Mr Tan, who is the son of a Welsh mother and a Malaysian Chinese father, landed at Phuket yesterday afternoon and took off again today (May 14) at 9am for the final two-hour hop to Kuala Lumpur, where he started out on March 26.
At the age of 21, he is a year younger than the former record holder, Carlos Smith, who was 22 when he complete his global fly-round.
Flying a tiny single-engine Cessna 210 Eagle, Mr Tan covered 20,000 kilometres, touching down in Bangkok, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, Russia, Canada, the USA, various countries in Europe and the Middle East, India, Myanmar and then Phuket.
Meeting admirers at the Deva Resort at Nai Yang Beach last night, the little pilot with the movie star looks – who began flying just three years ago – said, “This is my first time in Phuket but it won’t be the last.”
He liked the Thai culture, he said, and certainly more than New York, where he found people “rude and aggressive”.
Were there times on his odyssey when he was afraid? “No,” he said, “There was nothing to be frightened of.”
And a question for the ladies: does he have a girlfriend? “No. I’m married to my work.”
[UPDATE] James Tan touched down at Kuala Lumpur's Sebang Airport at 3:42 pm, completing his record-breaking flight. To see the track of his journey go here.