A former office administrator turned globe-trotter has traded her two-bedroom city home for a life of adventure, aiming to visit every country in the world.
After catching the travel bug, Lynn Stephenson, 61, sold her semi-detached house in Nottingham for £136,000, using the profit to fund her escapades. Having worked at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court and as a part-time fitness instructor, Lynn left it all behind in 2022 to explore the world. She has now visited 168 countries, documenting her experiences on social media, where she has gained over 12,000 followers across Facebook and Instagram.
Her recent travels took her island-hopping in the South Pacific, where she claims to be the only white tourist, and has included swimming with manta rays and sharks, visiting a leprosy camp, and spending time with a tribe in Vanuatu who have a fascination with Prince Philip.
Lynn, who has only her brothers remaining in the UK, reflected on her journey, saying: “I lived in Carlton for 40 years, I’m originally from the North East but moved to Nottingham at 19. I did my first round the world trip in 1992, it was a whole different world then without internet and mobile phones.
“You had a guide book and tried to find yourself somewhere to sleep. After I sometimes go off for bits and bobs. I did an around the world trip in 2003 too. But it was in November 2022 that I decided to sell up. It was always on the radar and what I wanted to do. It was a case of lets just spend this money before I get old.
“Covid gave me the complete push that I needed to do it, I had never believed that you could lockdown the entire world. When lockdown was lifted on July 3, 2020, I was on a plane to Italy on July 5. I absolutely love it, every day is an adventure. It’s not all fun and games, things can go wrong. It makes me very calm travelling. I’ve had to replace passports and credit cards. I sold the house in Carlton. I already had the flight booked for the day of completion, I had everything in storage and I was flying that day.
“The house sale was £136,000. That’s all I’ve used it for. I’ve got £30,000 of it left, and I’ve got 27 countries left, so hopefully that’s going to last me.”
Lynn manages to visit roughly 30 countries a year and says she can make do with as little as £20-a-day. Since she began her journey in 2022, Lynn has ticked off Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea, Pakistan and Taiwan. Her most recent adventure has been on the remote island of Nauru where hotel rooms can fetch up to £130 a night due to scarcity.
Lynn added: “I’m in the South Pacific now and it’s expensive. Whereas in Asia it would be really cheap, it’s swings and roundabouts really. Some places in the South Pacific you haven’t got a choice. There’s three hotels here and you haven’t got a choice. You can pay £130 a night. The equivalent in Asia is £20-a-night, or even less. My favourite thing about travelling is just realising the world is full of really kind, hospitable people.
“Despite what media tell you, it’s a safe place. Iran is my favourite country. You have to separate the government from the people. Everyone on the street wanted to chat to me and openly criticise the government, even though there’s secret police. The country is full of the nicest people.
“The Galapagos Islands are amazing, too, definitely. I went for eight days and stayed for 16. Where in the world can you swim in the same day with penguins, sharks and sea lions. They have the giant tortoises and I saw a seahorse.
“I think it’s really difficult to pick your favourite country. How can you compare Papua New Guinea to Italy? They’re completely different. The ones that got me were north Pakistan because it was spectacular, and actually Moldova, too.”
Lynn has only returned to the UK on a handful of occasions where her planning has allowed and says her next stop is Australia before tackling most of central Africa. Lynn added: “My brothers are used to it, I’ve been doing it for 40 years, so they’re used to me taking off to some country they haven’t heard of. I don’t get frightened very quickly. In Bosnia in the 1990s I had machine guns pointed at me and I had a wee in a minefield.
“There’s going to be a couple of countries I’m going to struggle getting to, like Haiti and North Korea, which hasn’t opened back up. I have walked in the DMZ but I need to go into it. There’s a couple in the Central African Republic which are a bit dodgy. I’m off to go to Australia to see some friends that I met on my travels. I’m there for a couple of weeks.
“I’m going to do Bangladesh and Brunei. Then in February I’m going back to Africa. I’m off to South Sudan and tick off as many as possible. I’m hoping I can finish it in the year. I average 30 countries a year. That’s doing it quite slowly as well. Some of it is easier, but some of it requires lots of planning.”
Lynn hopes to carry on travelling after she completes her epic world tour by revisiting some of her favourite places.
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