Thor Pedersen has traveled to every country in the world Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. Checking in with multi-repeat guest and travel legend, Thor Pedersen of Once Upon A Saga. For those of us in the know, Thor recently finished a nearly 10 year journey to every country in the world without flying in an unbroken journey with a minimum of 24 hours in each country. These additional rules that Thor instituted increased the complexity and length of this journey in addition to the global Cov...
Dec 15, 2023•2 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Join us in Bangkok for the Extraordinary Travel Festival in November of 2024. Please use code - BANGKOK - to save $120. . Want to go to Bhutan? I am pleased to announce a new speaker, who will be speaking about her experience on a multi-week homestay in Mogadishu. The next guest is Palle Bo, . Palle attended the first ETF and is coming back for the second one. And our last guest is a first-time attendee to ETF Bangkok, Mike Fiorellino at YouTube creator at . Have you bought a ticket to ETF or ar...
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 30 min
Michael Noel has traveled to 192 countries Please fill out this survey and provide feedback - https://forms.gle/1RmLQh7hLuw2Xnc6A Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. Checking in with our new guest, Michael Noel and I crossed paths in the Douala airport en route to Bangui. We ended up sharing a dinner and a trip to a waterfall. Always great to run into fellow travelers in the least traveled places, and he shared a number of stories which I thought would make a fascinating conversation. As some...
Oct 13, 2023•2 hr 19 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Orest Zub has traveled to 132 countries Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. Checking in with our new guest, Orest Zub, a name many of you might be familiar with. Orest and I have never met in person, but he falls into that category of someone who I feel like we have met in person, but we never have. We have shared video calls, messages and share many friends in common. This is a busy conversation where we speak about Orest’s travels around the globe which have brought him to 132 countries. We...
Sep 15, 2023•2 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 13
We are pleased to announce that the Extraordinary Travel Festival will be held in Bangkok on November 15, 2024. . Use code - BANGKOK - to save $120. If you are an alumni of ETF Yerevan or a Patron of Counting Countries, please contact us for your special code. Please listen to this podcast for an overview of the event with a special guest. BANGKOK Thank you for your patience and we are excited to announce that the ETF II will be in the City of Angels, also known as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, and of...
Aug 30, 2023•20 min
Check out the Ed Hotchkiss has traveled to 128 countries Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. Checking in with our new guest, Ed Hotchkiss. As I note in my conversation, Ed and I have shared a lot of face time in less than a year, whether it was in the Extraordinary Travel Festival in Armenia or on trips with ITC Sudan to Sudan and a visit to Djibouti. Ed is also one of those people you hear mentioned every episode since he is a patron. As I traveled with Ed for a couple of weeks, I always had...
Aug 15, 2023•1 hr 48 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Ross OJ Jennings has traveled to 106 countries. Ross OC Jennings Counting Countries Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. Did you note that the intro has been updated? Thanks to Evo the longtime voice of Counting Countries. Ross OC Jennings might not be well known in the 193 community but he is cutting a unique path. I had read about Ross a couple of years ago, and as I shared with him, I was a bit skeptical about his quest. His goal was to the first bagpiper to travel to every country in the w...
Jul 13, 2023•2 hr 22 min•Season 3Ep. 11
David Yang has traveled to every country in the world. David Yang Counting Countries I feel like I have known David for as long as I have been in the community with our mutual 218 FB friends. David is an outgoing, gregarious and omnipresent traveler in our group. Whether he is sharing his travel photos on FB sometimes multiple times a day or jumping from one corner of the globe to the other to meetup with travel friends. I have met David twice in real life which we touch on. And David is a proli...
Jun 07, 2023•2 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 10
May 10, 2023•1 hr 44 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Barry Hoffner has traveled to 155 countries Barry should be much better known in the travel community than he is today. He showed up on my radar screen when we connected on Instagram. I follow many who are Chasing 193. Barry later became a generous supporter of Counting Countries via Patreon, and we connected on the phone where I began to learn more about his amazing and at times tragic life journey. Barry has already lived several lifetimes of amazing experiences with many to go. From exploring...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr 32 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Riza Rasco has traveled to 192 countries Riza Rasco is a well-known person in the extreme travel community. And I have crossed paths with her twice, once for breakfast in the North End of Boston and for the multi-day Extraordinary Travel Festival in Armenia. She is a prolific and immersive traveler who is only one country away from completing her quest. Riza shares so many experiences yet this podcast could have been double the time since there was so much to discuss. Riza shares some very perso...
Mar 15, 2023•2 hr 22 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Special Links Katelyn Jarvis … Giving Back In West Point Katelyn Jarvis has traveled to 150 countries Katelyn is one of many who has been on my radar screen for some time as we passed each other like two ships during the night on FB. I finally got to meet Katelyn in person at the Extraordinary Travel Festival in Yerevan and then learned more about her when she was nominated for the Nomad Mania Awards. So I thought now would be a great time to set up an interview and learn more about her travels....
Jan 31, 2023•1 hr 46 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Ildikó Szabó has traveled to every country in the world. Ildiko Szabo Counting Countries I knew of Ildy for several years and had noted her social media presence, but it wasn’t until October of this year when I met her in person at the Extraordinary Travel Festival in Yerevan. I shared several conversations with her and recognized she would be a great guest for the podcast. And, voila, a month after the festival we were recording this podcast. I would like to thank Ildy, since this podcast was a...
Jan 04, 2023•1 hr 45 min
Dr Song Nopparat Rattanawaraha Counting Countries Breaking News I speak with a 193 Insider who was working intimately to free Dr. Song from his kidnappers. Dr. Song is Chasing 193 and I was kidnapped by bandits as crossed by land from Burkina Faso to Mali. Dr. Song was held in captivity for 3 weeks until a $150,000 ransom was delivered. This Insider provides the behind-the-scenes details.
Oct 23, 2022•32 min
On this episode, I will be providing an update for the Extraordinary Travel Festival. I am happy to share with you the schedule for the event and all of the great speakers. Check out the . Check out our with Soviet Tours, ITC Sudan, Large Minority, and WSE Travel. And you can still here to join us in Yerevan. And also remember to check out the , read my review here.
Oct 04, 2022•22 min
Paul Barbato has traveled to over 70 countries Paul AKA Barbs and I met through Gus Rosted. Gus is one of the attendees at the Extraordinary Travel Festival. Gus recommended Barbs as speaker at the festival. I knew Barbs and his YouTube channel, Geography Now! and thought he would be a great addition in Armenia. Barbs agreed to participate in the festival and also to join me on Counting Countries. Barbs has had tremendous success with his YouTube channel with over 3 million subscribers. Barbs’s ...
Aug 16, 2022•1 hr 49 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Please check out the To buy ticket, use code ETF to save $50 This is a special episode of Counting Countries. Like many in the community I have a keen interest of de facto states and micronations. I love the idiosyncrasies of crossing the border into an Abkhazia or Transnistria. As I have shared with listeners before I was fortunate to visit the Principality of Sealand with the Extreme Traveler International Congress. I have been following the new micronation of the Republic of Slowjamastan on s...
Jul 13, 2022•1 hr 26 min
Lucy Hsu … It’s A Compromise Lucy Hsu has traveled to 187 countries Lucy and I met briefly at an impromptu meetup in Jeddah. I knew she was an accomplished traveler who was nearing completion of every country in the world, but did not realize the scope of her travel CV. This conversation was a great opportunity to learn more about her travel history. I always say there are so many fantastically interesting people to talk to in the Chasing 193 community, but simply not enough time to speak to the...
Jun 14, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Season 3Ep. 2
To learn more about the Extraordinary Travel Festival in October 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia, please take a look at our website. To buy a ticket, use code ETF to save $50. And please take a look at our friends and sponsor in Sudan, ITC Sudan. https://extraordinarytravelfestival.com/tickets/
May 19, 2022•41 min
Jorge caught my attention when I came across his blog. He is a true global citizen with an early move with his his family to Mozambique from Portugal followed by Venezuela and then attaining his higher education in the US. Between his career and his marriage to a US diplomat, Jorge has lived all around the world. Jorge has a passion for the road and the sea. He loves a great road trip whether it is overland on a big bike or a 4x4 or on his sailboat while on the open seas. We discuss balancing tr...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Season 3Ep. 1
I am your host Ric Gazarian. This is another special episode from counting countries. Expect to hear a traditional deep dive episode next week. But this episode is timely. It coincides with the publication of a Washington post article on April 15 in regard to Cassie De Pecol. She is well known in the extreme travel community for claiming to be the first woman to travel to every country in the world. Unfortunately, that claim is untrue, and now Cassie De Pecol is being sued by Travelers United, a...
Apr 20, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Drew made his first appearance on Counting Countries in 2017 when we both were Wanderers for G Adventures, the global travel company. We also crossed paths in Bangkok when Thor Pedersen passed through Thailand. Drew and I continued a correspondence over the years with some recent communications when Drew was visiting Saudi Arabia, his last country, while I was also in the KSA. This episode is Counting Countries’s 100th episode, and several months ago I pondered who would be a good choice for thi...
Feb 08, 2022•1 hr 48 min
On this episode I am speaking with Harry Mitsidis, the founder of NomadMania. We spoke with Harry Mitsidis on the last episode when he shared that the 2nd Annual NomadMania Travel Awards. Harry will also be hosting a trip to Armenia before the festival. So this is a great opportunity to travel w a legend and visit all 3 nomad mania regions of this historic country. You can check out the Extraordinary Travel Festival website to . Please listen in and enjoy.
Feb 01, 2022•23 min
A Conversation With Harry Mitsidis And Julian Carnall Of Large Minority On this episode I am speaking with Harry Mitsidis, the founder of NomadMania and Julian Carnall, the founder of Large Minority. Harry has big news to share ... The Second Annual NomadMania Travel Awards will take place in person at the Extraordinary Travel Festival on October 16, 2022 in Yerevan Armenia. Large Minority is one of our The Extraordinary Travel Festival will be creating a Curated Trips of 2023. Large Minority wi...
Jan 10, 2022•40 min
This is the Counting Countries Extraordinary Travel Festival Update #2 On this episode I am speaking with Charles Veley, the founder of the Most Traveled People, and Gianluca Pardelli, the founder of Soviet Tours. Charles will play two roles at the festival. He will be a speaker, sharing stories of some of his travel adventures. And Charles will be hosting an optional trip to Georgia and Armenia that takes place before the festival. You can view the . Soviet Tours is one of our . The Extraordina...
Jan 07, 2022•48 min
video Mette and I had been connected on Facebook via Every Passport Stamp, but we recently crossed paths in Jeddah for an evening of dinner and shisha with a group of extreme travelers. We were connected by former guest Henrik Jeppesen who was aware that both of us were traveling in KSA. While I was aware that Mette was a seasoned traveler, over dinner I heard more of her stories and thought she would be a great fit for Counting Countries. After my conversation with Mette, I will be checking in ...
Dec 16, 2021•2 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 99
Key Links video Thank you to my Patrons…Phillip Jones, , Thor Pedersen, Steph Rowe, Adam Hickman, Bisa Myles & Ted Nims. You can purchase them today on Amazon. And now, you can listen to ! And Alexa! And write a review! Check out our friend: . They organize international rallies around the world, including Sri Lanka, Cambodia, the Philippines, and the Amazon. And watch my full-length when I traveled with Large Minority. I am friends with Tommy on Facebook and also met him on the somewhat fam...
Oct 21, 2021•2 hr 21 min•Season 2Ep. 98
Join us in Yerevan, Armenia from October 14 -16, 2022 at the Armenia Hotel Yerevan for the Extraordinary Travel Festival This will be a multi-day event with great and inspiring speakers And at night we will be hosting parties and dinners to have fun and unwind This is a great opportunity to meet travelers from all over the world Our goal is to bring people together from around the world, who are: Traveling to every country in the world Passionate to explore extreme and challenging destinations A...
Oct 13, 2021•31 min
Key Links video Thank you to my Patrons…Phillip Jones, , Thor Pedersen, Steph Rowe, Adam Hickman, Bisa Myles & Ted Nims. You can purchase them today on Amazon. And now, you can listen to ! And Alexa! And write a review! Check out our friend: . They organize international rallies around the world, including Sri Lanka, Cambodia, the Philippines, and the Amazon. And watch my full-length when I traveled with Large Minority. I met Ted at a small travel meetup in Boston a couple of years ago, but ...
Aug 12, 2021•1 hr 59 min•Season 2Ep. 97
Key Links video Thank you to my Patrons…Phillip Jones, , Thor Pedersen, Steph Rowe, Adam Hickman, Bisa Myles & Ted Nims. You can purchase them today on Amazon. And now, you can listen to ! And Alexa! And write a review! Check out our friend: . They organize international rallies around the world, including Sri Lanka, Cambodia, the Philippines, and the Amazon. And watch my full-length when I traveled with Large Minority. Ben made a brief appearance as the guest announcer for the January episo...
Jun 10, 2021•3 hr 48 min•Season 2Ep. 96
