Lexie Alford might look like the girl next door. But there is something special about her. Recently, she has broken a record by being the youngest person to have visited all the sovereign nations in the world. But it has not been an easy ride, there have been a lot of obstacles along the way. She’s traveled to 196 countries, some of them being the least accessible ones. As a result, she has a Guinness World Record in her name. But there’s a lot more in this story –
1. 21-Year-Old Lexie Alford Is The Youngest American To Travel All Over The World
According to her website, she has traveled to every sovereign nation. That’s about 196 countries in all. She has even documented her amazing journey in a spectacular fashion on Instagram. You can even check out her travelogue on her website, which has some of the most awesome trip pictures across the world. She can be easily labeled as the female version of fictional character of Phineas Fogg, who went around the world in 80 days.
2. Who Has The Guts To Sit At The Vent Of An Active Volcano?
Actually in this picture, she was visiting the Darvaza Gas Crater in Turkmenistan, which is an oil field. Yes, we were kidding, but that’s allowed once in a while, isn’t it? Did you know that this oil field has been burning since 1971. But how did she come across such a remote place? Blame it on her family, who are all travel agents.
3. She Had Been Saving Money For This Trip Since She Was 12 Years Old
You can see that from a young age, how committed she was towards her goal. By her 18th birthday, she had covered 72 nations. But by October 2016, she picked up the tempo. She visited beautiful locations like Petra, the City of Mysteries located in Jordan’s southwestern desert. But her journey did not end there. Moreover, her pictures are breathtaking.
4. On Instagram. She Wants To Inspire Others To Travel
In the beginning she wanted to push herself to perform and impossible. But when things got a bit challenging, she realized that it would be better to motivate other people, specifically women, to travel. For that she had to show her followers, mostly millennial, that the world isn’t as scary as they presume it to be.
5. Lexie Saw Breathtaking Architecture And Landscape In All Her Journeys
Lexie was appreciative of the visual delight she was experiencing during her visits. In some countries she found the architecture enchanting. In other countries, she found the landscape mesmerizing. It was only after she graduated from high school two years prior to her voyage she aimed to break the record. She began in 2019, and by 2019 she had been around 196 countries all across the world.
6. An American Visa Isn’t Welcome In All The Countries
Lexie admitted that if one held a US passport, it did not mean you could get a visa for traveling abroad. She had to try extra hard to reapply to certain countries. She had worked a lot in the hope of getting visas approved for entering into United Arab Emirates, London, Senegal, and the Ivory Coast. But as they say, persistence always pays off handsomely.
7. Lexie’s Instagram Account Told Her Followers Which Country She Was Visiting Next
Her blog/website displayed which countries she had traveled to. Her social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram kept her followers regularly updated where she was traveling next. She was seriously developing some big life goals to her followers. She can be called an influencer in her own right as her Insta account has around 281K followers.
8. She Traveled By Herself For Seven Months And She Visited Approximately 50 Countries
Her journey ranged all across Europe and Asia. She also covered Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific Islands. Her time in Cambodia was bizarre and painstaking, just because of the fact that she had to walk a lot. But thankfully, on some occasions, she got the wheels she needed for traveling across the Asian archipelagos.
9. Lexie Had An Adventure Of 4×4 Land Rover by the Karakoram Mountains.
Lexie took a breather after a 3-hour drive across the treacherous Karakorum terrain. She was driven around courtesy of a local driver. Lexie hiked all the way to Fairy Meadows, in the isolated wilderness in Northern Pakistan. Although she had other people in the group, she managed some secluded moments for herself.
10. The Best Part Of Her Abroad Endeavor? Having A Brand-New Adventure
Her primary target was to get brilliant photographs. A freelance photographer by profession, she embarked on a new journey for getting an experience. She wanted to snap awesome photos, try out new cuisines, and make new global friends. FYI, her trip was self-funded. She earns her bread and butter via a blog of her own. She accepted to do some brand deals for money. Her photography helped her to earn extra cash.
11. She Put In Some Extra Time And Effort In Researching Affordable Flights And Accommodations
And it paid off! This is how she managed to get to Yemen, which was the 127th country on her list. Due to her penny-pinching and research, she had enough left in her kitty. Her favorite places are Pakistan and Venezuela which she feels are misunderstood due to misrepresentation in popular media.
12. Her Instagram Posts Show The Defining Moments Of Her Life
The first prominent moment of Alexis’ life was when she passed all her exams. After that she skipped two years of high school. Another defining moment of her life was when she decided to go bungee jumping in Switzerland just after she had graduated from college. And the third one is the most special one. It was obviously when she received the honor of having a Guinness record in her own name. But it was by no means intentional.
13. She Will Even Cure You Of Your Fear Of Traveling To Unknown Places
Out of all the nations she has traveled to, she feels Africa is the best. She claims the trip to this gigantic continent is overwhelming, but the fears are unfounded. But if you overcome those fears, you could be rewarded with a meeting with a brilliant wildlife specimen, like in this instance, a mountain gorilla.
14. When She Commenced On Her World Trip, She Had No Inkling What Lay Ahead Of Her
Fortunately for her, all she received was love from the countries she visited. The locals accepted her as one of her own. Meeting friendly people in her trips was a big bonus. So, she suggests that you don’t let the media’s portrayal of certain countries scare you into not exploring the world.
15. On Her 20th Birthday, Lexie Took This Photograph All By Herself In Jordan.
When, Alexis traveled to Jordan, her biggest worry was figuring out how to take a selfie all by herself. Luckily, she found a local who could do her the favor. This was the first time in her life she was alone on her birthday. But this experience was self-empowering. She realized that she could be alone, all by herself, without feeling lonely at all.