Some of my readers have been asking me to write more about my travels and favorites spots around the world. I really love to explore new destinations and often suffer from severe travel fever if I haven’t gone to a new place for a while. I prefer going to destinations that are on ‘roads less traveled’ and not very touristy. Sometimes I travel for great diving spots. Other times just for the culture. Or just a great beach! So far I’ve been lucky to have visited 59 countries and I dream of visiting many more..
Discovering new places makes me feel alive and I’m constantly planning on new adventures. There are so many amazing places I want to visit..but right now my life is hectic with the two babies and I’ll have to keep the travel bugs in check until the kids are a bit older. I also want my kids to grow up seeing as many different cultures and places in the world as possible..hopefully that would make them more open-minded and tolerant toward other cultures but also instill a sense of pride of their roots in both Finland and Saudi-Arabia.
Here’s a list of the countries I’ve been to so far..
Finland (well obviously lol)
Sweden
Norway
Estonia
Russia
Denmark
Netherlands
Belgium
United Kingdom
Germany
Poland
Switzerland
Austria
Slovenia
Hungary
Italy
France
Spain
Portugal
Gibraltar
Greece
Cyprus
Turkey
Lebanon
Jordan
Egypt
Morocco
Saudi-Arabia
Yemen
Oman
Bahrain
UAE
Qatar
Kuwait
Sri Lanka
Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Hong Kong
Macau
South Korea
Fiji
Tonga
Australia
U.S.A
Canada
Mexico
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Cayman Islands
Barbados
Martinique
Columbia
Equador, Galapagos Islands
Peru
Bolivia
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanzania, Zanzibar
Kenya
Maldives
Czech republic
Croatia
Albania
Montenegro
Bosnia
Tunisia
Ethiopia
Botswana
Bahamas
Seychelles
That’s 70 countries if I counted correctly :)
Here’s my quick bucket list:
Mongolia. Japan, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, Brazil, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Madagascar, Eritrea, Djibouti, Senegal, Romania, Nepal, Bhutan, Syria, Comoros Islands..was that another 50?
Which one of the places on my been to list would you like to hear more about? One of my favorite travel destinations so far has been Galapagos Islands.
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Hello there! I’m Laura, the founder of Blue Abaya- the first travel blog in Saudi Arabia, established in 2010. Travel has always been my passion- so far I’ve visited 75 countries and I’m always on the lookout for new adventures inside and outside of Saudi Arabia! Follow my adventures in Saudi and beyond on instagram: instagram.com/blueabaya
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That is so neat! Masha’allah, I could only dream of going to 1 country, and yet you have been to 59! Lovely! :)
WOW! OMG! I’m imprest of how many countries you have visited! Great!!
I would like to read about all your visits here on your blog!
It must have been amazing experiences! So many people met, so many places seen!
I really love to see Romania on your bucket list! It is my home coutry which I love and deeply miss! You will find great places to visit there!
woooow amazing! How did you go to Yemen? That would be interesting to hear!
Thats a LOT!! btw any special reason for omitting India? just curious.
Life, you are living it right.
You are very much like me in that way. I also love travel and culture and want to go to the places no one else does. As for the places that are filled with people I rather pass bc you do not get the real experience.
BTW hello coffee date asap :)
Umm Ahmad-thanks for the comment, inshallah you get to got to many countries :)
anon-Went there with my mom 2009 I planned it all on my own, not many ready made tours go there.
dB-I would really love to visit Romania some day you have a beautiful country rich in history!
I will definitely write about my favorite locations, thanks for the comment!
Mudassir-I’m not really omitting it, just not on my top places right now. I really loved Sri Lanka which I imagine is a little bit similar in some aspects, but of course not the same..
India is such a huge country and there’s so much to see, it would take many weeks just to go around the country :)
Noor-Let’s arrange in the next few weeks, will have to figure out the transportation issue :)
moto-Japan-thanks for commenting and the good suggestion.
Some of the countries I visited when I was younger with my parents, some of these I went to while studying nursing as placements for my practical training (South -Africa and Swaziland)..
I have to say working in Saudi-Arabia is one of the things that ha enabled travel to so many places.For one, life here is cheap and you can save more from your pay(plus no taxes) second, the annual leave is amazing (54 days)and thirdly, the location is ideal to visit many places around here with minimum costs by taking local transport and cheap airlines..
Sometimes I do so that I fly to one city and then travel from there with buses and trains to surrounding countries..and stay in cheap hostels and backpackers accommodation. With kids it would not be my first choice anymore, but as a single woman this is what I did many times..
Its awesome that youve been to so many countries.! Ive got quite the travel bug myself, but Ive only been to : France, Turkey and Cyprus….
question come to mind is how to afford the money. Either, you have plenty of money enable you to do all this OR you know how to find cheap offers. Given your incredible experience in travailing can you share with your readers some trick how to travel with less money.
Laylah,
Do come and visit Malaysia. Plenty to see and lots to do. Am more than happy to give any travel advice should you opt to visit the country.
Sireh
Oh please do visit Indonesia. It is a beautiful country.
There’s a new “just opened” destination called “Raja Ampat”.
I think you’ll like it there.
Hi Sireh I’ve been to Malaysia and enjoyed it very much! Would love to visit the Borneo side some day, Kota Kinabalu and Sipadan Islands for diving..
Indonesia is on my top list to visit in the near future,lots of cheap flights from SA!
Sylvia Warsaw and Krakow!
I am like you! If I do not have a trip planned I feel like there is nothing to look forward to! I have been to 11 countries which I thought was alot until I read your list lol! Next on my list is somewhere in the middle east, anywhere really. Just to see something differnt the North America or Europe which is where I have done all my travels. My favourite place was Spain! I have learned all I need is an ocean and a beach for my vacation to be complete! Safe travels on all the adventures you have in your future!
It is called ColOmbia* not ColUmbia ;) I am from Colombia and a frequent reader of your blog! I can’t believe that you came here. Wich cities did you visited? and how was your experience here? I hope you get to see all the pretty things and have a positive experience. – Camila.
Thanks Camila for the correction! In Finnish we spell it “Kolumbia” hence my temporary confusion :) I was in Bogota only, all by myself! But i felt safe and was sad to leave but hopefully some day I will return and have more time to explore other regions as well.
59 countries is incredible!!!!
Hi Andi!
I’m certain i’ve replied to your comment before but it looks like it’s not here anymore! Anyways, thanks for stopping by and I adore your inspiring travel blog!
Amazing blog dear! Thanks for sharing!
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