Hoe bepaal je wie de meest bereisde persoon op aarde is? / How do you determine who is the most travelled person on Earth? (2)

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Een intrigerende vraag, die de reisgemeenschap al sinds jaar en dag bezighoudt. Als reisfanaat ben ik vrij goed ingevoerd in de reiswereld en zo ook bekend met alle grotere reiscommunities. Alle communities hebben natuurlijk als gemene deler de schoonheid van de wereld met elkaar te delen (door verhalen en beeldmateriaal) en zeker ook het voorzien in de behoefte van reizigers om hun reizen te registreren. Waar geregistreerd wordt, ontstaan rankings en zo komen vanzelf de meest bereisde mensen op aarde bovendrijven. Hier en daar zullen nog wat zeer bereisde mensen rondzwerven, die van registraties niets moeten hebben of daar gewoonweg geen zin in hebben, maar ik schat zo in dat die groep op vijf of zes handen te tellen is.

Ik ben er stellig van overtuigd dat het inmiddels zeer toonaangevende platform NomadMania het dichtst bij het antwoord op de vraag komt wie de meest bereisde persoon op aarde is. NomadMania heeft inmiddels tienduizenden leden van over de hele wereld en heeft de aarde opgedeeld in 1301 regio’s. Aangezien er 193 UN Countries zijn, zijn nagenoeg alle landen opgedeeld in verschillende regio’s. Nederland kent bijvoorbeeld vier regio’s. NomadMania hanteert strikte eisen voor de vraag wanneer een regio als bereisd kan worden beschouwd en wanneer niet. Zo is het landen met een vliegtuig op een luchthaven niet genoeg om een regio als bereisd te beschouwen, evenals het niet verlaten van een station. Ook is het bereizen van een regio in louter een trein (dus zonder een voet aan de grond te zetten) niet voldoende. Enzovoorts. Het is van belang deze eisen goed door te spitten, anders kunnen er bij de verificaties (wat betreft de regio’s vanaf 600 bereisde regio’s) problemen ontstaan.

Naast de lijst met 1301 regio’s heeft NomadMania nog een tweede lijst, de zogenaamde DARE-list. DARE staat voor Distinctive Alternative Remote Extremes. Bijzondere, afgelegen plekken dus die ook iets laten zien over hoe bereisd je bent. Op dit moment telt de DARE-list 1451 regio’s. Nog nooit heeft iemand de eerste lijst met 1301 regio’s of de tweede lijst met 1451 regio’s voltooid. ’s Werelds meest bereisde persoon, Harry Mitsidis, komt in de buurt met de eerste lijst: 1284.

Wie 135 UN Countries heeft bereisd, wordt opgenomen in de Biggest Travellers Ranking. Dan pas wordt het echt interessant! Er bestaat een complexe formule waarmee wordt berekend wie tot de top of the top behoort. De 1301-lijst telt in deze formule voor 20% mee en de DARE-list ook. Voor 15% telt mee hoe lang je in een regio hebt rondgereisd (de zogenaamde SLOW-score). Voor 10% telt mee hoeveel World Heritage Sites je hebt bezocht en voor 5% hoeveel je hebt bereisd als je de wereld opknipt in 458 delen van 10 bij 10 graden. Dan blijft er nog 30% over. Die zijn gereserveerd voor onder meer het behalen van milestones (bijv. het bereizen van alle landen in Afrika) en het bezoeken van bijzondere plekken op aarde. Daarvan bestaat nu een lijst van (jawel) 62.228 highlights. De heer Mitsidis heeft een Biggest Travellers Ranking van 59.41. Dat is een bijzonder knappe prestatie!

Voor wie het leuk vindt om te kijken naar mijn reis door het leven, klik hier.

Het lijkt me erg leuk om je ook op NomadMania te ontmoeten! Je komt in de rankings als je minimaal 40 regio’s hebt bereisd. Zie ik je daar?

Hartelijke groet,
John

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How do you determine who is the most travelled person on Earth?

An intriguing question, one that has long preoccupied the travel community. As a travel enthusiast, I am fairly well versed in the travel world and thus familiar with all of the larger travel communities. All communities, of course, have the common denominator of sharing the beauty of the world with each other (through stories and imagery) and certainly catering to the need for travelers to register their travels. Where there is registration, rankings emerge, and so the most well-travelled people on Earth naturally surface. Here and there will still be some very well-travelled people wandering around who don’t want registration or simply don’t feel like it, but I estimate that this group can be counted on five or six hands.

I firmly believe that the now very leading platform NomadMania comes closest to answering the question of who is the most travelled person on Earth. NomadMania now has tens of thousands of members from all over the world and has divided the earth into 1301 regions. Since there are 193 UN Countries, almost all countries are divided into different regions. The Netherlands, for example, has four regions. NomadMania has strict requirements for when a region can be considered traveled and when it cannot. For example, landing a plane at an airport is not enough to consider a region as travelled, nor is not leaving a train station. Similarly, travelling a region in merely a train (i.e., without setting foot on it) is not enough. Etc. It is important to sift through these requirements carefully, otherwise problems may arise during verifications (regarding regions from 600 regions traveled).

In addition to the list of 1301 regions, NomadMania has a second list, called the DARE list. DARE stands for Distinctive Alternative Remote Extremes. This list shows special, remote places that also show something about how travelled you are. Currently, the DARE list has 1451 regions. No one has ever completed the first list of 1301 regions or the second list of 1451 regions. The world’s most travelled person, Harry Mitsidis, comes close with the first list: 1284.

Those who have travelled 135 UN Countries are included in the Biggest Travellers Ranking. Only then does it get really interesting! There is a complex formula that calculates who belongs to the top of the top. The 1301 list counts for 20% in this formula and so does the DARE list. How long you have travelled in a region (called the SLOW score) counts for 15%. 10% counts how many World Heritage Sites you have visited and 5% counts how much you have travelled if you cut the world up into 458 sections of 10 by 10 degrees. That leaves 30%. These are reserved for such things as achieving milestones (e.g., travelling all the countries in Africa) and visiting special places on Earth. Of these, there is now a list of (yep) 62,228 highlights. Mr. Mitsidis has a Biggest Travellers Ranking of 59.41. That is a particularly awesome achievement!

For those who enjoy watching my journey through life, click here.

I think it would be very nice to meet you at NomadMania as well! You get into the rankings if you have travelled at least 40 regions. Will I see you there?

Warm regards,
John

The added value of systematic travel (1)

Systematic travel is a way of discovery that makes my heart beat faster. It is a way of travelling that involves ‘tapping’ new countries/areas/regions all the time. A systematic traveller does not return to the same place easily, but will always seek new places. In the travel community, systematic travel is a much-loved form of spreading one’s wings, though (to the outside world) this form is not infrequently surrounded by a whiff of competition that involves counting only in numbers and percentages. It is not very surprising that systematic travel gives off this ‘smell’.
For example, anyone looking at the travel website NomadMania (where I too have an account, ranking #864 in the world ranking) will find an overview of 1301 countries and territories (including 193 UN Countries), almost 60,000 series entries, a master ranking and much more.
The (top) travellers I have spoken to are not primarily concerned with becoming the most travelled person on earth! They are primarily driven by the challenge of accompanying fellow travellers on a path that makes the ‘shutters of the world’ open, not shying away from sometimes risky challenges and the pleasure of continuing to discover together (!) as much as possible. It’s true, top travellers are addicted to movement, but not at any cost. A true top traveller is also morally a topper and does not begrudge another a higher place.

For me, the website is a source of inspiration. On every trip (like last week through Mexico), I have NomadMania’s app handy to discover where to find sights. That’s how I get to the most interesting places. In places I wouldn’t get to without the app. Climbing up the rankings is a joyous bonus, and keeping track of destinations is a way to keep a traveller’s life’s work insightful. If you don’t keep track of anything, it creates a grey mush in your head, preventing you from remembering exactly what you had the privilege of seeing with your own eyes and experiencing with all your senses. This is about more than numbers and percentages.

Now that the travel virus has gripped me for about 10 years, I really enjoy meeting and getting to know people who share the same passion. Besides the passion to visit new places again and again, I think a lot (especially while travelling myself) about why I travel. Why should I travel when sometimes it is so much more convenient at home? Where does the feeling of happiness come from, when yet another new region has been ‘tapped’? Where does the urge to get to know other cultures come from? How far are you prepared to be humble, when you encounter injustice (e.g. by corrupt officials) while travelling?
Such questions keep me busy. And it is precisely because these questions preoccupy me and stay preoccupied as I discover new places that I keep travelling. And now I am also going to write about them. After writing eight books on faith ethics (which I continue to do), it is now also time to write more about ‘the philosophy of travel’. Those who travel can tell stories, those who tell stories cultivate insight, those who have insight will enjoy more.

It is with glee that I present this first blog. It is nice to be in touch with those who love travelling. The travel community (which has many thousands of ‘members’ worldwide) can keep each other strong by shining the light on each other and helping each other to and in places where it is inhospitable or perhaps terribly unsociable. It is precisely the warmth of being together that makes the (motley) community a place where it is good to be, where life is celebrated and where we become better people. People who help beautify the world in a spirit of respect, tolerance and inquisitiveness.

With heartfelt greetings,
John Lapré, the Netherlands
https://johnlapretravels.wordpress.com/traveling/