Vietnamese female tourist spends 3 million USD to travel to 104 countries, 6 continents

(Dan Tri) - At the age of 5, Hoang Thuy Anh had a dream of traveling around the world . To date, the Vietnamese female tourist has been to 104 countries and 6 continents.

Sitting in the car from Tan Son Nhat airport to her sister's house in Tan Binh district (HCMC), Ms. Thuy Anh could not help but be surprised by the changes in this city. "I went to the US to study in 2000, when I was only 21 years old. It has been 7 years since I returned to Vietnam. HCMC has developed so quickly, is modern and vibrant, very different from before," Ms. Thuy Anh shared. During the two weeks back home, she "took advantage of every hour" to visit as many places as possible, admiring the changes in Vietnam's tourism . She visited Hanoi , Ha Long (Quang Ninh), Sa Pa (Lao Cai), Hue, Quang Nam, and Da Nang.

"Two weeks is too short for me to enjoy the natural beauty, cuisine and hospitality of the Vietnamese people," the 45-year-old woman regretted. "Before, I thought that after visiting all the countries in the world, I would return to explore my homeland. But this return trip made me change. Vietnam's landscape is so beautiful, not inferior to any other country. I have to spend more time admiring, taking photos and introducing it to friends around the world," said Ms. Thuy Anh.

Poor girl with "crazy dream"

Currently, Ms. Hoang Thuy Anh is living and doing business in Dallas, Texas, USA. She has tens of thousands of followers on social networks thanks to her impressive travel experience sharing posts, especially about destinations with little information such as Bora Bora, Greenland... or "mysterious lands" Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Madagascar... Ms. Thuy Anh said that traveling around the world has been her dream since she was 5 or 6 years old. "It was a crazy dream for a poor girl, sometimes full, sometimes hungry like me at that time", she confided. At the age of 5, when passing through the gate of Ngo Si Lien school, Ms. Thuy Anh saw a sign introducing an English class with an eye-catching red apple. Ms. Thuy Anh asked her mother to let her go to school. "My mother asked me: 'What are you studying for?'. I said: 'I want to go abroad, travel here and there.' My mother complained: 'The family doesn't have enough money to eat, but you still want to travel.' Despite saying that, my mother still saved money for me to learn English," Thuy Anh said. "My mother is a poor single mother, but she cares a lot and invests in her children's education. When you have no assets, just two empty hands, knowledge is the only key to change your circumstances," she said emotionally. At the age of 21, with good academic achievements and the sponsorship of relatives, Thuy Anh went to the US to study pharmacy. On the first day of school, she quickly applied for a part-time job at a fast food restaurant and was accepted, thanks to her fluent English. After the first year of school, with the money she saved from working part-time, she bought a plane ticket to Germany to find her father. The trip took place after the 9/11 terrorist attacks , so Americans going to Europe had to go through many security checks. Ms. Thuy Anh was very worried at that time, especially scared when she missed the train to her father's house and had no phone to contact him.

The first trip was full of surprises, but the beauty of Europe made the Vietnamese student's dream of traveling around the world "burn" again. In the following years, Ms. Thuy Anh continued to study and work, occasionally spending money to explore the city she lived in and the surrounding areas. In 2005, after 4.5 years of studying at university, she suddenly made a decision: Drop out of school and move to Texas to do nails (painting toenails and fingernails). "This is something I never thought of before. My family are all doctors and engineers... At that time, nail work was still looked down upon, considered "manual work". However, I realized the opportunity to make good money. I decided to take the opportunity", Ms. Thuy Anh said. With her diligence, aesthetic taste, pleasant communication style, and customer service... just one year later, the nail salon brought her a good income. From here, she began to have a source of income to support her family and travel here and there. At this time, Ms. Thuy Anh returned to Europe, to France to visit her sister. The ancient, elegant beauty with beautiful women wearing gorgeous, fashionable clothes of Paris made the Vietnamese girl fascinated. This is also the city she returned to the most times.

Every year, she spends time traveling to Asia and Europe. At first, it was "cheap" trips: hunting for cheap plane tickets, taking trains and high-speed trains to save money, staying at budget motels... "Not only traveling to see the sights and take photos, I pay attention to the differences and cultural characteristics of each locality, and make friends with the locals. The trips become "assets" for me to tell and share with customers and friends," said Ms. Thuy Anh. Thanks to this "asset", Ms. Thuy Anh impressed many wealthy and talented customers. They respected and admired Vietnamese women who "dare to dream, dare to pursue their dreams". "Long-time regular customers taught me how to invest, shared opportunities and experiences. Since 2010, I have been successful with stock investment, expanded the beauty system in the US, and have very good financial resources to realize my dream," she said.

From here, Ms. Thuy Anh had longer and more luxurious trips. She went to many famous destinations such as Santorini, Greece; the "most expensive" beach tourism paradise in the world such as Maldives or Bora Bora; the mysterious land of Cappadocia, Turkey..., staying at resorts that cost several thousand USD per night. She also spent a lot of money to have the opportunity to go to the South Pole and the North Pole. "Up to now, the amount of money I have spent on traveling can reach more than 3 million USD (more than 70 billion VND). I am happy every day when trying to make my dream come true," she shared.

Travel during the pandemic

When she had the financial means to soon achieve her dream of traveling around the world, every 5 working weeks, Ms. Thuy Anh spent 10-14 days traveling. She joined wildlife photography tours at Entim Camp, Kenya, where the distance between tourists and leopards and lions was only a car door. Here, she witnessed the great migration of thousands of antelopes from Tanzania to Kenya, overcoming the threat of ferocious crocodiles lurking in the river.

Ms. Thuy Anh has visited all 7 natural wonders of the world. Right before the Covid-19 pandemic began, she had a 2.5-month trip to 7 countries (Oman, Bulgaria, France, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Maldives) and a trip to celebrate a friend's birthday in Colombia. "On March 15, 2020, I returned to Dallas, but on March 16, 2020, the city closed down, officially entering the fight against Covid-19. If I had been just one day late, I would have had to stay in Colombia," Ms. Thuy Anh said. Due to the severe impact of the pandemic, Ms. Thuy Anh had to stay at home for 6 consecutive months. The news of the pandemic and the quiet life within four walls made her tired and suffocated. The desire to continue exploring the world rose more than ever. "It was this period of time that made me realize that life is limited, I need to quickly fulfill my dream," she said. In September 2020, when some flights in Dallas reopened, Ms. Thuy Anh hurriedly searched for destinations. She chose to go to Türkiye and Croatia. Traveling during the complicated pandemic, she witnessed "unprecedented" scenes. The female tourist was "panicked" when she arrived at Paris airport - where she transferred to Türkiye. The airport, which used to be the most crowded in the world, was now deserted, deserted, and the shops were closed. Fortunately, Istanbul - Turkey's largest city seemed "in contrast to the rest of the world". "Tourism activities still took place here as if there was no Covid-19," Ms. Thuy Anh said.

At this time, the number of tourists returning to travel is not much, Ms. Thuy Anh has become a rare guest. Thanks to that, she is served "like a queen", something that is difficult to experience if traveling at normal times. Returning to Dallas in October 2020, Ms. Thuy Anh was startled when the epidemic broke out again, direct flights to Paris were closed, Croatia also closed its borders to prevent the epidemic just a week after she left. Even though before that, when she was in Croatia, people did not wear masks. Unable to go to other continents, Ms. Thuy Anh turned to locations around the United States. She spent a large amount of money to book 7 nights at Sugar Beach resort - a famous destination favored by many international stars in Saint Lucia, an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea. At that time, the room rate here was 5,500 USD/night (nearly 130 million VND). Two months later, when the tourist returned, the room Ms. Thuy Anh stayed in had a price of up to 25,000 USD/night (about 580 million VND/night, including tax).

Traveling during the Covid-19 pandemic has many advantages but it is not always smooth. In addition to carefully researching information and preparing visas and certificates, Ms. Thuy Anh also has to update the situation in the host country... every minute. When planning to go to Panama to celebrate the New Year, Ms. Thuy Anh had to book and cancel her trip 5 times because this country "kept closing and then opening". Initially, they announced that the border would be closed for 3 days but then extended it to 5 days, 7 days, 10 days and 15 days later before officially welcoming guests again.

Travel itinerary is asset

"An American businessman once commented that I am richer than a billionaire, not because of money but because of the experience I have had when traveling around the world," Ms. Thuy Anh confided. At the end of 2022, she had a special Christmas 2022 trip to Greenland - the 100th country she set foot in. This is an autonomous territory of Denmark, the largest island in the world located in the Arctic climate zone - where the sun does not rise in winter. On winter days in December, there is only a little faint light, the temperature at sea can drop to -35 degrees Celsius. Air Greenland is the only airline from Copenhagen (Denmark) to Greenland in winter (from November to January) with a frequency of 2 flights/week. Round-trip airfare is about 1,700 USD (about 40 million VND). They use very small planes, only holding about 30 passengers and often fly late. Some other airlines only take passengers to Greenland in the summer. Right from the plane, Ms. Thuy Anh was attracted by the white land of ice and snow, where all the rivers are covered with thick layers of ice.

Here, the female tourist experienced the life of an Eskimo fisherman - an ethnic group known to be the most cold-resistant on the planet. She drifted on a canoe to go fishing at sea, where many giant icebergs blocked the way. "I could hear the sound of ice breaking, creating an unpleasant sound. The wind blew on my body, making me cold. Every time I took a few photos, I froze and had to crawl into the boat to warm up," Ms. Thuy Anh recalled.

This land is harsh but its beauty is rare. At 10:30 a.m. every day, visitors have the opportunity to enjoy the sky turning a brilliant orange-red. This phenomenon only occurs in winter. Greenland is also a great place to watch the aurora every day. "The journey was harsh but I was able to admire the beauty of Greenland and experience the life of fishermen in the most authentic way. This is an experience that not many people have," the female tourist said. In early 2023, after her journey to explore the North Pole, Ms. Thuy Anh continued to "hunt" for information and find a way to the South Pole. The trip lasted 8 days and nights with a tour cost of 18,000 USD (nearly 430 million VND). Here, she rowed past beautiful icebergs. "There were times when the iceberg broke, creating giant waves that could capsize my boat at any time. The sound of the ice breaking sounded like a bomb exploding, echoing across the sky," the female tourist said.

Thuy Anh and 57/80 other members of the group participated in the Polar Plunge competition. They tied a rope around their waists, took a deep breath and jumped into the Antarctic sea. On the last day, before saying goodbye to Antarctica, the sea was very rough. While the group was attending a meeting, a big wave came, causing the ship to rock, and most of the people got seasick. "I intended to go to the medical room to ask for some anti-nausea pills, but dozens of people were waiting in line. I had to go back to my room and try to sleep to overcome the seasickness," Thuy Anh recalled.

Ms. Thuy Anh always prepares very carefully before each trip, from travel information, security, paperwork, visas and even clothes. She likes to dress beautifully when traveling, to capture beautiful and happy moments in the places she visits. A large part of her expenses is used to invest in clothes. "I maintain sports training to stay healthy. If I have money but no health, I cannot fulfill my dream. When traveling alone, I am especially careful in keeping my luggage, interacting with strangers and avoiding deserted places," she said.

Ms. Thuy Anh is "speeding up" to achieve the goal of visiting all countries in the world and sharing many useful images and information with travel lovers. Currently, she is exploring two countries, Guatemala and Jamaica. "As for Vietnam, I do not list it in the list of favorite destinations because Vietnam is home," the female tourist shared. Interestingly, when arriving at any destination, Ms. Thuy Anh also asks the resort staff, tour guides or locals about Vietnamese restaurants. If there are any, she will go there to enjoy them to ease her homesickness. "Even in faraway places like Marrakesh - the city of the Kingdom of Morocco, Angola, Namibia, I also found restaurants selling Vietnamese pho. Although the taste is not really as delicious as pho in my hometown, the appearance of Vietnamese food in a foreign land still makes me proud," she shared. "Even in many poor African regions, there are Vietnamese people who come to settle down and are very successful, admired by the locals. Every time I hear that, I am extremely happy," Thuy Anh said. In the near future, the female tourist plans to return to Vietnam more often to fully enjoy the beauty of her homeland. Photo: NVCC

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