Ildiko Szabo … Daydreaming Of Koalas
Ildikó Szabó has traveled to every country in the world. Ildiko Szabo Counting Countries I knew of Ildy for several years and had noted her social media presence, but it wasn’t until October of this year when I met her in person at the Extraordinary Travel Festival in Yerevan. I shared several conversations with her and recognized she would be a great guest for the podcast. And, voila, a month after the festival we were recording this podcast. I would like to thank Ildy, since this podcast was a challenging endeavor. To create 2 hours of recordings took us nearly 6 hours. And then in post-production another 6 hours. To say we had some technical difficulties would be an understatement. Ildy was very, very gracious with her time. And that is how the cookie crumbles, some episodes are straight forward and easy to publish, and well others suck up a ton of time. And just a warning, at times it might seem like the podcast is missing audio from our conversation since at times it appears we [...]
A Year In Review 2022
Looking back, I can confidently say this was an incredibly memorable year with some adventurous travels and the organization and production of the Extraordinary Travel Festival. (There are affiliates in this post.) I started off the New Year at my home in Bangkok and contracting Covid on my first night back while celebrating NYE with some friends. (I guess I deserved that.) Shortly, after I was quarantined for 10 days in my condo. Not how I envisioned the start of 2022. Several days after my quarantine ended, I left for a 2-month trip to West/Central Africa. Part of this trip was a continuation of a West Africa trip that was canceled in March of 2020 when Covid began its mad spread across the world. After my 8-country trip, I retreated to Thailand for a respite and an amazing roadtrip with my wife and dog to Phuket. As spring rolled in, I departed for a month trip to Armenia to organize the Extraordinary Travel Festival, followed by a visit to Cyprus, another new country. I then returned to [...]
20 Best Photos Of 2022
20 Best Photos Of 2022. I am back again with my annual wrap-up of my best travels from the year. It was another incredible year of travel, especially the first half of the year. The second half of the year was spent mostly planning the Extraordinary Travel Festival. As always, there are not really 20 photos in this post, but who wants to read a post about the best 23 photos? Please take a gander and feel free to share any comments. Thailand For those who read my blog, you might have noted my keen passion for the Sak Yant Wai Kru Festival at Wat Bang Phra. (You can read more here.) This was a stunning sunset providing the perfect backdrop for the temple. I had been to this same beach and lighthouse over 6 years ago, and it was the same brillant sunset I had recalled from years past. This is in Khao Lak, the skinny part of Thailand just north of Phuket. Talk about total upside. I arrived to Khao Na Nailuang Dhamma Park in [...]
The Kidnapping Of Dr Song (Nopparat Rattanawaraha)
Dr Song Nopparat Rattanawaraha Counting Countries Breaking News I speak with a 193 Insider who was working intimately to free Dr. Song from his kidnappers. Dr. Song is Chasing 193 and I was kidnapped by bandits as crossed by land from Burkina Faso to Mali. Dr. Song was held in captivity for 3 weeks until a $150,000 ransom was delivered. This Insider provides the behind-the-scenes details. From Dr. Song's IG account Dr Song Nopparat Rattanawaraha Counting Countries Breaking News Thank you to my Patrons …. Lucy Shoe, Phillip Jones, Thor Pedersen, Simen Flotvik Mathisen, Adam Hickman, Bisa Myles & Ted Nims. Paul Barbato Counting Countries Be the first on your block to sport official Counting Countries apparel! And now you can listen to Counting Countries on Spotify! And Alexa! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts today! And write a review! About Counting Countries Counting Countries is the only podcast to bring you the stories from the dedicated few who’ve spent their lives on the singular quest of traveling to every country in the world. Less people have traveled to every country in the world [...]
Extraordinary Travel Festival Update #6
On this episode, I will be providing an update for the Extraordinary Travel Festival. I am happy to share with you the schedule for the event and all of the great speakers. Check out the speakers for the festival. Check out our Extraordinary Adventures with Soviet Tours, ITC Sudan, Large Minority, and WSE Travel. And you can still buy a ticket here to join us in Yerevan. And also remember to check out the Last Tourist, read my review here.
The Last Tourist
I have been fortunate to have partnered with G Adventures over the last several years. Bruce Poon Tip, the founder of G Adventures is also one of the Executive Producers of this film, The Last Tourist, which I review below. G Adventures organizes small group tours across the globe with a strong commitment to making travel a force for good as discussed in the film. This is a sponsored post. The go-kart hugs the curve while another go-kart attempts to pass on the next straight away. This might be a typical sight across the US on a hot summer night on a weekend get-away. But this took place on a gargantuan cruise shape as it traced the pristine coast of Alaska. Some of these cruise ships top out at 7,000 passengers with amenities that would boggle the mind such as zip lines, roller coasters, planetariums, rock climbing walls mixed with personal butlers, ice bars, and craft breweries. Has tourism crossed the Rubicon of sanity? Travel and tourism should be a catalyst to discover and explore the world, [...]
