Henry Golding Wants Everyone to Travel – and He's Giving Away $15,000 for a Dream Vacation

Actor Henry Golding is no stranger to travel. In fact, the "Crazy Rich Asians" star says it's "food for the soul." And, considering he's been around the world a time or two filming movies and adventuring to places where he can eat well, explore nature, or get lost on busy city streets, we'd have to agree. Travel, he states, is for everyone, no matter what kind of journey you like to have. "I love the fact that you can sort of opt for very different experiences depending on what you feel like." 

And now, coming off months of staying in place to combat the global coronavirus pandemic, Golding wants to help make sure that everyone has the chance to finally go again. To do that, the actor teamed up with Affirm, the "payment network that empowers consumers" by splitting up purchases into easy-to-handle monthly payment options, to give away $5,000 to use for travel to seven people each week during the month of June. One grand prize winner will snag $15,000 for their dream trip.

"We've all been yearning to sort of get out of where we've been locked up pretty much for the last year," Golding said, adding that, like many of us, he's been making lists of where he's ready to go "furiously spend all the money" saved while on lockdown. With Affirm, affording travel is much easier, according to Golding, who says it gives people "the ability to stretch your budget and have a very clear picture of what you're spending…[to] preplan and understand a lot more about your finances."

The only question that remains is where to actually go. For Golding, connecting with people in cities after so much isolation during the pandemic is high on the list. "For me, getting back to Europe would be one of the first destinations," he says. "I just want to kind of walk on cobbled streets in Europe and just go eat, sit in the streets drinking wine, and go to the Louvre in Paris."

Another place high on Golding's list is Japan, where the actor spent time filming the forthcoming action movie "Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins." While traveling for work, Golding tells T+L it's important to have time to explore the locations he's working in. "You know, we often have some pretty hectic schedules once production starts, but what they're really good at is giving you the weekends off." Golding's mission on those free weekends is simple: eat. "I get on google and [find] where's the nearest sort of food market or farmer's market and I go wander around, just stuff my face."

As a seasoned traveler, Golding, who made People's 2019 list of "Sexiest Men Alive," can't travel without two important items: packing cubes and, more adorably, his baby. "You have to bend to the needs of this newborn," he says, noting that spontaneous trips have taken a backseat to carefully planned adventures with his wife, Liv Lo, and their baby. "Ensuring she has everything… very much sort of limits the time that we have to pack. So we ended up packing a lot less than we needed in getting all her stuff ready." 

Traveling with a baby can be difficult, but entering Affirm's contest to win some money for a trip is as easy as sharing a picture from your favorite past vacations. Each week during June, Golding and some celebrity friends — like Pose star Indya Moore — will be looking for pictures from different themes, including city destinations and beachy vacations. To enter or learn more about the contest, head to Affirm's website or follow the brand on Instagram to stay up to date with the latest contest theme. 

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