Remember The Girl Who Traveled 196 Countries? You’ll Be Amazed To Find Out Where She Ranked Pakistan

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Pakistan suffers from its tainted image and reputation caused by the major outgoing incidents involving terrorism, political instability, and deteriorating law and order situation in many regions of the country.

However, people are not silent and not letting it remain stagnant for long. People are rising up, creating awareness, negating all those claims that account for Pakistan being a threat for tourists.

Do you remember Cassandra De Pecol? Well, she is the girl from the United States who went on traveling 196 countries in the whole wide world.

Of course, she came to Pakistan and in fact, she met Team Parhlo!

Cassie with our Creative Head, Mr. Safa

Cassie with our Creative Head, Mr. Safa

She goes by the nickname, Cassie. In case you did not know her, Cassie has something that we all aspire to have – a strong sense of adventure. She managed to travel 196 countries! Well, we do aspire to have such a sense of adventure but we also aspire to have a buttload of money and not to forget – visa permits.

Read Also: Cassandra De Pecol Visited Karachi, Pakistan, And Something Amazing Happened

Anyway, Cassie named her marathon journey, “Expendition196”. She has managed to become the fastest and the first ever woman to set a world record.

She is absolutely an inspiration to us. Her endeavor has gone down to be a positive token for Pakistan alone. Just imagine how many people who follow her on social media as well as those who keenly followed her throughout her journey across the whole wide world got an insight of the real Pakistan.

Now here is where it gets further exciting – Cassie ranked Pakistan 5th on her list of must visit countries

Seriously, this is one of the best things to have happened in recent times.

I know we do not need a reason for it since Pakistan is just as beautiful. But this is what Cassie claimed:

To get a true sense of raw, authentic Asian culture, and for the food.

In case you missed it when she visited Pakistan, here are a few insights about what happened during her visit…

She met Mayor of Karachi, Wasim Akhter!

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She planted a tree to mark her visit…

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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

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

We can’t thank Cassie enough for remembering our country, our people and our hospitality in such remarkable terms. It is truly an honor to have had her here and spend time with her.

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