And there are! The question actually prodded me to update our "countries visited" list, which I hadn't done for a couple of years.
Just for fun, here's our flight map over the past 14 years...
We've been on 164 airplanes!
So first of all, there are approximately 215 countries in the world. (193 recognized by the United Nations, plus others that are not). Here is our list of countries visited, and the first time we went there. A star beside the name means we have been to that country more than once.
1. Canada*
2. England* (1983 together, but we had both been previously)
3. United States* (1984 together, but we had both been previously)
4. Scotland*1987
5. Antigua 1993
6. Dominican Republic* 1998
7. Denmark* 1999
8. Sweden 1999
9. Cuba 2002
10. Mexico* 2003
11. Portugal* 2007
12. Spain* 2007
13. Czech Republic* 2012
14. Slovakia* 2012
15. Hungary* 2012
16. Wales* 2012
17. Iceland* 2012
18. Guatemala 2013
19. Namibia 2013
20. South Africa 2013
21. Lesotho 2014
22. South Korea 2014
23. Colombia 2015
24. Switzerland* 2016
25. Romania* 2016
26. Moldova 2016
27. Transnistria 2016
28. Gibraltar 2017
29. Italy 2017
30. San Marino 2017
31. Monaco 2017
32. France* 2017
33. Morocco* 2017
34. Barbados 2017
35. Singapore 2019
36. Indonesia 2019
37. Australia 2019
38. Peru 2019
39. Turkey* 2020
40. Tanzania 2021
41. Albania* 2021
42. Poland 2021
43. Germany* 2021
44. Netherlands* 2021
45. Austria 2021
46. Slovenia 2021
47. Croatia 2021
48. Bosnia & Herzegovina 2021
49. Montenegro 2021
50. Greece 2021
51. Bulgaria 2022
52. Norway 2022
53. North Macedonia 2022
54. Kosovo 2022
55. Belgium* 2022
56. Luxembourg 2022
57. Andorra 2022
58. Mauritania 2023
59. Ireland 2023
60. Northern Ireland 2023
61. Turkmenistan 2023
62. Uzbekistan 2023
63. Tajikistan 2023
64. Kyrgyzstan 2023
65. Kazakhstan 2023
66. Thailand 2023
67. Malaysia 2023
68. Cambodia 2024
69. Vietnam 2024
70. Maldives 2024
71. Kuwait 2024
72. United Arab Emirates 2024
73. Greenland 2025
So, the question was, which countries would we not return to? Let's start at the top of the list and work our way down...
United States: Not because of why you might think. We don't let politics affect our travels. If we let politics dictate where we travel, we would have missed out on a lot of great experiences! There are several reasons we'd like to return to the U.S., mostly to visit with friends, but unfortunately I have to obtain a visa waiver to enter the United States, and it is both expensive and complicated. I could do it, because I have done it in the past... but since they increased the fee last year, I'm at the point where it's simply not worth it.
Denmark: We've been there three times, and it's not the most interesting country to us. No need to return unless we're passing through for some reason.
Namibia: While Namibia was certainly a great trip, we spent a lot of time there and saw pretty much everything there was to see. The only thing we would have liked to do is the hike at Fish River Canyon, but you have to go at a certain time of year and I just don't see us making a special effort just to do that hike.
South Africa: We spent about 2 months touring South Africa. I think we would rather see other Africa nations before we would return to South Africa itself.
Lesotho: A tiny, beautiful, mountainous country. But I don't see us ever returning. Again, we would rather visit other African countries.
Transnistria: The closest thing to being in Russia without being in Russia. We really enjoyed this interesting little disputed territory, but no need to return.
Gibraltar: Again, interesting... but no need to return.
San Marino: Same.
Monaco: Same.
Morocco: We enjoyed our time in Morocco, and I'm not adverse to going again, but it would have to be in a motorhome. And right now I just don't see that happening. Maybe when we're in our 70's!
Barbados: Very expensive. We spent three weeks there and saw pretty much everything there was to see.
Tanzania: Same as the other African nations. We would rather see a different country than return here.
Andorra: Another tiny country. Glad we went, but no need to return.
Mauritania: Saw everything there was to see.
Turkmenistan: Same.
Uzbekistan: We spent quite a bit of time there, and it's not that I would be adverse to passing through, but prefer Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan in that area.
Thailand: I know a lot of people love Thailand, but if we return to that area, it would be for Laos or Vietnam.
Malaysia: Same.
Kuwait: Again, simply no need to return.
So, out of 73 countries there are 19 that we don't see ourselves ever making an effort to return to.
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Fantastic deal on a 32 Pack of Energizer AA Batteries.
And in Canada...
How about a list the Top 10 of the ones you haven't seen yet that you would like to see the most?
ReplyDeleteThat is another good idea but it is going to difficult because I think it is going to be hard to pick our top 10, there are just too many places that we want to visit. 😊
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