Celebrity Travel: Go Away With Nuseir Yassin
Born and raised in Arraba, Israel, Palastinian-Israeli Nuseir Yassin currently resides in Singapore. Better known to millions of social media followers as Nas, he creates content about his travels, as well as educational videos on current topics such as the coronavirus. Yassin also is the author of "Around the World in 60 Seconds: The Nas Daily Journey -- 1,000 Days. 64 Countries. 1 Beautiful Planet" (HarperOne, $29.99). Fans may follow him on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/nasdaily/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/nasdaily/).
Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?
A: I've traveled to over 60 countries and hundreds of cities, but there are still over 100 countries in the world I've still yet to see. So I can't give a definite answer! But that being said, I find myself thinking a lot about the Philippines. When I arrived there, the locals greeted us with an incredible, spontaneous reception (that) they organized on their own! It's an incredibly loving country. The great thing is that wherever I travel in the world, I'm bound to meet a Filipino -- (whether) in the U.S. all the way to a rural house in the north of Australia.
Q. What's the best way to explore a new destination?
A: Befriend a local. That's all. Ignore the islands, nature and landmarks. (Locals) will make sure you experience everything in their country the right way.
Q. What untapped destination would you recommend?
A. I can list many untapped destinations. Most of them would be called developing countries. When people hear developing, most people think dangerous, poor or dirty. In reality, many of these developing countries are in fact fantastic places to be. Sri Lanka is one good example. I was genuinely surprised to see how the country was developing so fast, that it had skyscrapers just five years after I last visited.
Q. What's the most important thing you've learned from your travels?
A: For three years, everything I owned fit into a small backpack: 10 T-shirts, a pair of pants, my laptop and camera equipment. These things passed the mountain test, which is something I ask myself five times before I make any purchase: Would you climb a mountain with said items? Traveling full time for three years has taught me that we actually don't need that many things to survive. I'm very mindful of what I purchase. It also saved me a lot of money.
Q. Do you speak any foreign languages?
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