By Laura Holt, The Indendent
First holiday memory?
A hotel in Mallorca, when I was about three. I was brought up in Kent, beside the seaside, so it was a huge deal for my parents to take us away to Spain. I can’t remember anything more than the hotel swimming pool.
Light fantastic: a lantern-strung street in Hoi An.
Favourite place in the British Isles?
I have a soft spot for Herne Bay, because my mother still lives there. It’s got the traditional shingle seafront and it makes me very proud whenever I go home.
Other than that, I would say the south coast near Poole and Mudeford. It has a mild climate and, if you go out of season, you can really appreciate its beauty.
Best holiday?
I used to film the Holiday programme for the BBC, so although they weren’t “holidays”, I’ve had some wonderful experiences. The highlights were staying on a floating hotel on the Amazon and seeing the confluence of the black Rio Negro and the yellow Amazon meet.
Also, in Botswana – the Makgadikgadi Pan and the Okavango Delta. The Makgadikgadi Pan is a huge saltpan where you can actually see the curvature of the Earth and you’ve got all these migrating zebras. Then you’ve got the Okavango Delta that’s very green and lush with abundant wildlife.
What have you learnt from your travels?
Don’t look for the British-ness in everything. Sometimes when people go abroad, they want what’s on their doorstep. They want a little bit of the UK. For me, that’s the last thing I want. I don’t want to be able to buy a UK paper at the end of the road. I want the full experience.
I’ve just come back from Vietnam and Cambodia, two wonderful countries, with really up-and-coming, flourishing economies. We went to Saigon which is a very cosmopolitan, dynamic city and Hanoi, the capital, which is still very traditional and communist. It was a very different experience.
Ideal travelling companion?
My husband and our friends. We very rarely go away just the two of us, because we like to share our experiences. He loves to travel, too. It’s our one big indulgence. If we have any savings, it goes on travel.
Beach bum, culture vulture or adrenalin junkie?
I love being by the beach and being out in the sunshine, but wherever we go, we always do excursions. If there’s a boat to be had or hired, I’ll be there. My idea of hell would be two weeks of doing absolutely nothing. But equally, I don’t want to spend two weeks sightseeing either.
Read the full article by Laura Holt from the Indendent.
