A 79-year-old woman who has spent six decades visiting every country in the world has revealed her three favourite destinations.
Luisa Yu, from the Philippines, completed her extraordinary challenge of visiting all 193 countries on November 2023 after ticking off her final nation of Serbia.
Her journey began sixty years ago as a young girl in Leyte, where her growing curiosity for Hollywood and American Western shows on TV inspired her to travel to the United States.
She later emigrated to the US in her 20s as an exchange student, which gave her a golden opportunity to tap into her passion for cultural exploration.
For many years, she limited her travels to America, but after receiving her Green Card, she finally was able to explore the wider world.
Determined to travel as much as possible, Yu worked three jobs, held a real estate licence and eventually secured a job as a travel agent, which further opened doors for international travel.
Since then, Yu has hiked the Himalayas, explored the plains of Africa, and is still marvelling at the wonders of the world with recent trips to North Caucasus and the Kalash Festival in Pakistan.
After ticking off her last country of Serbia in 2023, Yu has had much time to reflect on standout trips from her global adventures.
Luisa Yu, from the Philippines, completed her extraordinary challenge of visiting all 193 countries as of November 2023 after ticking off her final nation of Serbia (pictured)
Speaking to NBC Miami in 2023, though she finds it difficult to pick an ultimate favourite, she declared no nation tops her home country, the Philippines.
However, she also ranked ‘beautiful’ Italy highly, and gushed over the diverse landscape in Thailand, adding to her top three.
Yu is to celebrate her 80th birthday later this year, and is thrilled to to reign in the landmark occasion after accomplishing her remarkable feat.
She added: ‘I did fulfil my dream. I was able to buy a house on my own. I was able to travel on my own. I’m just happy. I want to thank all the people that have been so nice and kind to me.’
It comes after a man who has visited every country in the world has shared the ones he’d never go back to… and the hidden gems that he believes are overlooked.
Luca Pferdmenges, 23, who is originally from Germany, started traveling when he was just 14 years old.
An avid juggler, he would jet off to various cities in Europe to perform at juggling conventions, and along the way, he developed a fierce passion for exploring the globe.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and his juggling career came to a halt, he decided that once the world opened back up, he was going to start traveling full-time.
Over five decades, Yu has hiked the Himalayas, explored the plains of Africa, and is still marvelling at the wonders of the world with recent trips to North Caucasus and the Kalash Festival in Pakistan
Yu is to celebrate her 80th birthday later this year, and is thrilled to to reign in the landmark occasion after accomplishing her remarkable feat (pictured, in Taghit, Algeria)
He then made it his goal to visit every country on the planet, and just five years later, he’s now spent time in all 195 of them.
Now, he has broken down which countries are ‘overrated’ and which are hidden gems exclusively with the Daily Mail.
He admitted that he wouldn’t recommend ‘small island destinations’ that don’t offer much except nice beaches and resorts because they are ‘boring’ to him.
He also said he was not a fan of Egypt because he felt like he was ‘constantly getting hassled’ when he was there.
