On Oct. 29, 2021, Drew Binsky completed his quest to visit every country in the world. His last destination was Saudi Arabia, marking it the 197th country he had visited. This includes 193 U.N.-recognized nations and four additional entities: The Vatican, Palestine, Kosovo and Taiwan. By achieving this, he joined a very exclusive group of approximately 250 people who have visited every country in the world.
During the pandemic, Binsky sat down to write “Just Go: A Globe-Trotting Guide to Travel Like an Expert, Connect Like a Local, and Live the Adventure of a Lifetime,” which takes readers through his fascinating journey that began when he chose to spend a semester abroad in Prague, Czech Republic. Those six months were the most life-changing experience for him, sparking his love and passion for travel. It was January 2012, and it marked the beginning of what would become his career as a professional traveler.
Since starting this journey, Binsky has become one of the most popular vloggers/YouTubers, with 4.24 million followers on YouTube and 1 million followers on Instagram.
Our first interview was four years ago, in 2020, during the height of the pandemic. While everybody was sitting at home and socially distancing, Binsky was planning his next trip. He had only six more countries on his list before he could say he had conquered the world: Ghana, Ecuador, Jamaica, Palau and Saudi Arabia. It took him another year to complete those.
So how is a young Jewish man from Phoenix able to travel to countries that are notoriously not friendly to Jews? In a phone interview with Binsky, he said that he never felt the need to hide his identity.
“Growing up I was pretty sheltered, like a lot of Americans, and I always thought the world was dangerous,” he said. “As a Jewish traveler I didn’t know what it would be like to go to places like Syria and Afghanistan, but when it’s all said and done people are really curious and friendly.” He continued, “I’m very open about being Jewish to the point where I will literally travel to places like Syria and just tell them: ‘I’m Jewish’ and I try to start a conversation.”
Binsky’s real name is Drew Goldberg. He acknowledges that it helps to travel and post videos under the nickname his family gave him.
The 32-year-old YouTuber stands out in the crowd when he travels in Africa and small villages in the Far East, thanks to his light complexion and red hair. No matter how he tries to blend in by wearing the local garb and sporting a kaffiyeh, he is an attraction. People are often curious about him; for some it’s the first time they’re seeing a white man with red hair and a beard.
In each country he visits, Binsky makes sure to connect with the local Jewish community. These meetings have helped strengthen his Jewish identity. “I love to document these untold stories,” he said.
In Damascus, he found an antique shop selling Jewish artifacts taken from the homes of Jews who had left or fled the country, such as an old Torah and a yad (Torah pointer), menorah and candle holders. He couldn’t resist and bought several items, sending them to his family in the U.S.
In his book, Binsky shares remarkable stories from his trips. These include meeting the world’s shortest man in the Philippines, interviewing an 80-year-old Vietnamese man who claimed he hadn’t slept for 62 years, and visiting a tribe in Zimbabwe where members have only two toes. He also visited a rat temple in India where thousands of rats are worshiped. And then there are accounts of some unusual foods he has tasted as well.
“What I realized is that no matter where you are in the world, you are usually safer than you think.” – Drew Binsky
In the first pages, he tells his readers: “What I realized is that no matter where you are in the world, you are usually safer than you think, but you’re also only as safe as you make it for yourself.”
Even though he insists that the world is less scary than you might think, he had some hair-raising moments, such as that time when he was in Libya and fell asleep to the sounds of bombs right outside his window, in Yemen when he missed a car explosion and in Afghanistan he was suspected of being a spy. But it was nothing compared to how scared he felt when he got a street haircut in Kabul and the barber almost cut his lips off.
With over 1,000 videos created, few received as much traction as the one filmed in North Korea, which gained over 10 million views, and the one about the last Jew of Afghanistan, Zablon Simintov, with over 1.3 million views, not counting the follow-up videos. Simintov has since made Aliyah to Israel. “This was one of my favorite videos I’ve made on my YouTube channel,” Binsky said. “He was the keeper of the only synagogue in Kabul, which was amazing. I met him about a year before the Taliban took over, and then he moved to Israel about a year later, so now there are no Jews left in Afghanistan. It was really fascinating to hear his stories.”
Binsky credits his wife Deanna with giving him his first camera, which prompted him to switch from being a blogger to a vlogger. The two have been together for nine years after meeting in Bangkok, Thailand at a travel expo and quickly falling in love. Since then, they have been living in Manila, where they have a home, as well as in Hanoi, Vietnam. Soon, they are planning to spend more time in Dubai. When they are in the U.S., they usually split their time between Phoenix and L.A.
Along with English, Binsky speaks Spanish, Korean, Tagalog and some Russian. “I also know how to read and write Hebrew from my bar mitzvah and then from my personal interest and visiting Israel,” he said. There are many places in the world where the locals don’t speak English and one of the tips Binsky gives in his book is to get a local translator or a personal tour guide to help navigate and with the language barriers.
Other tips he shares with the Journal readers and in his book are:
“Try to learn at least 10 words in the local language wherever you’re visiting, that goes a long way and try to be spontaneous, a lot of people over-plan. I think it’s OK to have hotels booked and have a general idea of what you’re going to do, but some people just plan way too much and I think it takes the fun out of travel.
“Also, pack lightly. You should bring half the clothes and twice the money. Having extra cash is really important especially in case of an emergency. When you look back you’re not going remember what you wore but the experiences you had.”
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