AS Guyana’s popularity grows on the international stage, we continue to see more tourists eager to see and experience the land of many waters. While Guyana may be popular for its beautiful architecture and interesting destinations, one hitchhiker says it was the people that stood out to him. Thirty-nine-year-old Yang Yu has been travelling the world for over a decade, visiting some 160 countries during his time, and says he won’t stop until he has visited every country. Most recently, an enthusiastic Yang visited Guyana, where he said the people are some of the nicest, most hospitable he has met, and will definitely make for one of his most memorable travels.

Sitting down with the Pepperpot Magazine, Yang shared a bit about his childhood. Born and raised in the southwest region of China, Yang always knew he wanted to see more of the world. As he recounted, he remembers sitting alone on a hill in his village when he was still quite young. The trail in front of him was overgrown with grass, but his imagination ran wild. “I imagine if I carry a bag and walking just along this trail, way where I could reach. I said maybe I can say the world about this way,” he stated.

Back then, backpacking was not a popular concept in China. Yang didn’t know the term, but he knew he was interested in wandering, camping, and travelling on foot. Today, Yang has travelled to more than 160 countries. He funds his adventures with savings from his previous job running a hostel and work in real estate marketing. He rarely takes flights and instead travels primarily by foot and by hitchhiking, meeting strangers along the way and documenting his experiences online. On social media, he goes by the handle @universelove1986, where he shares stories from his journey.

Last week, he made a short stop in Guyana, having crossed the border from Suriname. Within just six days, he made his way from Corriverton to Georgetown mostly by getting free rides from truck drivers. “First, hitchhiking is very easy. Get a lift is very easy here. From the border until here, maybe four or five lifts. The private cars normally don’t stop. The trucks stop very easily,” he said. Travelling this way, Yang doesn’t spend money on transportation or hotels. He camps, gets invited to stay with locals, or sometimes sleeps at hostels.

Yang shared that he didn’t know much about Guyana before coming but was curious to see what it was like, and was pleasantly surprised to see that Guyana is a cultural melting pot. Yang describes Guyana’s food as ‘original, but not the original’; having elements of Indian and African cuisine, but with a unique Guyanese and Caribbean twist on things. As he shared, “Here you have Indian food, Chinese food, Western African food. I tried all of them in their original way before. Here, it’s not the original, but it’s good,” he shared. Similarly, Yang was surprised to see Guyana’s diverse communities and found it interesting that communities like Corriverton were home to a large Indo-Guyanese population. “Corriverton looks like a little India. All are Indian people. It’s interesting,” he said.

Amidst the diversity, the one common thing among Guyanese seems to be our caring and open nature and way of life. As Yang shared, while walking in Corriverton, he was stopped and offered a place to stay, which he says was a unique experience. “I was walking on the street. There was a guy. He invited me to his house. He drove an e-bike. He passed me. I said hello. He came back. He asked me where I was going. I said, ‘Number 63 Beach in Georgetown, but I’m not in a hurry. I’m just walking.’ He told me to come by his house tomorrow. He will take me, just like that,” he said. That man, Yang said, cooked him chicken curry. It wasn’t like the food Yang had in India, but it reminded him that food everywhere is deeply personal and varies based on culture and family. As he shared, “Every country I go, I want the local taste. I would like to taste the local one. Come to the market, taste a very local one. And also eat the homemade food of the local family.”

Although Yang’s travelling has gained him plenty of notoriety, he says the things he has learned and the people he has met are what really make the journey worthwhile. Yang speaks a number of languages, including French and Spanish, and although he loves the cuisine of his country, he has also gained a love for food from all around the world. Having only spent a few days in Guyana, Yang says that Guyana has as much potential as it does people, particularly in the area of agriculture. As he stated, “Guyana has a lot of land, and should plant more. You have so much land, you don’t need to buy food from anywhere else,” he said.

Yang is already on his way back to the United States, where he hopes to continue hitchhiking and sharing his experiences online. His route is not fixed, and his plan is simple: keep moving, keep learning. With some 160 countries under his belt, it’s impossible for Yang to pick a favourite. But each place offers a unique experience, different people and a different story to tell. “Different country, different story. But I like South America and East Africa,” he said. On the matter of if he ever feels lonely, Yang says he doesn’t consider himself lonely, even though he travels alone. “Every country I meet, I make new friends,” he said. However, some places do have unique hurdles. Although he has never been hurt or the victim of a robbery, Yang says that some countries have been particularly challenging, and he has even been trapped in countries because of wars in the past.

Though it’s not a lifestyle many people would choose, Yang is content. For him, this way of life began with a dream, and he has no intention of stopping. Over the last decade, Yang says he has seen some of the best highlights and worst low points in countries, from seeing the world’s top tourist destinations to countries at war. Yang’s aim now, after a few quick stops in America, is to have completed travelling to all the world’s nations. With 35 countries left on his list, Yang hopes that at the end of his travels he will have proven one thing: that the world and its people are a lot more beautiful than you think.