Tan Wee Cheng … An Iconoclast
Counting Countries
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 learn about Wee Cheng’s longevity as a traveler and also noted how he is a bit of an iconoclast in Singaporean culture when it comes to extreme travel. If you are a...
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Elena Chechina … A Lost Day Of Your Life
Counting Countries
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 Africa, a full time job, and of course Chasing 193. In this conversation, we learn how she manages the complexity of her life. The next...
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Hayley Kennedy … Overcoming Obstacles
Counting Countries
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 challenges. The next Extraordinary Travel Festival will be held on November 15, 2024 in Bangkok. At the festival, we will have over 20 amazing...
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Extraordinary Travel Festival II Update #4
Counting Countries
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. . Want to go to Bhutan? Or you can join us on a tour to. For those in the know when it comes to Thailand, you must know the name Joe Cummings. Joe has been living in Thailand since the late 1970s and has a resume that will rival the most interesting person in the room. He wrote the first Lonely Planet Thailand guide in the early...
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Raiiq Ridwan … The Travel Bug
Counting Countries
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 and had the pleasure of meeting him at the ETF in Armenia. I was spurred to learn more about him after a recent post in EPS detailing his challenges with carrying a Bangladeshi passport. We all know Chasing 193 is no easy...
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Extraordinary Travel Festival II Update #3
Counting Countries
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? Or you can join us on a tour to . I am happy to introduce a new speaker at the ETF, . I consider David a Papua New Guinea product expert. He has spent a cumulative one year over the last five year in PNG as the founder of . David will be sharing his tips for traveling independently in PNG. He is a professional photographer, and you will be impressed with his skills. We also have two special...
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Thor Pedersen … He Did It!I
Counting Countries
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 Covid lockdown. Thor demonstrated an immense amount of grit and determination to overcome...
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Zach Forbes … Passion For People
Counting Countries
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 Canada and the US. He also lived in China, Dubai, and Vancouver while traveling to 140 countries. As some of you might have heard the next Extraordinary Travel Festival will be held on November 15, 2024 in...
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Extraordinary Travel Festival Update II #2 With Lakshmi Parthasarathy
Counting Countries
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 are confident you will be attending? We want to hear from you to make...
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Michael Noel … Spinning The Globe
Counting Countries
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 of you might have heard the next Extraordinary Travel Festival will be held on November...
info_outlineJoin 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.