Counting Countries
With a membership of only around 100, it’s one of the most exclusive clubs on Earth. In fact, more people have been to outer space than have earned their way into this, the ultimate travel club. According to the United Nations there are 193 sovereign nations in the world. Welcome to the only podcast to bring you the stories from the dedicated few who’ve spent their lives on the singular quest of traveling to them all. Welcome, to Counting Countries. With your host, Ric Gazarian.
Episodes
Join us in Bangkok for the Extraordinary Travel Festival in November of 2024. Please use code – BANGKOK – to save $120. Reserve your place today. The discount will be reduced starting in May, lock in your savings and buy now.
Want to go to Bhutan? Join us on our side trip to Bhutan. Or you can join us on a tour to UNESCO Thailand.
I was fortunate to secure Richard Barrow as a speaker for the Extraordinary Travel Festival. Ric...
Tan Wee Cheng has traveled to 187 countries
Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. Wee Cheng, a regional neighbor, and I have communicated on and off for several years, but like many of us in the community we were only virtual acquaintances. That changed when I met Wee Cheng in person at an extreme travel dinner in Singapore last year and then a more recent catchup in Honolulu. I was surprised to l...
Elena Chechina has traveled to 158 countries
Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. I met Elena back at the ETF in Yerevan and started to realize what a unique life she was leading. She is a true global citizen with true family connections to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Elena has somehow managed to balance the multiple moving parts of her life … 3 children, a spouse who lives and works in Northern...
Hayley has traveled to every country in the world
Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. I started to follow Hayley in the last year or two on Instagram. And over the last several months we started sharing some messages. She has just completed her journey to every country in the world and I wanted to learn about her adventures as well as her two physical disabilities and how she overcame these c...
To hear the entire podcast join us on patreon.com or Apple Podcast subscription.
Join us in Bangkok for the Extraordinary Travel Festival in November of 2024. Please use code – BANGKOK – to save $120. Reserve your place today.
Want to go to Bhutan? Join us on our side trip to Bhutan. Or you can join us on a tour to UNESCO Thailand.
For those in the know when it comes to Thailand, you must know the name Joe Cummings. Joe has...
This is the second publication of this interview. The first podcast had a corrupted file. All audio from the first interview had been deleted after 1 hr and 31 minutes. This publication is the full file.
Raiiq has traveled to 118 countries
Hey now and Happy New Year to all! I am your host, Ric Gazarian. I knew Raiiq from EPS...
Join us in Bangkok for the Extraordinary Travel Festival in November of 2024. Please use code – BANGKOK – to save $120. Reserve your place today.
Want to go to Bhutan? Join us on our side trip to Bhutan. Or you can join us on a tour to UNESCO Thailand.
I am happy to introduce a new speaker at the ETF, David Van Driessche. I consider David a Papua New Guinea product expert. He has spent a cumulative one year over the last five...
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 eac...
Zach Forbes has traveled to 140 countries
Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. I am excited to introduce Zach Forbes, our new guest this month. Zach was a character I saw all around social media and connected to many of my friends. I finally met him face to face in Yerevan at the Extraordinary Travel Festival. Zach is a true global citizen, raised in Canad...
Join us in Bangkok for the Extraordinary Travel Festival in November of 2024. Please use code - BANGKOK - to save $120. Reserve your place today.
Want to go to Bhutan? Join us on our side trip to Bhutan.
I am pleased to announce a new speaker, Lakshmi Parthasarathy who will be speaking about her experience on a multi-week homestay in Mogadishu.
The next guest is Palle Bo, The Radio Vagabond. Palle attended the first ETF and is ...
Michael Noel has traveled to 192 countries
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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 place...
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.
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We are pleased to announce that the Extraordinary Travel Festival will be held in Bangkok on November 15, 2024.
Please join us and purchase your ticket today. 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
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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 i...
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...
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 oth...
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 att...
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 ...
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 ...
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