‘My travelling life’ JACK PAROW
Musician and rapper
How often do you travel? As a musician, travelling is a massive part of my job. Describe the first childhood holiday you can remember. Since I can remember we would go to Arniston in the Western Cape for the December holidays. My grandparents had a house there. I remember going to the beach and swimming; catching fish and searching for bait. We would hang out in the fisherman’s village and play rugby with the locals. My grandparents passed away and their house was sold but we still go there — we rent accommodation and the family goes back almost every December.
And your first trip abroad? When I was 21, I went on a surfing trip to Bali with a group of friends. We were poor — we had spent all our money on the plane tickets — but it was amazing. It was rural with good food and good people. The place was not touristy, as it apparently is now. It was a jungle experience. We slept in tents on the beach and bought rice and pork in banana leaves from the local shops. When we went, there was not even a guesthouse. Now I hear that they have a Starbucks. What was the most difficult or adventurous destination you have ever been to? If you talk about “difficult” I think of Oppikoppi because it is a big block of dust, where everyone is dirty and everyone is drunk and getting something to eat is a major mission. At the same time, because it is so difficult, it is the coolest experience ever.
For adventurous, I’ve just returned from a holiday in Vietnam. I was in Holland and Belgium on tour and my girlfriend and I wanted to take a break somewhere not too touristy. We both love the East and we had a great time. We stayed on a boat in Halong Bay, which is one of the New Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The food was great and healthy. I ate so much but still lost 6kg. It’s getting touristy now but is still really cool and untouched. What is the best way to travel once you have flown abroad? It depends where you are. In Holland I travel by bicycle when I can. Most of Europe is nice and flat and you can mission around on a bike. Wherever I go, I try to use the local transport — buses or trains. What is your favourite city here or abroad? Here it is Cape Town, where I grew up, but I’m a great fan of Amsterdam. I’ve made a lot of friends there and had great experiences. We stay at the Backstage Hotel — the owner knows us and has a braai for us when we arrive — and it’s close to all the cool clubs and bars. What I love about Amsterdam is the vibe, the music scenes and the parties. Because I’ve worked there a lot I have quite a big fan base. The Dutch are a different kind of audience. They are better behaved than we are — if I invite people onto the stage for the last song, they won’t break everything. With South Africans, it’s a bit more difficult — we are more spirited, party people. Do you prefer roughing it or luxury when travelling? Describe the best experience you have had of whichever you choose. When I was young I enjoyed roughing it and going crazy but I’m starting to enjoy luxury. If I do rough it for a while, I need to go somewhere proper afterwards. In Vietnam we stayed in a boutique hotel with a spa. I’d been on tour for 20 days, flew back to South Africa for four hours and flew directly to Vietnam. I’d travelled non-stop for four days, it was hot and humid and I was destroyed. I don’t usually go to spas but this was amazing.
What has been your worst travel experience? Can’t really think of anything because the experience is all part of the vibe. I’ve slept on the floor and in shitty lodging and I don’t really care. Although, a while ago, we were playing at a festival outside Johannesburg and we were all booked into accommodation that we were told was “rustic”. Actually, it hadn’t finished being built yet. It was like the developers had run out of money. There were no ceilings, just a roof, so you could hear every word from every room and in the middle of the night everyone started looking for the one lost, drunk guy and it was like they were continually screaming “Shaun” in my ear at 4am. I got zero sleep. If they had actually built it, it would have been amazing What is the oddest thing you have experienced/that’s happened while travelling? I went to Zanzibar to get away from everything. I especially chose a remote place where no one would know who I was. We landed and dropped off our things and went directly to Stone Town to walk around. We hadn’t been there one minute when a car screeched to a halt and a Dutch guy jumped out screaming: “Jack Parow!” I said: “No ways.” It blew my mind. But it didn’t happen again.
Your best piece of travel advice? Roll your clothes, don’t fold them. It uses less space. I try to travel with just an onboard bag and then some fold-up bags that I can pack stuff into if I need extra space on the way back. What do you hate about travelling or holidays? What everyone hates — the actual travelling. At least 95% of my job is travelling. I get up at 6am to catch a plane by 9am and then get in by 10am and out of the airport at 11am and then into a car and from one place to another for the rest of the day. I can’t wait for teleportation. What elements — destination, people, attractions etc — make up your perfect holiday? The people are most important and the experience you have with them. You can have a great time 20 minutes or 20 hours from home. In terms of places, I love the Far East because it is so different from a place like the United States, which is all about MacDonald’s and Hollywood and money, and where people seem lost in society. In the East it seems more pure. They have little and they are not bombarded with the things around them. I was in Los Angeles and places there were very intense and constant, like Johannesburg. It never felt like a holiday. Of course, we met some great people and I’m planning to take my daughter to Disneyland one day.
Another place that was odd was Moscow. I played a show there. The organisers were supercool and took us around and the younger, more alternative people were cool but the rest of the country was stiff and heavy and almost scary. It’s like if you get lost you will never get out. Name one place you really want to go, now or at least some day?
Japan.
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