Counting Countries | Travel The Entire World

Renee Bruns has traveled to 117 countries Renee started appearing in my IG feed over the last year.  And like many of my virtual friends, I tracked her travels to the far flung corners of the globe.  But what caught my attention is that Renee is Chasing 193 in a wheelchair.  She has the same quest and goal as myself but is accomplishing this feat in her wheelchair.  I thought her quest deserved greater attention.  This is a reminder that I am partnering with SafetyWing, a travel insurance company.  I have been using them personally for over 2 years.  And yes, there are a couple of reasons why … let me highlight a couple of the features.  First, you can purchase insurance while you are already on the go.  Some insurance products force you to sign up before you leave on your trip.  Second, you only have to share your initial country on your trip.  Many of my trips are open-ended when it comes to the agenda.  I don’t have to worry about forgetting to update SafetyWing.  They’ve got me covered.  Third, most count

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 Europe as a 18 year old, to living as an expat in Paris for an investment firm in his mid-20s, to living in a dormitory learning Mandarin in the mid-1990s with his wife in Kunming, to living and working in Moscow with his family.  Barry is the founder of Caravan to Class which has built 17 schools in the Timbuktu region and much more.  And of course, much more.  This is a reminder that I am partnering with SafetyWing, a travel insurance company.  I have been using them personally for over 2 years.  And yes, the

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 personal moments from her life and how travel began to dominate.  She shares her philosophy of travel, which should be more than taking selfies and checking boxes, but how you can give back to the community.   This is a reminder that I am partnering with SafetyWing, a travel insurance company.  I have been using them personally for over 2 years.  And yes, there are a couple of reasons why … let me highlight a couple of the features.  First, you can purchase insurance while you are already on the go.  Some insurance pro

Special Links Join the live conversation with Charles Veley and Harry Mitsidis on March 25th at 17:00 GMT, click here to learn the details.   Sign up with SafetyWing for your travel insurance for your next trip 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.        I was curious to learn more about Katelyn’s philanthropy and how she combined that with her travels.  During our conversation, I was impressed to learn more about her efforts with her organization, Peace Stamps.  I believe anyone Chasing 193 is an impressive person, when you are able to marry that with something

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SafetyWing 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 challenging endeavor.  To create 2 hours of recordings took us nearly 6 hours.  And then in post-production another 6 hours.  To say we had some technical difficulties would be an understatement.  Ildy was very, very gracious with her time.  And that is how the cookie crumbles, some episodes are straight forward and easy to publish, and well others suck up a ton of time.  And just a warning, at times it might seem like the podcast is missing audio from our conversation sin

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.

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 speakers for the festival. Check out our Extraordinary Adventures with Soviet Tours, ITC Sudan, Large Minority, and WSE Travel. And you can still buy a ticket here to join us in Yerevan.  And also remember to check out the Last Tourist, read my review here.   

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 success was not overnight but nearly a 10 year grind of perfecting his craft and attracting new followers.  Barbs is also on a quest to travel to every country in the world, but at his own pace.  Unsurprisingly, he also enjoys the oddities of geography during his travels, including salients.  As many of you have heard, Stefan Kraswoski and I have teamed up to host the Extraordinary Travel Festival, the world’s largest gathering of accomplished travelers. This will take place in Yerevan, 2022.  We are excited to p

Please check out the www.extraordinarytravelfestival.com 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 social media, founded by the Sultan Randy Williams better known to listeners as Ramblin’ Randy, a former guest of Counting Countries.  He was first interviewed in Episode 36 in July of 2017.  He was just at 86 countries at that time.  Besides traveling up a storm, Randy has created a micronation in California.  As you know, micronations range from high comedy to the deadly serious.  The Sultan has poured in a ton of effort and money into creating this desert kingdom.  This is a re

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 them all.     Lucy has managed some deeper travel experiences while balancing a family and teaching full time.  I always marvel at the bandwidth of some in the travel community who are able to pursue different passions and manage so many different moving parts of their lives.     I would like to thank everyone for their support of Counting Countries, especially my Patrons:  Phillip Jones, Simen Flotvik Mathisen, Ted Nims, Bisa Myles, Thor Pedersen, and Adam Hickman for supporting this podcast. They help pay for the pro

  To learn more about the Extraordinary Travel Festival in October 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia, please take a look at our website.  www.Extraordinarytravelfestival.com To buy a ticket, use code ETF to save $50.  https://extraordinarytravelfestival.com/tickets/ And please take a look at our friends and sponsor in Sudan, ITC Sudan.  https://extraordinarytravelfestival.com/tickets/

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 travel, family, and work.  And of course, we touch on future goals.           I would like to thank everyone for their support of Counting Countries, especially my Patrons:  Phillip Jones, Simen Flotvik Mathisen, Ted Nims, Bisa Myles, Thor Pedersen, and Adam Hickman for supporting this podcast. They help pay for the production of this podcast.  You can support this podcast by going to Patreon.com/CountingCountries.  You can also support Counting Countries be writing a review or sharing this podcast with a travel lov

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, an advocacy group that works on behalf of consumers.  The 100 plus page document lays out in great detail the numerous times De Pecol makes these false claims amongst many other questionable actions. I speak with Lauren Wolfe, an attorney at Travelers United, who is an avid traveler herself.  We overview the legal complaint made against De Pecol in detail. I was in Bangkok for the recording, Doha airport to edit, and Lauren joined me from Washington DC.  Please listen in and enjoy. 

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 this milestone.  I decided Drew was a great fit for this episode, timing with his completion of every country in the world.  And also, Drew is arguably one of the most successful travel content creators, especially in the Chasing 193 universe.       I would like to thank everyone for their support of Counting Countries, especially my Patrons:  Phillip Jones, Simen Flotvik Mathisen, Steph Rowe, Ted Nims, Bisa Myles, Thor Pedersen, and Adam Hickman for supporting this podcast. They help pay for the production of this pod

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 overview the trip. Please listen in and enjoy.

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 sponsors and partners of the festival.  The Extraordinary Travel Festival will be creating a Curated Trips of 2023.  Large Minority will be contributing a trip to this list, which we will discuss during our conversation.  This will be an awesome adventure, a tuktuk rally up the KKR in Pakistan.   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 avid & accomplish

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 agenda here. Soviet Tours is one of our sponsors and partners of the festival.  The Extraordinary Travel Festival will be creating a Curated Trips of 2023.  Soviet Tours will be contributing a trip to this list, which we will discuss during our conversation.  This will be an amazing trip to the North Caucasus.   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 a

Extraordinary Travel Festival How Many Countries Are There In The World video Support Counting Countries at Patreon The new Counting Countries Merch Store 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 with Thor Pedersen again, of Once Upon A Saga.  I have been documenting Thor’s journey to every country in the world and all of the challenges he has been facing with this pandemic.  You will hear a snippet of this conversation but my patrons will hear the entire conversation.   The next episode will be the 100th episode.  Our first episode was in 2016.  I would li

Key Links How Many Countries Are There In The World video Support Counting Countries at Patreon The new Counting Countries Merch Store Thank you to my Patrons…Phillip Jones, Simen Flotvik Mathisen, Thor Pedersen, Steph Rowe, Adam Hickman, Bisa Myles & Ted Nims. Be the first on your block to sport official Counting Countries apparel!  You can purchase them today on Amazon. And now, you can listen to Counting Countries on Spotify! And Alexa! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts today! And write a review! Check out our friend: Large Minority.  They organize international rallies around the world, including Sri Lanka, Cambodia, the Philippines, and the Amazon.  And watch my full-length documentary in Cambodia when I traveled with Large Minority.   I am friends with Tommy on Facebook and also met him on the somewhat famous Adam Hickman Covid Zoom travel trivia game, but he was many of my social media friends who I really did not know.  On Tommy’s FB page I noted some interesting posts with a lot of flight maps. 

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 And love to have fun and network with likeminded people   Learn more and buy your ticket at www.extraordinarytravelfestival.com Do you want to save $50 off your ticket?  Use code - eps.