40 countries before 40
I have a new goal. It is to visit and explore 40 countries before 40 years old. This new goal is achievable, especially because I will relocate to Sweden in Q4 of this year. Relocating to Sweden will give an advantage to reaching Europe countries (and some countries outside) easier than if depart from Indonesia.
Of course, I will bring my little family along for this goal (some countries may be safer for me to do without them). Because they also will join me on my relocation to Europe.
This goal should cover 6 world’s continents:
- Asia
- Africa
- North America
- South America
- Europe
- Australia and New Zealand
Current Progress
As per Q3 2022, I have visited:
Asia
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- Philippines
- India
- Hongkong
North America
- United States of America (USA)
- Europe
- Sweden (I will be there soon)
So in total, I have visited
- 3 continents
- 7 countries
- I will not count my home country for sure.
Target
According to my current progress, I have to complete to explore these by 2033:
- 3 continents (Africa, Australia/New Zealand and South America left)
- 33 countries
I need to visit and explore at least 3-4 countries per year to be able to reach the goal on time. I’m confident can do more per year.
Breakdown
The journey will start as soon as possible on Q1/Q2 2023. I will probably start with Scandinavian countries first. Then continue to the nearest countries from Sweden.
For countries that are quite far from Sweden, I would need to use my 30 days of holiday per year that I might take every Summer.
The first phase is definitely Europe countries. This is my country list.
Northern Europe (3)
- Norway
- Denmark
- Finland
Western Europe (7)
- UK
- Netherland
- Belgium
- Germany
- France
- Switzerland
- Austria
Southern Europe (3)
- Italy
- Spain
- Greece
Eastern Europe (6)
- Estonia
- Poland
- Romania
- Hungary
- Bulgaria
- Russia
North America (3)
- Canada
- Mexico
- Cuba
South America (4)
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Argentina
- Peru
Southern Asia (3)
- Maldives
- Nepal
- Bhutan
Eastern Asia (3)
- Japan
- South Korea
- China
South-eastern Asia (ASEAN) (7)
- Vietnam
- Thailand
- Myanmar
- Cambodia
- Laos
- Brunei Darussalam
- Timor-Leste
Western Asia (10)
- Turkey
- Azerbaijan
- Saudi Arabia
- Israel
- Jordan
- Lebanon
- Qatar
- United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- Iran
Central Asia (1)
- Uzbekistan
Eastern Africa (2)
- Kenya
- Tanzania
Northern Africa (3)
- Egypt
- Morocco
- Tunisia
Southern Africa (1)
- South Africa
Oceania (2)
- Australia
- New Zealand
It exceeds my target (33 countries), but I can still choose from the list.