“Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
Mark Twain
Why should we travel? Perhaps it can be a way to get away from our daily lives, spend more time with our families, explore the world around us…everyone has their own reasons. It can even mean different things at different stages in life – it has for me, and maybe it has for you too. There is no “right way” to travel.
But you might be asking me, “what about you?” What motivates me to travel? Well, I’ve had a dream for as long as I can remember of visiting every country in the world. While the exact number can depend on the person, I consider there to be 197 countries – 193 UN members, 2 UN observer states (Vatican City & Palestine), as well as Taiwan and Kosovo, because while they are not internationally recognized and both claimed by other countries, they are independent and self-governing. My parents instilled a love of travel in me from the very start – I was at over 25 states by the time I was 10, getting to all 50 by age 19 mostly thanks to them. I’ve even visited 5 out of my 13 non-US countries with them.
So what, am I just trying to check things off a list? Well, not quite. One of the most important parts about traveling to me is interacting with the local people, or at least getting a chance to see their culture. I graduated in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, and it really helps shape how I see the world. If I just wanted to hit as many countries as possible in the shortest amount of time, that diminishes the experience, and unironically would make me less-traveled. While I might spend less time in certain countries than other travelers due to how many places I have left to visit, I still try to keep a healthy balance.
So why create a blog? Some of my favorite experiences while traveling have been areas with hardly any tourists, with places I either had to spend a long time researching or just happened to stumble upon. The more I’ve talked to people I know, the more I want to share, as I’ve been blessed to have visited so many places. Most travel blogs will offer tips about “the 10 best places to visit” in a certain place, but I want to offer up the next 10 on the list. I will certainly recommend some touristy areas, don’t get me wrong – sometimes places like that are absolutely worth visiting. But I hope to share a few underrated places, and in doing so allow people to have the same experiences I did.
You’ll even see some pretty quirky things – while on my most recent trip to Asia, I met 5 separate online friends due to my involvement in the Build The Earth project. This is a mission to recreate the entire planet on a 1:1 scale in the video game Minecraft, and I have been heavily involved for years. You will see me mention this sometimes, as visiting locations built in-game can influence me to travel to those places in real life. I may even occasionally use these builds to visualize where I traveled to! In fact, Minecraft is a major reason for the name of this blog. My travels are a very important part of who I am, and so are the online communities I’m a part of, so it felt right that my blog name reflected that too. My username there and on most other platforms is “Diamondman307,” and I’m often referred to as just “Diamond.” Hence, a double entendre with the name “Diamond Travels.”
So what can you expect to see from this blog? Well, my first series will be about my trip to 5 countries from mid-April to mid-May 2025 – Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore, as well as a day-long layover in Hong Kong. Soon enough I will also start putting out tips for specific cities and countries, and I’ll always be open to new suggestions. Now, come with me as I continue my journey around the world – let’s jump right in!