In January and February, I visited all of the countries on the Arabian Peninsula except for Saudi Arabia, because they don't issue tourist visas for independent travel. I even went to their consulate in New York City to plead my case for a transit visa and they simply said, "No."

I also went to Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Eritrea (Africa). I am trying to gradually finish all the Asian countries, but it's getting more and more difficult and expensive. The countries that will be a problem are Iran, Bhutan, and Saudi Arabia, because like North Korea, I will not be able to travel there on my own. Paying for a local guide will make it rather expensive. Countries that won't be a problem are places like The Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal, Brunei, etc. because they don't require a visa for U.S citizens or they issue a visa-on-arrival at their airports.

I wish I could report some amazing stories from this trip, but as crazy as it sounds it was all rather routine. Although there are a lot of problems in some of these places at the moment, I didn't come across any of it except during the brief amount of time I passed through Egypt. The tail-end of the demonstrations in Cairo was not much different than being in a big American city during the Fourth of July.

So, here are some of the countries I passed through and a short opinion of them. If you so desire, keep clicking the "forward" button to see some pictures.

KUWAIT: I found the perfect place for people like me who despise New Year's Eve. With no alcohol and a lack of anything resembling nightlife, feel free to go to bed at 10:00pm and wake up on New Year's Day without ever knowing it happened. Don't expect to have much contact with Kuwaitis. It's mainly Filipinos and Indians who do all the grunt work. A manager of a Western-style restaurant put it bluntly, "They are all really rich, but they don't know how to do anything, so they hire people to do everything for them." I couldn't get a rebuttal, because I spoke to only one Kuwaiti, and he was only interested in talking about God or the pursuit of women.

BAHRAIN: Ditto on the Filipinos and Indians, but I did have a Bahraini taxi driver. He didn't have much to say except to express relief that he finally got a fare after two hours at the taxi stand. There is more nightlife here for foreigners, and it's pretty easy to get a beer and a Chinese girlfriend -- if that's your sort of thing. I met plenty of Saudis who came across the King Fahd Causeway for some desperately needed belly-dancing relief.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Wow! Dubai this. Dubai that. Dubai blah blah blah! Wow! It's amazing! NOT! It's a dull wasteland for wealthy people who like huge, boring shopping malls now mostly empty due to the state of the economy. On a brighter note, they do have Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Why did they build it? Beats the hell out of me! Guess how they stick it to you? If you don't buy your tickets to the observation deck in advance, you'll pay more than US$100 to go up.

OMAN: Far more attractive than the above three, because there are mountains by the sea and beautiful, bright-white buildings. The good news is that the Muscat area is a really nice place; the bad news is that after two days you'll be hospitalized for boredom.

SRI LANKA: Nothing in common with anywhere on the Arabian Peninsula. It's a whole different universe. It reminded me of India minus about a billion people. This country is worth going to if you like inexpensive, exotic places. There are some gem towns here like Kandy and Galle. Here's the downside: Every single person who approaches you for any reason at all is a scam artist. Oh, the stories they weave! "I work at the post office, let me show you around" "I work for the forest service, let me show you around" "I am pretending to be deaf, but I am a really nice guy so give me some money" That one was in sign language, of course. One English-speaking girl came up to me at Colombo's Fort Railway Station and looked exhausted from fighting them off. She quietly asked me how to find the exit. Consider that a gentle warning.

MALDIVES: Lots of people with lots of money find their way here for remote, exotic resort vacations. I stayed on the main island in the main city at an affordable hotel. I particularly liked how the airport is on its own island, and you have to take a boat that costs a dollar to get to the capital city.

YEMEN: To be frank, this is not a place with a good reputation. Let it be on the record that I met some wonderfully nice people here who made me feel nothing but welcome. Sanaa's Old City is one of the more beautiful places I have seen on Earth, and I had it all to myself. You can too...if you dare.

ERITREA: The common refrain is that Asmara may be the only African capital city where you can get drunk and walk back to your hotel in the middle of the night and not get robbed. It's very safe, but few people will find their way to this country. There aren't many flights in and out of here, and for all the money and trouble, it's hard to argue that it's worth it. However, the people I met were incredibly kind and helpful, and the Italian influence has resulted in some cool architecture and pretty good pizza. Bring lots of cash, as there are no ATMs, and you'll be paying hefty commissions for cash advances on your debit card. Bring all your medicine too, as you won't find so much as a Tylenol tablet.

Cairo, Egypt: A protester in the heart of Midan Tahrir (Liberation Square)