Hyderabad: Many people dream of visiting every country in the world. While such wishes remain a dream for many, there are a handful of people who have achieved it. One of them is Ravi Prabhu, a Telugu YouTuber who has travelled to 195 countries and now wants to work with the tourism department and promote the tourism potential of the two Telugu states. He is one of the 280 certified people around the world who have travelled to all 195 countries in the world. He recently visited Venezuela, his 195th country and his travel achievements have been verified by the Nomadmania organisation. Ravi hails from Visakhapatnam and has done his postgraduate studies in political science from the University of Hyderabad. Shedding light on his journey, Ravi Prabhu, who works as an information technology consultant, said, “Since childhood, it was my dream to travel all over the world. I used to look at the map and eagerly dream about the opportunity to see the world. In 1996, I went to the US for my higher education and completed a Double Masters in Business Management with specialization in Information Systems. After getting my first job in the US, I thought of fulfilling my dream, first aiming to visit 10 countries. Gradually, I started pushing myself and eventually, I was able to visit 195 countries. I first visited the Netherlands. Sharing his memorable trip, Ravi said, “Travel is the best knowledge you can gain. When you travel, you face real challenges and learn more than what you read in books. I have been in extreme hot and cold temperatures while living on opposite ends of the world. I had a great experience in Palestine and Pakistan. Especially in Balochistan, I was able to visit the Hinglaj Mata temple, as many people are not allowed to go there, but I am very grateful that I could visit the temple. During my visit to any country, I try to tell people about the cultures and heritage of the two Telugu states and inspire them to visit our states at least once.” Interestingly, he is one of the few travelers who are able to maintain their passion despite having a full-time job. He said, “I am able to manage my work and travel schedule accordingly. To fulfill my dream, I took up a consulting job so that I can have the flexibility to travel and work. I work for six to eight months a year and then travel.” His YouTube channel named ‘Ravi Telugu Traveller’ has over 7.86 lakh subscribers. The channel features his travel experiences and information about his travels, including the cultures, cuisines and people he meets along the way. Sharing his future plans, Ravi said, “Although I have traveled to many countries till date, I hardly found any information about tourism promotion of our two Telugu states. So I want to promote it and I am also ready to become the face of any tourist destination. I want to help organizations promote the tourism potential of our two Telugu states. I also want to visit educational institutions and share my travels, and I plan to write my experiences in a book.” For ambitious travellers, he says travelling should not be expensive. I have always stayed in roadside and budget hotels, camps and tents. He said if we are ready to plan and explore every journey, we can overcome obstacles.
Travelling around the world is the Telugu YouTuber’s favourite
