Where in the World
(By Kerry Sanders, NBC News Correspondent)
Paro, Bhutan—Pant. Pant. Gasp. Gasp.
I’m breathless, and so is everyone around me, tourists that is.
It’s not just the spectacular view that’s stolen our breath: It’s the steep hike at this altitude.
The Bhutanese are used to this thin air, and thankfully they’re politely not laughing at us. The climb to Tigers Nest is a challenge, especially for a flat-lander who lives at sea level like I do. This Buddhist monastery sits at 11,000 feet. The only way to get here is a long, narrow, well worn, mostly dirt path. The hike up begins at around 8500 feet.
If there is one must-stop for every tourist who comes to Bhutan, Tigers Nest is it. But iIf you’re coming here, consider yourself in rare company: last year (2006) only 18,000 tourists were given visas to travel to Bhutan.
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Think you know Where in the World Matt is going next? Text the name of the country to 46833. Watch TODAY. Take a guess every day. Matt just might return your call from his last stop!
Here's the clue for Day 3:
"As the son also rises, power is money here, with billions on the horizon."
Note: Standard text message rates apply.
On day 2 of "Where in the World," Matt is relaxing at a pub in Galway, and enjoying the music of The Lennon Quintet. WATCH VIDEO
Think you know Where in the World Matt is going next? Text the name of the country to 46833. Watch TODAY. Take a guess every day. Matt just might return your call from his last stop!
Here's the clue for Day 2:
"Clare speaks the language. But if you need translation, you'll find Ann holding it down when some of us hit the road."
Note: Standard text message rates apply.
It's day one of "Where in the World" and Matt Lauer is in Everett, Washington at the Boeing airplane factory.
In his first video blog of the trip, Matt talks to our travel editor, Peter Greenberg, about a part of the plane that you never get to see and hope your pilot never uses... but you'll both be glad it's there, just in case. WATCH VIDEO
(By Curtis Vogel, TODAY producer)
With the possible exception of the Olympics, landing an assignment with Matt Lauer for the “Where in the World” series is the most coveted gig for a Today Show producer. You get to travel to exotic places, experience new cultures and immerse yourself in all the food and fun that the destination has to offer.
So, you can imagine my excitement when my boss told me that I would be working on my first-ever Where in the World for Matt. I already had visions of paddling canoes down the Amazon River or riding camels in the Sahara Desert when my boss informed me that we would be going to Everett, Washington.
As in Washington state?
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(From Paul Manson, TODAY Producer)
Where in the world is Paul Manson.
Allow my to introduce myself. I'm one of the today show producers. I've been with the show for 8 years now ... Sometimes it's hard to believe. But as is true with many of our staff, it’s a hard place to leave because it’s a terrific place to work.
I'm often reminded what a privilege this job is. As a producer you have the opportunity to travel quite a bit, meeting interesting people often with a front row seat to history.
Those who are fans of the show will be familiar with our annual series, “Where in the World is Matt Lauer?” In order to get Matt ready for a week of world travel teams of producers hit the ground ahead of time to scout locations and shoot stories reflecting what's going on in each country. I'm currently on location doing just that.
I'll give you a hint on where Matt is headed next week. Here goes…
I am somewhere on earth. Due to budget cutbacks and the inevitable exorbitant cost we had to forgo plans for “Where in Outer Space is Matt Lauer?” So I am in fact somewhere on earth. Here are some other facts I've garnered since hitting the ground. The people we've met here are extremely friendly...They generally eat three meals a day and tend to sleep at night. Unfortunately that's about all I can say.
Tune in next week for more. As they say in this country.... Goodbye.
(From *Chas, Today Producer)
No matter where you work, there’s bound to be office gossip. But what if you had a really big secret … a company project that was so big, you couldn’t even share it with your office mates in the next cubicle? And then imagine that all those office mates were curious journalists who like to find out things, especially secrets.
Well now you’re beginning to understand what it’s like for TODAY staff members like me who were assigned to the next “Where in the World is Matt Lauer?” trip.
Clandestine conference calls, doling out information on a need-to-know basis and surreptitious trips to other people’s office to work in private have all become part of my daily routine.
And yet, it’s all worth it for Matt’s big reveal at the beginning of each day’s show starting the week of Monday, April 30th. Because, as you’ll see, when Meredith, Al and Ann are trying to guess where Matt will be each day … they really don’t know. And hopefully, if I’ve played my cards right, neither did the people sitting around me.
*Why the pseudonym? Hey, if I called you in the next couple of weeks to be on our show, you’d know where in the world Matt Lauer is! So, where do you think he might be going on his latest adventure?
(From Evan Klupt, TODAY Senior Production Manager)
Hi! My name is Evan Klupt, and I am the Senior Production Manager on TODAY. As is true each year, a lot of my focus at work in the past few months has been planning for “Where in the World is Matt Lauer?” It’s one of my favorite things to work on, as I have seen so many amazing things throughout the years: Easter Island, Shanghai, Machu Picchu, Marrakech, Botswana, the Taj Mahal, the Panama Canal, Moscow, Reykjavik – the list is almost endless.
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(From Mary Alice O'Rourke, TODAY Special Projects Producer)
I am the Special Projects Producer on Today, and this is indeed a special project as it is my very first blog. In fact, a few of my colleagues have been laughing that I can plan and execute 5 live broadcasts from 5 different continents in 5 days, but I have been stymied by having to write 5 paragraphs on my role here at Today.
So here goes...I get told all the time that I have the best job in television, and I would have to agree. The most fun project to me is "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" which I've spearheaded since the very first one in 1997. It is funny to think back sometimes to that first trip that took us from The Pyramids to Venice on to Athens then the Taj Mahal and finally to Sydney, Australia. At the time, such an undertaking was unheard of, and to be honest, totally overwhelming...but thanks to Matt, and an incredible technical and production team, we not only made it to every destination that year, but since then, Matt has circled the globe 7 times logging more than 182,000 miles. It is always totally a team effort, and I feel so lucky to work with such talented people.
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