Kyrgyzstan – 124th Country
Kyrgyzstan – 124th Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. Kyrgyzstan is my 124th country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! Kyrgyzstan was born into existence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and it became an independent nation. Kyrgyzstan is a Central Asian, landlocked nation. The Kyrgyz people have a history that dates back over 2,000 years and has been part of different empires over the centuries as part of the Silk Road. The Kyrgyz have traditionally been a semi-nomadic people with the horse playing an essential role in this mountainous area. I spent time in the two largest cities in the nation; the capital, Bishkek, and the second largest city in the south, Osh. Both cities were worth a visit, yet the highlight was attending the World Nomad Games. The WNG is an event held near Issyk-Kul Lake which included athletes from over 70 countries competing in traditional nomad [...]
World Nomad Games III In Kyrgyzstan
World Nomad Games III In Kyrgyzstan. Besides attempting to travel to every country in the world, I also occasionally get the opportunity to partake in some unique experiences. One of those events was the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan. Over 1,500 athletes from 66 countries participated in the third WNG. As you might imagine, spectators are not witnessing baseball or basketball, but ethnic sports native to Central Asia. Besides the thousands of spectators, this event was headlined by political stars from the region such as the presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Hungary. And to top it off, even the game’s mascot, the snow leopard made an appearance at the World Nomad Games. The event was spread across two venues. The first venue was found at Issyk-Kul Lake, a giant lake surrounded by snow capped mountains. This lake back in the Soviet days was a popular summer holiday destination. A semi-open hippodrome had been placed on the lake in the Cholpon-Ata area next to a compact arena. A number of events took place here including the opening and [...]
Mar Pages … has completed her 100th country
Mar left her successful corporate life to focus more on travel and blogging On today’s episode, I welcome Mar Pages to Counting Countries. I first learned about Mar when researching a trip to Djibouti several years ago and came across her blog. I emailed her a question or two and she responded back with some advice. Two years later, I shared dinner with her when a group of mutual friends met up in Bangkok at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Charlie Browns. We are regional neighbors as she lives in Singapore and I am in Bangkok. Since university Mar has led a truly global life, living in multiple countries and traveling extensively for work throughout the world. This is quite a big change copated to her fist travel forays which were limited to road trips to nearby Andora to stock up on Nutella with her family. Mar has lived in London, Dubai, and Singapore. She has also practically lived in multiple other cities on long consulting gigs like Nairobi and Manila. This year, Mar made a major change [...]
Stephen Hughes … is a threat to national security
Stephen has traveled to 168 countries On today’s episode, I welcome Stephen Hughes to Counting Countries. Steve and I met on the road during a visit to Iran, where we are both not allowed independent travel. I enjoyed our time together since Steve is not shy about sharing his opinions, and I knew he would be a good fit for the podcast. And this episode was a long time in the coming. We met in 2016 and recorded an episode in 2017. Unfortunately, the file was corrupted and never published. It took many months to reschedule and was finally recorded for a second time in the summer of 2018. This recording was of really, really poor quality. I was going to have to schedule a third interview. But Counting Countries is not a one-man operation. My producer/editor is Evo Terra, the author of Podcasting for Dummies, was called in for emergency help. While this podcast is not the best in audio quality, Evo was able to resurrect this interview from the grave and make it listenable. For [...]
Boris Kester … has completed all 193 UN countries
Boris completed the quest of visiting all 193 countries last year On today’s episode, I welcome Boris Kester to Counting Countries. Boris caught my attention last year when he posted some information on Every Passport Stamp in regard to his independent trip to Afghanistan. It is one thing to visit Afghanistan with a trusted tour operator, another to travel on your own. EPS is group of fellow travelers on Facebook on the quest to visit all 193. Boris has travel imprinted on his DNA. One of his first trips while still in a baby carriage was a two day train trip to Greece with his parents. Growing up, he found himself living in Malta and India. In fact, as a ten year old he made a book where he began counting countries. Boris touches on a number of dangerous situations he encountered on the road: a car accident in Botswana, a gun attack in Buenos Aires, and another gun incident on the border of Equatorial Guinea. He talks about his most difficult visa for Nauru and why [...]
South Africa – 123rd Country
To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. South Africa is my 123rd country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! South Africa is an economic powerhouse, it is the second largest economy after Nigeria on the continent. It is a former colony of both Holland and British and was also formally ruled by the white minority. South Africa governed its people utilizing an institutionalized discrimination policy known as apartheid. Over time this racist system was eliminated, culminating with the election of Nelson Mandela, jailed for 27 years, in 1994 as president. South Africa is a multi-ethnic country with the constitution recognizing 11 different languages. I spent four nights in Cape Town, a fantastic city that exceeded its lofty expectations. I could have easily spent a week of two based in this city. This incredibly attractive city is nestled on the Atlantic Ocean and framed by the hulking Table Mountain. It is a great city [...]
