# Secondary, “How many countries?”, thread! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 23, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118 "2018-08-23T16:48:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/1 "2018-08-23T16:48:03Z")
So, we’ve done the ‘how many countries’, thing numerous times and while it’s always interesting it often makes me wonder what constitutes ‘visiting’. Clearly everyone has a different measure, and rightly so. I don’t count Japan, though I’ve stayed overnight numerous times! I’m curious to see how a different measure would make the list come out. (I realize there could be a zillion variants. Feel free to start another thread if you think up one! ) So this thread is: How many countries have you visited that you’ve stayed at least two weeks? USA Singapore Malaysia Thailand Indonesia Nepal India Peru Bolivia Ecuador Columbia Venezuela Cambodia Vietnam ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/2 "2018-08-23T17:00:37Z")
I’ll give it a try, but this isn’t a rule I use so I may be off slightly. [ol] [li]Antarctica (British Territory) (12 days)[/li][li]Botswana [/li][li]Cambodia[/li][li]Canada (numerous multi-day or week-long trips over the years)[/li][li]China (PRC) [/li][li]Egypt[/li][li]France [/li][li]India [/li][li]Israel[/li][li]Italy?[/li][li]Mexico (numerous multi-day or week-long trips over the years)[/li][li]UK (aggregate)[/li][li]Switzerland[/li][li]United States[/li][li]Vietnam (numerous multi-day or week-long trips over the years)[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/3 "2018-08-23T17:27:51Z")
Two weeks straight, or cumulatively? [ul] [li]USA (home)[/li][li]China[/li][li]Mexico[/li][li]Germany[/li][li]Thailand[/li][li]India[/li][li]South Africa[/li][li]Canada[/li][li]Hong Kong (cumulatively)[/li][li]France (cumulatively)[/li][/ul] The cumulative ones are tricky, because a quick overnight or two to the mainland or to Belgium otherwise break the streak. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/4 "2018-08-23T18:02:41Z")
Spain (Rota) Sigonella, Sicily No other visits to other countries lasts more than a week, tho I might have spent 14 days in France over 3 visits. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/5 "2018-08-23T18:15:43Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Two weeks straight, or cumulatively? I was going to ask the same thing. I’ve visited Canada a lot because I’ve always lived close to Canada. But the very fact that I live close to Canada means my trips there have generally been short - I generally just go there for a day and return home that night. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/6 "2018-08-23T18:36:05Z")
At least two week? Not counting USA: Poland (about five months total over several visits) Hungary (5 1/2 years) India (3 weeks) Scotland (2 months) England (2 months) Croatia (3 months) Slovenia (1 month) Russia (3-4 weeks over 3 trips) Germany (3-4 weeks over a number of trips; couple of one-week stretches in there.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/7 "2018-08-23T18:36:59Z")
USA UK Mexico if the count is cumulative. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/8 "2018-08-23T19:17:46Z")
I was kinda thinking two weeks straight. But cumulative is interesting too, I just didn’t think of it. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/9 "2018-08-23T19:49:08Z")
USA Canada Australia ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/10 "2018-08-23T19:57:23Z")
Straight: United Arab Emirates (lived there '99-'03) China (16 days this year) Cumulative: Netherlands (several business meetings) Greece (ditto) Egypt (ditto) Ecuador (2 Galapagos Cruises-envy me) Great Britain–(3-4 trips for pleasure) Oddball Australia-New Zealand–combined over 23 days straight, but not two weeks in either. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/11 "2018-08-23T20:09:20Z")
If you mean consecutively then only US (home) Canada (summer of '82) Cayman Islands (Feb '99) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/12 "2018-08-23T20:23:15Z")
USA Germany (about three months) Canada (if cumulative counts; probably spent about two weeks there in total) and depending on how you define it… Cook Islands (spent about three weeks on a sailing ship that’s under the Cook Islands flag) ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/13 "2018-08-23T20:51:43Z")
Straight cuts it down a lot USA Malta Mexico Colombia St Vincent and the Grenadines Cayman Islands (UK Overseas Territory) ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/14 "2018-08-23T23:20:01Z")
Straight: USA Thailand Cumulatively adding: Mexico. But, ask me again two weeks from tomorrow and I can add to the list: Peru 🙂 Flight leaves in just over 12 hours! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/15 "2018-08-23T23:37:37Z")
Canada, US, Switzerland, Barbados, Denmark, Japan, France, Australia, Israel, England, Scotland. Not sure about Scotland, but there were four weeks spent touring the UK by car and it was likely two weeks in each. I forgot all about Australia (six weeks) in the other list. The list is in order of how much time I have spent there. I have certainly spent like a month in Germany (mathematics meetings) but never two weeks in one go. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/16 "2018-08-24T08:16:19Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > So, we’ve done the ‘how many countries’, thing numerous times and while it’s always interesting it often makes me wonder what constitutes ‘visiting’. > > Clearly everyone has a different measure, and rightly so. I don’t count Japan, though I’ve stayed overnight numerous times! > > I’m curious to see how a different measure would make the list come out. > (I realize there could be a zillion variants. Feel free to start another thread if you think up one! ) > > So this thread is: > > How many countries have you visited that you’ve stayed at least two weeks? As you say, different people have different criteria / measures for this stuff, and fair enough… I personally feel that your two-weeks standard is on the harsh side; but again as you say, I can do my own thing here and apply my preferred rule ! For the two-weeks one: including “two-weekses” attained cumulatively, that would at best cut down by half, my score of countries visited as per my post in the other recent “how many” thread. Those that I could now count: UK (home), France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, India, mainland China, Zimbabwe, and – perhaps just – former Yugoslavia (two weeks not spent in any one of its constituent bits). A guy I know, applies the rule that he has to spend at least 48 hours consecutively in a country, for him to count it as having been visited by him. That strikes me as a good moderate criterion, as regards these things. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/17 "2018-08-24T09:15:24Z")
Consecutively definitely none. Cumulatively only England and Canada are in the running as the only other countries I’ve been in are Spain and Mexico for one day each. England is a maximum of 13 days and that’s only if you count layovers and days in which all I did was leave. My visits to Canada have been so short and so long ago that I might not remember them all. I _think_ I can get to 14 total by stretching out my estimate of length of my 2 multi-day trips along with all the day trips that I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/18 "2018-08-24T11:14:46Z")
Apart from my native UK: Belgium Brunei France Ghana Greece Indonesia Netherlands Norway USA All consecutively. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/19 "2018-08-24T11:16:52Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > England, Scotland. Not sure about Scotland, but there were four weeks spent touring the UK by car and it was likely two weeks in each. England and Scotland are not separate countries, despite the protestations and machinations of the SNP. We are one country, the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118/20 "2018-08-24T11:36:57Z")
I just realized I left New Zealand off my list. I guess something about living in a vehicle for 2.5 weeks didn’t give me any grounding… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secondary-how-many-countries-thread/820118.md?page=2)