Wonders of the unexpected: Pleasant surprises in Azerbaijan & Saudi Arabia

I started travelling at an early age.

When I was barely three years old my parents took me on my very first trip to the US, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

I have never really stopped travelling since.

Decades later I made a pact with a friend to travel to 100 countries; something I was meant to achieve by 2019.

When COVID happened and travel ground to a halt in March 2020 — only a few months after my deadline — I was stuck at 99!

The inside track

Dr Mario Hardy is the MD of MAP2VENTURES, Gibraltar, a private fund focused on “impact investment”; and an envoy to the Sustainable Tourism Global Center, Saudi Arabia. He was formerly CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

In March 2022, out of the blue, I was invited to Saudi Arabia, a country I had yet to visit. And “Boom!” … I had achieved my goal of 100 nations visited.

In all my travels, the two countries that took me most by surprise (in a positive way) were Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia.

They weren’t what I was expecting at all, and I would go back to both in a heartbeat.

I honestly had no idea … continue reading this “GT” Travel Experience in full and for free at The “GT” Travel Blog.