How Many Countries Are There? & Other Reasons Why I’m Not Counting

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My passport expires in 2020, but it’s almost certainly going to be filled by then. I’ve even stuck post-it notes onto the few empty pages left to save them from an Immigration officer’s careless stamp. But no matter how much I love flicking through the pages and admiring the ink, I don’t ask how many countries are there?

I don’t count countries.

I see a lot of travel bloggers, travel Instagrammers and travel enthusiasts with a running total on their websites or profiles, ’27 countries and counting!’ And I think it’s great if you want to do that. It’s a great way to quantify the places you’ve travelled to, it’s satisfying to hit the big landmark numbers and it’s good motivation if you want to see ‘all the countries in the world’.

I just don’t think it’s the only way to measure travel (if it can be measured at all). And it’s certainly not for me. You’ll never see a running total on here or on any social media page I’m on and here’s why: Read more

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