Hi! I'm Ian

I’m from Quebec City in Canada, and at a very young age, I had dreams to discover the world. I imagined a life of endless travel, off the grid, out of the ordinary… In 2002 I designed a system to make it possible through online income. Little did I know, this new form of lifestyle would later become widespread with thousands of new adepts, known as digital nomads.

Fast forward today, more than 20 years on the road, non-stop and counting, I how visited 230 countries, including every one of the 195 recognized by the United Nations. I’ve circled the globe more than 6 times and filled 11 passports on the way… My digital nomad lifestyle is now deeply encrusted in me and I pride myself every day to have inspired travelers from around the world to grab their backpacks, and embark on their own journey on the open road!

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Countries I've Been: 230, including 195/195 U.N. Countries

Latest Articles

Cities I’ve Been Map (193/195 Countries) – Updated June 2019

So it seems to be a tradition for me for the past 10 years. Each year or so, I make an update of my map with the app “Cities I’ve Been” app from Tripadvisor (which used to be directly on Facebook). This was my way to track my cities and destinations through the world when I was at the stage of going anywhere whenever I felt like it and wasn’t necessarily counting the cities I’ve been to. I’ve never really been a “Country Counter” until I was getting close to 150 and newspapers started asking for my current count, as well as I wanted to have a way to measure the distance I have traveled. As a world adventurer, my travel map is really what I am proud of, much more than my “countries Ive been” map. It is really not that hard anymore to travel the 196 countries as it once was with all the flights getting cheaper. There are more and more people […]

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Exploring Niamey in Niger – An Example for African Development – (My 192nd of 195 Country Visited)

Back to French-speaking Africa this time in a west-African nation. It was the peak summer season in Niamey, known to be one of the hottest cities in the world, situated in the middle of the Sahara desert! We landed at night and as soon as the airplane doors opened, we felt a wave of dry hot air invade the interior… Just a preview to what I could expect the next few days, with a thermometer over 47 degrees during the day! In General, my expectations for Niger were totally off target from what I had heard and read through my pre-travel research. It was much better than I had imagined. And here’s why… In This Article…1 One of the Poorest Nation in the world… Really?2 The 4th largest producer of Uranium in the world3 Was Wakanda in the movie Black Panther inspired by Niger?4 Enjoying Niamey with local friends5 Top 10 Things to do in Niamey & Niger6 In Pictures7 Pin to Pinterest One of […]

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WarTime Aleppo in Pictures – Captured with a Huawei P30 Pro

I usually add pictures of my travels directly in my photo studio or inside my articles about each destination. But my Photographic experience in Syria and Specially Aleppo was so breathtaking and troubling that it deserved to be published in a separate article of its own. After posting on my private facebook some of these pictures taken with the Leica Camera on my Pro 30 Pro, the reception was so impressive from public and private messages that I decided to share them to the world. The photos in this article were all taken in May 2019 during my visit around Syria which is summarized in my article: 5 Days Traveling around SYRIA during War Times. Being one of the first traveler in the country since 2011, I wanted to express the situation that Syrians have endured through those difficult years. Extensive details have been provided about my experience around the country, and for the purpose of clarity, I will only provide a few explanations about […]

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5 Days Traveling around SYRIA during War Times

As some of you read this article, it is important to time-stamp the events at the time of writing. As fighting is still raging in some areas, the war is coming to an end and the situation is changing rapidly. With the government now in control of the country once again, I expect the situation to improve very quickly through the next 2 years, and people reading this article 2 years from now might get a very different experience on their trip. But Make no mistake, as I was visiting in mid-may 2019, the country was still at war and heavy fighting was going on in the Idlib region and around Aleppo where I stayed 2 nights… Was it worth the risk? I Beleive it did, and here’s why… I decided to come to Syria as I believed it was the right time to come after a long 9 years wait. In my opinion, it marked the safest time to come in recent years, while […]

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Exploring Syria During War Times… (My 191st of 195 Country Visited)

“You’re traveling to Syria in mid-2019… Are you Crazy???” would I mostly hear when mentioning my intention to explore the country while working on my plan to visit every country of the world… The truth is, there are many more countries which I have been that are in a similar situation but have not received as much media coverage as Syria. Pretty much everybody even from a young age knows that terrible things that happened over there, and even at the time of writing, are still happening as the war is still ongoing. My researches prior to travel had given me enough assurance that I felt it was finally possible to go with enough guarantee of a secure experience with less risk. Overall it was a 5 day expedition from A-Wadi, Homs, Aleppo and Damascus. Being one of the first tourists in Syria since 2011, this was a bet I was willing to take… In This Article…1 Why travel to Syria?2 Is it ethical to […]

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