新澳门开奖结果

鈥淭ravel Stars鈥� is an interview series created to get to know people in the travel industry who are making a difference; writers/influencers, producers, and travel executives. 

This week we had the pleasure of interviewing Johnny Ward.

Johnny Ward is an Irish blogger and entrepreneur who Left Ireland in 2006 to teach English in Thailand and Korea and to have the means to travel. He started his blog called one step 4ward, monetized it, and started to create more blogs. Johnny has made more than 2 million dollars from his blogs, traveled to all the 197 countries in the world, and now he is trying to be the first person to visit every country in the world, climb the 7 Summits, and hit the North and South Poles(know as the Ultimate Explorers Grand Slam).

Check out this great interview with Johnny.

Tell us a little bit about yourself – where are you from? Where did you grow up? Etc.

I’m Johnny, the first Irish person to visit every country! I was born in Galway and grew up in the north of Ireland. My background is pretty standard – single parent, on welfare, so we didn’t get to travel much as a child.

Can you remember what first got you interested in the world of travel? and why?
It was always the stories of other people in school who went on holiday during the summer. I used to be so jealous! So as soon as I had the chance to manage my own life, I was out of there!

In the next year, If you could only visit one place for one week, where would it be?
Mount Everest Summit. To complete my goal of the 7 summits!

What are some of the top places you enjoyed visiting the most? Why?
I love ‘real’ travel, so it’s more obscure places. Staying with the Mundari tribe in South Sudan. The lowland gorillas in the Central African Republic. Mauritania, its epic iron ore train, and the Yemeni island of Socotra. Real travel is tough to find, but it’s still there if we look hard enough.

Can you share a funny story that happened to you while traveling?
Eurrrgh. Christmas Day, flying from Thailand to South Korea via Malaysia. I didn’t want to miss my flight, so I arrived at Malaysia’s airport super early, 6 hours early, in fact. I sat at the gate, watching Sopranos. I had Christmas dinner plans in Seoul with friends. But I forgot to change my laptop time from Thailand to Malaysia, so despite sitting beside the gate (facing the wrong way) for 6 hours, I eventually went to board my flight, and the plan had gone. Meaning I had to spend the rest of Christmas day AND the following day in KL airport. Lovely.

What was one of your more popular posts in the last year? And why do you think it caught on?
For me, this year, it was a youtube video, actually. I’m not a YouTuber, but I dumped a video on there about the , and it went mini-viral to almost 500k views.

I think people dream of doing something similar, so it resonated with them.

You said on your blog that you鈥檙e 75% of the way to becoming the first person in history to visit every country, the North Pole and the South Pole, and climb the highest mountain on every continent. What鈥檚 the 25% that is missing?
Everest, Vinson, and South Pole. Everest is in 2 months, Vinson, end of the year. The South Pole depends on my financial situation! Perhaps winter 2024.

You鈥檝e been to every country in the world, including North Korea. How was the experience there? How could you get into the country?
North Korea, of course, is weird. But it’s a lot less weird than people think. Its citizens still function relatively normally. People wake up, have brekkie, and go to work. Drink beers, play football, etc. Of course, dissenters are brutally dealt with, and it’s shameful from the government, but the rest of the people have a life more similar to ours than people think.

Chiang Mai, Thailand, is the place you chose as your base. Why did you choose Thailand?
It’s a great mix. For a start, it’s one of the hotspots for digital nomadism on the planet. You can live a good life on $1k a month as you start working online, and when you hit $10k+, it still offers a great way of life with high-end hotels, etc. too. But also, it’s in the mountains, so the weather is better. People are friendlier etc. It’s the best place in the world, in my opinion.

Where are you planning to travel next? and why?
I got back from Mauritania just yesterday! I’m off to build a dormitory at the end of February for a Burmese refugee community that my non-profit helps out. Then I’m just waiting to fly to Nepal in 8 weeks for my Everest expedition.

What are you doing now (or about to do) that you are excited about? Do you have any new projects?
I’m starting to get involved with property development in Thailand and the UK. I’ve used my blogging money to build a portfolio of 5 properties, so I want to continue that.

Other than that, I just want to achieve my goal of being the first person to visit every country and climb the 7 summits done. Then I can maybe finally relax!

Thank you for sharing your travel experiences, your goals, and your history with us.

If you want to know more about Jonny, here is where you can find him: