Name: Tara Ali

Age: 36

Occupation: Features Editor for Australian Women’s Health

Favourite travel destination?: Nepal. It changed my view of the world and I absolutely lived in the moment for every second I was there. Nepal is the seventh poorest country in the world and some parts make you feel as though you are in another century, but the Nepalese are such a happy, stylish, inventive, humble and cheeky nation. It made me understand how far removed the western world is from what truly matters.

Worst travel experience? What happened?: Spending four hours in the dark in sub zero temperatures – on three hours sleep – searching for Kiwi in a park in Wellington, New Zealand. We didn’t get to see any – and I nearly lost my shit when our guide asked if we wanted to switch to tree grub sightings instead.

Best tips for beating jetlag?: Don’t eat too much on the plane and ask your doctor nicely for some low dose Valium.

What is the one thing you don’t leave home without?: My diary. Essential for recalling the details of a trip, especially if I’m called on to write about it a year later.

Do you stay in touch with people while you’re travelling?: Yes – if I travel for work I often go alone, so I’ll text the one I love daily, but email close family and friends with hilarious weekly updates.

Best meal you’ve ever had while travelling?: I’m not sure there is any better aroma or any first bite more heavy with anticipation than my first taste of freshly made pizza in Rome. Dio mio!

Best/scariest/funniest drive?:

From LA to Palm Springs, through San Diego. Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication was pumping on the stereo, I was with four girls and we were hideously hungover and possibly still drunk but watching the scenery change from concrete LA to a backdrop of Californian ocean and surfing, then again into Mexican influence was so magical.

What has been the big WOW moment of your travelling life?: Flying in a tiny plane over Mount Everest in Nepal. I didn’t realise you could do that and as there’s little chance I’m going to get there on foot, it was just a little bit incredible to check out the highest point on Earth with my very own eyes.