few judging by my discussions. And perhaps most importantly, how can aid workers get much needed respect from local people when they enjoy lavish lifestyles and fancy hotels in some of the poorest countries on earth? My intention is not to point fingers at any specific organizations, I just think it is important to think about these issues and to ask questions before deciding on which charities to contribute to. A good start is to look into whether they follow UNs sustainable development goals whereas Charity Navigator provides info on what to look for in terms of accountability and transparency. Big organizations demand more administration and seem more inclined to let employees travel in style than small ones, so giving to grassroot organizations may be a good starting point. In Norway charitable organizations must provide information on how much money is spent on administration (losely specified) and how much is being spent on its purpose (as specified in its charter). This is far from specific enough. I would like to see percentages spent for the following four budget items, as a minimum: a) Aministration in the industrialized world b) Administration in the developing world c) Transportation (with information on average spend per flight) d) Accommodation (with information on average spend per night) If the charity you consider donating to doesn’t volunteer that info on its website, perhaps it may share it with you if you get in touch. Or perhaps you should rather donate to one that is as transparent as you would expect. Perhaps even better yet – instead contribute directly to local businesses through microloans or investments. We are generally too focused on aid. Boosting the local economy can be done so much better in other ways: “Give a woman a fish and she has food for tonight, teach her to fish and she has food for a lifetime.” The books “Dead Aid” by Dambisa Moyo and “Aid and other Dirty Business” by Giles Bolton go more in depth about these and other related matters. As travellers we are very priveleged and fortunate. Not only can we afford to visit far-flung places, we also have passports that enable us to do so (or are at least able to get one without hassle). In my opinion we ought to help out when we can. Not necessarily by giving to traditional charities, perhaps through supporting individuals and local businesses wherever we go. #howtopickacharity #developingcountries #aid #underdevelopedcountries #charity #Asia #charities #poorcountries

OSL seen from the north. Creative Commons licensed photo by Avinor. Several airports want to add a third runway, including Oslo Airport Gardermoen OSL, the main airport in Norway. But is that really necessary, or nothing but show-off and grandiosity, or even megalomania? Let’s look at some numbers. OSL currently has two parallell runways that accommodates 260,000 aircraft movements (landings and take-offs) per year. That means an average of 713 per day, or 40 per hour (given full capacity 18 of 24 hours a day). 40 per hour, divided on two runways, is 20 per runway. Avinor, a state-owned limited company that operates most of the civil airports in Norway, desperately wants to add a third runway. The company claims that the additional runway is needed due to a projected growth of 2 percent per year in passenger numbers (not in aircraft movements, as most of the growth will be covered by big aircrafts). A comparison with some other airports may be called for. Hell, let’s even compare with a couple of single runway airports. London Gatwick LGW is one of six commercial airports that covers the British capital, which means that aircraft traffic is fierce and heavily regulated in the area. Gatwick manages 284,000 aircraft movements per year, which is 9 percent more than OSL. But even that dwarfs in comparison with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport BOM of Mumbai in India. Also a single-runway airport, it managed 1 003 aircraft movements in 24 hours (almost 42 per hour around the clock, which is two more per hour than OSL with two runways operating only 18 hours of the day), and clocked in at almost 321 000 movements in 2018. That is 23 percent more than OSL (reminder: with only one runway). How about comparing OSL to two-runway airports? The busiest in the world, in terms of passenger numbers, is Dubai International Airport DXB in UAE with 408,000 aircraft movements in 2018. That is 57 percent more than OSL. But London Heathrow LHR boasts even more impressive figures. And as OSL, the main airport of the UK also seeks to expand with a third runway – for much more understandable reasons (although I am not endorsing the third runway at Heathrow either, an extra one at Gatwick and a railway or a hyperloop in-between might make more sense). There are, after all, over 67 million people in the UK, compared with only 5.4 million in Norway. And the two runways at LHR managed 478,000 aircraft movements in 2018, a whopping 84 percent more than two-runway colleague OSL. Do note that there are two other airports in Greater Oslo: Torp Sandefjord TRF (167 kilometers south) and Moss Rygge RYG (112 kilometers south). The latter of those closed down a few years back due to a lack of traffic. Perhaps Oslo Airport OSL, and others in its league, should look at effectivity measures instead of moaning and wasting taxpayer money at another runway? And that is before I have even started talking about the climate. Aviation is far from the worst offender out there, but should still reduce its footprint – as should every other industry out there. Building additional runways sends the wrong signal and is not the way to go. #busiestairportsintheworld #Gardermoen #OSL #runway

Musician, comedian and author Kristopher Schau (middle) was our first guest with a live audience in Grefsenkollen, a bar overlooking Oslo. The event was even sold out! The experiences of travellers make them brilliant storytellers. Being able to share what you have seen and done in villages, towns and countries far afield makes the world smaller. It bridges people and cultures and can increase knowledge and understanding about other faiths, world views and backgrounds. Travel journalist and music festival organizer Thorkild Gundersen and I decided to try help spread traveller stories through our travel podcast series Globusrulett (Globe Roulette). Having visited most countries in the world at least four times between us, we have some stories to share ourselves – but we also invite other travellers, young and old to share their tales. And sometimes we record these interviews with a live audience before they are edited to a complete podcast. Throughout Globusrulett we will visit every country in the world, all 198 of them, but that is not all. Cities, regions or travel related themes will also be covered. What we will talk about is determined by throwing a ball onto a spinning roulette wheel. That gives us a bit of time to prepare for the next episode. The podcast is unfortunately only available in Norwegian. For now. More info on globusrulett.com or facebook.com/globusrulett. #KristopherSchau #podcast #Thorkildgundersen #travelpodcast

The Solomon Islands aren’t too shabby. I love reading about far-flung places, unknown cultures and countries different to my own. But I also rather enjoy reading about different places in countries closer to home. Now and then I see lists about the best countries in the world, but often these seem to have been influenced by travel campaigns, tourism boards or governments that have lobbied to get there. Other times the lists have been made by people who cannot really know, as they haven’t been to every country in the world. A few people that make such lists claim to have been to every country even if their “visit” only consist of an airport stop, a trip through it by train or a night in a hotel. I’d at best call that a technicality of a visit, and in no case would it qualify to have an opinion on what it is like being there. I am certainly not an expert on any countries in the world (perhaps with the exception of where I have lived the longest – Norway), but I have paid them all at least two visits – on average spending a week in each. That means that I have spent the night in all 198, even in the Vatican – the world’s only hotelless country. The last few months I have used a fair amount of time contemplating about what the world’s best countries are, and ended up with a list. This is obviously a super subjective one, but I am positive that you will love visiting all these countries. Careful consideration and a lot of thought has gone into this, and it turns out that 13 countries made the cut. Not an unlucky number when it comes to travel. Why 13? The world is extremelly diverse, and each of the six inhabited continents deserves at least one country on this list. Yet, some continents consist of many more countries than others, something that I think needs to be reflected in such a list. Africa (55 countries), Asia (47) and Europe (47) are represented by three countries each. North America (23) gets two whereas Oceanaia (14) and South America (12) only get one each. To pick one country as my favourite is impossible, there are simply way too many incredible and mind-blowing lands, cultures and people out there. I therefore present the countries on the list in alphabetical order. Canada, North America Just strolling around Toronto. The second largest country in the world is naturally very diverse in terms of nature. Expect wild and rugged coasts, majestetic mountains and vast wildernesses. You will not be disappointed when it comes to the people either. Canadians are a lot more humble than their only neighbour, and come across as curious about and interested in the world outside North America. Toronto is additionally a very underestimated city. (37.6 million people – 20.8 million tourists: 183rd least-visisted country in the world, 16th most-visited country in the world.) Chile, South America South of Punta Arenas, Chile. The capital Santiago has changed a lot the last few years and is now fun, fun, fun. Expect a thriving nightlife and exciting restaurants that serve excellent local wine. It is quite hard to grasp that Chile is also home to something entirely different: The world’s driest desert in the north and the beautiful fjords, steep mountains, unreal glaciers and out-of-place rainforests in the south. (17.6 million people – 6.45 million tourists: 153rd least-visisted country in the world, 46th most-visited country in the world.) Denmark, Europe Denmark, or technically the Faroe Islands. Copenhagen, the capital, is home to an illogically high number of world-class restaurants. The Danes love to party, no wonder that they consistently are top of the list when it comes to happiness. Their life-expectancy is a bit shorter than in other Nordic countries, but they do presumably die with a smile on their faces. Mainland Denmark is flat as a pancake, but the country more than compensates with incredible Greenland and the rugged but cozy Faroe Islands. (5.8 million people – 10.8 million tourists: 166th least-visisted country in the world, 33rd most-visited country in the world.) Iran, Asia The skiing slopes in Iran are great. The lack of other skiers is a bonus. That skiing is even available in Iran is somewhat surprising, given that you land at an airport in the desert. The villages of Dizin and Shemshak are located in breathtaking and beautiful 3-4000 meter high mountains only two hours’ drive from Tehran, the capital. But there is so much more, and people here, not counting politicians and government officials, are among the friendliest in the world. Expect jaw-dropping hospitality. (82.5 million people – 4.87 million tourists: 148th least-visisted country in the world, 51st most-visited country in the world.) Jordan, Asia Unusually overbearded in Jordan. Floating in the Dead Sea, swimming in the Red Sea, exploring the ancient sandstone city of Petra, indulging and dancing in the metropolitan capital of Amman and just awing in the wonderful moon-like valley of Wadi Rum: Jordan never stops to amaze its growing number of visitors. The only problem with going is that you will never forgive yourself for not having visited earlier. (10.4 million people – 3.84 million tourists: 140th least-visisted country in the world, 59th most-visited country in the world.) Mozambique, Africa In front of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique This East African country has 2 500 kilometers of coastline. Expect beautiful beaches, great snorkeling or diving and mouth-watering seafood. Few tourists visit the northern part of Mozambique, but that is primarily due to slow buses and a lack of flights. You should certainly head there, after having explored the thriving capital of Maputo and the beach towns to the north. Beautiful Mozambique Island, Quirimbas Archipelago and Pemba await. (28.8 million people – 1.64 million tourists: 107th least-visisted country in the world, 92nd most-visited country in the world.) Solomon Islands, Oceania There were curious and smiling kids in most villages I visited in Solomon Islands. This is perhaps the most diverse of the small island nations in Oceania. The last few years have seen the introduction of small boutique hotels and the odd luxury resort, and you can benefit. Don’t only settle for Guadalcanal, the main island with capital Honiara and amazing surfing on the inaccessible south coast, this very green and lush country consists of over 900 other islands too. (600,000 people – 26,000 tourists: 16th least-visisted country in the world, 183rd most-visited country in the world.) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, North America Yes, you want to visit Saint Vincent and the Grenadines too. Saint Where? This island nation is unknown to most, despite of its location nearby more famous Saint Lucia, Barbados and Grenada in the Caribbean. The brand new airport is capable of taking down big jetliners, something that ought attract many new visitors. You won’t go here for Kingstown, the capital, but rather for the green scenery, volcanic mountains and the amazing Grenadines archipelago where you’ll swim with turtles. The Pirates of the Caribbean where filmed here for a reason. (110,000 people – 76,000 tourists: 27th least-visisted country in the world, 172nd most-visited country in the world.) São Tomé and Príncipe, Africa Yes, but of course. How to transport a chainsaw in São Tomé and Príncipe. The world’s best chocolate, coffee to die for, an overdose of beaches in various colours and a range of great hiking possibilities are only some of the reasons to come here. Hospitality must be taught in school and they sure know how to cook.The former Portugese colony off the West Coast of Africa is perhaps one of the world’s most underestimated travel destinations. A bar on the country’s southernmost island, tiny Ilhéu das Rolas, lies on the Equator. Good enough reason for a toast. (200,000 people – 29,000 tourists: 18th least-visisted country in the world, 181st most-visited country in the world.) Senegal, Africa Sengal can sometimes be too hot to handle. Senegal gets exactly one million visitors a year. I have no idea why not more people enjoy its endless beaches, take advantage of the gourmet restaurants in colourful Saint-Louis in the north or explore the former slave island of Goree just outside legendary Dakar, the capital. The new airport outside the city is very well connected to Europe, North America, Asia and other parts of Africa. (15.4 million people – 1 million tourists: 90th least-visisted country in the world, 109th most-visited country in the world.) South Korea, Asia On Jeju Island, south of the Korean mainland. Seoul is one of my favourite cities in the world, for a reason. The hypermodern metropolis is always changing, and the different neighbourhoods is taking part in a constantly ongoing war of coolness. The aim is to outdo all other parts of town. Tourists and locals benefit. But South Korea is so much more. The cities of Busan and Mokpo are certainly also worth a visit, not to forget Jeju to the south. The island is however holiday heaven to Koreans, so book early. (51.7 million people – 13.3 million tourists: 173rd least-visisted country in the world, 26th most-visited country in the world.) Ukraine, Europe In a small sculpture park in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. There are at least four must-visit cities in this large and fascinating countries: thriving capital Kiev, seaside resort Odessa, architectural wonder Lviv and cosmopolitan Kharkiv to the east. Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, should be on anyone’s itinerary too, to realize how bad it can go when humans rally screw up. Ukraine is certainly leaning towards the west, but the Russian influence is still very strong and sets the stage for heaps of interesting observations. (42 million people – 14.2 million tourists: 175th least-visisted country in the world, 24th most-visited country in the world.) United Kingdom, Europe Bob Bob Ricard, a highly recommended restaurant in London. Brexit mess or no brexit mess, I am not judging a country by its politicians. There is just something by the atmosphere in the good, old UK. I love their sense of humour, the busy towns, the idyllic villages and the vast number of incredibly stunning places in Cornwall, Wales and Scotland. That the country has launched a cutthroat challenge to Champagne when it comes to quality bubbles is a big bonus. The Brits have even somehow finally figured out how to cook too, their cusine has taken a thousand mile step the last decade or so. (67.5 million people – 39.2 million tourists: 192nd least-visisted country in the world, 7th most-visited country in the world.) P.S. I last made a similar list in 2015 for American magazine Thrillist. Then the following 12 countries made the list: Dominica, Iceland, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Romania, Sierra Leone, Uruguay, Vietnam #13bestcountries #bestcountries #toptravellist #ultimatebucketlist

Not many people have experienced a sunrise in Kiribati, the world’s 9th least visited country. More and more people aspire to visit every country in the world (whether you count 193, 196 or 198 – like I do). I believe that is a good thing, given that travellers take the opportunity to actually spend time in each country, meet those who live there and try to understand the challenges that they face there. And believe me, everyone has challenges. (In my country Norway, one of the world’s wealthiest, the one overshadowing problem these days doesn’t seem to be the climate crisis, an explosion of people being forced to flee their countries, diminishing education levels, the rise of populist parties or increasing amounts of propaganda disguised as news. The main challenge to Norwegians these days is, judging by media coverage, toll roads. We pump up 2.5 percent of the world’s oil and gas and have higher incomes than most but the prospect to having to pay a few dollars to drive on motorways or cross bridges really drive us mad. So, if you come to Norway, that may be one of the “challenges” you want to find out more about.) In order to do so, I would strongly recommend to stay several days or weeks in each country – and at the very least to stay a day and a night. I do however understand the problem of too little holiday quite well, and that compromises must be made. To visit the 14 countries in Oceania, the continent of the Pacific, can be quite a daunting task, primarily due to a lack of flights and minimal, if any, competition between airlines. So, how can these countries be visited on a vacation? Small boats are by far the most common mode of transport in the Federated States of Micronesia. I have made a suggested itinerary of how all 14 countries can be visited, with at least one night in each, in only 19 days. Again, I would recommend you to spend much more time in these incredible countries, so consider this an exercise in logistics rather than the optimal itinerary. And do note, should you follow this itinerary, and there is one flight cancellation or delay (which happens quite often in the Pacific), then you may be stuck in an island nation for days or weeks. The next available flight might be full (propeller planes are not uncommon), or will arrive too late for you to reach your next flight (which means your onward ticket is no longer valid unless you have been able to afford flexible tickets). Tuvalu is the most difficult country to reach, with only 3-4 flights per week. These are operated by only two carriers (Air Kiribati to Tawara, Fiji Airways to Suva), both flying propeller planes. Nauru has more flights, all jet powered, but is only served by Nauru Airlines. Due to the lack of flights it isn’t straightforward to make an itinerary for those with limited holiday, but I’ve given it a go. See the flights on a map below the table. WeekdayTimeRouteCountry to stay the nightMonday (or earlier)10:00-14:15Brisbane-HoniaraSolomon IslandsTuesday11:55-14:50Honiara-NauruNauruWednesday14:20-17:30Nauru-NadiFijiThursday13:30-15:55Nadi-Nuku’alofaTongaFriday14:50-16:55Nuku’alofa-AucklandNew Zealand (1 or 2 nights)Saturday or Sunday08:45-13:30 or 15:40-20:35Auckland-ApiaSamoa (1 or 2 nights)Monday16:55-21:00Apia-SuvaFiji (again)Tuesday09:00-11:35Suva-FunafutiTuvaluWednesday14:00-17:25Funafuti-TarawaKiribati (2 nights)Friday07:15-08:30Tarawa-MajuroMarshall IslandsSaturday11:20-14:50/15:47Majuro-Pohnpei/ChuukFederated States of MicronesiaSunday08:00/09:00-12:00 Pohnpei/Chuuk- Port Moresby Papua New Guinea (2 nights)Tuesday08:55-15:05Port Moresby- Port VilaVanuatuWednesday15:05-17:15Port Vila-BrisbaneAustraliaThursday22:50-18:15 (+1)Brisbane-KororPalau Many carriers will get you to Brisbane, Australia to start this trip, whereas there are direct flights to Manila, Taipei, Seoul and Guam from Koror, Palau to get you back home. You can find and book most flights on sites like Kayak, Skyscanner or Momondo, although you may in some cases have to book from the airline’s website. Flight changes are NOT uncommon, so please double check that all flights are still scheduled to fly at the times specified above before booking any tickets. Start in Australia, finish in Palau. Map from Bridgat. How about running around a country? The road around Nauru measures 19 kilometers. #allcountriesinthePacific #Vanuatu #Micronesia #PNG #Oceania #Kiribati #Samoa #NewZealand #Australia #FederatedStatesofMicronesia #PapuaNewGuinea #Pacific #Tuvalu #Nauru #Tonga #MarshallIslands #SolomonIslands #howtovisitislandnationsinthepacific #Fiji

The NIN Lifestyle x Gunnar Garfors in Northern Norway. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. So, this is totally crazy! There’s a backpack that has been to every country in the world. It only took 15 years. And, perhaps not surprisingly, it belongs to me. I never intended to be the owner of such a backpack, at least not until I started counting the countries I had taken it to one fine day in 2018, and I realised that my old faithful friend had been to 193 countries. That meant it only lacked five; San Marino, Monaco, Mongolia, Uruguay and Peru. How convenient that I had already decided to visit every country twice and that the latter three were still remaining. But what about San Marino and Monaco? My girlfriend happily accepted my invite to join me to Italy. It did however take a couple of amazing dinners to compensate for the many hours of driving. I had conveniently “forgotten” to mention the little detour from Milano via San Marino and Monaco to Milano. Or 14 hours by car. The best travelled backpack is a Norrøna Integral 35 from 2004, although it is no longer in production. Nin Lifestyle, an accessory company in Thailand loved the story about the worldly backpack and asked to use it as a prototype for a new model of their own. NIN Lifestyle is well known for their clean and stylish design, and I was happy and honoured to work with them. NIN’s products are handmade in Bangkok, using small local suppliers and manufacturers. That it is environmentally friendly is also important, the leather is tanned using acids found in plants while the waterproof canvas is sourced locally. I also love the hidden pockets and the convenient padded laptop compartment that is easily accessible from the side. But there is more to it. Nina Pimpisa is the CEO of Nin Lifestyle, and she totally loves books. The company has produced three other bag models, and they are all named after authors: The John Steinbeck is a tote with leather straps The Oscar Wilde is a tote with a detachable shoulder strap. The Pablo Neruda is a full canvas tote. Slightly better known writers than me, in other words. The new backpack model will, and I cannot believe that I am saying this, be called The Gunnar Garfors. Or NIN Lifestyle x Gunnar Garfors, to be exact. I am deeply honoured! Although I am fully aware that I will either be dragging those world-class authors down a trillion notches (or they will be lifting me up a gazillion ones). My books will never quite compare with Odes to Common Things, Of Mice and Men or The Importance of Being Earnest, and I feel very privileged. Thank you NIN! The backpack launched June 12, 2019 and it is available to buy internationally. European customers may find it easier and faster to buy the backpack from Nomaden, a Norwegian shop specializing in travel books and travel gear. Nomaden has shops in Oslo and Trondheim, and sells online too. Do note that I do not hold any ownership in NIN Lifestyle. Gunnar Garfors (me) posing with the Gunnar Garfors (backpack) and a Gunnar Garfors (book). Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Detail of The NIN Lifestyle x Gunnar Garfors. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. The backpack in a small harbour in Træna. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Let’s see if I have everything. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Backpack detail. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. The original Norrøna Integral 35 has been a faithful friend of mine since 2004. Perhaps a redesign was overdue. Norrøna Integral 35 backpack #NinLifestyle #GunnarGarfors #backpack #besttravelbackpack #ultimatetravelluggage

Very few people has ever visited Træna. It is simply too remote. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Seaweed, or kelp, is the new food trend in Norwegian high-end restaurants. A small company headquartered on the remote island of Selvær in Northern Norway is betting that households will follow suit. For inspiration it organized a pop-up kelp restaurant in the middle of nowhere. “The ocean is full of secret delicacies in plain sight, and seaweed happens to be packed with nutrients, vitamins and good fatty acids. I also love that it grows very fast without the use of pesticides, that harvesting doesn’t hurt the environment and involves no human or animal exploitation,” Zoe Christiansen explained. She is CEO of The Northern Company, with 5-9 employees, depending on the season. Zoe Christiansen managed to fill the entire school of Selvær with excited locals. There are normally no eateries on the island. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. They handpick five out of the more than hundred types of seaweed on the Norwegian coast. Seaweed sprinkle, sea spaghetti, fermented finger kelp and dried truffle seaweed are among the products that give eateries in cities on the mainland more material for experimentation. The creative innovations have come to life in a tiny food lab, inside an old fish-processing plant on Selvær. Zoe has since spent countless hours in gourmet restaurants around Norway, not only as a guest. The Northern Company picks all its seaweed by hand, regardless of the weather. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Fancy some spaghetti seaweed? Photo: Haakon Hoseth. “In most cases I had to start from scratch, teaching chefs everything about seaweed. They have come to realise how the unique tastes can enhance not only fish and shellfish but also meats, potatoes and rice. I now consider many high-end chefs in Norway my close friends.” One of them is Vladimir Pak who won the world sushi championship in Tokyo in 2017. He uses a lot of seaweed in Omakase, his Michelin star restaurant in Oslo, and accepted Zoe’s invitation to head a team of celebrity chefs and crew. Mission: To set up a pop-up restaurant in the small defunct school on Selvær. Population: 55. Truffle kelp is very versatile. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. The windblown island is situated 45 nautical miles off the shores of Helgeland, spot on the arctic circle. A beautiful mountain range lies on the mainland to the east, while the iconic crown shaped peaks of Sanna are visible in the south. There aren’t many cars here, not surprisingly given the mere 2.5 miles of road. That some people drive at all is primarily due to the omnipresent wind and the manic weather. There are more sheep than people on Selvær. None of the four-legged creatures were on the menu this time. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Eight-legged crabs were less lucky. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Getting to seaweed wonderland did however prove to be anything but a walk in the park. A 75 minute plane ride to Bodø from Oslo should have been followed by a six hour boat ride, but a technical issue kept the boat at bay. The four chefs and their eight assistants had to endure five hours in a cramped minibus before two hours on an express boat, including short stops on five other islands to get to the final destination. “Such a journey would normally have been exhausting, but the sheer beauty of the wild coast boosted my energy levels. To see the abundance of raw materials all around the islands further inspired me,” Pak said. Vladimir Pak perfecting some of the dishes in the old school on Selvær. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. To prepare, the team worked literally around the clock for two days in the cramped and anything but modern school kitchen. Chefs from competing restaurants Fangst and Genki helped Pak churn out 15 courses that were served in the gym, where chalk on an original blackboard was used to write “BAR” in big letters, with drinks and prices in stylish letters underneath. An unlikely venue for a world-class restaurant. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Håkan Wiik is the head chef at critically acclaimed restaurant Fangst in Oslo. He somehow found time to help set up the pop-up kelp restaurant on Selvær. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Metal hooks for the volleyball net were still screwed to one of the walls, and ten windows provided a view of the ocean and made sure that the midnight sun minimized the romantic effect of candles. They were centerpieces on every table, placed on rocks picked from a beach 100 meters away. All dishes were put on display on traditional wooden fish boxes and served to guests by the chefs themselves. Almost a necessity, the content of the fine-dining had to be explained. The menu included scallops, flounder, halibut, king crab, whale and reindeer. All dishes, even the dessert, were infused with one form of seaweed or another. Well, except for the seaweed spagetti, which was infused with shrimp stock. Guests were served no less than 15 courses. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Locally picked scallops were enhanced by…gold. Of course. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Local herbs, Munnvold hot sauces named after (wannabe) dictators and wasabi roots from Japan and Britain delivered by The Wasabi Company were also used. Kristoffer Vold is behind the famous Munnvold hot sauces, sold by select shops around Norway. Justin Bieber once purchased everything he had in stock. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Chances are you never tried genuine wasabi. Nick Noodle from The Wasabi Company explains about the real deal. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Originally the plan was to accommodate 25 people, but word of mouth did its job, and the dinner sold out in a couple of days. In the end, a total of 60 locals flocked on foot or by boat from neighbouring islands, and somehow managed to squeeze into the school. Another 60 people were waitlisted. The lucky guests were in awe. “It is not out of order to describe this as truly epic. We don’t even have any restaurants here, and then all of a sudden we experience world-class fine-dining and incredible service by elite chefs that normally engage with much more fancy guests than us islanders,” Bjørn Smith-Hald grinned. He has high hopes that the sustainable seaweed business can help stop the declining population. The average age of those that live on the island is currently 70, and the community is doing its utmost to attract younger people. More people would help the local shop too. It is open on most days, but only for an hour or two at the time. Selvær is part of the Træna archipelago which is famous for hosting one of the world’s most iconic, and remote, music festivals. Vladimir Shek in action. He normally heads gourmet hot spot Genki in Oslo. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. The success of a sold-out kelp cantina and happy customers made Zoe glow with pride when addressing the guests after dinner. “Thank you so much for your enthusiasm. ‘The Tastes of Selvær’ will be a tradition from next year, I hope,” she said, not quite managing to hold back joyful tears from her blue eyes. It sounded like a promise. Capacity certainly needs to be increased. And who knows, perhaps The Tastes of Selvær will take on the much bigger Træna Festival for local event of the year. Kelp will regardless be on the menu. It remains to be seen which top-notch chefs will be making magic out of it. The four culinary artists of 2019 sure set the bar high through flawless and impeccable cooperation in a modest kitchen. Thomas Moen completed the team of chefs at The Tastes of Selvær. He has worked at a number of high-end restaurants in Norway. He now runs several food businesses. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Some came from neighbouring islands on own boats to eat at the pop-up restaurant. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Seaweed, or kelp, comes in many shapes and sizes. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Vladimir Pak testing one of the over 100 scallops that was handpicked by diver Tay-young Pak. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. The sea is full of raw material for incredible dishes. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. – Look what I found! Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Getting to Selvær will take you almost two hours by boat from the mainland. Or close to six hours from Bodø, the nearest city. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. A number of herbs surprisingly grow on windblown Selvær. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Spaghetti seaweed prepared. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. A calm spot in the midnight sun on the middle of the island. Photo: Haakon Hoseth. Just before midnight. And why bedrooms have thick curtains. Photo: Gunnar Garfors Just after midnight. Why anyone goes to bed in summer is still a mystery. Photo: Gunnar Garfors. #TheTastesofSelvær #TheWasabiCompany #popuprestaurant #kelp #seaweed

War, what is it good for? Given my extensive travelling it may not surprise you that I am often accused of having the world’s biggest climate footprint. It is presumably caused by the misinformation that flying is the worst thing a person can do towards the climate. And the accusation isn’t even quantified. “Flying is the worst,” I am often told. Full stop. Some people are less bombastic, but still claim that reducing flights is the most effective thing a person can do. Well, it can be. But as with anything else, it depends on the extent we are talking about. One flight doesn’t cause much damage, although one long-distance flight will obviously cause more pollution than a short-haul one. I got so much abuse over my flying that I eventually looked into figures. A lot of figures. The aim was to get a perspective. And to understand the full picture, or at least as full of a picture as possible. What does that mean? Well, the airline industry isn’t actually very bad – on its own. Even if every airline in the world was grounded immediately, that wouldn’t contribute much to ending the global climate crisis we are currently in the midst of. Let me run a few examples. Buying and driving a electrical Tesla or Jaguar (with a huge battery) or a small sized petrol or diesel powered car for a year (average milage) pollutes as much as 27 average flights. And will continue to do so throughout its life span (which is, on average, 16 years). While feeding factory made pet food to an average dog (22 kilos) for a year equals 20 average flights. Worse yet, is building an average house from concrete and/or bricks (with the steel that is needed for it). That will set your climate budget back by 450 average flights. And let me not even get into the yearly climate footprint of having a kid, per parent (alright then, it translates into over 500 average flights). It might in other words make more sense to ditch the dog or to crash the car if your goal is to reduce emissions substantially, compared to avoiding a few flights here and there. Do also keep in mind that not all flights are average. It goes without saying that flying from New York to Singapore in a big plane pollutes much much more than flying from Oslo to Førde (look it up) in a propeller plane, but most of us board a number of different flights a year, so to use an average isn’t all that far-fetched (although if you only fly long-distance, you should up that number quite a bit). Most of us in the western world can cut down on our flying, and probably should. But flying a few times less than planned won’t do the trick. The challenge is regardless that we need to cut down on emissions for all industries, including flying. That means fewer cars, fewer kilometers in them, buying less clothing and building houses from wood rather than from concrete and steel. Let us compare numbers. A pair of jeans = 33 kilos CO2. One average flight per passenger = 110 kilos CO2. Tumbler dryer usage per person per year = 200 kilos CO2. Going from a vegetarian diet to a “normal” one per year = 800 kilos CO2. A cruise ship holiday per passenger = 820 kilos CO2. Pet food to an average dog per year = 2,200 kilos CO2. Large electrical car or small petrol/diesel powered car per year = 3,000 kilos CO2. Large petrol/diesel powered car per year = 6,000 kilos CO2. Building a brick/concrete house = 50,000 kilos CO2. Having a kid, per parent per year = 58,600 kilos CO2. Military actions = surrounded by secrecy (but very high) Sources, and more: Comments From a Climate Culprit #climatecrisis #climatefootprint #climatefootprintofflying #CO2emissions

Kiribati is one of the countries at risk if sea levels increase. And no, the title is not clickbait. I have travelled to every country in the world twice, most recently to write the book “Elsewhere” (“Ingenstad“) about the world’s 20 least-visited countries, and it is fair to say that I fly more than most. This still isn’t about letting flying off the hook, but to look at the totality and to travel differently. Let me explain. Everyone understands that planes emit CO2 and other gases. That the pollution is released high in the sky is even likely to make it worse, and another reason why travel related emissions should not be ignored. To automatically only blame passengers, who actually already pay carbon taxes as a part of ticket prices, is however not the way to go. One reason is that society has developed in such a way that aviation is essential for much more than just to get Jack or Jill from A to B. We expect speedy deliveries of seafood, carparts, letters, parcels and flowers. And only air transport is fast enough to satisfy our demands. Foodies expect fresh Norwegian fish, Japanese steaks and French truffles to be flown in regardless of whether they eat in Oslo, Dubai or New York. And if your car stops, you want it to be repaired asap. To reduce warehouse costs most spare parts are transported to the garage by plane – and truck. Not to forget the mail, which includes online purchases. It needs to arrive. Fast. Customers of today do not accept to be kept waiting for trains, ships or trucks. 20 percent of revenues on commercial passenger flights derive from freight. Which means that high-maintenance restaurant guests, car owners or recipents of parcels indirectly contribute to aviation emissions even if they have never taken a flight in their lives. For arguments sake, let us say that we change our holiday travel patterns from travelling within the “western bubble” to rather exploring other cultures, people and places outside it. If we travel differently and use our trips to exhange knowledge and establish friendships with people who live where we go, then travel can be a part of the green change as opposed to a part of the problem. Increased mutual understanding, more friendships and more trade across borders and cultures can and will reduce risk for conflict and war. Which in turn will result in reduced military budgets, fewer military operations across the world and therefore a big decrease in both fear and the perceived need to maintain big forces with their significant emissions. But first; How much do wars and military activity pollute? I ask the question since the world’s defense and military organizations have achieved an exception from emission statistics. And that is by no means because they do not pollute. They have however managed to convince the world that their emissions are military secrets, and that they therefore must be kept secret, and not given any attention. It is therefore impossible to know exactly how big these emissions are, but estimates show that the US Military alone is responsible for 5 percent of all pollution, according to Barry Sanders, author of “The Green Zone: The Environmental Cost of Militarism”. This includes all “regular activities” performed by American forces alone, but do note that emissions increase dramatically whenever a war is started or a conflict escalates. The US Military is the world’s biggest, and spends 37 percent of the defense budgets on the planet. That equals that of the next seven countries on the list (China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, UK, India, France and Japan)! World military spending is over 1.6 trillion USD per year (or put differently: 1.6 million million or 1,600,000,000,000). As if the sheer spending isn’t bad enough, the US Military has a general excemption from all environmental measures and regulations that may be decided upon in the UN and other international forums. Not a bad position to be in for the world’s biggest environmental culprit. But let us also include defense related emissions from all other countries and they amount to 13.5 percent of the world’s carbon footprint! And take note that is a conservative estimate. Emissions related to military activities are very real, despite not official, and need to be included in the discussion too. A reduction of 14 percent in defense activities will reduce the world’s carbon footprint with as much as the entire global aviation industry currently emits. But let me be realistic. There is currently big resistence to any reduction in military operations. NATO, with its de facto leader USA, would rather see that NATO members increase spending and buy more arms, something which will undoubtedly result in “enemies” following suit, and we have another vicious circle. Increased military spending comes with an exceptionally high cost to the climate, which will eliminate any emission decreases the world population manages to achieve through eating less meat, building in wood instead of in cement and steel and knitting our own clothes from wool instead of buying polyester. To maintain current military spending is in other words probably the most positive climate measure we can dream about in the short term. Increased arms trade can in fact be catastrophic for the climate, especially since a hyper capitalist is in charge of the world’s biggest economy. Firstly, he sees an opportunity for his wealthy acquaintances and friends to increase arms export from the world’s biggest producer of weapons, by far: The USA already sells over 40 percent more than Russia in second place, and these two countries sell for more than all other countries combined. Secondly, Donald John Trump doesn’t believe that humans contribute to global warming. A dangerous combination. And let me be blunt: If we increase the world’s defense budgets, that are already to blame for 13.5 percent of the world’s pollution, instead of decreasing them, then the Paris Agreement doesn’t stand a chance, almost regardless of our actions. While more travel between cultures can potentially reduce the need for armed forces. Peace and stability are way too important subjects to leave for politicians and business people alone. We need more “normal” people to contribute too, in the shape of open-minded tourists that seek unusual destinations. So, please think outside the box – or outside the western bubble – before planning your next trip. And do engage with the people that live there too. That is an important way to make this a truly smaller, better and safer planet – with fewer military personell and less pollution. Sources and a longer version of this article. #pollution #greentravel #militaryemissions #travel #greenvacation #travelpollution #defenseemissions

I have travelled to every country in the world twice, most recently to write the book “Elsewhere” (“Ingenstad“) about the world’s 20 least-visited countries, and it is fair to say that I fly more than most. My carbon footprint isn’t tiny, but actually far from as big as you might think. The solution to the planet’s climate crisis isn’t as “simple” as quitting travel altogether, but rather to look closer at why and how we travel. Everyone understands that planes emit CO2 and other gases. That the pollution is released high in the sky is even likely to make it worse, and another reason why travel related emissions should not be ignored. To automatically blame passengers, who actually already pay carbon taxes as a part of ticket prices, is however not the way to go. One reason is that society has developed in such a way that aviation is essential for much more than just to get Jack or Jill from A to B. We expect speedy deliveries of seafood, carparts, letters, parcels and flowers. And only air transport is fast enough to satisfy our demands. There are also many other culprits in the world of emissions, and we need to look at the totality. To ground aircrafts, even all of them, without also changing other habits wouldn’t drastically change the bigger picture. The internet does for instance emit as much as airplanes, thanks to a world-wide cluster of huge server farms that require power and cooling. New sensors, gadgets and gizmos that are all connected via the internet means that the power needed is already increasing at ultra speed. If The Guardian’s estimates are right, the internet will be to blame for 3.5 percent of the world’s carbon footprint within eight years, and a whopping 14 percent by 2040. 2.2 percent of global emissions come from the aviation industry, which is often mentioned alongside meat production for human consumption (8.6 %) as the main perpetrator, according to politicians and media. I discussed this with a climate scientist who highlighted that this is a well-defined strategy to avoid that flying and cattle disappear from climate change discussions, given that these categories can be seen as luxury that most people in the western world are reluctant to give up without fight. “When people think about what they can do on a daily basis to be more environmentally friendly, they typically think about recycling and avoiding plastic bags. Those issues are of course important, every little helps, but what really helps is to eat less meat, to drive private cars less and to fly less,” Karen Richardsen Moberg told me. She is a scientist at Western Norway Research Institute. Many of her colleagues have the same focus. This is a simplification, in my opinion. People in most western countries are also voters in democratic elections and can cast their ballot in favour of the political parties whose platforms are green. Other parties doesn’t seem to understand that change is urgent and must be imminent. To focus on the 11 percent of emissions that are caused by flying and the meat industry is better than to only focus on the 2.8 percent that are caused by waste management, but still doesn’t help much towards achieving the 1.5 degree goal in The Paris Agreement. If we are to reach this goal, then both governments and citizens need to think and act comprehensively, and without tabloidization. Let me try to have a closer look at the numbers. I say “try” because no one has accurate and complete figures, in part because they always change. Any figures presented in various surveys, reports and articles are therefore estimates, which often varies even within the same emission categories. I have used different sources to try to present as accurate and representative data as possible (sources are listed below). The problem is that the numbers do not add up. By adding all sorts of different emissions I get to over 100 percent, which obviously isn’t possible. I have therefore had to partly estimate based on the conflicting figures out there. But first; How much do wars and military activity pollute? I ask the question since the world’s defense and military organizations have achieved an exception from emission statistics. And that is by no means because they do not pollute. They have however managed to convince the world that their emissions are military secrets, and that they therefore must be kept secret, and not given any attention. It is therefore impossible to know exactly how big these emissions are, but estimates show that the US Military alone is responsible for 5 percent of all pollution, according to Barry Sanders, author of “The Green Zone: The Environmental Cost of Militarism”. This includes all “regular activities” performed by American forces alone, but do note that emissions increase dramatically whenever a war is started or a conflict escalates. The US Military is the world’s biggest, and spends 37 percent of the defense budgets on the planet. That equals that of the next seven countries on the list (China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, UK, India, France and Japan)! World military spending is over 1.6 trillion USD per year (or put differently: 1.6 million million or 1,600,000,000,000). As if the sheer spending isn’t bad enough, the US Military has a general excemption from all environmental measures and regulations that may be decided upon in the UN and other international forums. Not a bad position to be in for the world’s biggest environmental culprit. But let us also include defense related emissions from all other countries and they amount to 13.5 percent of the world’s carbon footprint! And take note that is a conservative estimate. These “secret” emissions do by any account reduce the percentages of every other civilian category accordingly, as shown in the table below. In the left column “Without defense” I have included the various types of emissions that can be found in civilian reports. But emissions related to military activities are very real, although not official, and need to be included too. This is shown in the right hand column, “With defence” where the other sources of emissions have been reduced, while the total has been increased. Emissions caused by oil, gas and coal are included in the relevant sources shown in the table. Further oil, gas and coal emissions are added under “Unspecified energy production”. Some thought should also be given to the fact that higher temperatures lead to less fresh water, and that a lack of the vital liquid repeatedly has increased levels of conflict or caused wars. Consequently we see arms races which in turn increase emissions, increase temperatures and decrease fresh water reserves. A vicious circle. I am often confronted by journalist with my carbon footprint “which must be huge as much as I fly”. With a job in public service broadcaster Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) I have a rather normal paycheck. Almost everything that I make is used for jetfuel, which leaves little money to spend on other ways of polluting the planet. So, let us look a bit closer at the emissions from the aviation industry. The total global emissions per year amount to 35.8 billion tons of CO2 (without the defence industry, or 41.3 billion tons with it). Aviation accounts for 781 million tons, or 2.2 percent (1.9 % if we count military activities). There were 4.3 billion passengers on 38.1 million flights world-wide in 2018. That means 104,000 flights per day, on average, undertaken on approximately 25,000 passenger planes, 17 percent of which are for long distance. Each plane transported 113 passengers, on average. Each passenger was then responsible for 0.18 tons of CO2 per flight. There is naturally a difference between a one hour long flight and one that takes 18 hours, whether there are 10 or 400 passengers on board and whether we are talking about a new propeller plane with two engines or an old jet with four, but all planes need to reach cruising altitude – which requires the most fuel – and many of us fly both short and long flights, so using such an average isn’t entirely wrong. Then again, it isn’t fair to divide emissions only on the passengers on board each plane. Foodies expect fresh Norwegian fish, Japanese steaks and French truffles to be flown in regardless of whether they eat in Oslo, Dubai or New York. And if your car stops, you want it to be repaired asap. To reduce warehouse costs most spare parts are transported to the garage by plane – and truck. Not to forget the mail, which includes online purchases. It needs to arrive. Fast. Customers of today do not accept to be kept waiting for trains, ships or trucks. 20 percent of revenues on commercial passenger flights derive from freight. Which means that high-maintenance restaurant guests, car owners or recipents of parcels indirectly contribute to aviation emissions even if they have never taken a flight in their lives. Politics also comes into the picture. If no flights existed to Finnmark – the northernmost county of Norway, rural Scotland or Montana, even fewer people would live there and the corresponding countries would have had even higher populated areas and been further urbanized. That is not something governments want, due to financial, military and geopolitical reasons. Alaska would for instance be easier lost to Russia again if no one lived there due to a lack of flights. Less people would also be willing to live in big towns and medium cities far from major ones if not covered by international flights. People expect to be able to travel domestically and abroad easily. This doesn’t mean that they will actually ever take any of the flights, but the mere existence of them makes people feel safe and comfortable enough to not move away to more central locations. It is therefore not illogical to subtract 20 percent of aviation emissions for transport and the same for political reasons from the carbon footprint of airline passengers. Such a calculation will no longer mean 0.18 tons of CO2 per person per flight, but 0.11 tons. I will not discount claims from scientists and climate change experts that exhaust that is released 10,000 meters above sea level may cause extra environmental harm, so let me double the emissions to 0.36 and 0.22 tons per flight respectively, to give a more accurate and realistic picture. Another example that is rarely discussed is the environmental impact of pet food. The production of food for cats and dogs has turned into a giant industry which now accounts for more than a quarter of the emissions caused by meat and fish for human consumption. There are approximately 450 million pet dogs and pet cats in the world, totalling 900 million four-legged creatures. To produce their food emits 3.2 percent (2.8 % with defense) of annual CO2 in the world, which means 1.1 billion tons (1 144 000 000). Since the average dog weighs 22 kilos and the average cat only 4, there is a big difference in how much CO2 each favourite pet emits. The median canine is to blame for 2.1 tons of CO2 each year, compared to 0.4 for the comparable cat. I am not saying that people should euthanize their pets, but it may be an idea to feed them more leftovers from human food, just like people did before pet food brands bombarded us with ads and commercials telling us how bad bones are for Buddy and Bella. But let me also touch upon something way more sexy: Reproduction. To raise a child in the western world causes an enormous carbon footprint, according to a 2017 study published in Environmental Research Letters. Having one child less will save each of the two parents as much as 58.6 tons of CO2 per year for the rest of their lives. That equals between 163 and 532 flights per year (depending on which of the four figures I use). And no, I am not suggesting that people should stop having children, far less that parents have their offspring murdered. It is just worthwhile being aware that having a kid contributes substantially to CO2 emissions, and that that knowledge may mean that more prospective parents want to persue another option. There are unfortunately a lot of unwanted children in the world, one possibility is to consider adoption and/or to become foster parents. Having and driving a car (or three) is another known climate influencer, both because of the production of the vehicle and due to its direct lifetime emissions. Road based transport can be blamed for as much as 17 percent of global emissions (or 14.7 percent, with defense). A small petrol car or a big electrical one adds 3 tons of CO2 per year, while a big petrol driven BMW emits twice as much. The reason why an electrical Tesla isn’t necessarily better for the environment than a small traditional car is that the production of such a powerful battery causes massive emissions that are divided on the car’s lifetime. Let me also compare transport of people over 1,000 kilometer. By airplane it will typically take 25 liters of fuel per passenger, given an average amount of passengers, although it also depends on plane type and weather. The EU average for a private car with driver and one passenger is actually exactly the same: 25 liters of fuel per person. You will still have to add the emissions from the production of the car. The emissions from the production of an aircraft is divided on so many million or billion of passenger kilometers that they are marginal. Let me get back to flying. For arguments sake, let us say that we change our holiday travel patterns from travelling within the “western bubble” to rather exploring other cultures, people and places outside it. If we travel differently and use our trips to exhange knowledge and establish friendships with people who live where we go, then travel can be a part of the green change as opposed to a part of the problem. Increased mutual understanding, more friendships and more trade across borders and cultures can and will reduce risk for conflict and war. Which in turn will result in reduced military budgets, fewer military operations across the world and therefore a big decrease in both fear and the perceived need to maintain big forces with their significant emissions. Peace and stability are way too important subjects to leave for politicians and business people alone. We need more “normal” people to contribute too, in the shape of open-minded tourists that seek unusual destinations. A reduction of 14 percent in defense activities will reduce the world’s carbon footprint with as much as the entire global aviation industry currently emits. But let me be realistic. There is currently big resistence to any reduction in military operations. NATO, with its de facto leader USA, would rather see that NATO members increase spending and buy more arms, something which will undoubtedly result in “enemies” following suit, and we have another vicious circle. Increased military spending comes with an exceptionally high cost to the climate, which will eliminate any emission decreases the world population manages to achieve through eating less meat, building in wood instead of in cement and steel and knitting our own clothes from wool instead of buying polyester. To maintain current military spending is in other words probably the most positive climate measure we can dream about in the short term. Increased arms trade can in fact be catastrophic for the climate, especially since a hyper capitalist is in charge of the world’s biggest economy. Firstly, he sees an opportunity for his wealthy acquaintances and friends to increase arms export from the world’s biggest producer of weapons, by far: The USA already sells over 40 percent more than Russia in second place, and these two countries sell for more than all other countries combined. Secondly, Donald John Trump doesn’t believe that humans contribute to global warming. A dangerous combination. And let me be blunt: If we increase the world’s defense budgets, that are already to blame for 13.5 percent of the world’s pollution, instead of decreasing them, then the Paris Agreement doesn’t stand a chance, almost regardless of our actions. While more travel between cultures can potentially reduce the need for armed forces. But who should tell Kongsberg Defence Systems, the biggest Norwegian manufacturer of weapons? Because Norway values jobs and revenues, regardless of what they do to our environment. Just don’t tell anyone. My government is creative in making Norway come across as an environmentally friendly country. According to official statistics (that, again, omit military activities) Norway is accountable for 0.12 percent of global emissions. That means that every citizen in Norway emits 8.3 tons of CO2 per year. That is almost double that of the average world citizen (4.8 tons) and a quarter more than the average EU citizen (6.75 tons). Qatar is the world’s worst by 38.5 tons per inhabitant, accoring to Our World in Data. Qatar and Kuwait are coincidentally the only countries that produce more oil and gas per capita than Norway. But hang on. Norway doesn’t consistently include emissions that are related to our oil and gas production, whereas both Gulf countries mentioned above do. Since our production of petroleum happens offshore, clever bureaucrats seem to have decided not to include the related pollution in Norway’s statistics, even though we own and control the economic area where the oil rigs are. It doesn’t make much more sense when it comes to emissions caused by the oil and gas produced by Norway. The users get the blame. Oil that is exported to i.e. Canada and used there will reflect badly when it comes to Canada’s emissions, not on Norway’s despite having produced it. A comparison is in order. For illegal narcotics, it is the manufacturers and traders that are punished severly, not the (ab)users. For pollution, the opposite is the case. Norway produces 2 percent of all oil and 3.1 percent of all natural gas. How insane is that? James Bond-ish 0.07 percent of the world’s citizens pump up 1/40th of global oil and gas. The petroleum products are responsible for 54 percent of the world’s emissions, according to Norway’s Minister of Oil and Energy, Kjell-Børge Freiberg, which means that Norway accounts for 1.36 percent of global emissions (not 0.12 %). 1/1426 of humans do in other words cause 1/73 of pollution. Or, to put it a third way: Each Norwegian emits 90,2 tons of CO2 per annum. That is hell of a lot higher than the offical figure of 8.3 tons, which doesn’t include our oil and gas production or the effects it has. That means that Norway pollutes twice as much as the officially “most-wanted” polluter Qatar. That statistics are statistics and can be used for pretty much anything is well-known, but it doesn’t save the world climate from a single gram of CO2. Only by changing the attitudes of politicians in charge and influential business leaders can Norway (and other countries) reduce emissions substantially. We should use a lot of our financial resources for research and development into environmentally friendly substitutes so that we can secure revenues, jobs and our planet in the future too. Norway actually has the resources to become a frontrunner in future proof energy solutions, paradoxically as a result of years of putting revenues from oil and gas into the Norwegian Oil Fund, the world’s biggest investment fund. It is just a lot more demanding to do so as long as the oil just sits there, practically begging to be pumped up. At least according to the lobbyists that are paid to squeeze out every possible cent from oil, before something else takes over. A little bit like selling typewriters long after laptop computers and personal printers were invented. My mission is not to criminalize one cause of emissions over another, but to show various types of pollution side by side in such a manner that the totality might be easier to spot. Reality is that unless we as consumers, especially in the western world, do something about all causes of emissions, not only two or three, we will never achieve what The Paris Agreement was designed to do, or preferably even a lot more – at least not until the CO2 levels on the planet are so high that human kind will become extinct due to lack of oxygen and there is no one left to pollute. I’d say that is putting it off a bit too late. It’s damn good that Elon Musk is planning colonies on Mars. In the meantime, let us contribute by travelling outside the western bubble. To interact with each other, make new friends, exchange thoughts different to our own and establish trade deals. Because “the world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page”, according to Saint Augustine of Hippo. And “not to travel is an insult to your own mind, creativity and intellect”. According to me. Making friends in Somalia. Making friends in Central African Republic. Making friends in Jordan. Making friends in India. Making friends in Myanmar. Making friends in Tuvalu. Making friends in Turkey. “Making friends” in North Korea. 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