Budget travel queen visits 143 countries, 50 left to go. How Hong Kong teacher does it

Budget travel not only saves Kez Williams money, but helps her get an authentic experience out of a place. The 47-year-old Hong Kong-based Australian has visited 143 United Nations-recognised countries and plans to share some of her creative ideas on travelling frugally in her forthcoming book, Wandering the World on a Shoestring: How to Travel the Globe on $20 a Day (or Less). In the coming year, she plans to visit the remaining 50 – without a break. “I intend to not [return] to Hong Kong until I reach that goal,” Williams says on a video call from Darjeeling, India. Hong Kong has been Williams’ home since 2010, after previous spells in Australia, the UK, Ireland, Japan and mainland China. “Hong Kong was the first place that I felt like I fit in,” she adds. “Everybody’s different in Hong Kong, so everybody who doesn’t fit in fits in.” The city was the launch pad for her quest to travel the world – which she began in 2015 while working full-time as an English teacher. “There was no plan at the beginning. It was just like, OK, I want to go. Every time I got holidays, I wanted to go to a new country,” Williams says. When she reached around 80 countries, she decided she wanted to visit every single country out there. Hong Kong’s status as a transport hub made it easy for her to find cheap flight tickets – and, while travelling to 50 countries in 12 months sounds nigh on impossible – especially factoring in time and budget – Williams says even the most ambitious globetrotting dreams are achievable. You just need to think outside the box. Her tips and advice range from the obvious – find cheaper transport options, stay in budget accommodation and eat local food – to practices that require ample caution and research. Couchsurfing and hitchhiking are two of her go-to strategies for saving money. Once, at the Darvaza Gas Crater in Turkmenistan in Central Asia, she slept on a mat under the stars because the yurt she had been invited to was too stuffy, and the weather was perfect. Williams also says to look out for inexpensive ways to get around that allow you to soak up the local culture – in Laos, in Southeast Asia, for example, renting a bicycle can cost less than US$4 a day. “I highly recommend Central Asia – countries like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. They’re amazingly friendly and quite cheap to get around,” Williams adds. One of her stand-out experiences has been hiking a snowy mountain in the middle of summer one day, only to find herself in a desert canyon the next day – all within Kazakhstan’s Almaty region. Time – the lack of it – remains one of the biggest obstacles for travellers, especially if they have other commitments in life. For Williams, her now part-time online English teaching job offers her the flexibility to work from anywhere, as long as she has a reliable Wi-fi connection. But even for those with full-time jobs, she believes travelling more is possible. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kez In Motion (@k.in.motion) Williams grew up in a family that did not travel around much, but she always felt a strong pull to explore the world. Her first major adventure took place in 2009, when she visited 20 countries in Europe, saving up all her annual leave from a teaching job to travel for three and a half months. After settling in Hong Kong in 2010, she would use every bit of time off that she got to explore outside the city. “I did Saipan [the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth] in a long weekend once, because there was really cheap flights with Hong Kong Express,” she says. She is on track to have visited all the UN-recognised countries by the end of 2025. “I just want to get them done, because I missed two years of travelling during Covid. I’m heading towards middle age. Who knows if I’m going to be alive and have enough energy to do this later on? So I do it now while I can,” she says. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kez In Motion (@k.in.motion) The length of her stay in each place depends on how much she enjoys it. For example, she extended her stay in Sierra Leone in West Africa from three days to a week and a half, but left Guinea earlier than expected as it did not resonate with her. Reaching the finishing line this year will not mark the end of Williams’ travels – there will still be plenty more for her to explore. For example, she has only visited 10 of India’s 28 states so far. “There’s always more to explore,” Williams says. “I know a lot of people are like ‘Oh, I can’t do it. I don’t have money, I don’t have time.’ But even when I was a full-time teacher, I used what I had and made it happen. I think everyone can do that – just use whatever resources you have.” Travelling can help you figure your own life out along the way, just as it has for Williams. She describes travel as her greatest teacher – it teaches her lessons in patience, resilience and problem-solving. “Travelling helps you realise that there is always another way. If the first way doesn’t work, then you just try another way.” Williams’ book will be available as an e-book on her website, https://k-in-motion.com/, as well as in print on demand.

Budget travel queen visits 143 countries, 50 left to go. How Hong Kong teacher does it

47-year-old Kez Williams aims to visit every UN-recognised country. She tells the Post how and why she travels so much and offers some tips