Charles Veley: The World's Most Traveled Man?
Have some John Flinn with your Sunday breakfast. John has an article in the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine about Charles Veley. "I've Been Everywhere, Man" is online.
Hey, hats off to Veley who has travelled to 518 countries in the past five years. That doesn't even sound exhausting, it's numbing. I get nothing but blankness when I try to fathom that. But I suppose it's good that I don't have Dromomania, because Veley has spent "a million and a half of his own dollars on airplane tickets, freighter passages and sailboat charters," told Flinn.
I had actually first heard of Veley a few years ago. You know, one Craigslist ride share rider talking about travel leads to another new aquaintance, and the next thing you know you're swapping Charles Veley articles.
So, where is Charles now? He's in San Francisco today, but off to Beijing tomorrow en route to North Korea. Not to worry, he'll be back soon for the birth of his second child later on in October. Find out more about Charles and where he's headed next on his website, MostTraveledPeople.com.
Or, you might rather look into Jeff Shea. He says HE is the "World's Most Traveled Man."
Oh these country collectors, what can you do with them. Just read Flinn's article to see how these two are contesting the title, and what it takes to even make the grade for consideration. It's fascinating.
If any of you have outlets, his story would make for more great articles and interviews...
For other stories about Charles Veley, please log onto Michael mcCarthy's website at Intentional-traveler.com.
Related Articles
» New Look for Written Road
» Elite Traveler Magazine
» Litquake Litcrawl in SF this Weekend!!
Comments
Hi Jen,
Your readers might get a chuckle out of the Charles Veley story I wrote for my travel blog, Ribbons of Highway, back in August. Here's a link to the post ("Has Charles Veley been to the state of Chuuk?"):
http://ribbonsofhighway.blogspot.com/2005/08/has-charles-veley-been-to-state-of.html
Cheers,
Lori Hein
http://www.LoriHein.com
http://RibbonsofHighway.blogspot.com
Comments
The "Most Traveled" nomiker is lame....stepping on a country's soil to merely get your passport stamped is not traveling. I agree with Shea that the rules for this "contest" are suspect. Wha t a waste of time and money...and to think he prefers this to being with his family is really sad.
Anyone who travels knows that the people with checklists are missing out.
Comments
I was boggled by the article in the SF Chronicle and the claim to over 500 countries. Makes it sound like he has been to 500+ DIFFERENT countries. I was amazed, as I didnt know there where that many. Reading through Lonely Planeat's Travel Book last week (a coffee table book not worth the price), they list 230 counries. According to a google search, the UN and the US State Dept, recognize 191 and 192 countries, respectively (http://geography.about.com/cs/countries/a/numbercountries.htm). So I just don't get it. Is this some sort of Guinness stunt? Why the need to crow about it? Oops, I think I am ranting. Sorry,