This is the first woman on record to travel solo to every country in the world. Yes! every single country by herself North Korea! And guess what? she was also the fastest to do so.
How long did it take her to complete the world? And how much did it cost her? And is it harder to travel as a woman or is it easier? If you would ask.
In California USA, Cassie, as a woman was always warned about the dangers of the BIG BAD WORLD. She was told to stay safe or else she would get RAPED, BEATEN, or KILLED.
"I wanted to travel the world alone and leave all preconceptions at the doors. So that, I can formulate my own opinion and experience about countries without any outside sources, telling me what I should feel or think about the place. I just want to be completely open-minded and have my own experience.", She opened up.
However, one day, Cassie decided to face her fear by doing something no woman has ever done before. She wanted to see every country in the world and she also craved to beat every man by being the fastest.
According to Cassie, it took her three years total to plan her trip around. Of course, there would be so much involved she had to secure the visas, the sponsors, the investors and plan the entire trip.
"There was tons of work I wanted to do alone, and I did.", she said. I believe it was a huge challenge because to be on the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS, there were a lot of Rules she cannot spend longer than 14 days (2weeks) in any country. She can't just drive through a country and she must have physical proof of being in all countries including North Korea.
She also stated that she wanted to overcome her fears by facing them head-on and that if she'd succeed then women around the world could see that achievement and say "I can do it too!". And If you're wondering how much does all of this cost? Well, $10,000 dollars only! The rest of the money she raised from sponsors.
Eventually, Cassie had enough money so she packed her bags and began her journey to visit over 196 countries in the world. As the world traveler racing against the clock, she faced gazillion people and problems; from bribes that got the police involved twice, and the situations were out of her control.
As a woman, it was more difficult. Yet, she did everything to protect herself. How did she do that? You would ask. Throughout the trip, she made sure she keeps in touch with friends, and family via Instagram, texting, phone calls, and GPS. Throughout the whole journey, she didn't find danger— only kindness everywhere. She realized that humanity was beautiful. "Humans, at our core, are all the same and that's the main lesson that I learned from my travels around the world...is that we all just want a roof over our head, a hot meal in front of us, and someone around who loves us."
Meanwhile, she met mayors (Libya minister of tourism), ministers, and even once, she met the king of Spain! (king Felipe VI). And eventually, she went to write a whole book about her journey "Expedition 196". And believe me, the world is not always filled with bad news and danger. It's actually filled with normal people just like you and me. And at the end of the day, Cassie beat the record at 18months and 10 days (One and half years) to visit the entire planet faster than any other human ever! This is what women can do when they have no limits. They travel the world alone to become peace ambassadors and even beat us men at our win game!
We should stop teaching girls to be afraid. We should encourage them to go out there to pursue their dreams to break records and to do things better than anyone else in the world.
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