Henrik Jeppesen visited every country in the world before turning 28. As he continues his epic OE, he shares travel tips and tales with
Lorna Thornber.
Stranded roadside in the Himalayan Indian state of Sikkim, Henrik Jeppesen gave up on ever flagging down a driver willing to take him back to West Bengal. Part way through a selfdirected mission to visit every country in the world, the then-26-year-old had developed the savvy to get himself into and out of almost any situation.
Disappointed but undaunted, he approached an officer and shared the story of his quest, trusting – as he had come to do – in the kindness of strangers.
Like most of the locals he had encountered, even in the countries most notoriously unsafe for tourists, the officer was intrigued by his journey and happy to help out, offering to call him a private chauffeur.
But Jeppesen’s sense of relief didn’t last long. They hadn’t gone more than a few kilometres down the winding mountain road when the driver, who didn’t speak a word of English, came to a sudden halt, pulled out a bottle of vodka and downed it in one.
‘‘If I left the car, I would be standing alone on extremely dangerous roads, so I decided to stay,’’ Jeppesen said.
‘‘It was very scary, but I got safely to a town in West Bengal after a couple of hours.’’
Born in the northern Danish town of Thisted, Jeppesen developed a fascination for other countries and cultures watching foreign TV shows and films.
Itching to experience different ways of living for himself, he devised a kind of epic OE, setting himself the challenge of visiting 50 countries, starting in 2006 with two places that had always enthralled him: Egypt and Southeast Asia.
Settling into the itinerant lifestyle with relative ease, and quickly learning to love the heightened sense of freedom and independence that solo international travel affords, he upped his goal to 100 countries, avoiding only those that most Western countries deem too dangerous to visit.
But realising that places don’t always conform to popular conceptions of them, Jeppesen decided to visit all 193 US-recognised nations.
And so an already ambitious OE became a 10-year odyssey that ended, last April, in the troubled African nation of Eritrea, just before his 28th birthday.
Not wanting the adventure to end, he’s now out to set a new world record by becoming the first person to visit all 325 countries and territories recognised by the Travelers’ Century Club.
Jeppesen said his travels have taught him ‘‘that the world is a friendly and hospitable place’’ and that, with quick, creative thinking combined with simple common sense, it is possible to have a positive experience in any country.
‘‘I have also realised life is not about having the best car, but about collecting experiences. Every experience I’ve had is much more valuable than anything I could buy,’’ he said.
Still, Jeppesen admits he wasn’t entirely relaxed visiting Syria while the war waged on, particularly after being told he was the only tourist in the entire country.
‘‘It was a many months process to get the visa, but even with the visa, it was hard to get in as the border staff had a hard time believing I was there as a tourist,’’ he said.
Jeppesen’s biggest challenges have included arranging visas for countries not often visited by Westerners, such as Saudi Arabia (where he also had to find a sponsor), Libya, and Equatorial Guinea.
After months of futile efforts to persuade Libyan embassies to let him into their country, he finally made it through with the aid of a foreign press official, who organised his visa and airfare. Once in Tripoli, he even managed to meet, and snap a selfie with, then-Prime Minister Khalifa AlGhawi.
Unconventional methods were also required to get into Equatorial Guinea, after attempts to get a visa proved futile.
Having come to realise that connecting with individuals, particularly fellow travellers, was often the best way to get what and where you want, Jeppesen wrote a letter to the ambassador at the nearest embassy, telling him who he was and why it was so important for him to get to Equatorial Guinea. Fortunately, the ambassador was happy to oblige. ‘Life is not about having the best car, but about collecting experiences. Every experience I’ve had is much more valuable than anything I could buy.’
‘‘There is always a way to do things you might think at first are impossible,’’ he said.
‘‘My No 1 tip to travellers looking to do the same thing is to write to as many people as possible. Eventually, someone will help you. Perhaps someone who is a traveller himself will help out of kindness.’’
Jeppesen firmly believes that travelling develops skills that will help you to thrive in the real world.
Not that he’s ever planning on getting a so-called real job.
‘‘I think I will do this for the rest of my life. I love the complete feeling of independence that you can do what you want. As long as you don’t hurt other people, I think there’s nothing wrong with doing things your way.
Jeppesen was on a tight budget when he set out on his travels as a teen, often getting by on less than US$5 ($7) a day.