{"id":915,"date":"2025-07-27T19:46:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T19:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theme.visualmodo.com\/traveler\/?p=915"},"modified":"2026-02-24T04:38:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T04:38:55","slug":"podcast-3-interview-traveler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theme.visualmodo.com\/traveler\/podcast-3-interview-traveler\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast #3 – An Interview With Traveler"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are some amazing overland adventures around the world like the Mongol Rally and the Rickshaw Run. Overland travel is one of my favorite ways to travel. I believe the closer you get to the ground, the more countryside you visit, the better to get to understand a place. Sadly, I\u2019ve never done a big overland rally but one of our community members has! Ric, another fellow Bostonian, has driven almost 7,000 miles in races and rallies across the globe. He\u2019s an adventurous traveler, and in this interview he shares his tips and insight to help anyone learn how to travel off-the-beaten path!<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Nomadic Matt: Hey Ric! Thanks for doing this! Tell everyone about yourself.<\/strong>
\nRic:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019m Ric from Boston. I am just a guy who previously worked in the financial services industry after college. Now, I\u2019m based in Bangkok for about half of the year. I go back to the US to visit for a couple of months, and then I am traveling and exploring for about four months a year.<\/p>\n

Besides my blog,\u00a0GlobalGaz<\/a>, I am a podcaster at\u00a0Counting Countries<\/em><\/a>, where I interview people who have traveled to every country in the world (I\u2019m hoping to accomplish that goal one day soon). I co-lead Bangkok\u2019s\u00a0Travel Massive\u00a0<\/em>as well as organize a 2,500-person Meetup.com group. I enjoy bringing together people who love to travel to share their passion.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also published three books: two on road rallies I participated in through India and the Caucasus region, and the third is a photo journal of when I slept over at Chernobyl (I am a bit obsessed with photography). I have produced two full-length travel documentaries and keynoted at the PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference.<\/p>\n

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When not on the road I enjoy hanging out with my wife and our new dog Khan Mak, a Pomeranian and Chihuahua mix.<\/p>\n

It sounds like you\u2019re on an epic quest! How did you get started traveling?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nGetting fired was helpful! I was laid off from my job on three different occasions in five years. Each time I got laid off, I took the severance package and embarked on months-long international road trips. On the third trip, I realized I couldn\u2019t go back to my former corporate life and needed to make my passion \u2014 traveling \u2014 my life.<\/p>\n

Since then, each year I spend more and more time overseas \u2014 now typically 9-10 months a year. My goal is to visit 20 new countries this year.<\/p>\n

What led you to embrace this nomadic lifestyle?<\/strong>
\nWhile I was making good money in the financial services, it was not a fulfilling career. I began to dread going into the office more and more. I had volunteered a bunch of times in Armenia, Tanzania, and Thailand, and these experiences are what really drew me to living overseas.<\/p>\n

In 2004, I volunteered in Yerevan, Armenia, at an orphanage. I am ethnically Armenian, so this was a great way to connect with my roots. I spent a lot of time bonding with the kids \u2014 who today are young adults \u2014 and have been back every year to visit them; from 2004 to 2010, I hosted\u00a0an annual festival<\/a>\u00a0for the children at the orphanage. I also volunteered at an after-school group where the children learned about film, photography, and journalism.<\/p>\n

In Thailand, I have been fortunate to be associated with\u00a0the Mercy Centre<\/a>in Bangkok. For the last three years, I\u2019ve been a volunteer teacher for kindergarteners. The time spent working with others has made a big impact on me, and I find it to be very rewarding.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re trying to go to every country in the world. Can you tell us more about that?<\/strong>
\nAs I visited more and more countries, I decided that I wanted to visit every country in the world. According to the UN, there are 193 countries. I have been to 110 so far. As the list dwindles, the countries become more difficult to visit, whether it is a difficult visa to get, a remote country, or simply dangerous to visit.<\/p>\n

I celebrated\u00a0my 100th country<\/a>\u00a0last year in Iraq. Iraq is not your typical holiday spot, but I found my trip to be both rewarding and educational. I was received with warmth and gracious hospitality by the local Iraqis. I spent an entire afternoon with an elderly gentleman who I met drinking tea. He escorted me around the local market, introduced me to his friends, and treated me to lunch.<\/p>\n

I also have had some interesting experiences visiting countries that \u201cdon\u2019t exist\u201d such as Transnistria, a country of 500,000 people located between Moldova and\u00a0Ukraine<\/a>. Transnistria is not recognized by the UN as a sovereign country; however, you need a Transnistrian visa to enter it. It has its own flag, currency, army, and government. It is a quirky place to visit, if you get a chance.<\/p>\n

What do your friends and family think about your constant travels? What did they think when you first started?<\/strong>
\nMy dad has always been supportive of my travels. In fact, he has joined me on some epic trips, such as traveling to\u00a0the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands<\/a>\u00a0and Antarctica.<\/p>\n

My friends are sometimes intrigued with my travel tales and will come to me for travel advice, and the more adventurous ones will join me on a trip. I\u2019ve also made an entire new group of friends from around the world who are fellow travelers and travel bloggers. They are a great resource for support and advice.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your number one piece of advice for new travelers?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nOf course, the first piece of advice is just to get out there. If you are apprehensive or not experienced, start out slowly. If you want to dip your toe in the water, start off with Western Europe. If you want to take the next step, consider\u00a0Thailand<\/a>,\u00a0Bulgaria<\/a>, or\u00a0Argentina<\/a>\u00a0(countries with good tourist infrastructure and very affordable). As you get more comfortable and experienced, spread your wings, and travel to more off-the-beaten path places.<\/p>\n

To make your travel and life more fulfilling, I would make two suggestions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Volunteer<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 This is an effective way to become part of the community. You will be able to build genuine friendships with the locals and really learn about the culture and country you are visiting.<\/li>\n
  2. Join an adventure rally<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Rallies allow you to get off the beaten path and see parts of the country that you would not typically visit. The rallies allow for real interactions with the locals.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"the<\/p>\n

    Tell us more about rally races. What are they and how did you get into them?\u00a0<\/strong>
    \nA \u201crally\u201d is a challenging adventure, where participants travel from point A to point B within some sort of parameters (think\u00a0Amazing Race<\/em>). Some rallies specify what kind of transportation to take, such as a tuk-tuk. Other rallies require participants to ride a cart led by oxen, ride a sailboat off the island of Zanzibar, or pilot a paramotor for 1,000 miles in the sky.<\/p>\n

    My first rally, known as \u201cthe Caucasian Challenge,\u201d was 17 days, 11 countries, and 7,000 km and from Budapest to Yerevan. In 2010, two friends and I bought a 1993 Jeep Cherokee in Budapest for $2,300 USD with 250,000 km already on it. Our team, named \u201cThe Yerevan Express,\u201d competed against 10 other teams. During our journey we got lost and ended up in Montenegro (a country not on the itinerary), and we witnessed the breathtaking mountains of northern Albania. The rally ended when I literally\u00a0abandoned my car<\/a>\u00a0between Georgia and Armenia and took a bus to the airport to leave the country.<\/p>\n

    Next was the\u00a0\u201cRickshaw Challenge.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>In 2012, I embarked on a 12-day, 2,000km sprint across India (during the monsoon season!) piloting an auto-rickshaw. India is amazing, but it can also be a bit overwhelming on the senses. This is especially true when attempting to navigate the country in a seven-horsepower (think a riding lawnmower) rickshaw. During these 12 days, we were constantly running out of petrol, driving up to 14 hours a day, getting detained by the police, and eating too many samosas to count. Needless to say, crossing \u201cthe Rickshaw Challenge\u201d finish line was rewarding.<\/p>\n

    After that came the\u00a0\u201cCambo Challenge\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0in 2015, organized by Large Minority (a company that organizes awesome rallies in Sri Lanka, the Amazon, Cambodia, and the Philippines). This was a 1,600km circular route through Cambodia over 12 days. The rally took place on a Cambodian tuk-tuk (for anyone who has been in one, you\u2019ll understand the struggle!). We navigated our way through the magnificent temples of Angkor Wat, drove past floating villages, stayed with families in an ecovillage called Chambok, camped near temples, and swam in the Gulf of Thailand. \u201cThe Cambo Challege\u201d was another great way to discover realness of this commonly overlooked country while also giving back with Large Minority\u2019s commitment to local community (10% of their revenues support local projects).<\/p>\n

    I documented both \u201cthe Rickshaw Challenge\u201d and \u201cthe Cambo Challenge\u201d by producing a full-length,\u00a0adventure travel documentary<\/a>. My partners and film crew were my former students from Manana, the after-school group in Yerevan.<\/p>\n

    What advice would you have people if they wanted to do this? What resources are out there?<\/strong>
    \nGreat question! Had I not seen a captivating banner hanging in an Armenian caf\u00e9, I\u2019d have never known myself. There are four primary companies that organize most of these rallies:<\/p>\n