Graham Hughes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Graham Hughes
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Hughes in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, June 2010
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| Born | 28 February 1979 |
| Known for | Visiting all 193 UN member states without flying |
Graham David Hughes (born 28 February 1979) is a British adventurer. He is known for being the first person to visit every country in the world without flying. This amazing journey was confirmed by Guinness World Records. During his trip, he also hosted a TV show called Graham's World on the National Geographic Adventure channel.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Graham Hughes was born in Liverpool, England, in 1979. He went to Blackmoor Park School and the Liverpool Blue Coat School. Later, he studied at the University of Manchester. He then started his own video production company in Liverpool.
The Odyssey Expedition: A Global Journey
The Odyssey Expedition was Graham's incredible trip to visit all 193 United Nations member countries. He also visited other places like Vatican City and Kosovo. In total, he visited 201 "countries" without ever getting on a plane! He even visited places like North Korea and Iraq. He said these were surprisingly easy to enter.
Before starting his journey, Graham worked with Guinness World Records. They set clear rules for his trip:
- He could not fly at all.
- He could not use private taxis for long distances. Shared "bush" taxis were allowed.
- He could not hitchhike.
- He was not allowed to drive a vehicle or ride a motorbike.
- He had to step onto dry land in each country. Just sailing into its waters did not count.
- He could take short breaks from his journey if he did not fly. He had to return to the exact spot where he left off. He did this twice.
During his adventure, Graham faced many challenges. He was arrested in Estonia and Cameroon. He also spent time in jail in Congo-Brazzaville and Cape Verde. He even got caught trying to sneak into Russia once. Later, he returned to Russia with a proper visa.
While on his journey, Graham also helped raise money and awareness for WaterAid. This charity works to provide clean water to people around the world.
World Records Set by Graham
Graham Hughes set two new Guinness World Records during his expedition:
- He visited "133 countries in one year by scheduled ground transport." This was during the first year of his four-year trip.
- He achieved "The fastest time to visit all countries by public surface transport." This took him 4 years and 31 days. Guinness World Records said it was one of the most challenging records they had ever checked!
TV Shows and Books
Graham's video diaries from the first year of his trip became a TV series. It was called Graham's World or Lonely Planet's The Odyssey. The show was made for the National Geographic Adventure channel.
In 2017, Graham wrote a book about his travels. It is called "Man of the World: Book One of The Odyssey Expedition." It tells the story of the first year of his journey.
Online Videos
Graham has also been active on YouTube since 2006. In 2013, his video "One Second Every Country" became very popular. It showed a one-second clip from every country he visited. This video got almost a million views in just a few weeks. It led to him appearing on news shows like BBC News.
After the Journey
After his big trip, Graham continued with new adventures and activities.
SOS Island Winner
In 2013, Graham won a TV show called SOS Island. It was a survival show where contestants lived on a desert island. Graham won $100,000 for a future island adventure. He used the money to buy an island in Panama. He named it "Jinja Island" and lived there for about three years.
Political Involvement
Graham has also been involved in politics. After the Brexit vote in the UK, he became a strong supporter of staying in the European Union. He even ran as an independent candidate in a local election in 2017. Later, he ran as a candidate for the Liberal Democrats in 2018. He also created a YouTube channel called "Politics Social" to discuss political topics.
