A 79-year-old woman has accomplished her goal of traveling to every country in the world and she told “Good Morning America” it has been a “dream come true.”
Luisa Yu said ever since she was a young girl in the Philippines, she has “always” dreamed of traveling.
“When I [went to] the movies, I [saw] this beautiful backdrop about the scenery, the nature, the rivers, the mountains, and that fascinated me,” Yu recalled. “That’s why I always thought someday I will go to these places and travel.”
She came to the U.S. as an exchange student when she was 23 and started traveling whenever she had the opportunity. It’s incredible to see how her journey began and how she pursued her passion for travel.
“I started in the U.S. first because of my status … I couldn’t go out of the country,” Yu explained. “So I decided to take a Greyhound bus and tour the United States.”
“Greyhound was the best because you just hop in,” she continued. “Then the next day, you’re in another state.”
So, after working in the medical technology field, Yu embraced a second career as a travel agent to have more flexibility for her travels. Over the past five decades, she has been to various countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Her goal was to visit all 193 member states of the United Nations.
Over the past five decades, she explored various parts of the world, from European countries like Italy to Asian nations like Thailand, and even ventured to African countries such as Libya and Middle Eastern countries like Iran.
“Even though [some places were considered] dangerous, I said, ‘I think I can do this. I want to see these places [with] my own eyes because there’s a lot of history and culture that happened there,'” Yu said of her motivation.
