Now that Matt Lauer's latest jaunt around the world is complete, here's a quick recap of where he went, plus my gripes about the whole thing.

First, the five places he hit this time: Easter Island; Panama Canal; Innsbruck, Austria; Shanghai, China; and Dubrovnik, Croatia. I'll admit that personally, it was cool to see Shanghai and Dubrovnik on his itinerary, since I'm planning to visit both those cities next year.

But even though I did tune in each day to see where he was at, I feel like this segment is getting a little silly. I can't put my finger on why something about travel, which I love so dearly, still seems to bug me so much. Maybe it's just Katie's cackle. But here's some questions that bothered me as I watched:

1) Why in the world is he not tired of these marathon trips? He's been doing this since 1998, and although I think he skipped a year or two, that's a lot of miles. Is he hanging in for a 2008 anniversary tour?

2) Why in the world do Katie, Al and Anne need more gifts? The annoying gift-giving segment has to stop.

3) Why in the world is the Palm Beach Hospice getting the proceeds from those lousy tee shirts anyway? I'm sure the hospice is a wonderful organization, but come on — Palm Beach!??! At least pick a global organization to support on a global adventure.

4) Why in the world are they even selling lousy tee shirts at all? Or a custom DVD? The hype is killing me.

5) Why in the world don't they make this fiasco a goodwill tour? Why not visit tourist areas hard hit (like Cancun or the Gulf Coast) to support rebuilding efforts in regions that need the extra attention. An idea the NBC spindoctors might have considered, but surely voted down — I know it would not be as fun or easy…but I'm just saying.

In a year that saw so much of this world devastated by death, damage and destruction, I found it ridiculous to see Matt talk fashion and nightlife, while eating dumplings in the pouring rain on the Bund. Why in the world did I tune in for all five days? Those TV ratings folks are skilled professionals — they got me good. Maybe I'll watch Fox's spoof, Where in the World is Mike Woods? next time.

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