Mihai Dascalu has been to 99 countries Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mihai Dascalu. I first met Mihai at the Extraordinary Travel Festival in Bangkok in 2024, and I am excited he will be returning again this October. Mihai and his family made [...]
Sherri Donovan has been to 187 countries Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sherri Donovan, a well-known member of the community. I was taken aback when Sherri shared her solo international travels as a young teenager — a true free spirit. These early adventures [...]
Barry Hoffner has published his memoir, Belonging To The World.Hey now — I’m your host, Ric Gazarian. This is a special episode of the Counting Countries Podcast featuring extreme traveler and philanthropist Barry Hoffner.Barry previously appeared on Counting Countries, and I highly recommend listening to his original episode to hear his remarkable story. I first followed [...]
Erik Futtrup has been to every country in the world Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. In this episode, I had the pleasure of meeting Erik at ETF II in Bangkok, and I am looking forward to seeing him this October for ETF III. Erik is looking forward to joining the stage at ETF [...]
FIRST TIME – MARCH 2024 I shuffled down the staircase attached to the 737-800, one of just four planes in the entire Nauru Airlines passenger fleet. Night had already fallen. I tried to get my bearings as I walked toward the terminal—a journey of less than 200 feet. To my right, the runway lights glowed in [...]
Konstantin Liorek has been to every country in the world Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. In this episode, I have the pleasure to speak with traveler Kostia Liorek. I met Kostia at the ETF in Bangkok in 2024, and I’ve known Kostia for years virtually on FB. But on this podcast I really [...]
Brian Johnson has been to 128 countries Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian. In this episode, I have the pleasure to speak with traveler Brian Johnson. I met Brian twice in the last two years, first at the Extraordinary Travel Festival in Bangkok in November of 2024 and 12 months later in the [...]
A Year in Review: 2025 Another year winds down, and once again I’m looking back at the places, people, and moments that shaped my travels in 2025. When I zoom out, I’m reminded just how fortunate I am to still be exploring the world. I ended 2024 at 181 UN countries. By the close of 2025, [...]
Spend 2 days in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (the world's worst nuclear disaster) with over 100 photos! Sign up to get your free copy of the book.
