Long-time friend of LifeSaver, Danish traveller Torbjørn C. Pedersen (Thor), has successfully completed the world’s first, unbroken journey through every country in the world, strictly travelling by land and sea only (without returning home in between). This journey was originally estimated to take around four years, but ended up taking nearly ten! Due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw Thor stuck in Hong Kong for two years, as well as the logistical complexities of entering countries via sea ports and multiple month-long visa delays. A few of Thor’s self-imposed rules to try and follow were:

• Spend at least 24 hours in each country
• Stick to a daily budget of $20
• No travelling by aircraft
• No renting or buying vehicles

As if the trip itself wasn’t challenging enough, during his 10 years away from home, Thor successfully maintained a long-distance relationship. Thor’s girlfriend travelled out to visit him many times, they even got engaged and married along the way!

So why attempt such a thing? In addition to having the adventure of a lifetime and entering the history books, Thor undertook this epic quest to highlight that people all around the world are much more similar than we are different from one another. He hoped to promote the good aspects he would observe in each country, including the many friends he would make along the way. Thor’s main take away, was that in times of need, it is other people who you will have to turn to. And thankfully, more often than not, people will be willing to help a stranger. Hence Thor’s philosophy, “A stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet”.

Ultimately, Thor’s story is one of the human spirit and mental resilience. Being away from home for so long, often not being able to see an easy route ahead of him, all the while resisting the temptation to jump on a flight home to reunite with friends and family. The journey became more testing than he could have imagined, one of endurance and patience. But Thor got through the lows and truly embodied his mantra of ‘keep on keeping on’.

Aware that his journey would have him travelling through places where safe drinking water would be hard to find, Thor researched suitable water treatment products he could take with him. The original LifeSaver Bottle was the solution he chose to trust. This proved to be an excellent decision and his LifeSaver Bottle kept him healthy and hydrated. However 3 years in and 117 countries visited, whilst in Tanzania, Thor’s backpack was stolen, containing many of his essential items, including the LifeSaver Bottle. This was when Thor reached out to us and we first became aware of his incredible story.

LifeSaver supplied Thor with a replacement Bottle and we followed his journey closely from then on. Two years later, the LifeSaver Liberty bottle was launched and we sent one out to Thor. With no use (or room!) for two LifeSaver water purifiers, Thor held a giveaway on his social media pages, to give his old LifeSaver Bottle a new home. What a historic souvenir that lucky winner received!

Over the years, Thor has used his LifeSaver purifiers in most countries around the world, sometimes just to ensure his hotel tap water was safe to drink. Here you can see Thor putting his Liberty bottle through its paces, to purify water from the River Tigris in Baghdad!

We’re very proud to have played a part in Thor’s incredible achievement, keeping him safe and hydrated over some 223,000 miles of travel! But as well as staying healthy, the other important factor in using our products are the environmental benefits, as Thor would himself explain in his blog many times over the years. Here are some excerpts:

“I’ve seen far too much plastic waste all around the world on roadsides and in the ocean not to understand. Personally I’m very happy with the Lifesaver water bottle which I was sent, as I can instantly clean water and safely drink it without creating plastic waste.” – 12th July 2018

“I also maintained my LifeSaver water bottle. It has been with me for a very long time now. Apart from providing me with safe drinking water, it also spares me from purchasing thousands of water bottles which is important to me, as it is depressing to see how much of our planet is covered in plastic waste.” – 28th January 2020

Everyone here at LifeSaver sends Thor a huge congratulations on completing such a unique quest and in such inspirational fashion. Remember, “a stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet” and we’re proud that Thor is a friend of ours!