Cassie De Pecol from Connecticut, U.S.A spent 18 months ticking off nations at a rate of knots and has become the first documented person to step on all 196 countries on the planet. She is IIPT Ambassador for Peace Through Tourism
From all the countries she visited, the travel enthusiast gave Telegraph Travel her list of top 10 places everyone must visit and guess what — Pakistan was number 5 on her list.
Cassandra, said she found Pakistan contrary to what the media portrays it to be. The hospitality I’ve received so far in Pakistan and specifically in Karachi has been astounding!
From being offered a random, free upgrade to business class on flight to being graced with the amazing hospitality of the crew , 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 Traveler International, and finally, meeting with Rotary international 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 Expedition 196. Don’t judge a book by its color or a country by the media. Much love peace through tourism.
Cassie shared that one must visit Pakistan “to get a true sense of raw, authentic Asian culture and for the food!”
She had to wait four months to get her visa approved but said she was not disappointed. revealing that her time in Pakistan was one of the “many wonderfully educational and culturally enriching experiences” of her travels.
