‘I’ll always remember Hong Kong’: traveller stuck 103 weeks on round-the-world odyssey without flying at last secures passage on a ship out

When Dane ‘Thor’ Pedersen arrived in Hong Kong in 2020 on his no-fly round-the-world trip to see every country, he expected to sail on. But Covid-19 intervened

This week he finally sailed away to Palau in the Pacific, hoping to reach Australasia and feeling he knows Hong Kong better than his native Copenhagen

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Torbjorn “Thor” Pedersen about to embark on container ship Kota Ratna bound for Palau after nearly two years stuck in Hong Kong on his round-the-world journey to every country without flying. Photo: courtesy Torbjorn Pedersen

Published: 6:50pm, 6 Jan 2022Updated: 9:22am, 7 Jan 2022

One year, 11 months, three weeks and a few hours – give-or-take – after Torbjorn “Thor” Pedersen first landed in Hong Kong on his plane-free, round-the-world odyssey, he has finally managed to secure a passage on a ship to the Pacific island of Palau.

The 43-year-old Dane set out on his quest to visit every country in the world without flying in October 2013, but was stranded in Hong Kong when Covid-19 struck, throwing global travel patterns, and his own plans, into complete disarray.

“I never expected to stay here for more than a couple of weeks, and I have never in all my life spent so long in a single place,” said Thor on January 5 as he surveyed the Kwai Chung docks from the bridge of the 9,400-tonne container ship Kota Ratna moments before setting sail.

“That said, I now feel I know Hong Kong better than my native Copenhagen, and I will take away a host of happy memories.”

Torbjorn “Thor” Pedersen during his time stuck in Hong Kong. He explored the city and its hiking trails and volunteered for the Danish Red Cross while awaiting passage out. Photo: Pavel Toropov

Once Thor has reached Palau he will just have eight countries left on his 203-nation itinerary: Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka and The Maldives.

Getting out of Hong Kong has been no easy task. Apart from the lack of shipping, United States authorities were initially reluctant to let him pass through Guam’s territorial waters. And even though Thor is now steaming south, there is no guarantee that – boomerang-like – he won’t find himself back in Hong Kong again.