by An American who set a world record by traveling to every country on earth says he was briefly detained by four different nations as a possible spy.
“I was afraid for my life several times,” Indy Nelson said in an interview with Guinness World Records that the organization recently posted on its website. “There were definitely several moments where I thought I wasn’t going to be able to leave this country.” [But] By the fourth time it was as if it was no big deal anymore.”
According to the Hayward, California, native’s statement to Guinness World Records, Iran, Russia, Libya and Papua New Guinea suspected him of possible espionage. They held him in custody for a total of about 24 hours before deciding he was not espionage and releasing him, he reported to the group, which is known for maintaining a database of more than 40,000 records.
Nelson said he came up with the idea of visiting every country on earth while vacationing in North Korea in the spring, an unusual destination for a type of vacation many U.S. college students prefer to spend at the beach. He said he took out an $80,000 loan after graduating from college and embarked on his international journey.
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Since then, he has flown on 170 different airlines – most of them during an 18-month trip around the world that he began in 2017 at the age of 22. On July 14, Guinness World Records confirmed that Nelson’s tally of airlines flown surpassed the previous record of 156, set by Ryuji Furusho from 1996 to 2014.
Perhaps most remarkable about the 500 flights Nelson took during his assault on Furusho’s record is his claim that only two of them were cancelled. And both provided him with free hotel stays while he waited for the flights he had been rebooked on, he told Guinness World Records.
Nelson attributed the high completion rate of his flights to preferential treatment in the morning, as these were less likely to result in cancellations or delays. He also said that despite all his flights, turbulence was the worst in-flight problem he had ever experienced.
The best airlines, in Nelson’s opinion, are Emirates and Qatar Airways, although according to his interview with Guinness, he also said that “all the airlines in the Middle East are great.”
The culture and the “super-friendly” locals have made Cambodia his favorite travel destination, said Nelson, who described how he had to make his way through numerous war zones despite trying to avoid conflict zones.
He added that encounters with “not too friendly” people had made the Comoros – a small archipelago off the southeast coast of Africa – his least favorite destination. That’s saying something, considering how he remembers the reception he received in Iran, Russia, Libya and Papua New Guinea.
Nelson said it was not his intention to beat Furusho’s record as the customer with the most flights, and he only realized that after he returned home.
Nelson told Guinness that he is currently taking a break from his travels to focus on building a telecommunications startup dedicated to providing mobile data to underserved communities, and that his global travels inspired him to pursue this opportunity.
He also advised aspiring globetrotters: “Just do it.”
“Do it when you’re young. Get out of your comfort zone… It changes your mindset, changes who you are, changes the way you see the world.”
