Search Results

Just do it. What can I say? Having travelled to every country in the world, while still regularly exploring the continents of the world, I get a fair amount of feedback through social media, emails and even old-fashioned postcards and letters. Some people hate me (or resolutely claim to – thanks guys and girls), others are critical of the pollution they feel that I contribute to or share to whoever can be bothered to listen how envious they are of my travels. Many are still inspired, or think that they are. Yet, most of the people that I hear from express that they wish they could travel like I do. I won’t say that you can or cannot. But there are for sure certain sacrifices to be made should you wish to venture down the exploration route, unless you are absolutely loaded (which I am not). I have made it a priority to spend literally everything I make on jet fuel, public transport, accommodation and whatever else might be needed to travel. And no, nice try, I make a rather average wage as a radio advisor at NRK, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. What matters is what I choose not to do. I only have a certain amount of possible income, i only manage to save up a little bit of that. And we’re not talking stacks of dollar bills, well perhaps semi-tall stacks of one dollar bills. The money I have managed to save up is still there only due to the fact that I have decided not to do a number of money diminishing activities or not to buy certain goods. And it’s not necessarily about the amount of money you manage to save up. I have majored in reasonable accommodation, I have a PhD in cheap plane tickets and I know where to find those meals cheaply (being a decent cook helps, I am great at i.e. cutting sashimi). I don’t have heaps of cash, so to make what you have go as far as possible matters. Then travel alone, with friends, with family or with your loved one. I have done all of the above, To me, it is all about collecting experiences and sharing memories. I don’t care much for sports cars, designer clothes or famous paintings on my wall. My journeys nationally or internationally provide me with uncountable experiences and memories. You don’t have to go to the other side of your country, your continent or the world to engage in new cultures, taste new foods or talk to different people. The other side of town, your next county/province/state or a neighbouring country is a bloody good start. Why be envious of me or other people that travel? It is your choice. Merchandise or memories? Expensives or exploring? Standard shit or surprising stories? Nike is right. Just do it. Go travel. #experiencesnotexpensives #memoriesovergoods #memoriesnot #Nike #Justdoit #gotravel #travel #experiencesovergoods

Avenue of the Baobabs just outside Morondava, Madagascar. The name is not a coincidence. You are truly mad if you don’t visit one of the most diverse islands in the world. It’s often called the 8th continent, due to the large number of flora and fauna not found anywhere else on Earth. No surprise, perhaps, given the sheer size of this giant island country. It is the fourth biggest island in the world and the biggest which is a country (although Greenland is working on it). How big, exactly? Well, bigger than Spain but not quite as big as France. Its 587,041 square kilometers makes sure that only 45 countries are bigger. . The scenery is stunning and very diverse. I already mentioned animals and trees, not least the cutest of the cute lemurs and the biggest of the big baobab trees. Throw in gourmet food (thank you, France) and a very hospitable people, and you’re in for a winner. Just do not expect much when it comes to infrastructure, roads are rare and usually in a pretty bad state. That means that average speeds of above 50 km/h should not be expected. In other words, it will take 12-14 hours to get from the capital Antananarivo to Morondava where the 7-800 year old baobab trees await. And yes, you are obliged to see them. Consider that Morondava has world-class seafood at slashed prices a bonus. Let me not forget the unforgettable sunsets either, as is the case on any African west coast. Renting a car the way you are used to is not easy, by the way. Very few companies will hire one to you without a mandatory driver. That doesn’t necessarily add much to the cost, expect to pay 40-70 USD per day plus petrol. And the driver will get to stay for free in the hotels you stay in (meaning that you pay extra for your hotel room), unless they decide to stay in the car. Some do, presumably to look after the car. You can fly to many towns from Tana (the nickname of the capital – who wants to spend five minutes trying to say Antananarivo anyway – it is the longest one-word capital name in the world), but prices on Air Madagascar are like brutal daylight robberies. Expect to pay 500USD for a return flight taking one hour each direction. Luckily they now have one competitor on domestic flights, hopes are they will help squeeze prices a bit. Conveniently Madagasikara Airways isn’t listed anywhere as an airline flying within Madagascar, and frankly its name doesn’t do anyone but locals speaking Malagasy any favours. Madagasikara logically means Madagascar, but who the hell knows? I’ll let the photos speaks for themselves below. Just to remind you that you’re mad for not going. How mad? Mad [as] a gas car. #lemur #Madagascar #baobab #Tana #Antananarivo #Morondava #lemurs

Pont Natural, Mauritius. My first book, “How I Ran Out of Countries” has miraculously sold close to 10,000 copies. The feedback from readers all over the world has been very inspiring, and it is time for my second travel book. This time around, I will focus on countries most of you haven’t heard of, let alone visited. Which means I will return to countries such as Somalia, Kiribati and South Sudan. My employer has agreed to give me six months of unpaid leave for the book writing project, I will naturally be travelling most of that time for research purposes. So, if you live or know someone in a country that you think deserves more attention, please get in touch and I might suddenly visit. I am easily travelled and not opposed to impulsiveness. I am looking for good and unusual stories from colourful people, many of whom may end up in the book which is due out in the autumn 2018 on my Norwegian publisher Samlaget (yes, I know what it means in Swedish). The English version is due out in early 2019. How I can afford to travel the world for six months without pay? Luckily NFFO, the Norwegian Nonfiction Author Association issues grants for published authors to make it possible for us to take time off work and write full-time. It is such a wonderful opportunity. Thank you a trillion for believing in my book idea, NFFO! You can follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Chances are that I will post a thing or two hundred related to the book writing throughout. My first month of full-time research and writing is in August and I’ll start somewhere in Africa. #author #book #GunnarGarfors #offthebeatentrack

Still going strong in Dubai. PelleK (from left), Gunnar Garfors, Derek Bell, Ronald Haanstra and Erik de Zwart. Photo: Allan Mikalsen. So close. But no cigar. Not even a matchstick. The mission was nearly impossible. We were aiming to break a Guinness World Record, and would have to risk three very close airport connections to do so. Or how about merely 44 minutes between flights? And not in the tiny international airport of Barbados, but the 9 terminal giant of LAX in the United States of immigration hell. And as if that wasn’t enough, we were flying in to one terminal, leaving from another AND on competing airlines. Just to add to the complexity and up the odds. United has had a relatively bad PR year so far, but provided service virtually unknown in aviation history and managed to get us onto the plane one minute before departure time. It left its gate 07:02, only two minutes late. “Everyone at United knows about you,” one of our many helpers told us at Tom Bradley terminal. We left the USA from Terminal 7 after a killing run to get there and the fastest check-in I have witnessed. Thanks go to the entire United team, and Ellen Marks in particular. The 50 minutes between flights in Bogota seemed like a walk in the park, and it was. No need to go through immigration for transitting passengers in Colombia. But the killer tuned out to be our 40 minutes between flights in Madrid. The ground staff had promised us to prepare our boarding cards in advance, we had sent copies of our passports and all. Let’s just say that they didn’t fulfill their promise. But doesn’t Air Algerie allow online check in? They certainly do, except from, yeah you guessed it, Madrid. That the terminals are only connected by bus on public roads didn’t do us many favours either. We did actually manage to check in, thanks to a very understanding lady at Iberia, but the gruelling underground train ride to Terminal 4S, and the run to the gate farthest away from passport control proved too much. The plane had just closed its door a couple of minutes early. Our luck had ran out. The bad news was passed on to our sponsor, betting company “ComeOn!” Of course they weren’t super surprised. The odds, and they know everything about odds, were against us all along with sevcen flights and very short connections. Thousands of people were still following us along our route, many even followed us each airmile of the way on our GPS powered tracking map. A lot of people we met along our route were impressed by our world record attempt, and the fact that we also raised money to clean water technology in develoing countries through Simple Drinking Water, a British foundation. The cabin crew of Emirates insisted on snapping photos with us, United’s cabin crew provided us with free wine, the purser on Qantas announced our record attempt on the PA system towards the end of the flight and the purser of Air Algier invited me into the cockpit. So, no world record, but six continents in 60 hours, and an amazing voyage. It will for sure rate high up there when it comes to ultimate friend trips. Six lads on tour. And not just anyone either. An advocate of clean water technology for developing countries, a rockstar, a television host, a bodyguard, a happiness seeker and me – a slightly restless globetrotter. I consider myself lucky. It was a hell of a trial run. RecordRunWorld will be back. #aroundtheworldfastest #recordrunworld

7×7 by Lia Miternique. A lot of people are collecting countries and counting like crazy these days. Many dream of visiting all 198 of them, some are in the process of trying or at least increasing their tally. Fewer people seem to be obsessed by the seven continents and the seven oceans. Portland based photographer and graphic designer Lia Miternique is a notable exception, and she is publishing a photography book about her quest. The title? “7×7”, obviously. She first left the US as a 17 year-old, and acquired a love for Europe. Which meant that Lia kept coming back every year, until she decided to explore more of the world in 2010. Lia in Northern Norway and dressed for the occasion. – I enjoy getting out of my regular surroundings and being inspired by new things. But it wasn’t until my first solo trip to India and Dubai that I really changed the way I looked at travel. The idea of traveling to explore and photograph and see things in a new way, was the reason to go, rather than just going someplace because of work or family, she told me. Over the next four years Lia visited five continents and touched the water in five of the world’s oceans. Two continents and two oceans were still missing. From 7×7. Click it for higher resolution. – I decided that by the time I was 40 I wanted to visit all 7. And not as quickly as I could, but to see the world. While exploring places across the various continents I started to become fascinated by how colors and patterns and people all reflect the natural landscapes of those areas. The connection between the essence of the city and the surrounding natural environment started to become a theme in my photographs. I try to capture the real character of a place through the people and their way of life by venturing into the less touristy spots, such as unknown neighborhoods and rural villages, Lia Miternique says. From 7×7. Click it for higher resolution. It sounds familiar. Copycat tourism isn’t really all that interesting. You can do better than exactly the same as your friends did last summer or what a random guidebook author wrote about three years ago. Chances are that rainforests, mountains, islands, deserts and places in the middle of nowhere will fascinate you much more than the must-visit theme park, the cathedral you have to queue for hours to enter or that tower people are fighting to photograph from the best spot, for additional Instagram likes. Lia doesn’t even post photos on Instagram. For now, she saves them for 7×7. From 7×7. Click it for higher resolution. – The book of course came from spending five years and seeing the seven continents and oceans, but equally much from the fascination of making connections across a continent. For example between an object in one city in the north with a landscape on a southern coastline in the south. To me this was an interesting visual experiment that became the structure of the book. 7×7 is set up with 7 double-page spreads per continent with one image coordinating with the next through colors, patterns, lines or other visual elements that connect them. From 7×7. Click it for higher resolution. I met Lia on a trip to Antarctica, we were both aiming for our 7th continent. Her photography seems to focus on unique details and that most people may not notice at first. You might not know where her photographs are from by looking at them, but Lia explains that what she has shot comes across as essence of the place to her, something that makes for strong connections. The question is whether the readers will feel the same. Photographer at work. – The wonderful thing about photography and travel, is that any time I see one of my images I am transported back to that time and place where I took it and I can remember so many little things about that moment, she smiles. Miss Miternique is also working on a start-up company with her two sisters. Not surprisingly, it relates to travel. The company is called Miniocards and it provides a way to collect travel memories. Their product is a customizable mini box and card set designed for collecting and sharing the little moments in life. Miniocards.com is already up and running, whereas “7×7″will hit the book shops this summer. #USA #photographer #LiaMiternique #7x7 #Portland #everyconinentandeveryocean

Perhaps not the best of photos, but Eric arrived Asmara at 4 o’clock in the morning. This is just outside the airport in Asmara. Eric Thanh Nam Nguyen today finally managed to enter Eritrea, his 198th country – all of which he visited by scheduled transport. It took him three attempts to get his visa, not surprisingly given that Eritrea is one of the world’s most difficult countries to visit. He flew in to Asmara from Cairo on Egypt Air and landed just after 03:00 this morning, local time. That means that he has visited every country at the age of 24 years and 175 days, narrowly beating James Asquith by 17 days for the Guinness World Record. The organization still needs to verify Eric’s record, something that typically takes anywhere between 2 months and 2 years. Eric is such a poser. Copycatting in front of a statue in central Asmara. And it has already been a long wait, although shorther than for anyone else in history. He has travelled extensively around the world for the last three years. I spoke to him yesterday, when he was still in Italy waiting to board. – I feel a little anxious, but excited. I’ve been waiting for this moment since I was a little kid, to finally visit every country. As kids, we all have dreams to travel the entire world, but I never in my dreams would have imagined that I would ever be this close to actually become the youngest person to visit every country in the world, he said. The two flights between him being just another traveller to having visited “everywhere” passed without drama. Perhaps with the exception of heavy thunderstorms upon landing at Asmara International Airport. He described an unbelievable feeling and the best passport stamp he ever got. – I did it! I did it! I broke the world record! We landed at 3:06 and I got stamped in at 4:36, and then got all my luggage inspected by customs, Eric told me seven hours after he first stepped on Eritrean soil. Cheering on the main street in Asmara. There was no electricity in Asmara this morning, and with no Wi-Fi routers he was cut off from communicating with the world. Might as well, he was anyhow in need of some much sought-after sleep after some manic travelling the last couple of weeks. Now it’s party time, with a passport bulging with stamps and visa stickers to prove it in his pocket. Don’t expect many photos of Eric in Eritrea in the near future, though. – Internet is working at snail speed in Asmara. I have never experienced it as slow as here, he complained. The Vietnamese American plans to stay for 15 days in the country with plenty of time to explore and to celebrate. It is however doubtful if he will be able to party in the same fashion as I did when I was there for New Year’s Eve in 2012. I drank Asmara (the local beer) with Asmara (a friend) in Asmara (the capital). My Eritrean claim to fame, I suppose. I was honoured when he told me that I actually inspired him to travel to every country. – I till can’t wrap my head around this. I read about you four years ago, and that made me want to visit every country. And now I have finally visited the last one! And in Oslo I was eating dinner with you, the guy who inspired me to inspire people. A lot of people get in touch and tell me that I inspire them to travel, Eric said. He is critical to people that claim to have visited every country, but that include countries where they have never left the airport, some times not even cleared immigration. – I don’t count transits, period. And I’ll be quite angry if some person breaks my record because of airport transits. It would be like travel fraud or something. You gotta get stamped in or it doesn’t count, he stated. I agree with Eric Thanh Nam Nguyen. To me travelling is about so much more than just counting countries. My curiosity and my mind demand that I actually explore wherever I go, whether a town, village, island or country. In order to count a country I must have properly been there, done something there and have a story to tell. Merely visiting an airport or train station, or driving through a country won’t cut it. If that were the case, you would be rather embarrassed being asked about what a particular country was like. Or imagine being challenged to rank the most exciting, best or most interesting countries in the world. You couldn’t really be able to do that with any credibility had you never been outside the airport. Eric has visited all 198 countries for real, and being the youngest ever to do so he can obviously also claim to be the youngest US citizen to have done so. The previous holders of that particular claim to fame were Lee Abbamonte and Cassie De Pecol, both of whom are known to have counted airport stops as country visits. Eric with his crew. As in security details. Mogadishu can be dangerous. Tourist gone attraction. Eric visited a beach in Mogadishu and was soon surrounded by guys who wanted to say hi. The flying carpet is at service, a floating one will have to do. I recently wrote about Eric as he was stuck for 5 days on the border between Yemen and Oman, but finally managed to get hold of the visa that enabled him to continue his record setting quest. His three remaining countries of the 198 in the world were Western Sahara, Venezuela and Eritrea. But he managed to squeeze in visits to a few others too, including Norway to meet up with fellow travellers (including myself) and Somalia to see Mogadishu, the capital, for the first time. Yopu may also want to read Huffington Post’s observations about Eric and other travel world record holders and challengers (yes, I am admittedly among them). A restless crowd: Tay-young Pak (left), Eric T. Nguyen, myself and Pål Anders Barth Larsen with a slightly early celebration of Eric’s 198 countries. Only Eritrea remained for him then. The four of us has now averaged 157 countries each. #travelworldrecord #Somalia #Eritrea #Venezuela #EricThanhNamNguyen #youngesttraveler #WesternSahara #worldrecord #GuinnessWorldRecord #Norway #worldsyoungesttravellertovisiteverycountry #EricNguyen

“The Only Bad Trip Is The One You Didn’t Go On.” That’s pretty much how I finished my TEDx talk in Binghamton in Upstate New York on March 26 (watch it above or on Youtube). And that more or less sums up the way I feel about travel. Nothing opens your eyes about the world, yourself and fellow citizens of the world better than leaving your well-known hometown. Which is why I decided to call my talk “World’s Least-Visited Countries Revisited”. To see, explore and learn about new regions, peoples and cultures can best be done through your own travels. I tried to examplify through a few stories from some of the world’s least-visited countries. And I don’t believe in copycat tourism. Guidebooks aren’t necessarily bad for you, although I certainly prefer to seek your own memories and experiences. It beats plaguerising those of guidebook writers. I enjoyed the TedX experience immensely, especially sharing experiences with so many people afterwards. And what an event! It was very professionally organized and with 1,200 people in a sold-out house. It would be great to hear what you think about it, please get in touch. Perhaps it can even inspire you or someone you know to start travelling or to travel more. And I’ll be thankful if you share my TEDx talk. I hope to possibly help inspire more people to leave the safety of their own home, village or country and let the world enlighten minds. Not to travel would be an insult to my curiosity, mind, body and soul. You should also take your time to enjoy the TEDx talks of the fabulous people I shared the stage with in Binghamton. Chris Koch from Canada has no hands or legs. He will still totally inspire you: If I Can… Former tennis pro Eric Butorac had is debut off-court, on-stage: Don’t Dream Big. Professor Ellyn Kaschak did extensive research on blind people: Seeing is Believeing or is Believeing Seeing. Cevin Soling believes that traditional schooling is outdated: The Truthiness of School. Social media star and activist Ranier Maningding has news for you: Social Activism is the New Civil Rights Movement. And student speaker of 2017, Mollie Teitelbaum, had a go at pretty much everyone: So, That’s Why You Annoy Me! Me on stage at Binghamton University, upstate New York. Photo: TedX Binghamton. #EllynKaschak #Binghamton #TEDtalk #GunnarGarfors #ChrisKoch #NewYork #CevinSoling #Ted #Binghamtonuniversity #TEDx #MollieTeitelbaum #EricButorac #RanierManingding

“Darling, we’re going to Afghanistan.” Experiences beat stuff any day of the year. Including for Christmas and birthdays. And what can possibly be better than travel experiences? I cannot think of much. Which is why I usually give travel gift certificates rather than gadgets, designer clothing or jewelry. A trip for two to Cape Town, the Himalayas or São Tomé og Príncipe. A bonus is of course that you get to take part yourself. Not to mention everything you get to see, do and experience. A journey will provide you with new impressions 24/7. Shared experiences and stories to tell. You can even add some excitement to your travel gift certificate. For instance by letting the recipent play a role in deciding where you will go. Which may mean not only giving a gift certificate, but also some stuff. Such as three darts. And a map. Plus some simple rules. On the map you clearly mark several places where you would like to take the recipent on a trip. The rules won’t take up much space. 1. Put the map on the wall. 2. Stand five meters away from the map. 3. Throw the three darts or shoot the arrows. 4. Find the dart/arrow that is closest to one of the marked destinations. If two or three are equally close to a destination, you pick the one you want. 5. This is a gift certificate for us to go there on holiday. Darts may be a little bit easier, unless you have a zulu bow laying around your flat. The last time I gave such a gift certificate I ended up in Armenia. But you don’t have to if you are more of a beach bum. Since you provide the map you can essentially decide on destinations you would like to visit. Rather selfish, in other words. And much better than boring giftwrapped stuff. Keep in mind that you can limit the options to a region, country, continent or go for the entire world. Or add cities, villages, islands, countries or a combination of the above. And if your friend, boyfriend or wife has always dreamt about Hawaii, Honduras or Dushanbe, put those onto the map and add put some pressure on him or her to aim properly. Consider yourself challenged. And please let me know where the bow and arrow took you. #theworldsbestgift #travelbybowandarrow #giftmap #travelasagift #travelmap #travelgiftcertificate #travelbydarts

Country number 195 was definitely worth a smile. But that was before he knew how to get out again. How about that for a message from your son, wife or friend? Well, a mate of mine sent me the exact message a week ago. And not just any mate, mind you. Eric Thanh Nam Nguyen is a hardcore traveller. Not surprised? Fair enough, I have a few of those. But this one is different. He is young. Bloody young, in fact. Not quite a kid, but so young that he is on track to become the youngest traveller ever to visit every country in the world. And Guinness World Records are watching him closely. They should, he has only got three countries to go to have visited all 198 of them. With about one month to spare to beat another mate of mine, James Asquith. He was 24 years and 192 days old when he completed visiting every sovereign country, according to Guinness World Records (they only count 196 countries). When in Yemen… Eric is also 24 years old. But not yet 24 years and 192 days. The deadline to beat James? June1. But of course a lot can go wrong in a month. He was arrested on suspicion of being a Chinese spy in Ivory Coast, slept under a table outside a hospital in Liberia, was refused to board a ship to Yemen based on his ethnicity and was robbed by a police officer in Congo. Not to mention that he nearly got arrested and sent to concentration camp in North Korea for taking a roll of toilet paper from a toilet or that he flew over a car in a motorcycle accident in Guinea. I have been in touch with him before and after he finally managed to get into Yemen a week ago, overland from Oman. The only problem about his Yemen trip was that he didn’t have a valid visa to get back into Oman. Unfortunate. Very unfortunate, it turned out. The Vietnamese American was taken to a military camp on the Yemen-Oman border and kept there for 5 days while waiting to get another single-entry Oman visa sorted out. Eric was recently in Libya too. Where he was chased by ISIS. He shared a room of 15 square meters with Somalian asylum seekers, was given occasional food (but no utensils) by Oman military personell and laughed at when he made a fuss about the state of the water in the showers. The soldiers just laughed at me when I came out in my soap-soaked boxers to complain about the brown water. Even the US ambassador to Oman personally called Eric to find out what was going on and why the hell he was in Yemen. A fair question to ask, I suppose. Especially since citizens from Yemen are on the US black list. Eric might be in for a hell of a lot of questions upon returning to US soil. In a windowless interrogation room, in some lovely US airport. But by then he might at least own a Guinness World Record. Which should help explain his recent visits to Libya, Syria and Yemen. At least he got out, in the end. After all the paper work came through and he was allowed to re-enter Oman he immediately headed for an operational airport. To say that he was happy to be free would be a slight understatement. Dude I’m fucking ecstatic! I’m free! So happy, man! I had no problems getting into or out of Yemen, but I can only imagine that I would have said something similar had I been in his shoes. But what’s next, after travelling? Eric T. Nguyen will go to med. school and has noble plans for the future. I want to work for United Nations to provide medical aid for the refugees in this world. I want to change this world for the better. There is a total absence of human rights and other rights in many parts of our world. Eric visited Syria earlier in April. And you thought no tourists ventured there? Selfies all around… He has seen it for himself. It also turns out that Eric can fly helicopters and planes and legally drives motorcycles, but he doesn’t have a driver’s license for a normal car. Just another typical traveller, I guess. And, yes, ladies, he is single and up for grabs. Remember that travellers kiss better. The world record isn’t his quite yet, though. Eritrea, Western Sahara and Venezuela still remain untouched by the daredevil. He will not necessarily try to visit them in that order, though. And keep in mind that Eritrea isn’t the easiest of countries to visit. Follow Eric on Facebook or Instagram to find out if he makes it. The deadline is approaching rapidly, and the three remaining countries are on two continents. By Door to Hell in the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan. A must-visit spot in the country. #USA #youngestpersontovisiteverycountry #Yemen #worldrecord #EricNguyen

Rocking the boat is a typical Travel Club surprise activity. Oysters as fresh as they get cannot be praised highly enough. Matching wine served by an in-boat sommelier, of course. So you don’t like to travel alone? Do not despair, there are a lot of options as I have discussed earlier. But not much beats travelling with good friends. Five mates and I are part of what we call Travel Club. Once a year one of us is in charge of organizing a trip. The others know nothing about the destination, what we will do there or who we will meet (if anyone). Tomorrow we are at it again, for the fourth time running. And this time I am in charge. Given my infamousness when it comes to strange, odd or mad travels, some of my friends are a little shaky about this year’s trip. And bets are of course on: Where will we go? The winner (if anyone guesses the right country) will get a bottle of bubbly from the others. History has shown they will be shared anyhow, so not much of a penalty, really. It is important to have some strict or semi-strict rules when you have such a “club”. You may otherwise end up arguing about pretty much anything. And mind you, I have already broken the first rule even talking about it: “You do not talk about Travel Club.” Admittedly slightly inspired by a famous Edward Norton film. I’ll risk it. Without me, the remaining five will have nothing (this year, that is – I might be expelled after writing this post). Only I know where we are going, when and how. As fixer of the year I have to take care of tickets, accommodation, some activities (but not so many that it resembles a guided tour) and book at least one mouthwatering restaurant (since reservations are often needed). The wine bars we tend to locate as we go. And for some reason, the owners always invite us back the next day. Experience has shown us that the rules should include something about membership. Because, believe me, “everybody” wants to join such an exciting, eye-opening and thrilling club. Several of my non-member friends have asked, begged or not so subtly hinted about joining. But of course it is not up to me to decide, not alone at least. Some such clubs are for the founding fathers or mothers only, others are exclusively for stamp collectors, nurses or footballers, whereas our club is open to anyone. In theory, that is. We debated whether to let 50 % or 75 % of the members approve a new member, or whether consensus was needed. We decided for the latter. Not because we are particularly nasty, but because Travel Club can easily grow so big that we don’t really get properly talk together when we are out and about. And those that are already in shouldn’t feel that they are being squeezed out because a new person they really don’t like is taken on board. Our trips are in the spring. Which means that we meet early winter to decide on the dates. You will also need a budget. We all chip in a set amount to the bank account of the organizer. No one has done a runner. Yet. (Tempting, I know). Such a club can be for anyone, whether your budget permits nothing more than camping in tents by the fjord, a hitch-hiking adventure to the nearest town or a luxury wine and dine weekend in Okinawa or Kuda Huraa. Your budget will most often limit how far you can go, but you might also want to put a cap on how long you are willing to be transported and how long you can be away. Our trips typically last a long weekend. It might furthermore be a good idea to theme your club. Maybe your lot is into fishing, gourmet dinners, ballroom dancing, shooting ranges or binge drinking. Or a combination of the above. We lack an official theme, besides travelling, but it mysteriously turned out that we all like adventurous food, bubbly drinks and fun experiences. There might be three reasons for our friendship, after all. Travel Club has made us get to know each other better and learn from each other. Not to mention that we have generated shared experiences and stories, yet always have another potentially weird trip to look forward to. And, of course, we get to eat and drink and laugh together not only when on tour, but also when preparing for each trip. I shouldn’t forget to mention the excitement about where we are going and what the hell we are going to do there, the large amount of very bad jokes and the occasional decent story. This year, I hope my friends are into parachuting from Sovjet era aeroplanes. My fellow travellers don’t know much about the next few days. At least they know that we’re not going to Iceland, Poland or France. Yeah, of course we have yet another rule for that. We cannot revisit a country Travel Club has been to before. Which means we’ll run out of countries in a couple of decades. Unless planes move a little bit faster then. Then again, there’s always SpaceX. #friendtrip #secrettrip #travelclub

Expect amazing views regardsless of how much you pay for accommodation. Hahaha…? No, really. It can actually be done. I was never a big fan by resort hotels anyway. And you will need to avoid those as the plague in order to avoid your wallet taking a major hit. Some of those resort rooms, suites or bungalows come with your own butlers (yeah, plural) and can easily set you back 10,000-20,000 USD per day. I dunno about your bank account, but that isn’t cheap to me. There is a lot of competition among airlines to get you there, just shop around on Skyscanner, Momondo or Kayak. It is when you land the dollars can start roll really fast, or hardly at all. First of all, take the local ferry to Malé. You find it 200 meters by foot to the right after leaving the terminal. The ride to the tiny capital will cost you less than a dollar. Most locals seem to hate Malé, due to the high stress levels, incredible traffic jams and the general hustle and bustle typically experienced in a city. And it is the only place in the country that sort of resembles one, with 130,000 inhabitants on almost 6 square kilometers. Of course, if you leave in paradise, why pick the only island with queues? Malé has a fair number of hotels, but few inexpensive ones. And again, you don’t want to stay there anyway. First, go shopping for groceries (the selection in local shops – if they even exist – is very limited), then take a local boat to one of the other 1,191 islands that make up 26 atolls. The slow boats that carry pretty much everything that the locals need are cheap, but take their time. Faster versions are available, but expect to pay 3-4 times more for the privelege. Keep in mind that the Malives is a predominantly muslim country, which doesn’t exactly mean an abundance of alcohol. They still want tourists to keep coming, so there are two exceptions. You can obviously get it in the resorts, what else would the butlers be there for? Then you have the so-called safari boats. These semi-luxurious yatchs will either take paying thirsty tourists on small cruises, or be anchored just off the islands. You can in either case stop or board one to buy your poison of choice. Not exactly cheap (unless you are Norwegian), but it will do the trick. Just ask a local to take you out to the nearest one by boat. Just bring a bag so that you can hide the bottles when getting back. Many locals are not big fans of foreign drinkers on non-resort islands. The locals can also take you to a resort island if you are in need of a bar, or if you would like to enjoy one of the gourmet restaurants there. You will find plenty of small hotels, hostels and guesthouses on many of the islands. But remember that the shops aren’t well stocked, and that there may not even be a selection of restaurants on every island. That’s why Malé exists. Do your shopping there. The trick is to buy local. When it comes to food, transport and accommodation. And come on, think about it. Do you rather want to support local businesses and families or to contribute to making huge multinationals even wealthier? But surely, they higher local staff too? Not necessarily. They tend to hire the cheapest employees they can find, which often means people from other countries too. And chances are that amazing butler of yours stays in a room with 17 other employees. And that he is paid next to nothing. I met a couple of resort employees. They told me stories that made it even less appealing to stay in a resort. And what do you know, you will then even meet real locals and see the real country too. Not my cup of tea. Malé. Not the real Maldives. Himmafushi, one hour by local boat north of Malé.

Earlier this week five million Norwegians woke up to happy news. Norway now tops The World Happiness Report after having leapfrogged several countries and outhappied even Denmark, the gold standard of happiness. And then The Guardian, one of the world’s best newspapers, got in touch and asked me to write about it. Well, it would have been rude to say no. Wouldn’t it? I don’t know if The Guardian will remain one of the best newspapers in the world if they continue to ask me write for them, but that’s another matter. And in either case, I gave it a go. You can read the piece on their website.