ALL MY BAGS ARE PACKED...

Now I know you’re not supposed to have favourite issues of a magazine – it’s like having a favourite child, it’s frowned upon. But let’s just say I hold some in higher esteem than others. Our annual Pink issue to highlight breast cancer awareness is one of them and the one you’re holding in your hands right now – the Travel issue – will definitely feature among my more favourable ones. I absolutely love travelling, it’s one of the great joys of my life. If I could check out a new destination every week of my life I would. I can recall stories from holidays I took when I was six or seven years old – I can even remember vague details about the family we hung out with when in Yugoslavia in the mid-1980s. I certainly remember my cousin Peter slipping by the pool and splitting his head open that year. Now I visit him in his new life in Dubai. Thankfully, my job as Travel Editor with the Irish Daily Mail allows me to go to far-flung places at a rate that I would otherwise find unattainable. I have seen incredible sights, such as Dubai by sea plane and the Alps from a cable car on a glorious summer’s day, and had amazing experiences, such as hiking in the Atlas Mountains and doing a honky tonk hop on Nashville’s Broadway. But no matter what I see or do, my favourite thing about every place I go to is the people. I am still friends on Facebook with so many who I’ve briefly met abroad down the years, some in a work capacity, some just as random encounters. There’s nothing I like more than finding out where people are from and what brought them to where we meet. I’ll always remember the kayak instructor who was as enraptured and terrified as my mam and I were when a gigantic whale swam right beneath our kayaks off the coast of Santa Barbara. The general manager of a hotel in a remote part of India will also have a place in my heart after he managed to find a TV channel showing an important Manchester United game at 2am. Then there was the chef in the Maldives who gently eased me into eating fish after an allergy test showed I was no longer allergic to it. Every place has activities and interests that make it stand out from others, but to me, a destination is only as good as its people. It’s why Ireland is so well known around the world – our céad míle fáilte may be intangible but it is real. You see it in the reactions of people when you tell them where you’re from – many have a story of kindness or fun to share. In a world that is getting less interactive with people and more interactive with technology, it’s worth remembering that nobody travels to somewhere because they have good computers. On these pages today, you’ll read stories of the joys of travelling as well as the downsides. For me, the former definitely outweighs the latter. So get your bags packed and explore the world!

Enjoy the issue.