Travel Tales: Philip Engelberts, Director of boutique travel PR agency
Name: Philip Engelberts
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.
Great advice! Love your number one tip too – couldn’t agree more.