Where in the World is Matt Lauer?
by Matt Laueremail this page to a friend The World According to Matt
Because “Where in the World” takes me to different climates and wildly varying weather conditions, from mind-boggling heat to sub-freezing cold, packing for a trip like this is always a challenge. But I’ve got it down to a system that works for me. I travel on a private aircraft, and I pack five suitcases—one for each destination of the week. I put the first one—for the first destination—on the plane with me, and the other four go into the cargo hold. When I get done with one day, that bag goes into the hold and they bring Day 2 bag up. The only thing I switch from suitcase to suitcase is my toilet kit, so I know I’ll always have a toothbrush and toothpaste handy. And because we never have a chance to stop and do laundry, I pack five little duffel bags, one for each day.
When the plane lands, that’s when the really interesting travel begins. I’ve hopped aboard boats and helicopters and ridden ski lifts, zip lines, hang gliders, gondolas, camels and elephants. One of the craziest things was flying from Katmandu to the base of Mount Everest on a Russian helicopter that was probably 50 years old. We sat there looking at this thing before we even got on it, knowing the kind of terrain we were going to fly over. There were about five or six of us, and we all said, “Do we really want to get on this thing?” As we boarded, we were told in broken English by this guy at the airport in Katmandu where to sit, and he pointed at these big plastic drums. They weren’t seats. Some had seat belts on them, some didn’t. We realized about halfway through the flight—we were sitting on top of gas canisters! This helicopter was how they ferried gasoline to this small town at the base of Mount Everest, and we were riding on top of it. We all thought, “This can’t be good!”
One of the most difficult shoots we ever did was at Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia. We always broadcast live to the East Coast every morning, so it was about 7 or 8 o’clock in the evening, Cambodia time. We had these massive TV lights set up, which attracted the most unbelievable array of insects you’ve ever seen, and the sizes of which I’d never imagined. I was doing my thing, live, on-camera, and I would feel these things that felt like large birds landing on my back and crawling down my shirt. As soon as we would go to a commercial, three guys would run over and swat them off. I don’t know what they were, but I’m glad they were behind me. I don’t think I would have been able to continue if I’d had to look at them.
Because “Where in the World” is a classic example of the old adage about “The show must go on,” I have to take really good care of myself leading up to it. About two weeks prior to each trip, I become the boy in the bubble. I try to avoid people who may be ill, and I start taking Vitamin C. A couple of months prior, I increase my workouts, trying to get to the height of my strength—because you know it’s going to be depleted by the end of the week.
Anyone who’s ever traveled by air knows about jet lag. But when you’re going through massive time changes every single day, sometimes 6, 7, 8, 9 or even 10 times zones, you’re doing the show in the dark when you’re accustomed to doing it in the light, you’re eating at times when your body isn’t used to it, you’re on a plane and dehydrated… That kind of jet lag is just monstrous.
In all my travels, I’ve never failed to be astonished at how well we’ve been treated in the far reaches of the world. The climates may have been inhospitable, but the people never were. In general, we Americans have been greeted with open arms. I think there’s a great fascination around the world for our culture, and especially our pop culture. If there’s one criticism I hear about Americans as I travel, it’s that we don’t care enough about what goes on outside our own borders. If this show has in any way increased that curiosity, that’s a good thing.
I’m already thinking about next year’s trip, which will be the tenth “Where in the World” season. People ask me if I think I’ll ever run out of interesting places to go. That would be a sad day, and I sure hope not!
A ‘World’ of Games
You can feel like a participant in Matt’s globe-trotting adventures with several specially designed interactive games at TODAYshow.com. Navigate his airplane, deliver his luggage to the right country and immerse yourself in other colorful, fun online activities built around “Where in the World is Matt Lauer?”
The games were inspired by classics such as Capture the Flag, Where’s Waldo? and Bejeweled.
“ ‘Where in the World’ is an institution,” says Bill Hartnett, senior vice president of NBC Agency East Coast, which created the games. “Matt is almost like a neighbor, a friend, a family member. The games help viewers feel like they’re part of it.”
Click on the “Where in the World” section at TODAYshow.com to check out the games and activities for Matt’s 2008 trip.
