ARY Digital Blogs

The Girl Who Travels Pakistan And Says Its On Her Top 10 Beautiful Countries

—

by

Abia Gill
in

The Pursuit of Happiness is to let go of all the stresses we inhale in our life, and that’s the rule in the book of success. The experience to travel the world and seeing them in a different dimension can be done by only who has this passion and be called as true travelers.

"If you are not the hero of your own story, then you're missing the whole point of your humanity." – Steve Maraboli – – – Know your truth, own your truth, go confidently in the direction of your dreams. You live once, you die once. Try to make a positive difference. Respect others. Help others. Be confident, be clear. Own your failures. Commit yourself and work hard. Persist and persevere. Never give up. Embrace your successes. This is it. YOU'RE it. And I believe… you can do it. ???????????????? – – – Speaking at the @womenstravelfest March 4th. Stoked to share my story with everyone on stage! ????????????????? – – – Taking off soon with @quarkexpeditions to Antarctica and exited to work on some sustainability efforts while there ???????? – – – Register for the @expedition196entrepreneur seminar to learn how to secure funding for your own passion project involving travel and helping to change the world! Seminar begins June 2nd ???????? #expedition196

A post shared by Cassie De Pecol | Official (@expedition_196) on

Cassie De Pecol from Connecticut, USA spent her 18 months in expedition to hybrid theory involves cultures and traditions of the different places. She is the first person to be a recognized traveler of 196 countries of the earth. It was heart-pleasure to know that she loved Pakistan during her travel and is on #5 position out of 10 in her list, she also shares the hospitality she got from Pakistan , specifically Karachi was wonderful , Cassie praises the enrichment of the culture and traditions Pakistan has inherited and simply has no comparison to it.

The way I prefer to travel is to leave all preconceptions at the door and walk in with a completely open mind. ???????? – – – When I used to travel, I'd sometimes extensively research the country; the good, the bad, where to go, what to do. By doing this, my mind naturally conditioned itself into thinking that the reflection of that country from the media or from what other people told me, was true, and because of this, I was almost just waiting to see or experience something good or bad from these preconceived notions. Sadly, I ended up experiencing more negative experiences than good because much of this research typically led me to media and government sites that would say everything they could to steer me away. Well, I decided to let that all go and this time around, to refrain from researching countries before I arrive (aside from the basic visa, language, currency, etc.) and to instead learn first hand from the people there what gives their country a "sense of place". I find that my experience now when I travel, is much more euphoric and positive in doing so. A great example of this practice surfaced during my stay in Pakistan. People were scared for me when I told them I was going, although I personally looked at the opportunity as both a privilege and unique adventure. Having been to places such as Afghanistan, Somalia and North Korea, alone for example, I had zero worries about entering Pakistan and just knew it would exceed my expectations in the best way possible. What we hear in the media can be so degrading and devastating, but this shouldn't deter us from experiencing that country first hand. By using tourism as a means for #peace, we have the ability to open our eyes to the truth when we experience these places through our own perceptions while learning directly from the local people. Once we realize the common denominator of humanity, we'll judge less, and accept more. We will be more open to the kindness of people around the world and that most people just want peace, too. ?????????????? – – – #Expedition196

A post shared by Cassie De Pecol | Official (@expedition_196) on

Although during the visa proceedings it took around 4 months for her to wait but she never failed the struggled for her trip to Pakistan. She shares her views about the tremendous food and enriched culture of Pakistan and she enjoys every bit of the travel. Cassie is one of the traveler who has enjoyed every bit of exploring the country and expressed her gratefulness to the nation of their great hospitality.

The hospitality I've received so far in #Pakistan and specifically #Karachi has been astounding! From being offered a random, free upgrade to business class on @gulfair to being graced with the amazing hospitality of the crew and entering the cockpit and meeting the Pilot (the Captain knew about my Expedition before I even told him!), speaking to the students at the Institute of Business Administration, meeting the Mayor of Karachi, Mr. Wasim Akhtar, for the planting of the Cedrus Deodara tree (the National Tree of Pakistan) ????, coming back to my beautiful (sponsored) hotel and seeing my story and Mission on the front page of Traveller International, and finally, meeting with @rotaryinternational tonight! So incredibly humbling. Also, just comes to show (for those who think I'm not seeing anything in the countries I visit and that 2-5 days isn't enough) that it's all about time management and maximizing every moment of your time to make the most with what you have. But same applies to everything else in life, doesn't it? My time here in Pakistan has just begun and has been one of the many wonderfully educational and culturally enriching experiences on #Expedition196. Don't judge a book by its color or a country by the media. Much love ?????????? #peacethroughtourism – – – ?Snapchat @ cassiedepecol To view all videos from today including the tree planting and meeting with the Mayor, head to Facebook.com/expedition196 ?

A post shared by Cassie De Pecol | Official (@expedition_196) on