Counting Countries: My Interview with Global Gaz

“Bo bez ciebie nie ma nic. Z tobą jedną mogę być.” – Paweł Kukiz Jan Borysewicz

For the first time in my travel blogging career, I took a backstep from travel and tourist interviews since my depression began in July 2016 (when the infamous “Nasty” decided to lie to their honest and pure travel friend and tourist). Life has been a long struggle the last 18 months, and I haven’t really travelled to many places outside of Poland, certainly not lots of new countries like I used to, that ship sailed. “Nasty” ruined me, and they know it. But this is one Podcast I loved listening to, since I first heard Harry Mitsidis interview in 2015 on the site – Ric Gazarian’s Global Gaz – Counting Countries Podcast.

I was in touch with Ric over the years and knew I wanted to be on the show but I didn’t agree with the UN thing, and then the depression kicked in. I wasn’t sure if the niche suited me as I prefer my own counts rather than the entity I strongly disagree with – the United Nations (Yuk!). The UN still refuse to recognise three of the countries I have lived in! Neither Northern Ireland, nor England nor Hong Kong appears on their list. But when I counted, I realised that IF I was to use their list, I would have just 80 of their “countries” left, and I will visit them all, so I did the interview with Ric.

Ric is a great guy with a real passion for travel and a superb presenter and interviewer so I just had to do the Podcast whether I am a fan of the UN or not. I am the first Podcast of 2018 on there – new start, new lease of life and it is the first Podcast I have done for almost three years when I was on Nathaniel Boyle’s show. My previous radio and Podcasts may be still online:

Podcasts
January 2014 – Travel Interview with Ian Robinson –  Podcast on Love Affair Travel
June 2014 – Travel Interview with Brian Collins Podcast on Brian Tells Stories
February 2015 – Travel Interview with Danny Flood Podcast for Open World Mag
February 2015 – Travel Interview with Nathaniel Boyle for Daily Travel Podcast
January 2018 – I am interviewed for Ric Gazarian’s Counting Countries Series on Globaz Gaz

Radio
1997 – 1998 – Radio DJ on College Show “Jonny Blair on the Air: Radio Belvoir”, Belfast, Northern Ireland (over 50 shows)
2003 – 2008 – Radio DJ on Nerve Radio, FM and online, Bournemouth, England (over 200 shows)
2004 – Appeared as the voiceover on an Irish Radio Drama in Association with Birst Radio, Bournemouth, England
September 2013 – Interviewed on BBC Radio Ulster for being a travelling Northern Irishman
August 2015 – I am featured on HK Radio 3 on a travel radio show with Noreen Mir on the 1,2,3 show
August 2016 – I am interviewed on Belfast 89 FM about my travels and hanging up of my backpack in Gdansk, Poland.
January 2017 – I am interviewed on International Radio Poznań with Maciej about my travels and coming to live in Poland. The interview can also be downloaded here.

You can read and download my interview from January 2018 with Ric Gazarian AKA Global Gaz here:

Counting Countries – 113 – Jonny Blair

Here is my personal list of Countries, Wacaday Republics, Separate States, Disputed Regions and Self Claimed Territories that I have backpacked through in my tourist career, only 113 of them are recognised by the United Nation, those UN numbers are listed in brackets after:

1.Northern Ireland
2.Republic of Ireland
3.Scotland
4.England
5.Portugal (1)
6.Wales
7.France (2)
8.Greece (3)
9.Netherlands (4)
10.Spain (5)
11.USA (6)
12.Canada (7)
13.Germany (8)
14.Poland (9)
15.Austria (10)
16.Denmark (11)
17.Switzerland (12)
18.Liechtenstein (13)
19.New Zealand (14)
20.China
21.Russia (15)
22.Belarus (16)
23.Czech Republic (17)
24.Luxembourg (18)
25.Belgium (19)
26.Latvia (20)
27.Iceland (21)
28.Sweden (22)
29.Slovakia (23)
30.Italy (24)
31.Slovenia (25)
32.San Marino (26)
33.Guernsey
34.Jersey
35.Sark
36.Herm
37.Taiwan
38.Malaysia (27)
39.Singapore (28)
40.Australia (29)
41.Argentina (30)
42.Antarctica
43.Uruguay (31)
44.Brazil (32)
45.Paraguay (33)
46.Bolivia (34)
47.Chile (35)
48.Peru (36)
49.Ecuador (37)
50.Colombia (38)
51.Panama (39)
52.Venezuela (40)
53.Trinidad and Tobago (41)
54.Suriname (42)
55.South Africa (43)
56.Botswana (44)
57.Swaziland (45)
58.Qatar (46)
59.Hong Kong
60.South Korea (47)
61.North Korea (48)
62.Philippines (49)
63.Indonesia (50)
64.United Arab Emirates (51)
65.Japan (52)
66.Macau
67.Thailand (53)
68.Laos (54)
69.Cambodia (55)
70.Vietnam (56)
71.Sri Lanka (57)
72.Myanmar (58)
73.Tanzania (59)
74.Maasai Tribe
75.Ethiopia (60)
76.Jordan (61)
77.Israel
78.Druze People
79.Palestine (62)
80.Georgia (63)
81.Azerbaijan (64)
82.Armenia (65)
83.Nagorno Karabakh
84.Turkey (66)
85.Iran (67)
86.Iraq (68)
87.East Timor (69)
88.French Guyana
89.Guyana (70)
90.Mexico (71)
91.Guatemala (72)
92.El Salvador (73)
93.Honduras (74)
94.Belize (75)
95.Nicaragua (76)
96.Costa Rica (77)
97.Catalonia
98.Andorra (78)
99.Romania (79)
100.Moldova (80)
101.Transnistria
102.Bulgaria (81)
103.FYR Macedonia (82)
104.Kosovo
105.Montenegro (83)
106.Lithuania (84)
107.Uzupis
108.Estonia (85)
109.Finland (86)
110.Christiania
111.Norway (87)
112.Austenasia
113.Frestonia
114.Vatican City
115.Tunisia (88)
116.Algeria (89)
117.Basque Country
118.Gibraltar
119.Kuwait (90)
120.Bangladesh (91)
121.Bahrain (92)
122.Ladonia
123.Faroe Islands
124.Podjistan
125.Lagoan Isles
126.Adammia
127.Ukraine (93)
128.Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
129.Kazakhstan (94)
130.Kyrgyzstan (95)
131.Tajikistan (96)
132.Gorno Badakhshan
133.Uzbekistan (97)
134.Afghanistan (98)
135.Karakalpakstan
136.India (99)
137.Andaman Islands
138.Don’t Stop Living
139.Bavaria
140.Senegal (100)
141.The Gambia (101)
142.Lovely
143.Monaco (102)
144.Kaliningrad
145.Serbia (103)
146.Bosnia (104)
147.Herzegovina
148.Croatia (105)
149. International Waters
150. Mongolia (106)
151. Krolestwo Dreamlandu
152. San Escobar
153. Narnia
154. Malta (107)
155. Sovereign Military Order of Malta
156. Kingdom of Romkerhall
157. Morocco (108)
158. Western Sahara
159. Hungary (109)
160. Ivory Coast (110)
161. Cyprus (111)
162. Northern Cyprus
163. Saudi Arabia (112)
164. Oman (113)
165. Turkmenistan (114)
166. Togo (115)
167. Benin (116)
168. Lebanon (117)
169. Uganda (118)
170. Rwanda (119)
171. DR Congo (120)
172. Burundi (121)
173. Kenya (122)
174. Fiji (123)
175. Marshall Islands (124)
176. Nauru (125)
177. Kiribati (126)
178. Solomon Islands (127)
179. Papua New Guinea (128)

• I didn’t include United Kingdom, USA, Ireland or China in this list as I don’t recognise them the way the UN does. And I forgot about Hungary (which was in my first 40, not 159) and Kurdistan, which overlapped with Iraq, Iran and Turkey.

Countries I am not going to count yet but I have officially stepped in:
(airport – Mauritania)
(region – Republic of Srpska)
(region – Cornwall)
(region – Kashubia)
(I am their general but I have never stepped foot in – Nedland)
(TV – Donkey Kong Country)

My target is to visit 200 countries (as defined by me) by the age of 40, I have three years, three months to backpack to 42 more, from my own list here:

The Ultimate List of Every Country (all 627 of them).

“If God spares us” – Mary Blair (my Grandma).