دنیا کے تمام ممالک کی سیاحت کا اعزاز رکھنے والی واحد خاتون کیسنڈرا ڈی پیکول کا کہنا ہے کہ پاکستان دنیا کے ان 10 ممالک میں شامل ہے جہاں کی سیر ہر شخص کو ضرور کرنی چاہیئے۔ امریکا کی کیسنڈرا ڈی پیکول دنیا کی پہلی باقاعدہ سب سے زیادہ سیاحت کرنے والی خاتون، کم عمر ترین امریکی سیاح اور دنیا میں سب سے تیز رفتار سیاحت کرنے کا اعزاز اپنے نام کرچکی ہیں۔ تین سال قبل اس غیر معمولی سفر کا آغاز کرنے والی کیسی اب دنیا کے تمام ممالک کا سفر کرنے کا انوکھا ترین عالمی ریکارڈ بھی حاصل کر چکی ہیں۔ انہوں نے برطانوی اخبار دی ٹیلی گراف کو ان ممالک کی فہرست فراہم کی جو ان کے خیال میں سیاحت کے لیے بہترین ہیں اور جہاں کی سیاحت ہر شخص کو ضرور کرنی چاہیئے۔ ان کی اس فہرست میں پاکستان پانچویں نمبر پر موجود ہے۔ 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 Dec 16, 2016 at 8:01pm PST ان کا کہنا تھا کہ پاکستان کی ایشیائی ثقافت اور خاص طور پر یہاں کا کھانا بے حد شاندار ہے اور وہ دوبارہ بھی یہاں کا سفر کرنا چاہتی ہیں۔ Managing criticism • • • It’s not okay to let others opinions (good + bad) shape who you are and who you aim to become, but I encourage you to let their words fuel you to pursue a life for yourself that you could have never in your wildest dreams have imagined. It’s always been a desire of mine to inspire others that would in turn, inspire myself to create and grow positively in the right direction. My motto has always been, “I want to live an iconic lifestyle where I do what I want, when I want, and inspire those along the way”. The negativity I get from this Expedition is vast, and while I’ll never know why I’ve been criticized for my hard work and dedication to make even just a small, positive change in our world or how I travel for that matter, this negativity contradictory, only fuels me to do bigger things and reach higher in order to craft something more vast and impactful to positively enhance our world, while leaving a great legacy behind. Thankfully, the judgements that I’ve read have really fueled me to start several major projects that I’ve recently started working on. I often wonder that if I never received this criticism from others, I’d never be driven enough to change our world for the better… and hopefully one day I won’t rely on these judgements to make these great forward movements in life, but for now, it’s worked well enough. Never define your value as a person based off what people tell you about who you are or what you do. Own your life, own your values, own your morals and never let anyone dictate your decisions or frame who you are or who they think you should be. It is your life and no one has a surefire solution to a successful and winning outcome, but you. So, I encourage you to use not only fear but negativity and criticism from others as embers to your flame. It is only then, once you let all those opinions go, and watch those embers burn to flame, your truth and your story will flourish and you’ll be boasting with confidence as to where you’re headed. Choose your hard. PC: @unmaderhyme A post shared by Cassie De Pecol | Official (@expedition_196) on Dec 19, 2016 at 11:42am PST کیسی کو پاکستان کے ویزے کے حصول کے لیے 4 ماہ کا طویل انتظار کرنا پڑا تھا اور بقول انہوں نے یہاں بہترین وقت گزارا۔ 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 Dec 13, 2016 at 4:34am PST ایکسپیڈیشن 196 کے نام سے جانے والے اس سفر کے آغاز کے کچھ عرصہ بعد ہی کیسی کو عالمی ادارہ برائے امن بذریعہ سفر نے اپنا اعزازی سفیر بھی مقرر کردیا جس کے بعد وہ دنیا بھر میں امن اور محبت کا پیغام لے کر گئیں۔ ان کی تمام سیاحت، جہازوں کے ٹکٹ اور ہوٹلوں میں رہائش وغیرہ کو مختلف کمپنیز نے اسپانسر کیا تھا۔ اس خبر کو لائیک یا شیئر کرنے اور مزید خبروں تک فوری رسائی کے لیے ہمارا اور وزٹ کریں