Me and my travels

Each weekend, the Travel supplement of the “Observer” newspaper invites a well-known person to answer a set of questions headed “Me And My Travels”. I thought that this Sunday I’d put those questions to myself for this blog.
My favourite hotel is …
The Royal Livingstone Hotel on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls [more information here]. The location is stunning and the service superlative.
My last trip was to …
Israel [more information here]. We travelled with a friend who had lived there for 18 years and had a fascinating insight into this amazing country.
My secret to successful travelling is …
Being open to new experiences. Try new things, meet new people, go to new places.
The thing I hate about travel is …
Tourists who do not respect local people and local cultures.
My favourite hidden gem is …
Sainte-Chapelle in Paris [more information here]. It is tucked out of sight and yet the stained glass windows are breathtaking.
I’d never go back to …
Tashkent [more information here]. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1966 and the communist-era reconstruction has nothing to commend it.
I never travel without …
A notebook. I note down everything: details of all the places we visit and all the people we meet and all the information we learn – and then I write it up for a travelogue on my web site.
My ideal travelling companion is …
My wife Vee. She is always up for anything whether it is being photographed with a snake round her neck in Marrakesh or hang gliding off a mountain in Rio de Janeiro or doing the highest bungee jump in the world off a bridge in South Africa.
My idea of paradise is …
A round the world trip – but Vee isn’t keen.
My first trip was to …
Naples in Italy. I went there when I was four and when I was 14 – the only foreign trips of my childhood – because my mother was from there.
One of the best trips I’ve ever been on was …
The China odyssey [more information here]. We visited nine cities, each utterly fascinating, and saw fabulous sites such as the terracotta warriors, the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Furthermore, on the flight back, we befriended a young Chinese woman called Hua who has lived in Britain ever since and subsequently married and had a baby son. The three of them are like our own family.
Travel is …
Life-changing. One learns so much and looks at the world so differently.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 24th, 2007 at 7:51 am and is filed under My life & thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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