Extraordinary Travel Festival III Update III – Matt Gray Of Pangea
Release Date: 12/16/2025
Extraordinary Travel Festival III Update III – Matt Gray Of Pangea
Counting Countries
Join the in Bangkok, October 22-25, 2026. Use code BANGKOK to save on your ticket. One of the goals of the Extraordinary Travel Festival is to bring the leaders of the travel industry together. Why? We want to make your travels richer and more meaningful. Hearing from these thought leaders keeps you abreast of changes and benefits that can help you. We have founders and leaders like Ian Cumming of Travel Massive, Stefan Krasowski of Every Passport Stamp, and Orest Zub of NomadMania. I am excited to be speaking with Matt Gray on this episode who will also be...
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Yaël Pericard … A Pair Of Jeans
Counting Countries
Yaël Pericard has been to 133 countries Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. In this episode, I have the pleasure to speak with traveler Yael Pericard. I met Yael briefly at the ETF in Bangkok and follow him on FB, but here is another case of a traveler who I really did not know well. Of course that is no longer the case after our conversation. Yael leads an adventurous life from summiting 7000 meters in Pakistan, to giving back in the Phillipines, to risking it all to explore a remote airstrip in Lesotho (this one is a pretty crazy story). And, you will get to meet...
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Extraordinary Travel Festival III Update II - ETF/ABS Magellan Travel Index
Counting Countries
The ETF/ABS Magellan Travel Index was announced and premiered at the Extraordinary Travel Festival in Bangkok in 2024 by founder, João Paulo Peixoto. The professor has recently moved into the #1 position on both the NM and MTP lists. The professor joins us on the ETF to provide an update on the MTI. You can learn more about the . Please remember the Extraordinary Travel Festival will be held in Bangkok from October 22-25 in 2026. You can join and use code BANGKOK to save.
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Thomas Preinl … Inspired By His Grandfathers
Counting Countries
Thomas Preinl has been to 190 countries Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. On this episode I have the pleasure to speak with Thomas Preinl who I met at the NomadMania meeting in Uzbekistan and spent time with him during a recent visit to Thailand. Thomas is one of those characters who has been Chasing 193 but only recently found the extreme travel community. Thomas has benefited with flight benefits due to his employment with Lufthansa for years. As Thomas will share, he is German by birth, but not by character, having a flexible and adaptable travel persona. You...
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Orla Phillips … A Travel Brochure
Counting Countries
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Extraordinary Travel Festival III Update I - Destination Reveal
Counting Countries
Hey now! Welcome to the third season of ETF news and updates. The destination for ETF III will be back to Bangkok, Thailand! The dates will be October 22-25, 2026. Join today to lock in great prices with these discount codes. ETF3 - $140 DISCOUNT – EXPIRES SEPTEMBER 24 ALUMNI - if you are an alumni of ETF I or II please contact me for a bigger discount - expires September 24 as well Tickets are non-refundable, but you may sell your ticket. It will be your responsibility to find the buyer. For more details. www.extraordinarytravelfest.com
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Peter Fenger … The Milk Run
Counting Countries
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Thor Pedersen … Impossible Journey
Counting Countries
Thor Pedersen has been to every country in the world Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. Thor returns for the 4th time to Counting Countries in addition to 7 other episodes for patrons. During this conversation, we speak about his newly published book, The Impossible Journey (). Despite knowing his journey well, this book shares more stories and additional context to his quest. We also overview what he has been doing over the last 2 years since his return from his nearly 10 year journey. I would like to thank everyone for their support of Counting...
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Zsuzsanna Berencsi … Thanks Tammy
Counting Countries
Zsuzsanna Berencsi has been to every country in the world Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. Zsu Berencsi shares with us her awesome travel adventures to every country in the world with a big celebration this past December in her last country, Jamaica. I have met Zsu twice before at both ETFs and she promises a third. I got it on tape. I also reconnected with Zsu at April Peregrino’s 193 party in Bratislava where Zsu arranged a special field trip. I would like to thank everyone for their support of Counting Countries, especially my...
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Michael Angelo Zervos … A Happy Moment
Counting Countries
Michael Zervos has been to every country in the world Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. This is a bonus episode with Michael Zervos. I interviewed Michael back in December of 2023, before he had started his quest. His quest? To travel to every country in the world in the quickest possible time. We have heard this before … someone who wants to break the GWR. And many in the community would ask what is the point? This is not a race. What will the traveler gain from spending just a day or two in each country? And once the record is...
info_outlineJoin the Extraordinary Travel Festival in Bangkok, October 22-25, 2026. Use code BANGKOK to save on your ticket.
One of the goals of the Extraordinary Travel Festival is to bring the leaders of the travel industry together. Why? We want to make your travels richer and more meaningful. Hearing from these thought leaders keeps you abreast of changes and benefits that can help you. We have founders and leaders like Ian Cumming of Travel Massive, Stefan Krasowski of Every Passport Stamp, and Orest Zub of NomadMania.
I am excited to be speaking with Matt Gray on this episode who will also be joining us at ETF. He is the founder of Pangea, whose goal is to connect and explore the world, and who better to do that with than friends who share your same passion. Download the app so you can better connect with travelers around the world.
Since this interview with Matt, Pangea has been on a roll, acquiring and integrating several other Digital Nomad & Travel Community apps into their core platform. Their general thesis and strategy is that by consolidating the very fragmented consumer travel app space, they can deliver a best in class experience and become the all in one platform that many are referring to as the “Strava for Travel”
So far they’ve integrated Overlap & Nomadago, two leading community apps, bringing together nearly 50,000 users who have downloaded one of these apps into their core Pangea platform.
And consider meeting Matt and other nomads at Nomad Week in Cape Town. Want to save $50? Please use code ETF50.
Remember to join us in Bangkok at the ETF, please use code BANGKOK to save on your ticket. (ETF alumni contact me directly to get your special discount.) The event will be October 22-25, 2026 in Bangkok.
We continually have news to share with you. As an example, we will have a Travel Tech panel, hosted by Ian Cumming of Travel Massive, with 2 announced panelists, 193er and tech expert Joel Oleson, and Matt Gray as well. They will be talking all things tech and what you need to know to make your travels better.
On Travel Content Creation Day, we will have a panel of video travel content. The first panelist is Barbs, you might know him for his uber successful channel, Geography Now with over 4 million subscribers! More panelists to be announced.
I was in Bangkok while Matt was in Cape Town, please listen in and enjoy.