Full Year Recap: Initial Statistics

The gap year is over (Noooooo!) but the statistics are just beginning.  I’m still unemployed and homeless but I’m working on that.  In the meantime, the little gnomes that compute my statistics have been hard at work making all sorts of lists for your reading and nerdy pleasure.  There will be several parts to this, but if you have any requests for specific statistics or lists of favourites, then please let me know.  I’m open to suggestions!

Total time spent:  403.5 days and 403 nights

Start:  Morning of Sunday, July 12, 2015 at Sydney Airport

End:  Afternoon of Thursday, August 17 at London Gatwick Airport

Continents visited:  6

1.  Asia:  115.8 days (28.7%)

2.  North America:  114.1 days (28.3%)

3.  South America:  85.2 days (21.1%)

4.  Africa:  67.7 days (16.8%)

5.  Europe:  11.9 days (2.9%)

6.  Oceania:  4.0 days (1.0%)

In transit between continents:  4.7 days (1.2%)

I will get to Antarctica one day… maybe on the next gap year!

Regions visited:  13

1.  South America:  85.2 days (21.1%)

2.  North America:  76.9 days (19.1%)

3.  Southeast Asia:  58.9 days (14.6%)

4.  Southern Africa:  44.6 days (11.0%)

5.  East Asia:  37.8 days (9.4%)

6.  Mascarene Islands:  23.2 days (5.8%)

7.  Central America:  21.9 days (5.4%)

8.  Caribbean:  14.5 days (3.5%)

9.  South Asia:  13.8 days (3.4%)

10.  Northern Europe:  11.9 days (2.9%)

11.  Polynesia:  4.0 days (1.0%)

12.  Middle East:  1.0%

In transit between regions:  6.9 days (1.7%)

Countries visited:  34

1.  United States:  69.9 days (17.3%)

2.  Japan:  27.0 days (6.7%)

3.  Chile:  24.7 days (6.1%)

4.  Mauritius:  23.2 days (5.8%)

5.  South Africa:  22.6 days (5.6%)

6.  Peru:  22.2 days (5.5%)

7.  Colombia:  21.8 days (5.4%)

8.  Vietnam:  15.7 days (3.9%)

9.  United Kingdom:  11.9 days (2.9%)

10.  Thailand:  11.6 days (2.9%)

11.  Laos:  11.1 days (2.8%)

12.  Ecuador:  10.9 days (2.7%)

13.  Namibia:  10.8 days (2.7%)

14.  Taiwan:  10.6 days (2.6%)

15.  Cuba:  10.4 days (2.6%)

16.  Costa Rica:  10.0 days (2.5%)

17.  Malaysia:  8.6 days (2.1%)

18.  India:  8.1 days (2.0%)

19.  Cambodia:  7.9 days (2.0%)

20.  Nicaragua:  7.8 days (1.9%)

21.  Mexico:  6.8 days (1.7%)

22.  Nepal:  6.0 days (1.5%)

23.  Botswana:  5.0 days (1.2%)

24.  Panama:  4.1 days (1.0%)

25.  Argentina:  4.0 days (1.0%)

26.  United Arab Emirates:  4.0 days (1.0%)

27.  Dominican Republic:  3.9 days (1.0%)

28.  Singapore:  3.2 days (0.8%)

29.  Paraguay:  2.8 days (0.7%)

30.  Uruguay:  2.0 days (0.5%)

31.  Zambia:  1.9 days (0.5%)

32.  Lesotho:  1.8 days (0.4%)

33.  Swaziland:  1.0 days (0.2%

34.  Zimbabwe:  1.0 days (0.2%)

In transit between countries:  9.1 days (2.3%)

And just for fun – time spent in countries that drive on the:

1.  Right side of the road:  63.2%

2.  Left side of the road:  36.3%

In transit between countries driving on opposite sides:  0.5%

Hemispheres:

And just for more fun – time spent in the hemispheres:

1.  Northern Hemisphere:  65.9%

2.  Southern Hemisphere:  33.5%

In transit between the two hemispheres:  0.6%

Only country where I’ve been both north of, south of, and on the equator:  Ecuador!

3.  Western Hemisphere:  54.0%

4.  Eastern Hemisphere:  45.7%

In transit between the two hemispheres:  0.2%

This assumes the division between the hemispheres is at the Prime Meridian which places the parts of the UK that I visited totally within the Western Hemisphere.

I changed between the northern and southern hemispheres seven times not including jumping back and forth across the equator like a stupid tourist.  I changed between the eastern and western hemispheres only once.

Border crossings:  43

-  30 border crossings by air

-  10 border crossings on land (8 in vehicles and 2 on foot)

-  3 border crossings by ferry

Time zones:  33 (based on governments’ classifications)

- 15 different time zones based on times in relation to UTC

- 39 times I had to change the time on my iPhone

Biggest time zone changes:

-9 hours from Tokyo to London via Abu Dhabi

-6 hours from Singapore to Johannesburg

-5/+5 hours from London to Fort Lauderdale and back again

Smallest time zone change:

+15 minutes from India to Nepal

Landmasses stepped on:  39 (I think)

1. Singapore

2. Afro-Eurasia

3. Robben Island (South Africa)

4. Mauritius and Rodrigues + 6 small offshore islands

12. 2 artificial islands in Dubai

14. 1 small island in a lake in Vietnam

15. 3 islands in Halong Bay (Vietnam)

18. 2 terrible Thai islands

20. Taiwan + 1 offshore island

22. Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu + 2 small offshore islands (Japan)

27. Great Britain

28. America

29. Hispanola

30. Cuba + 1 small offshore island

32. Isla Ometepe (Lake Nicaragua)

33. 4 islands in the Galapagos

37. Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

38. Isla Taquile (Lake Titicaca, Peru)

39. Long Island (USA)

And now, for a few less statistical lists…

Top Overall Countries (in chronological order):

1.  Mauritius  (read more)

2.  Taiwan  (read more)

3.  Japan  (read more)

4.  Costa Rica  (read more)

5.  Chile  (read more)

I would elaborate on why each country was amazing, but I think my past blogs should sufficiently cover it.  Feel free to ask me in person if you want more details!  Also, note that I didn’t have a whole lot of time in some countries.  I had limited time, for example, in Argentina, and it definitely warrants a more robust visit in the future to better make a determination on its inclusion in a list like this.

Top Overall Cities (in chronological order):

1.  Cape Town  (read more)

2.  Taipei  (read more)

3.  Sapporo  (read more)

4.  Buenos Aires  (read more)

5.  Santiago  (read more)

Again, ask me about these in person if you want more details, but I think the previous blogs should paint a good enough picture of why I really loved these cities!

Best & Worst Passport Stamps:

-  Best:  Mauritius because it’s big, has a dodo bird on it, and perfectly filled in blank space at the front of the passport.

-  Honourable Mention:  Cuba for its super gay hot pink colour.

-  Worst:  Mexico.  Why would you stamp on page 50-something on my passport when every other country stamped in the first 20 or so pages?  Ugh.

That’s enough for now.  Stay tuned for my next installment when I get super nerdy with airplanes and airports and other sorts of travel.  Brace yourself for the nerdgasm to come!

For the stats blogs, I will switch to maps because you’re probably sick of all my selfies.  Here’s a map of my travels both before and during the gap year.  You can click to enlarge if you’re nerdy enough.