NADYA HUTAGALUNG ON HER FAVOURITE VACATIONS

I love Nepal and India as they are the destinations I usually go to for a pilgrimage. Taking time out to centre myself when my life gets super busy brings me a deeper happiness and helps me manage all the work/family juggling that needs to happen to keep everything and everyone functioning.

I have spent the last four months travelling all over Indonesia and experiencing all its incredible beauty for new travel show Wondernesia on Discovery TLC. I am currently in Australia for a family vacation.

New York City would be one of my favourites, but only for a couple of weeks so I can satisfy my love of food.

It would be Indonesia for work and India or Nepal for pilgrimage.

I would have to say that staying in the Coco Chanel suite at the Ritz in Paris would have to win the title of most glamorous. Staying in the room where Coco Chanel lived in Paris was really such an incredible privilege.

Kenya… Visiting Kenya really changed my life, the incredible beauty and the sense that I was somehow going home to the land of origins was almost overwhelming. Being able to see so many wild animals especially the elephants was really deeply moving. The kids loved hearing the sound of lions when they went to sleep at night and being able to see the elephants stroll past their bedroom in the morning. But the best moment was having the kids meet the last of the great big bull elephants called Tim. It was lovely to see the children get so close to him and experience his magic. You need to take your families and loves ones to see these endangered animal now before you can’t.

Driving up the Australian coast with my mum.

Packing, planning, and arriving at the airport with the whole family only to realise we didn’t have the appropriate visas. We ended up going to Bali after much deliberation and hesitation on my side. That trip however did end up changing our lives as it was on this trip that we learned more about the Green School in Bali of which I am now a board member.

Try everything! That’s the best advice I could possibly give.

If I was in Africa then I would be out on game drives for most of the day or riding horses.

Never say never… I can’t think of any country that has left such an impact.

A man named Richard Bonham of the Big Life Foundation in Kenya. A true conservation hero who is working to save the lives of elephants, rhino, lions and other game in the region and doing so with great success. Really someone who lives and breathes his passion for conservation.

I don’t usually buy vacation souvenirs except for textiles which are always beautiful.

Indonesia for its natural beauty and culture; Singapore for the fact it is a well-run city and it’s easy to get all that you need; Nepal for its deep religious history; India for its colour, heart and a fantastic level of organised chaos thrown in; and Myanmar for its beautful people, food and Buddhist sites.

“Where is your favourite place to eat?”