As of early 2025, Noah Nguyen has set foot in 192/195 countries on the target map. Noah Nguyen's journey to explore 192 countries not only has relaxing moments, experiencing the unique cultures of remote tribes and countries, far from modern civilization, but also has dangerous moments when being attacked by robbers and almost dying in Colombia, and being tense throughout the time in unstable countries such as Ukraine, Haiti, Niger...
Dream of exploring the planet
Noah Nguyen (Hai Phong) is known for his YouTube channel “Itchy Feet Again” with over 800,000 followers and interesting travel videos. In 2003, he had his first trip abroad to China. After that, Noah Nguyen studied abroad in Europe and began to cherish the idea of traveling around the world. He realized that if he worked hard and saved money, he could travel around the world.
After nearly 20 years of backpacking, he has now set foot in 192/195 countries and territories recognized by the United Nations.
For Noah, simple trips to luxurious check-in locations do not satisfy his passion for discovery.
He shared: “I think any country or territory has interesting places and is worth visiting. And each person will have their own criteria when choosing a destination.
If we talk about criteria for choosing a destination, I think I will be attracted to places that will give me many unforgettable experiences. It could be a land with interesting cultural features, a place that very few people set foot in. In general, interesting and new destinations that help me have good videos to send to the audience will make me excited."
And to have an interesting and experience-rich trip, he is not afraid to face difficult and even dangerous journeys.
“Curiosity about life in other countries and lands is the criterion and springboard for me to set out. When leaving our familiar territory, of course we will have to face challenges and dangers.
If we wait until things are more convenient and safe, we don’t know when we can set off and achieve our dream of visiting that land. So I had to do it regardless, take the risk to satisfy my curiosity and passion,” said Noah Nguyen.
Up to now, Noah is still excitedly planning an adventure to Mongolia, Sudan and North Korea to become the first Vietnamese person to set foot in 195 countries recognized by the United Nations.
Great experiences despite hardships
Facing things that not everyone dares to face is the way for Noah to gain experiences that not everyone can reach. In 2024, he decided to complete his journey to explore the Pacific by visiting 8 countries he has never set foot in: Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Micronesia, Marshall Islands.
To complete this journey, Noah had to do something he had never done before: Book all his plane tickets before starting the journey and strictly follow the plan set out at each destination.
Noah said that to get to the 8 island countries mentioned above, he had to take about 20 flights with feelings of anxiety and stress because of fear of flight cancellation: "Traveling between Pacific island countries is very difficult, it can only be done by flight".
To get to the capital Majuro of the Marshall Islands, Noah Nguyen had to take 6 flights: From Palau to Guam (USA), then to Chuuk Island (Micronesia), to the capital Pohnpei of Micronesia and then to Kosrae Island, from here he continued to Kwajalein (Marshall Islands) and took the next flight to the capital Majuro of the Marshall Islands.
Relying on flights to travel between Pacific island nations is made more difficult by high airfares and frequent flight cancellations.
“Before starting the journey, I had to book all the flights according to a strict schedule. So the whole trip I was extremely stressed and worried because if just one flight was canceled, the whole journey would be disrupted, the cost would increase a lot and I would be stuck in a remote land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,” he said.
Luckily, Noah did not have any flights canceled, so his journey was quite smooth. Thanks to that, the male YouTuber had a great journey of discovery: “Before that trip, I was not very interested because I thought that this area did not have many interesting things.
However, the more I traveled and faced the worries of the trip, the more excited I became. At the end of the trip, I felt both regretful and relieved, happy, as if I had achieved a small achievement, having overcome unexpected challenges.
Noah Nguyen's journeys to explore foreign lands are always full of difficulties and dangers! He admitted that he had moments of discouragement because the journey was too difficult: "Of course, there were also moments that made me give up. That was when I went to a country with a very unstable political situation or a country that did not allow entry, travel was too difficult... I was discouraged, but I considered it a very normal feeling."
With that spirit, Noah has never given up. He is currently planning to explore 3 more countries he has never been to in order to become the first Vietnamese person to complete a journey around the world.
“I never intended to give up. Each journey brought me many emotions, fulfilled my dream of adventure and also helped me have many interesting clips to share with the audience.
After completing my exploration of 195 countries, I will plan to return to the lands I have been to. I believe there are still many interesting things there, helping me expand my knowledge and satisfy my passion for adventure,” Noah Nguyen shared.
(Posted on the special edition of Labor Weekend Spring At Ty)
