My World Tour in 888 days is OVER : 58 countries, 126 000km, 30 000 euros

Hi all,

I just finished my trip around the world that lasted 888 days through all kind of countries, departure and arrival at Shanghai.

As it's impossible to describe what I feel right now with words, after such an effort, I'd like to share with you a couple of pragmatic and useful informations. Many want to leave, many ask questions related to personal matters, psychology, money, logisitic or philosophical. Here are few answers :

126 000 kilometres by land
30 000 euros
58 countries
3 passports used
16 400 pictures

The whole itinerary (MAP) : [http://francoisbriancon.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/route-f.jpg]

Countries I enjoyed the most : Malaysia, China, Oman, Algeria, Chili, Koreas
Country I enjoyed the least : India, Senegal, Vietnam, Nigeria, Colombia, USA

Most welcoming countries : Where there are the least tourists
Less welcoming countries : The most cosmopolitan countries

Least easy countries (safety/money/VISA/infrastructure) : India, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Algeria, Mali, Nigeria, North Korea

Most isolated border : China/Pakistan
Most tense border: Pakistan/Iran
Most relaxed border : India/Nepal
Most chaotic border : Benin/Nigeria
Most watched border : China/North Korea

Less important country : Brunei Darussalam
Biggest immigration stamps : Brunei Darussalam

Most crowded transport : 19 on a jeep
Most reliable transport : the plane
Less reliable transport : the donkey
13 flights (without correspondance)
Near 300 different beds (without allthe night buses !)

Biggest city : Shanghai, China
Most chaotic city : Vanaresi, India
Cleanest city : Singapore, Singapore
Less safe city : Quetta, Pakistan
Most extravagant city : Dubai, UAE
Most touristic city : Kathmandu, Nepal
Most international city : New York, USA

Cheapest places : Cambodia, India, Pakistan, Malawi
Most expensive places : United Arab Emirates, Israel, Brazil, Patagonia

4 thefts : 350€ (Pakistan) my whole backpack (Iran) + 15 euros (Zambia) 1 Lonelplanet book ! (Colombia)
0 aggression

Things I still have with me after 888 days : My wallet, my labtop (after 4 repairs), my compass and my underwear (!) The rest has been stolen, broken, exchanged and lost

2kg weight lost
2x2 days sick
30 euros of medical services
1400 euros of medical insurance

Highest latitude : Whitehorse, Canada
Lowest latitude : Ushuaia, Argentina
Highest altitude : near Arequipa, Peru +4810m
Lowest altitude: Dead Sea, -417m

Most scary day : the first one
Most exciting day : the second one
Most emotional day : the last one

My mind of the trip : From China to Nepal
My heart of the trip : From Pakistan to Nigeria
My abandon of the trip : Africa
The soft trip : the Americas
Conclusion of the trip : North-East Asia

Arav proverb of the day : الصبر مفتاح الفرج as-Sabrou miftaHou al-faraji : Patience is the key to the relief
Chinese proverb of yesterday : 一步一步, yi bu yi bu : step by step
Arab proverb for tomorrow : الصبر حدود aS-Sabri Houdoùdoun : Patience has limits

Best of Pictures, "1 country 1 people" : [http://francoisbriancon.wordpress.com/photos/visage-people/]

-- HAPPY TRAVEL --

LOVE this post :) Makes me want to head out the door right now..... Best keep saving for a little while first.....

What a great journey you must have had, I envy you. :)

Thank you for sharing. I love statistics and congratulations on making 888 days of traveling!

Why do you say Quetta was the least safe city?

I found it very friendly,, and stayed extra days there.

Nothing happened to me, and I'm glad you liked it too as people are indeed friendly and happy to meet foreigners.

However, according to the facts : kidnapping of 2 Swiss tourists 50 km from Quetta, inter-tribes fights, Chia/Sunni muslim problem (bus attack between Quetta and Iran border), South Waziristan just next to city, bombing within the city, it cannot be said this area is safe.

By comparison with other areas of the world, I found this is where there are the largest number of issues, objectively speaking and independently of my personal feelings.

good post. it shows that budget travel can still be done.....though i suppose leaving out Oz, Nz and Europe helped budget wise. interesting that you didnt enjoy India or Vietnam....really enjoyed travelling both these countries. would love to take another long trip like yours someday.

Amazing! If I could do this, my life would be complete! How much did it cost? and How did you pay for it?!

Thanks :D

30 000 euros all included.

But at that price, be ready to have a minimum of quality & services (cheap street food, hostel-dorms, no beer everynight, bus&train etc...). 2 years and half is long under such constraints.
I saved money as I worked in China for a while.

This post is great. I wish more people would post "after the trip" details like this. Very helpful.

Congratulations!! Sounds great what you did. And thanks for this post!

So what is your next plan? Are you happy to be back? Or sad? Must be quite an adjustment. Now what are you going to do?

Hey mate,

How/where did you get your VISA for Pakistan?

Cheers
Harley

Dutchy :
Oh yes I'm very happy to be back ! I can now enjoy what I couldn't do during those last 2 years and a half, and there were many things for sure. I obviously have to adapt myself, make effort etc. I really feel full and satisfied and no envy to go elsewher anymore which is very pleasant. I can now focus of my life rather than looking at the others'. My plan is to relax, digest all this trip, enjoy family, I may continue a bit my last job and eventually write a book.

Harley : In order to enter Pakistan the way I did, you need to enter it from China during summer (around 1st May to 1st November, when ther's no snow) . At this remote Himalaya border, you'll get a 1 month VISA on arrival. China-Pakistan relation are very good, so they trust tourists coming from China. Coming from India or Iran, you need prepare a VISA before, which is very hard.

I just uploaded my presentation video, kind of Best Of pictures of the 58 countries, in music :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WkHDorLB6U

Hey mate,

Thanks for the info! First I've heard of that so it will be a big help.

Cheers!

Thanks. If I can help, feel free to ask. At least what I've learnt can be useful to those who need it :-)

lordfichtre - fantastic post and what an amazing trip. Loved your video.

Hope you are enjoying being 'home'.

How do you think the past 888 days have affected you? Are you still the same person who left?

All the best,

888 days observing the whole world alone did affect me (in a good way...).
What changes is how you think and what you want to do after that. How could possibly take back my life the same way it was before I left ? If you observe and you understand, you have to change what you thought it was right, which is not so right anymore...