The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Travelling life
Rumer Singer-songwriter
How often do you travel?
I travel all the time for work. But I’ve been travelling a lot since I was born in Pakistan and moved to Britain. My dad was a civil engineer, so we travelled a lot for his work building dams, bridges and roads in different parts of the world. When I was young, our family spent a lot of our holidays in Britain. Recently I spent a long weekend in Dorset. I love places where you can reconnect with nature.
What do you need for a perfect holiday?
Good company, good weather and good books.
Your earliest memory of travelling abroad?
Travelling on a PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) flight to Pakistan, when I was about four. Then when I was about seven, I flew to Pakistan as an “Unaccompanied Minor” on British Airways with my sister. We were visiting my dad who was still living in Pakistan at the time. My favourite part of Pakistan is the Nathia Gali area. There’s so much English history there and beautiful country such as in Murree, with lots of wildlife too. But it’s not a great time for tourism in the country because of the conflict and political tension at the moment.
Most adventurous travel experience?
Driving along the Karakoram Highway to the Hunza Valley, near the border with China. It was a pretty remote place until the highway was completed in the Seventies. It’s an incredibly mythical type of place and said to be what Shangri-La [from the novel Lost Horizon] is based on.
Your most relaxing destination?
Greece – Crete being one of my favourite spots. I worked and lived in Paleochora years ago but have been back several times since.
Best holiday ever?
A two-week road trip in America with a friend in 2011. We flew into Phoenix and stayed at Hotel San Carlos. It was apparently the hotel where Stephen King got the inspiration for The Shining. We went to the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park and Topanga Canyon.
Favourite hotel?
The Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. I love that it has a very old Hollywood feel.
And city?
Los Angeles. There’s something charming about it – sort of like a woman clinging to her fading youth and beauty.
Best city for music lovers?
Nashville is really cool and fun. There are so many musicians living there, so it has a real community feel. London is also great for its music scene, as are New Orleans and Melbourne.
What do you hate about holidays?
Not being able to bring my dog Alfie. I tend to only travel to places where I can bring Alfie.
Where next?
I’d love to explore Louisiana and Georgia in America. I’d also like to see Rhode Island and Cape Cod, which are said to be beautiful. I’m going back to north-west Arkansas, where I live part of the year. It’s known as the “Natural State”, so there’s lots of nature to explore. Rumer’s new album is This Girl’s In Love: A Bacharach and David Songbook