The definition of cute

Name: Stephanie Ling

Age: 42

Occupation: Mum of 2, wife of 1, sister of 2, daughter of 2 which includes helping them run their lock/hardware company

Favourite travel destination?: I love to be by the ocean under the sun, somehow being on either a white or grey sandy beach soothes and calms my body and soul and puts me in a merry mood whether Im in Phuket, Southern France or Africa.

Worst travel experience?: I don’t think there is really any worst travel experience because they all end up with good memories somehow when its over! It’s only during the moment that you endure it makes it worse or the worst!

Best tips for beating jetlag?: Either you stay out all day or you stay in and sleep sleep sleep!

What is the one thing you don’t leave home without?: Aroma oils and my perfume, the smell is essential!

Do you stay in touch with people while you’re travelling? If so, what is the best way to do this?: Yes but minimal, the purpose of travelling is to get away and enjoy where you are so I don’t bother too much to stay in touch with the world. If so it’s only via sms unless its work related then I email via blackberry or call if it’s urgent.

Best meal you’ve ever had while travelling?: I love food and enjoy food from different places so it’s hard to judge what is good instead of what is not authentic. I hate to find myself in a touristy restaurant when the locals twist the flavor of their dish to cater to a foreign palate.

Best kiss?: N/A … My husband will be reading this! LOL

Best/scariest/funniest drive?: Visited Vietnam about 18 years ago, there was no highways in between cities, just narrow windy bumpy roads filled with bikes, cars and people, people just drive randomly so you would see corpse on the floor covered by a piece of white sheet, white sheets everywhere, people just hit and run as if part of life, it was scary!

The moment – what has been the big WOW moment of your travelling life?: Doing safari in Tanzania on our honeymoon and seeing two lions right next to our car. I felt I was filming National Geographic LIVE.

Climbing atop to one of the temples in Ankor Wat to catch the sunrise, it was stunning!

What is your number one travel tip?: Travel Light! Must travel light!

Occupation: Artist, musician and filmmaker

Favourite travel destination?: Planet earth, because there’s so much to see here. Its sounds clichéd but each place we have toured through we have found true beauty in. The variety and dynamic of experience and interaction varies so much. It’s like singling out the myriad of colours in a magnificent oil painting. From Delhi to New York, Sydney to Heidelberg, Paris to Tokyo.

On tour through India in 2009 we stayed at a place called Mt Abu. This photo was taken of a large bull who came up to say hi while I was pondering. His tongue felt like a warm, wet sock covered in lawn bindies! 'Abu' according to a legend, stands for the son of Himalaya, the powerful serpent who rescued Nandi, the sacred bull of Lord Shiva, from a chasm. Mount Abu has been home to many sages and saints. I played an Indian blues instrument for a guru on top of the mountain who then invited me for meditation and prayer with him in his cave temple. Live Love, Ew

Worst travel experience?: One of the most gut-whirling ‘oh NO’ experiences we had was arriving to our accommodation near Venice Beach in LA to discover our computer bag was missing. We had just flown in from Canada to LAX and had a one hour shuttle ride to the family home we were staying at. Eating pizza and relaxing I went to grab the laptop that wasn’t there and so began the search and frantic re-tracing of steps. We realized ALL our hard drives, USB’s and memory cards were in that one bag too, everything electronic, all our travel photos and movies! After many phone calls to lost and found and plenty of pacing, we were told to expect that the bag of computers had been taken and I was trying to understand the concept of moving on, let it go. Exhausted, by about 1am we decided to sleep and head back to the airport in the morning.

Arriving at the airport at 7am, I felt like a sniffer dog and scoured everywhere we had been. I found the airline service desk and explained what had happened. He said if it was left outside it would be dealt with by LA City Council not the airport. We felt crushed. He then said he would have a quick check out back. I leant over the counter and saw a black bag – yep it was ours! All there, all good! We had left the bag on the airport trolley outside while packing the taxi and it was amazing that in such a busy place it was safely returned.  So keep the faith in good deeds and don’t put all important computer gear, photos, etc in the one place while in transit.

Best tips for beating jetlag?: Sync your sleep pattern a little to your destination before you leave, then just enjoy yourself and don’t worry about it. I try not to think about what time it is back home for a few days and just keep busy. Depending on your travel plans, sometimes it works in your favour to not adjust so you can be awake all night long and sleep all day at your destination.

What is the one thing you don’t leave home without?: My phone

Best meal you’ve ever had while travelling?: The variety and quality of cuisine has been so varied everywhere though I found Germany was consistently good all the way round and an enjoyable eating experience. I don’t eat much red meat but that didn’t matter at all. In Australia I performed on Dunk Island where every lunch and dinner was prepared by world class Chefs. Then there is India where my favorite dish is palak mutter (traditional blended spinach with green peas – tastes better than it may sound! ) -  oh and in Paris I got up to seven croissants per day … food glorious food!

Best kiss?: My girlfriend every morning and in many different places … around the world I mean.

Best/scariest/funniest drive?: Driving through many beautiful countries offers many great memories and really instills the ‘oneness’ of us as humans on a wonderful planet. One particular drive that was quite exhilarating was driving from Toronto to Montreal, then up through to Chicoutimi in Quebec. The start was sunny, gradually turning to rain, then sleet, then into snow, then into a snow storm. We couldn’t see the road or skyline and the wind was howling like a thousand wolves. I filmed some of the trip up and you can check it out here.

What has been the big WOW moment of your travelling life?: Arriving in New York on sunrise, I was really affected in a great way. A giant orange sun behind an amazing silhouetted skyline, then grabbing coffee and breakfast on Lexington Ave. The twin church towers in Cologne really had me in visual awe and so did the Ellora Ajanta caves and shrines in India – ancient temples carved mostly by hand from stone.

What is your number one travel tip?: Let go of the concept of time and really embrace the concept of living.

Eli Wolfe is a National Youth Ambassador who is currently touring Australia on a ‘Speak Lovingly’ Tour that promotes respectful relationships. Check him – and his tour dates – out here.

Occupation: Group General Manager Wholesale, The Jetset Travelworld Group

Favourite travel destination?: I have many favourites depending on my mood and how long since I was last there. One of my favourites, which I try to get to every year with my family, is Hawaii – its  fantastic! Easy to get to and affordable, it’s got everything – great shopping, eating, swimming, diving, surfing and walking. The weather is always warm and if it does get wet there is still plenty to do.

Standing at the Top of the Rock in NYC - one of the best views of one of the best cities in the world.

I love to stay in the action of Waikiki as there is always something to do. Its easy to spend 10 days there visiting the factory outlets, last time I was there at Waikele I picked up two Zegna suits for a total of USD 600.00 i.e. USD 300 each.

A visit to Pearl Harbor and the USS Missouri is a must see – there is so much history it’s like stepping back in time.

If you are in the Islands for Aloha Friday, the custom is to wear a Hawaiian shirt which is the perfect outfit for the Beach Bar’s such as Duke’s on the beachfront which comes alive on a Saturday night with outdoor live music. If you go to Duke’s, be sure to book well in advance so that you get a table on the Lanai (Hawaiian for Balcony) and you can watch the sunset whilst having a Mai Tai. If you look carefully in the water in Waikiki, you can see turtles swimming within inches of unsuspecting tourists in the afternoons.

Staying in Waikiki you never know who you will come across, last time I was there Justin Bieber was on the sun lounge behind us at the Royal Hawaiian.

There are heaps of places to eat in Waikiki catering for all budgets from Local Hawaiian Plate lunches to full silver service Gourmet experiences. I work off any excess by doing a three-hour round trip walk a couple times a week from the hotel to the top of the famous Diamond Head Volcano. If you do it, remember to bring the USD 1 entrance fee and plenty of water.

At the top you may meet a tour guide Mich who will sell you a tour of the Island and its rainforests. He also takes you to all the areas used for the scenes of Magnum and Lost etc., He is up there three mornings a week and takes the tours himself on the alternate days, well worth doing for something a bit different.

Take a drive to the famous North Shore and see the big surf at Sunset Beach around November and December.  This is an awesome experience and there are some great places to see Turtles on the beach and eat at local surf café’s.

But these are only some of the things you can do on Oahu, there is much to offer on the other Islands as well and this is all before you just take time out to lay on the beach.

It’s a great family destination with plenty of flights to get there and well-priced packages.

Worst travel experience?: I was in Africa with my wife Caroline when our next flight on ‘Zimbabwe Express’ was cancelled as the airline went broke. We ended up hitching a ride with some Bush Pilots we heard talking at the bar the night before about the various ‘close shaves’ they had had in their careers.  We thought it was funny at the time but when we were in their aircraft the next day it was a more serious matter and somewhat religious experience.

On the flipside, having lost my wallet in Sydney, I arrived in Auckland at midnight with only my passport and $3 Fiji dollars. When a lady across the aisle on the plane heard of my plight, she leant over the aisle totally unsolicited and gave me NZD$200 cash and her card, saying you need this more than me and send her a cheque when I had some money, and would you believe it she was the CEO of a major bank in NZ. My worst and best travel experiences!

Best tips for beating jetlag?: I always try to move into the time zone I am going to. If I am travelling on a flight that arrives in the morning, I will try to sleep on the leg prior to landing at my destination. If I don’t, I will stay up all that day with plenty of coffee until night and that way I am fine the next day.  Another way is to upgrade to Premium Economy or Business Class.

What is the one thing you don’t leave home without (apart from your passport and ticket)?: My credit cards – they give great comfort!

Do you stay in touch with people while you’re travelling?: I email from my iPad in free Wi-Fi hotspots.

Best meal you’ve ever had while travelling?: Venice, in Italy of course!

Best/scariest/funniest drive?: A taxi through the streets of Rome – any taxi, any time. You get to do things that you never thought were possible (make sure you have reliable travel insurance)

What is your number one travel tip?: Always keep your passport safe and book with an agent so if anything goes wrong you are one call away from help.

If you are desperate for a trip away, check out Daily Escapes, an awesome new site for travel deals. The current offers end today so get in quick, yo!

Age: 29

Occupation: CEO/Founder of Buuna

Favourite travel destination?: Outside of Australia, it would have to be the USA.  Because the US and US culture is often taken for granted by the rest of the world, people often forget what a big country the US is, how much culture and history they’ve developed over the last three hundred years, and how much diversity and variety they have in that one single country.  Honolulu, Seattle, San Francisco, LA, Las Vegas, Huston, Miami, Chicago, Boston and New York – all these cities have distinct and different characteristics to the point they would be individual countries if you looked at them by culture and architecture rather than by national borders.  I also love going the US and seeing where things we take for granted comes from – things like fast food, the internet, or blockbuster movies, and seeing how they have influenced our way of life back here in Australia.

And that’s not even taking into account the countryside and nature – geographically it’s a huge country, and the US has everything from pacific islands to frozen tundra to forests to desert to mountains, so if you want to get out there and explore, there’s always something to see.  The people are also in general very service orientated and friendly towards travellers, so you can always be sure that you’ll get food with a smile and feel welcome no matter where you go.

Worst travel experience?: Travelling to Seattle alone, on a cold and wet winter weekend.  For this trip, I chose not to stay in a hostel, and as a result, I didn’t meet any people to travel with.  I ended up being cold, lonely and bored all weekend, even though Seattle was a fascinating city with beautiful sights to see.  I learnt that traveling isn’t about the places you go to, it’s about who you visit these places with, and that if you don’t hang out with fun people, then travelling can be a miserable and lonely experience.  It’s one of the reason I started Buuna – to connect travellers so that everyone can have a great time together.

Best tips for beating jetlag?: Upon arrival, eat at proper times and sleep according to your new timezone.  There’s no easy way around it…you just have to rough it out the first night to force your body into the new timezone.

What is the one thing you don’t leave home without?: That’s easy – my iPhone.  iPhones are amazing these days – it’s not just a phone anymore, it’s a fully functional computer in your pocket.  iPhones can easily handle all my travel communication needs, from email to Facebook to old fashioned phone calls, and also GPS and map capabilities so I never get lost.  There’s music and games if you get bored on a long train ride or bus trip, and having constant access to the internet is always useful if you need to translate a foreign language or if you want to read up on the history of an attraction or historical site.  And because it’s all integrated in one device, it allows me to manage and keep track of my trip itineraries, photos, contacts, and share them with my old and new friends on social networks as I am travelling. It’s pretty much the Swiss army knife of modern day travelling.

Do you stay in touch with people while you’re travelling? If so, what is the best way to do this?: Facebook and email.  Postcards are too slow, and phones may not be convenient if there’s a significant time difference.  People sometimes say to me “but what if you don’t have internet access” – well, you always have internet access these days, since almost all countries have affordable prepaid 3G cards you can buy from the airport.  If you don’t have one then free wifi is fairly abundant no matter where you go anyway – at worst you might have to go to a MacDonalds or a café for free internet access, but I can’t say I’ve ever been caught out in the last few years where I’ve been unable to stay in touch with my friends via social networks or email while travelling.

Best meal you’ve ever had while travelling?: Hida beef at Takayama, Japan.  Hida beef is one of the breeds of wagyu in Japan, and it’s simply the best meat I’ve eaten all my life.  Wagyu beef is often overrated and not all that special when you order it in western countries like Australia and the US (sometimes it’s just steak with a bit of fat on it), and it’s not until you’ve tried true Japanese wagyu you see how special it is.  The meat is so tender it simply melts in your mouth, and goes well with anything – sukiyaki, bbq, in a bun – when I think about it, I am tempted to move to Takayama just so I can eat Hida beef all day.

Best/scariest/funniest drive?: Driving down Waimea Canyon drive, down from the top of the mountain to the beach in Kauai, Hawaii.  You start at the top of the mountain, which is one of the wettest places in the world, where you are surrounded rainforest, foggy and drizzling with rain. As you drive down the narrow mountain road, you pass thorough the side of Waimea Canyon – ‘the Grand Canyon of the Pacific’, where you watch the side of the road drop sharply down 900 metres into the bottom of the canyon, opposing distant canyon walls of red, grey and green.  Finally, as you approach the bottom of the hill, the rain gradually fades away, the sun suddenly appears, and you see the beach right there in front of you – with a rainbow at the finishing line.  It’s the most beautiful drive I’ve seen in my travels.

What has been the big WOW moment of your travelling life? What has taken your breath away?: Arriving in New York for the first time, coming out of the subway and into Times Square, and being shocked and awed by the size, majesty and of the place.  You can’t really understand what the term ‘concrete jungle’ really means until you’re there in person yourself!  And it’s not just about the architecture and city itself either – the place is full of people of all shapes and sizes, of every culture in the world, going places – both literally and figuratively.  It really is the modern version of Rome, where all the roads of the modern world meet.

What is your number one travel tip?: Don’t be afraid of looking like a tourist. Too many people are too self-conscious to behave like tourists, deliberately avoiding ‘tourist traps’ and avoiding touristy activities (such as climbing the Statue of Liberty, trying famous local foods at touristy restaurants) because it’s not cool.   Sure, you should definitely visit some local favorites and hole in the wall places, but tourist traps and popular destinations are popular for a reason – see them for yourself to see what the fuss is all about before condemning them!

Name:

Age: 28

Occupation: Manager, Paperbark Camp

Favourite travel destination?: Berlin because, for me, travel success is gauged on the people I meet along the way. I try to shy away from tourist traps and generally won’t even visit the proclaimed ‘must see’ sites to a destination as I seek true community fun. Berlin’s social dynamic is quite unusual and I assimilate well into the wonderful culture they have there. Most of all, the people are generally very welcoming.

Worst travel experience?: Two and a half years ago my friend Chris and I caught a bus from Budva (Montenegro) to Dubrovnik (Croatia) which should have taken three hours. A well dressed, handsome young engineer from Kosovo was seated next to me and we began to chat about where I’d been on holiday and the conversation quickly diverged to the history of the region and some of the continuing hardships.

It was a sweltering Eastern European summers’ day and we were pleased to have the air-conditioning roaring aboard the bus when he warned me of the troubles he will face at the checkpoints to enter the EU. We queued for the first of two checkpoints and border security – a bunch of heavily armed, war-torn soldiers – insisted that the driver of the bus switch off the engine, no air-conditioning. After an hours wait they entered the bus and began checking passports, they gave a quick glance at my Australian passport and without even a hint of suspicion moved to the gentlemen sitting next to me. He got plucked out of the bus and we waited, sweating it out inside the bus whilst the poor guy had these soldiers search and interrogate him.

The heat inside the packed bus became unbearable, so much so that panic and claustrophobia began to set in amongst the passengers. The soldiers insisted that nobody get off the bus and that the engine stay off. Finally the young man was allowed back on and we continued our journey whilst celebrating the simply luxury that is cool air!

We were now nearly four hours into what should have been a short trip and there were no signs of the coast as we approached another checkpoint. Once again, the same torturous procedure took place as we were plunged into the hotbox and the young Kosovarian professional was pulled off the bus for interrogation. After half an hour, the heat became insufferable; a number of passengers including myself began to freak out. We attempted to get off the bus but the soldiers pointed their guns at us and told us to get right back on the bus – we were quick to turn around.

Another twenty minutes passed and the young Kosovarian who’d been sitting next to me returned to the bus with tears in his eyes. As the bus pulled away on it’s last leg back to the port of Dubrovnik, my neighbour gave insights in to the lives of those in the region and the racist world that still exists between each of the neighbouring countries. He’d only been strip and cavity searched, interrogated and verbally abused because of the label on his passport, a sad truth about the borders that still exist between a number of very similar countries.

Best tips for beating jetlag?: Hmmm, have an all-nighter either side of your holiday.

What is the one thing you don’t leave home without?: Earplugs and eyemask – you can sleep ANYWHERE!

Do you stay in touch with people while you’re travelling?: Absolutely, I travel with many of the people I met on my last holidays by rendezvousing in foreign holidays. I may not have seen them in person for a year or two but we stay in touch via Facebook and make plans to conquer a summer holiday together … So much fun!

Best meal you’ve ever had while travelling?: Oooh, that’s a toughie! My holiday often combines late nights, good food and great bars so there have been many but if I had to recommend one I would suggest Picnic Restaurant in Barcelona. Some friends and I were dining there a year or so ago and we couldn’t help but feel that for some reason, the contemporary Spanish cuisine had some sort of Australian interpretation behind it. Now I realise this is au contraire to my usual travel mantra of seeking out the local experience but the food was unreal; fresh, adventurous and delicate without being too la-di-dah. Sure enough, the owner operator had lived and worked in Melbourne for a few years. Oh, and when you’re in Barcelona, I strongly recommend visiting the Boqueria [food] Market with a basket and intention to buy; the food is irresistible to go make a picnic of your own!

Best kiss?: Haha, she knows who she is …

Best/scariest/funniest drive?: I’ve only hired a car one whilst overseas and that went pretty well driving through Basque country however, there was a flight following that cruise that gave me a fright.

Now I’m not a nervous passenger aboard planes. In fact, I quite enjoy ‘the magic of flight’, as Sir Richard B eloquently puts it. Sticking to my usual policy of having a bit of a late night romp the night before a long haul trip (read-on to hear about my biggest ‘WOW’ moment), we made it to the airport in Bilbao and as soon as my bum hit the seat in the aircraft I was sound asleep, right through takeoff. I began having a pretty relaxed dream about being aboard a plane with two friends from Australia, one of which was trying to make a call from his mobile phone. I tried to explain that you can’t make calls from inside the plane whilst the plane was trying to land and he argued that it, ‘was fine, it’s the new A380, you can make calls from the plane, see?’, as he showed the call connecting.

Snapped from my dream I wake up airborne in my seat, the loose seatbelt stopping me from hitting the roof of the plan. My brain switches to full throttle and time seems to slow as I look around the cabin over the top of the seat to the sheer fear in peoples eyes and wailing noises as the plane plummets; I wake up and the plane is going down, F%#K. My hands project sweat as the realisation hits home that this is it, but when I look out the window the horizon is still as it’s name suggests, horizontal. I felt calm again as I recognise what’s happened. Whilst I was deep in my dream the plane had come across some clear air turbulence (CAT) in the form of a low-pressure trough and dropped 400 feet in a few seconds, to me what felt like 30 seconds. No one was injured, just a few people sick but I honestly thought that was the end. Intense.

What has been the big WOW moment of your travelling life?: Hmmm, I would say this last break had a pretty special moment and it’s pretty fresh in my heart so observing a lion in the wild, soaking up Shibuya and swimming at midnight in Stockholm in summer can all sit to the side for this accolade.

My last night on holidays before the long flight home was spent in a small city in the North of Spain called Vitoria-Gasteiz. It was by utter accident that we happened to be passing through their town on the most special night of their year – the first night of the Virgen Blanca Festival or Fiestas de La Blanca. To be part of a Spanish community festival when the entire city comes together is truly special as there is seemingly little social hierarchy often observed in other countries and the energy is just unreal.

Check out this video featuring a city dousing itself in cheap champagne and singing a song about Celedon (Theledon), ‘A man who built a small house with a window and a balcony’ – cute! Those being (essentially) the sum of the lyrics.

What is your number one travel tip?: Wherever you go, be polite, visually identify locals you think you may connect with and engage them for tips on where to go and what to do. The number of times this has resulted in a wonderful authentic experience I couldn’t count on two hands – not to mention the friends I’ve made.

Name:

Age: 30

Occupation: Tour/Artist Manager and Record Producer

Favourite travel destination?: Mmmmm I like the travel nearly as much as the destination. Lets say New York. Or Paris.

Why?: New York: ‘Cause it’s all there … everything. Nothing you can’t do and nothing you can’t be. Paris: Because nothing is there! It’s just huge city of food, wine and walking. I never think business when I’m there.

Worst travel experience?: Just last year, on a tour that didn’t want me on it … Not much worse than sharing a tour bus with a group of people who are on a totally different wavelength to you.

What happened?: Nothing … nobody spoke. Nobody said anything. We just spent 24hrs a day for 6 weeks with no one wanting to be there.

Best tips for beating jetlag?: I just pretend it doesn’t exist … really. Just stop talking about it, stop thinking about it and just have a day. Just like you would after a big night (you guys have big nights too right?). If you don’t talk about being ‘jetlagged’, you won’t be. You will just be tired which is totally fine

What is the one thing you don’t leave home without?: AMEX and my Macbook.

Do you stay in touch with people while you’re travelling?: Skype makes me physically angry. I hate it. I try to stay in touch but at the same time, I don’t like to be always ‘touching base’ or ‘checking in’. I think that text and twitter are great for just letting people know you exist, without loosing the moment/ place that you are in.

Best meal you’ve ever had while travelling?: Sooooooo many! One that sticks out, maybe not the best food ever (though not far from it), but the best experience, was at Le Express, the French diner in midtown New York. It was nearly 2am, we had landed on a Tim Finn tour not long before midnight, so by the time we got to the hotel (Gramercy Park), it was way late, and having just got off the plane from London, I was hanging for a past a… asked if there was any chance of anywhere (not expecting much), and the concierge was like, ‘Of course, there is Le Express just around the corner on 20th’ and it was just what I wanted. And amazing in everyway. At 2am in the morning! Only in New York.

Best kiss?: Soooooo many! (hold on; I’ve already used that answer)

Best/scariest/funniest drive?: Christmas night a couple of years ago, having just had a huge day in Bali with Athron, one of my artists (who is based there) and all his friends. Riding a motorbike home at who knows what time, in the full-on tropical rain, girl on the back of the bike, not in a state to be in control of a motor vehicle.

What has been the big WOW moment of your travelling life?: Being taken to a party in New York – this is probably 10 years ago now – certainly before 9/11. We jumped in a cab with my friend Janelle, and went to the address to meet these other people who had invited us. Get out of the car down on the wharf, go through metal detectors only to discover that the party was ON THE FLIGHT DECK of the INTREPID, an aircraft carrier that’s home is pier 86 in Manhattan. Standing on this huge machine, planes lined up one side, DJ at the end of the runway, and the New York skyline (including the Twin Towers) behind him.

Unbelievable.

What is your number one travel tip?: Be cool, honey bunny, be cool.

About the photo: This photo was taken earlier this year, in Cologne, Germany. I was on a couple of days off on this epic European tour, drinking beer and generally having a good time in Germany, and of course wanting to try real Bratwurst. I went into what looked like a great little spot and it turned out that to be a little pig shrine. The guy cooking was lovely. I told him about my company Gigpiglet and showed him my card. He was so excited to have a ‘pig’ from Australia – apparently he had people from all over the world sign the pig on the wall, but never someone from Australia, so it was perfect that the gigpiglet was here to do it..

Name:

Age: 44

Occupation: Director of boutique PR agency specialising in travel and tourism clients.

Favourite travel destination: Thailand – for its people, its culture, its food and its shopping!

Worst travel experience: Being stuck in San Francisco (a city I love by the way!) for three nights in a row, unable to get on any flights, while I had to get back to Sydney to work!

Best tips for jetlag: Move around a bit on long haul flights and have a chat with the crew. Stick to the ‘one on one’ rule: for every glass of wine or beer, drink one full glass of water! Try and adapt to the local timezone as soon as you land and don’t day nap.

Not leaving home without: Blackberry, iPad and noise cancelling headphones.

Staying in touch: Skype in Europe, US and Asia as there is free wifi everywhere (Heloo hoo… Free wifi finder App!) and email.

Best meal ever: Pad See Ew Gai off a cart in Soi Saladaeng Bangkok, and Alain Senderens’ ‘Homard a la Vanille’ at Lucas Carton in Paris.

Best kiss: At the Alhambra overlooking Granada last year August.

Scariest drive ever: In a minivan from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, dodging horses, carts and 1000’s of motorbikes.

The Moment: My first week volunteering at a Thai orphanage with 60 kids under four years old. I have been back close to ten times since.

Number one tip: Live like a local, and a smile and a friendly chat go a long loooooooooooooong way.

Name:

Age: Generation Jones

Occupation: Travel journalist and web publisher

Favourite travel destination?: Papua New Guinea, particularly their remote islands. They are wild, raw and always surprising. Great people.

Worst travel experience?: Left my passport and wallet in the taxi, forgot my USA visa waiver, nearly missed my flight, booked the wrong hotel on the wrong date, couldn’t sleep, went to the wrong ferry terminal, overslept and missed the return ferry, missed my connecting flight but still made it to my cruise on time. Yes, this was *one* trip and it all happened inside 48 hours. I now have an unshakable belief in travel angels.

Best tips for beating jetlag?: Jet Ease tablets. Go easy on alcohol and coffee. Stay calm. Try and break a long-haul with a stopover. When home, crash out with Melatonin.

What is the one thing you don’t leave home without?: My sense of humour and wonder.

Do you stay in touch with people while you’re travelling?: Facebook

Best meal you’ve ever had while travelling?: I’ve been really spoiled here, but the Grand Chef’s dinner at the brand new Four Seasons Hong Kong was pretty special. The company makes all the difference and I’ve had some magnificent meals on my own.

Best kiss?: Mmm .. don’t do much kissing when I travel so my best kisses are always at home. Maybe I’m missing something here?

Best/scariest/funniest drive?: Oooh! There’s been a couple. The bus driver in Cape Town talking on his mobile and PA simultaneously, while changing gear without wearing a seatbelt on a winding mountain road pretty much summed up the South African attitude to driving. Then there was my time in India. Holy cow, never drive at night in India. Never!

What has been the big WOW moment of your travelling life?: There are a few candidates. Alone at Angkor Wat at dawn, Macau Tower jump (230m), climbing Mt Kinabalu (4000m), 45m underwater on a bomber wreck, sitting in Douglas Mawson’s chair in his Antarctica winter quarters and driving a rally car at 100mph on the dirt in Wales.

What is your number one travel tip?: Surrender to travel. Don’t try and transform a destination to your preconceived expectations. Just go with it.

Name:

Age: 42

Occupation: Journalist, mother and domestic goddess

Favourite travel destination? Why?: Close call between Koh Samui and NYC – but I reckon Thailand wins as it never fails to relax and nourish me on many levels.

Worst travel experience?: Last June we flew to the UK with our two kids. On the advice of a naturopath, I gave the eldest (then aged 3) a homeopathic teething tincture in order to relax him and make him sleep on the plane. But oh my lordie  – the only thing it relaxed was his bowel. He pooed all the way from Sydney to Singapore. I think it got to a point where we were getting a round of applause every time we emerged from the toilet.

Best tips for beating jetlag?: Set your watch to your destination time as soon as you take off and try to get into a routine of that time zone.

What is the one thing you don’t leave home without?: Elizabeth Arden’s 8 Hour Cream.

Do you stay in touch with people while you’re travelling?: I email and text but can I take this opportunity to champion the revival of the aerogramme? Come on –  there must still be a need for flimsy sheets of baking paper with un-navigatable, self-adhesive folds. A return to Old Meeja, I say!

Best meal you’ve ever had while travelling?: I had my very first seafood chowder overlooking the Pacific Ocean in San Francisco. The dish was gorgeous and served piping hot in a big sourdough bread cob. It was my very first trip to the US, I was 19, backpacking and felt very cosmopolitan and as if I knew everyhting about everything. Good times.

Best kiss?: The one from my dad as I arrive into Newcastle Airport, UK.

Best/scariest/funniest drive?: I drove from Cairns to Ayers Rock in an ancient Volvo that would overheat if you went over 40kms. I was travelling with my then boyfriend who I’d decided I hated. We only had one cassette (yeah, it was 1994) to listen to – U2′s Joshua Tree. It was a long, long journey, Ivan Milat was still at large and ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ took on a great new meaning.

What has been the big WOW moment of your travelling life?: Another tough one – but it has to be seeing Ground Zero within a few days after 9/11. However, if you need something more upbeat – doing the boat trip (with requisite blue ponchos) under Niagra Falls. It was then that I realised the true power of the natural world.

What is your number one travel tip?: Vacuum bags.

Name:

Occupation: My email signature says journalism and photography but on top of that I’m Deputy Editor of Digital Photography Magazine and have a travel blog attached to my website. I’ve contributed to Australian Traveller, Luxury Travel, Get Up and Go, Photoshop Australia and the SMH and Sun Herald travel sections.

Favourite travel destination? Why?: Tough question. Lake Bled in Slovenia is a beautiful place – rowing out to the church on the island in the middle of the lake and hiking to the mountain-top castle on the shore is a great way to spend the day.

Worst travel experience? What happened?: My favourite experiences revolve around food but that’s what the bad ones are about too. Food poisoning in Montenegro was not fun, nor the twelve hour bus trip to Croatia the next day.

Best tips for beating jetlag?: I’ve been told I drink water like a camel but that’s how I beat jetlag.

What is the one thing you don’t leave home without?: A big bag of band-aids and bug repellent.

Do you stay in touch with people while you’re travelling?: I used to drop off the face of the planet when I went away because phone cards and I aren’t friends. I try not to spend too much time online because when I’m travelling I prefer to be out in the real world not wrapped up in the web but, if there’s wireless internet, I’ll use my iPhone to Skype home.

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Best meal you’ve ever had while travelling?: The Forbidden Broadway Sundae – chocolate cake, hot fudge, ice cream and a mountain of cream – at Serendipity3 in New York. I’ve never felt so satisfied at how good something tasted and so disgusted at how much I’d eaten at the same time.

Best kiss?: On a very memorable birthday in Sorrento, Italy.

Best/scariest/funniest drive?: Probably right after that birthday, driving along the Amalfi Coast down to Positano. My Italian driver nicknamed it the ‘oh Jesus’ road because that’s what everyone says on every hairpin bend.

What has been the big WOW moment of your travelling life?: I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of wow moments but hiking glaciers in Norway did literally take my breath away.

What is your number one travel tip?: Don’t get too caught up with itineraries – sometimes the best experiences are the ones you stumble on. For me, they’re usually when I’m lost looking for something else.