What kind of man commandeers Chilean vessels to the ends of the earth, jumps islands illegally in West Africa and traverses treacherous Russian roads en route to Vladivostok--stopping only to remind his wife of their daughter's dentist appointment?

Part James Bond, part family man, Charles Veley isn't quite the guy you might expect. At 42, exuding boyish charm and energy, Veley seems a regular guy who just happens to travel everywhere. Literally.

With lifelong wanderlust, a knack for picking up languages and a photographic memory, Veley engaged his talents while on sabbatical from his software company in 2000 and traveled all over the world with his wife, Kimberly. One year turned into four, and with every stamp, border check and new travel obstacle, Charles Veley became more and more obsessed.

Within seven years he conquered the most challenging travel lists: Guinness Book of World Records list, the Travel Century Club (TCC) list (the TCC is an exclusive club of those who have visited 100 or more countries); and the elusive "ham radio list" (an unofficial group that travels to far-off locations to set up radio contact), which contains 335 countries.

In just about any list out there, Charles Veley is the world's most-traveled man.

In order to fully define the title, Veley developed the Most Traveled People Web site. He combined the destinations on all of the major lists and continues to add new "member-voted" destinations.

According to the Most Traveled People's master list, "the world is made up of 673 countries, territories, autonomous regions, enclaves, geographically separated island groups, and major states and provinces. To visit all 673 would be to go ?everywhere.'" No one has done it yet.

At 629, Charles Veley tops the list--he's more than 90 percent on his way to seeing "everywhere."

Currently splitting his time between thrill-seeking travel and changing diapers--Veley is a proud father of two, with one more on the way. For all of the risks and wild adventures that come along with such a job, when he's home, he's a full-time father, husband ? and fervently planning his next adventure.

Peter Greenberg recently sat down with Veley for the Today show to get the real story about his adventures, the rules of MostTraveledPeople.com and life as an extreme traveling dad. It was a conversation between two world travelers with the same mantra:

"The journey is always more important than the destination."

MOST TRAVELED PEOPLE

PETER GREENBERG (PG): Well, let's talk about what constitutes an acceptable entry on your list. How do you come up with that number?

CHARLES VELEY (CV): I have a group, Most Traveled People. I run the Web site, www.mosttraveledpeople.com, and there are about 5,000 members. They all vote on what should be on the list ? One of the reasons it grew to 673 is the members really wanted to count some of the larger countries state wise. That it's not enough to go to New York and say you've been to the whole United States.

PG: You've got to have all 50?

CV: You should count them. It's a different thing to go to Florida than it is to go to Oklahoma. ... Every new destination is always a surprise. There's always something beneficial about it. It's like opening a new book, like meeting a new person.

PG: Give me a new destination.

CV: I just came from Argentina. I was driving around to provinces that I hadn't been to ? I've been to Argentina about four times, but I had only been to Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Iguazu Falls, and Ushuaia a couple times. But I hadn't been to anything in between. So, I went to Buenos Aires, and I spent the last 10 days with a rental car just tearing up the highway.

REMOTE PLACES

PG: Now, who's the authority here that says, "Yes, you have been there?" There's no stamp that says that you've been to Mendoza.

CV: It's an honor code. But there are written standards. So, you should be able to have a passport stamp. You should save your receipts ? If it comes down to it, take a photo of yourself next to some icon. I have all these photos of myself because there's no one around. In the car, holding the camera up, so you see my head next to the sign that says, you know, "Welcome to Salta Province."

PG: Now, when I take a look at all the places I've been ... there are certain places that logistics of just getting there are almost impossible.

CV: Well, see, that's the fun of it. You and I do two very different things ... I don't have all that many miles. I average about a little bit less than 200,000 miles a year ... You're probably up like 500,000 or something. But a lot of my miles are cars, boats, donkeys, feet.

PG: You have frequent donkey miles?

CV: Frequent donkey miles. Yes.

MOST DANGEROUS

CV: Once, I feared for my life where I got stranded on one of the remote islands in the world. We were on an expedition to Peter I Island which is down near Antarctica, but it's about 400 miles away from Antarctica.

PG: How'd you get there?

CV: I was with a ham radio team. We went to Punta Arenas, the bottom of Chile, and flew to King George Island. We got on a Chilean Navy vessel and sailed about six days to the south. And then we got there and we had to wait for weather to clear. So, we took a helicopter from the ship to land on the island.

PG. And that's just to be able to say you were there?

CV: We stayed for two weeks ? and we set up a whole little mini-city for the ham radio guys to talk.

PG: Right. Just to go on the radio to say, "Guess where we are?"

CV: And, when you go to Antarctica, you have to bring out everything that you brought in. So, we had about 60 helicopter loads of just stuff ? We had gotten through about 55 loads and the helicopter pilot was squirrelly. The weather came in, and he wouldn't come and get us. So, the weather closed in and it's supposed to be bad for four more days. And there was no more stuff around. We made a primitive sort of a shelter. Me and three Chilean sailors just kind of huddled up and didn't know how long we were going be around. We had a little bit of survival gear. But it was cold and I had the wrong clothes. ... We kind of made a little hut that we could barely squeeze into. And, by the way, mine was the only radio that worked. Thank God I speak Spanish. I was able to translate between the ship's crew, these guys, and our guys on the ship.

PG: And they came back for you?

CV: Finally they came about 24 hours later. We were hysterically happy.

WORST PLACE

PG: Is there a place or places that you'd never go back?

CV: Lagos, Nigeria is definitely towards the bottom of the barrel.

PG: I would agree. Take a ride from the airport alone. It's enough to make you want to go home.

CV: Oh it's horrible. Well, I came in by land. And it's all a permanent go-slow which is like rush hour ? and it's just people selling you stuff. Which is interesting on the road, but you're choking on diesel fumes. And if you open the door, someone's gonna try and rob you. It's basically a city that was built for about half a million people and it's got 15 million people living there. People camped out under freeways. ... There was so much garbage piled up that people were digging like you shovel snow.

FAVORITE PLACE

PG: Is there a favorite place that you can't wait to go back to?

CV: Well, the one that I always say and no one's heard about it. Lord Howe Island. You know it?

PG: I know exactly where it is, sure.

CV: It is so beautiful. ? It's a semi-tropical island. They've got palm trees but they also have pine trees. Beautiful beaches, mountains. You can go scuba, you can go biking, hiking. It's a small place. And you can stay at the Kapella Lodge which is the top spot on the island. Meals, wine, friendly Australian people, and the best natural views in the world.

PG: And how did you discover Lord Howe?

CV: It was on the list. A checklist is a great thing if your goal is not just to check the places off the list. A checklist gives you new ideas. If you say, "Well, I think I've been everywhere and don't know where to go next." Well, try the Most Traveled People list. It's got 673 places. I've only been to 629. That's 50 new places.

FAMILY

PG: You're a married man with children. How does that affect your travel?

CV: If you look at the mileage I've been doing, it's gone down--the percent of time. It used to be 100 percent. I was on the road with [my wife] Kimberly together for four years. And when the first baby, Catherine, was born, it went down to about 50 percent. Now that Chazzy is born, it's down to about 25 percent or so. And who knows. We've got the third one coming in February. I mean, I could be doomed.

PG: What do you say if your child says to you today, "Daddy, why do you travel?"

CV: I would say, "Because I love to see new places, to see new things, and so I can get presents for you."

PG: And if I ask you the same question?

C:V I would say, "Just like you, I want to go to new places. I love figuring out how to get there. I love getting there. I love going around and meeting new people." Whether it's a remote island somewhere, or whether it's a big city. ... Once you know a few things about what's good, then it's a challenge to do more, and to maximize what you know ... and doing all you can to live life to the fullest.

PG: All right. I want an admission from you. Are you an addict?

CV: No.

PG: You're not a travel addict?

CV: I can quit any time.

PG: That's what all addicts say.

CV: I'm not gone anymore for more than two weeks at a time usually. I'm actually at home a lot more than some of my friends who have regular jobs are. When I'm home, I'm home full time. You know, I'm around helping with the kids ... When I'm home, I'm home. And when I'm gone, I'm gone.

PG: So, you go to Beirut the way some people go to the grocery store?

CV: Exactly. Yeah. Because the falafel's better there.

TRAVEL ADVICE

PG: What advice would you give in terms of travel in general?

CV: First thing is just learn some languages. I mean, I can't tell you how important it's been. I speak Spanish pretty well, French pretty well. I speak German and Italian okay but I would certainly trade those for Russian and Arabic.

PG: What advice would you give to people other than languages?

CV: I used to get sick on airplanes all the time ... I have this stuff that's a saline gel that I put in my nose. It's called Ayr. It's the greatest thing going. I have not gotten sick on a long-haul flight since I started using it.

PG: Okay, for someone watching this, and looking at you as, "Hey, this guy's out of his mind. But I love the idea of what he's done." What philosophy would you like to impart to them as an opportunity for them then to do what you do?

CV: Every place has its own beauty. You need to go there and discover it. Approach it with an open mind. Try and study up on the culture. Be prepared for some discomfort. You know, be prepared for-- things might not be completely tidy. And just go for it, you know?

PG: And when the plan doesn't work?

CV: That's when you have the best fun. People don't want hear stories about everything went great. They want hear about when you fell off the donkey, not when the donkey went exactly where you wanted the donkey to go.

PG: And how many times did you fall off the donkey?

CV: Twice.

Reported by Margaret Emery for PeterGreenberg.com.

Want to take off around the world like Charles Veley? How about An Around the World Voyage Without a Plane? You can find Part 2 here.

Interested in seeking out the hidden cultural spots in cities around the world? Check out the Off-the-Brochure Travel Guide series.

You can check out other Today show-related articles, click here.

Previously by Margaret Emery:

Off-the-Brochure Travel Guide: Brussels, Belgium

Traveling with Allergies: How to Buy Clean, Think Green, and Pack Light

Off-the-Brochure Travel Guide: Tallinn, Estonia