A world full of wonders
James Asquith didn’t plan to become a travel junkie, much less the youngest person to visit every country on Earth, writes
CLorna Thornber.
rossing into the final country on his world voyage, James Asquith felt surprisingly numb. After five years of fulltime travel, he’d arrived in the Federated States of Micronesia. He was now the youngest person, at 24, to visit all 196 recognised sovereign nations.
‘‘I’ve been to every country in the world, but what is a country? A manmade border. There is so much more of the world to discover. At the end of the day it is a record that will be broken, but what matters is my own personal experience and memories.’’
The son of a pilot for British Midland International (BMI) and then British Airways, James, now 28, was an extraordinarily worldly child and, as he grew older, his tastes became increasingly exotic.
Able to travel with his dad at a discounted rate, he sought out farflung destinations that captured his imagination: Azerbaijan, Iran, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone...
‘‘These places were incredible with such different cultures to anything I had experienced, which gave me a desire to see more of the world.’’
It was in Vietnam that he acquired a taste for the unpredictable lifestyle of the budget backpacker; for spending time with people whose lives were entirely different from his own.
‘‘Most evenings we would be invited into locals’ houses for dinner and drinks. We couldn’t communicate in a word of the same language, but we laughed and drank and made a connection however we could.’’
He found the experience a bit of an assault to the senses at first – ‘‘the sights, the bustling markets, the aromas’’ – but soon he was hooked.
Returning home, he realised he’d become the travel junkie he never thought he would be and began to plan his first solo trip. First stop: Egypt.
He funded his travels by picking up jobs in bars and hostels, taking longdistance buses and eating street food to keep costs down and using his savings for flights.
Initially, he wasn’t out to break any records. Even after racking up visits to 100 countries, he says it was all about the journey.
‘‘As time went on, it appeared that [the Guiness World Record] was up for grabs, but it certainly wasn’t the objective to tick off countries.’’
Travelling through certain territories, some in the grip of civil war, was ‘‘scary at times’’, but the energy he derived from being in such different environments spurred him on.
Afghanistan, which was a war zone when he walked into it from Uzbekistan, was ‘‘a pretty hairy place to be’’, he says. And he did have a few concerns about his safety in Yemen and Somalia. He was, of course, careful, saying: ‘‘Common sense was obviously vital, as well as forward planning, but luck plays a massive role in dangerous zones.’’
Asquith counts Iran among his favourite destinations, largely because of the people, whom he describes as ‘‘incredibly friendly, smart and progressive’’.
It is South America, however, that has stolen his heart. ‘‘I love everything about many South American destinations from the beautiful cobblestoned streets and old towns to the music, incredible people and of course the food.’’
He also has a soft spot for New Zealand, where he visited Christchurch, Queenstown, Wellington, Auckland, Rotorua and Waitomo.
In his book Breaking Borders, James likened Christchurch to a quaint English town, saying he feels grateful to have seen its ‘‘beautiful Gothic cathedral’’ before it was largely destroyed in the 2011 earthquake.
But he felt the South Island’s real beauty was to be found outside the ‘‘sleepy, laid-back town’’ borders. A drive to Mt Aoraki through Lord of the Rings film sets particularly impressed.
However, Kiwis mightn’t be delighted to hear the country reminded him of Australia.
‘‘Similar to Australia, the quality of life in New Zealand seemed very high with the major difference being the stereotypical but realistic abundance of sheep here. The countryside was awash with these furry little white creatures munching on grass... I was even invited to a predictably strange sheep shearing destination when I visited the similarly sleepy town of Wellington on the North Island.’’
He derived just as much, if not more, enjoyment from the people he met on his travels as the destinations.
‘‘I have had some incredible experiences, such as being the first person to witness the sunrise in Kiribati with not a person on the beach, but, as I continued to travel over the world, [Jon Krakauer’s novel Into the Wild] evolved my thinking that sharing memories was the most precious thing I took away.
‘‘I have travelled with some people who are not with us any more, but I have memories that I will always cherish,’’ he says.
Now working as a banker in London, Asquith still travels as much as he can.
‘‘What will the world look like in another five years, where will and won’t be safe?’’ he muses in Breaking Borders. ‘‘Who knows quite honestly. It is perhaps foolhardy and naive, but just buy the ticket... and go.’’