Never a dull moment here on Thursdays, and today’s guest wound up in the world of travel after spending time in neuroscience. Weird? For sure. Makes for an excellent travel interview? Oh, you bet. Abigail and I have been trying to chat for ages, so I’m really excited to share with you some of the insights from insider her lab. (Yes – of course she has a lab – I’d hate to disappoint!)
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about you.
Hi there, I’m Abigail King, a British born writer who took a detour through Emergency Medicine and Neuroscience before becoming a freelancer. I love travel, science and adventure and started my first unusual journey by travelling to Saudi Arabia.
Your site is called Inside the Travel Lab, where you talk about “unusual journeys.” I think this is a great idea because when we’re removed from elements we understand or are familiar with, we’re forced to really evaluate our surroundings. What gave you the idea to start this site?
I think the truthful answer is that few of my friends wanted to hear what I had to say on the subject! Editors want a hook and a destination that fit the “look” of their magazine or newspaper and so that leaves some “unusual” places and stories with nowhere to go. I started Inside the Travel Lab as a treat to myself, a place where I could write about the world as it appeared to me. It was very much an experiment (a large part of the title) but I was, and still am, absolutely thrilled by its success.
It’s sometimes so easy to just drift along on autopilot. Doing something unusual, as you say, forces you to stop and really notice your surroundings. It makes me feel more alive. The second theme, if it can be called that, reflects my career path so far. I worked as a doctor before I started writing, which is itself an unusual journey. And, of course, one that involved plenty of labs, if not that much travel!
How do you find these wacky places and destinations? Are these ways that travelers can incorporate some unusual-ness in their next travel trip (apart from a healthy dose of serendipity travel)?
The overall inspiration for a trip often comes from books and films. To start with, I was influenced by the stories from my childhood. The Adventures of Tintin led me to the ruins of the Aztecs and Incas; Dogtanian and the Three Muskahounds gave me a taste of pre-revolutionary France! As I grew up, those influences turned into Memoirs of a Geisha, Wild Swans and A Long Walk to Freedom.
As for finding something really unusual once you’re in a place, nothing beats advice from locals. I was lucky when I worked for the NHS because my colleagues included people from India, the Philippines and South Africa and refugees from Iraq, Kuwait, Croatia and beyond. Then, of course, I met patients from every corner of the globe, so they threw in a few more ideas!
Twitter is great for tracking down wacky places as well and then on top of all of that, as you say, a healthy dose of serendipity helps.
Is unusual travel for everybody? What if you’re not a curious traveler but actually a timid, shy one?
I think we’re all naturally curious on some level or another – that’s how we learned to walk and talk, to kiss and all the rest of it! Unusual travel is about finding something that’s unusual for you. I’m sure there are people who read Inside the Travel Lab and think, “Well, so what? She climbed an ice wall, or was given a machete to defend herself with or –insert-experience-here.” There’s always someone else who’s done something you haven’t and there’s always something that you haven’t done.
If you’re timid and shy, go easy on yourself but don’t worry too much. No-one really enjoys making a fool of themselves – and a lot of independent travel involves exactly that! You don’t know the customs or the language well enough, no matter how hard you try, and you’re bound to get things wrong. Before you know it, you’re topless in the Paris Mosque having a burly Algerian laugh at you as she scrubs your inner thighs. But you know what? It doesn’t matter. No one knows who you are, and no one cares (in the best possible way.)
What is the most unusual journey you have been on?
Hm, I think heading into rural China on a sleeper train. We were packed into compartments so close together that there was no room to sit or stand up. The journey was something like 30 hours and about three quarters of the way through, the carriages trembled and shook and the train lurched to a halt. There’d been a minor earthquake and the railway track was damaged.
I was just beginning to lose my battle with fear and panic when the old man opposite reached out and offered me a jar of warm, brown debris. I almost laughed out loud. Here I was, thousands of miles away from England and yet the first reaction in a crisis was essentially the same – to offer a nice cup of tea!
What is the most inspirational journey you have been on?
In Japan, there’s a small island called Miyajima. It has traditional guesthouses, speckled deer and a calm harbour that overlooks a spectacular Shinto shrine.
It also faces Hiroshima.
I remember standing on the water’s edge, listening to the gentle rhythm of the waves while the sky turned a kind of smoky purple. Thousands of shining lights flickered on the horizon from a rebuilt city whose central memorial park preaches peace and understanding instead of hatred and revenge.
Seeing how Hiroshima has recovered from one of history’s worst moments has got to be one of the most inspirational journeys I’ve ever been on.
Wow, you have some pretty incredible experiences it sounds like – thanks for sharing with us some of the highlights. Readers, if you want to learn more about Abagail’s trials and travails, visit her website, Inside the Travel Lab, and connect with her on Twitter.
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