OK! Interview: Matt Lauer

Where in the world is Matt Lauer? In Amsterdam! OK! joined the Today host with the most for the latest leg of his globetrotting segment in the Dutch capital to catch up before he stamped his passport in Istanbul and the Seychelles. The 50-year-old anchor chats about life on the road, being away from his family -- which includes wife Annette Roque and kids Jack, 6, Romy, 4, and Thijs, 1 --and having a rematch with Tom Cruise.

How do you keep coming up with places to visit?

I'm usually convinced that we can't keep doing the show, but then someone will walk into the office with a magazine clipping and say, "What about this place?"

Who else knows about the locations you go to?

My co-hosts really don't know. Sometimes, my family doesn't even know. Everybody, apart from a production team of around five people, is kept totally in the dark, though they all try very hard to figure it out.

Do you still love to travel in your personal life?

I love to travel, but I would never want to travel like this, taking in so much in so little time. Typically, I stay in places for five to seven hours. We once did a show from the Taj Mahal, and I didn't even go through the front door -- I had a plane to catch.

What's the best part of your job?

I've gotten to see places that I never would have seen. I'm positive my wife and I would never have vacationed at Mount Everest, and I may have never seen Easter Island either. You're seeing the world on the company dime. That's fantastic and makes it one of the best jobs in the world.

Does your family go with you on these trips?

Sometimes. My wife came with us the first couple of years. But now, with kids, it's hard for both parents to leave home for eight or nine days. This summer, I'll be in Beijing for three weeks for the Olympics, and they'll come with me for a large chunk of that.

What do you bring with you to remind you of home?

I miss the kids so much when I'm away. My wife gave me a really nice portfolio for keeping pictures in, so I always take that with me.

How long will you stay on the Today show?

I've been doing this job for the past 11 years, and I'd say a few more years would be a good run. It'd be nice to spend more time with family, maybe as a stay-at-home dad. Call it a partial retirement.

Are you going to interview Tom Cruise again?

Absolutely. Here's an OK! exclusive: Tom is in talks with us right now to do another interview. Both of us realize we need to go back there and kind of show that it's an episode from the past and move forward.

For more on Matt, check out his gallery and pick up the latest issue of OK!, on newsstands now!