Imagine playing backgammon with Kurds in northern Iraq or sipping up beer in an Albanian

bomb shelter. How about gaining a taste for the Kami Kitch poster art of North Korea?

I'm Rick Steeves. Today on travel with Rick Steeves we're venturing

to some of the most unlikely destinations in the world. Our guide is Tony Wheeler,

the founder of Lonely Planet. His company publishes guidebooks to virtually every country on Earth.

Tony just returned from a tour of what he calls The Badlands.

He's got a rucksack full of lessons and stories from North Korea, Iran, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Cuba,

places where avoiding the tourist crowds is the least of your concerns.

I think in some ways tourists get a better impression of these places than people who really are studying them and looking at it from the media point of view.

Tony Wheeler describes tourism in the axis of evil and a few other surprising places.

Coming up in the hour ahead on Travel with Rick Steeves.

Travel with Rick Steeves

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American Airlines knows why you fly. What countries are your travel dreams

taking you to? Lately, when Tony Wheeler dreams up the new itinerary, he's visiting some of the

last places most would consider for a nice little vacation.

Hi, I'm Rick Steeves.

Today on Travel with Rick Steeves, we're joined by the head of Lonely Planet Publications.

Tony Wheeler's Company produces guidebooks for practically every country on the planet.

He's just written an account of his recent travels to some of the countries most Westerners think of as a bit chancy.

His new book is called Badlands, a tourist on the axis of evil.

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