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...
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I am announcing that Counting Countries is now partnered with Patreon. Patreon is a platform that allows patrons, that’s you, to support creators, and that is me. I have been extremely fortunate to be be able to create this podcast and to meet so many interesting and compelling travelers, but I have also spent a tremendous amount of time and some money creating this podcast.
This is an opportunity for you to support Counting Countries. I have created several tiers of support, each one offering something in return. I will highlight the Senior Executive Producer tier which will give you access to extended interviews with guests of Counting Countries. To check out how you can support Counting Countries, go to patreon.com or https://www.patreon.com/CountingCountries. On another note, due to time constraints, Counting Countries will be publishing one episode a month starting in 2019.
More about Petro Marais:
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Born in: Pretoria, South Africa
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Passport from: Australia
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Favorite travel book: Vagabonding
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Favorite travel film: Wild
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Favorite app: booking.com and Momondo
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Must carry: Phone and wallet
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Favorite food: Mexican
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Favorite drink: Late Machiotto
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Favorite Airline: Etihad
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Favorite Hotel: Ngoma Safari Lodge
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Instagram: Miss Petro Marais
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Blog: World Mission 196
On today’s episode, I welcome Petro Marais to Counting Countries. Petro and I have been internet friends for over a year, as we are both fellow moderators in the Facebook group of Every Passport Stamp. We communicate on a frequent basis, but this was the first opportunity I had to really learn more about her life.
Petro is a child of both South Africa and Australia where she spent her formative years, partaking in road trips in both countries with her family. After high school she entered the Australian Navy, spending eight years in the service.
After leaving the Navy, her life of travel began in earnest. Petro shares with us her adventures in Somalia and Afghanistan, and the risks she took. She tells us why she loves Bhutan and considers it a special place. Petro talks about her frustration with Djibouti.
I encourage you to subscribe wherever you listen, Apple Podcast, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify. Travel Buff wrote “Really love the concept of this podcast. Interesting to hear the stories of people who’ve explored so much and hear their thoughts on places I’ve never even heard of before. Do have to admit it gets a little “one note” after a while with people saying the same things to the same questions all the time. Would be good to see some of the show feature more people with unique angles like Danay Bustamante’s dancing goal. LGBT travelers? Someone from a country with a weak passport? So many stories and angels to hear. Or even better to hear interviews of travelers that are chasing the goal of every country but have 50-100 visits and have them interviews from the middle of the struggle. Would be great to hear from people striving for it in addition to those that have done it or are pretty much done. Still, great podcast.” See, I don’t only read perfect reviews. Travel Buff, thanks for the feedback. To point out, I have interviewed many people in the 50-100 countries category, when you have a chance check out, George Kashouh, Randy Williams, Rick Shaver, and Mario Hardy and Petro today. In terms of unique goals or unique challenges, check out David Langan, who is mailing a postcard from every country, Thor, who is traveling to every country without flying, or Anthony William, who is traveling to them all in a wheelchair. I have also interviewed a couple of people from the LGBT community, but their sexual orientation was not a major part of their travel. And of course I added in a couple of travelers with weaker passports like Pong from Thailand, Anna and Artemy from Russia, and Danay began with a Cuban passport. There are 69 podcasts, so a lot of amazing travelers to check in with. I will see if I can mix up the questions a bit more to get some more variety.
Remember to start of your New Year with an official Counting Countries t-shirt...head to Amazon to pick one up.
And, as I mentioned before in the previous podcast, Counting Countries is part of Patreon.com. Patreon is a platform that allows patrons, that’s you, to support creators, and that is me. I have been extremely fortunate to be be able to create this podcast and to meet so many interesting and compelling travelers, but I have also spent a tremendous amount of time and some money creating this podcast.
This is an opportunity for you to support Counting Countries. I have created several tiers of support, each one offering something in return. I will highlight the Senior Executive Producer tier which will give you access to extended interviews with guests of Counting Countries. To check out how you can support Counting Countries, go to patreon.com or https://www.patreon.com/CountingCountries.
And a shoutout to Bisa Myles, Counting Country’s first patron. You can check out Bisa on her blog, Myles To Travel. You can read about her goal of visiting 50 countries and experiences in five years. I wouldn't be surprised if that 50 grows to 100 and then some.