Man Sets Record Visiting Every Country

An Indian man has broken a world record by visiting all 194 countries on Earth in the shortest time ever.

Kashi Samaddar, a 55-year-old businessman, spent nearly $580,000 to achieve the record, which took him six years, 10 months and seven days and earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of Records, according to the Daily Mail .

Samaddar began his journey when he visited Holland in July, 2002, and finished his mission in Kosovo in May this year. He dodged bombs and bullets in some of the world's more unstable countries along the way.

"The hotel where I stayed in Kabul was blown apart an hour after I left my room," he said. "I have traveled through regions with bullets flying thick and fast all around. It's a miracle I didn't get killed."

Samaddar also had to find innovative ways of getting food as well.

"In East Timor, I stayed without food for three days and had to pay a local lad a few hundred dollars for some bananas," he explained.

As a result of his trip, Samaddar has set up the Travel, Tourism and Peace Initiative , which provides travelers with advice on what documentation they need to enter different countries.

Another man is currently traveling the world on a much smaller budget than Samaddar's. Keiichi Iwasaki, a 36-year-old man from Japan, has spent the last eight years traveling across 37 countries on a bicycle with the equivalent of about $2 in his pocket.