A British traveller has become the youngest person to visit every country in the world.
James Asquith spent a whopping £125,000 to achieve his dream. Over the course of five years the 24-year-old, who now works as banker in London, managed to visit all 196 countries from Australia to Iraq and San Marino to Serbia.
He started travelling in 2008 after his best friends caught the travel bug and decided to pack his bags and see what the fuss was about. Mr Asquith, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, said: 'Vietnam was the first independent country I went to and I spent nearly three months there. 'I also spent about five months in the US and Canada, getting to 27 states from Hawaii to Alaska.'
「環遊世界」可說是每個人的夢想！英國現年24歲的青年 James Asquith，年紀輕輕就完成許多人畢身的夢想，成為達成這一壯舉最年輕的紀錄者。他以5年的時間，花費12萬5000英鎊（約台幣585萬元）遊歷全球196個國家，實現他的夢想。
現於倫敦擔任銀行員的James，受到旅遊迷好友的影響，自2008年開始決定收拾行囊，去看看世界到底有多大。他第一個造訪的國家是越南(Vietnam)，並在當地度過了將近3個月；也花了5個月的時間待在美國和加拿大，踏訪了27個州，從夏威夷到阿拉斯加都有他的足跡。
- Whopping (adj.) 巨大的；異常的
- Travel Bug 旅遊狂
I've caught the travel bug after I went on a vacation to Guam.
我去關島度假之後就對旅遊非常熱衷。
- Fuss (n.) 忙亂；抱怨；緊張不安；爭論
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| Three soldiers pose with Mr Asquith in Afghanistan. |
Spending his university holidays in far-flung destinations, Mr Asquith funded his travels through part-time jobs he's had since the age of 16. He also picked up work along the way in bars and hostels.
It was only when he arrived in war-torn Egypt he realised he wanted to visit every country on the planet, including the unstable nations. He added: 'I loved the adrenaline that went with it - but I always seemed to pick the worst timing to visit a lot of the countries.
'I went to Libya three weeks after Gaddafi fell, Afghanistan two weeks after the terrorist bombings in Mazar-i-Sharif, but generally I just found a local and tried to get an insight into each country. 'I spent most of my time in Libya with a local man showing me all the war damage, and in Iran I met the hotel owner's son who was my age who gave me a great local insight.
為了負擔這筆龐大的旅遊花費，他的旅費來自他16歲開始打工的積蓄，以及旅行時在沿途的酒吧和旅館工作的所得。直到抵達飽受戰爭蹂躪的埃及，James開始意識到自己想要走遍所有國家，當然也包括了不安定的國家。
他說：「我喜歡尋求旅遊的刺激感，但我似乎總是挑了最壞的時機走訪了很多國家。」例如：他赴利比亞(Libya)時，正值獨裁領導者Gaddafi過世；到阿富汗(Afghanistan)前，馬扎爾沙里夫(Mazar-i-Sharif)兩個星期前才剛發生恐怖爆炸事件，但幸運地，James通常都能找到當地人做他的嚮導，帶領他深入瞭解每個國家。「我花了我大部分的時間待在利比亞，當地人帶我見證許多因戰爭殘留下來的遺痕；在伊朗(Iran)，一位酒店老闆的兒子，跟我同年齡，他給予我很棒的本土洞察」。
- Far-flung (adj.) 遙遠的
- War-torn (adj.) 戰爭摧殘的
- Adrenaline (n.) 腎上腺素
- Go with 伴隨…
Happiness doesn't necessarily go with money. 幸福未必伴隨金錢而來。
- Get an insight into = Have an insight into 對‥深入瞭解
He had an insight into human nature. 他能洞察人性。
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| Vanuatu: James Asquith, 24, spent a whopping £125,000 to achieve his ambition. |
'The longest I spent anywhere was six months in Africa. I travelled overland from Senegal to the Congo and then over back up through the east. 'There were lots of small countries and tricky border crossings, putting trust in some people that drove me as much as three countries a time.
'But I haven't finished yet - I'm excited about Tahiti, Easter island, and Antarctica all of which I am hoping to go to next year.'
這趟旅行James停留最長的地方是在非洲，達半年之久，他經由陸路從塞內加爾(Senegal)到剛果(Congo)，再繞到東部。途中有很多小國和棘手的邊境交叉點，他必須盡可能在這些國家取得一些人的信任。
雖然已經遊歷一百多個國家，但James說，他的旅程還沒結束，他仍有許多地方想探索。
「我很期待大溪地(Tahiti)、復活節島(Easter island)和南極洲(Antarctica)，我希望明年能造訪這些地方」。
- Overland (adv.) 經由陸路；橫越大陸地
You travelled overland to India? 你橫越大陸旅行去印度?
- Tricky (adj.) 棘手的；狡猾的；機警的
- Border (n.) 邊境；邊緣
They were near the border between France and Germany .
他們在法國和德國邊界附近。
- Crossing (n.) 交叉點；十字路口；渡口
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2458550/British-traveller-24-spends-125k-the-youngest-person-visit-country-world.html#ixzz2hsOk79eS
