Jae-Ha Kim
New York Daily News
March 3, 2020
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 and Instagram.
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?
A. I speak Arabic and Hebrew, they’re my main languages. English was my third language and is my foreign language. I don’t think I pick up new languages too easily. I trained for over 10 years by speaking English repeatedly to myself, just to make sure that I didn’t have an accent.
Q. What are your five favorite cities?
A. I’ve visited a lot of cities, but the five most interesting ones to me were: Eliat (Israel). Chefchaouen (Morocco). Dharavi (India). Rawabi (Palestine). Quito (Ecuador).
Q. Where have you traveled that most reminded you of home?
A. The answer is weird, but I’d say North and South Korea. Their never-ending feud strongly reminds me of the Israel-Palestine conflict back home.
Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A. Pakistan. I’ve always wanted to go there. But, unfortunately for me and my Israeli passport, going to Pakistan is virtually impossible. One day I’d like to change that.
Q. What would be your dream trip?
A. Antarctica is the final frontier!
Q. What kind of research do you do before you go away on a trip?
A. There’s a website that I’m a big fan of. It’s called Atlas Obscura. I have no idea how these guys find the places, but it’s given me a lot of inspiration when I choose my next destination.
Q. What is your worst vacation memory?
A. I made a video in the Maldives that was too controversial — and the locals weren’t big fans of it. So I had to depart on a low point. Now everything is fine, but that memory will always remain.
© 2020 JAE-HA KIM
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