The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
DUNCAN’S TOP 5 DESTINATIONS
JAPAN
“I visited in 1980 on a Blue Peter expedition. It was the first experience of a completely different culture to my own. I got to fight a sumo wrestler, appeared in a samurai movie and developed a taste for saki and sushi. My experiences of the bath houses in Kawasaki were enlightening, too!
“Tokyo and Osaka, with huge urban populations, were overwhelming but the countryside was peaceful, especially Kyoto and Beppu. The Japanese are masters at creating calm.”
RUSSIA
“I travelled to Russia twice in 1994, first on a televised expedition driving around the world. I reached Oymyakon, the coldest permanently inhabited place on Earth and drove up frozen rivers to reach the far east of Siberia before crossing the Bering Straits to Alaska.
“The far east of Siberia has the most stark landscape. The tree line ends very suddenly and all you have on the Arctic tundra is white-out until the next remote town. There were many isolated communities, especially close to the Mongolian border, where some villages were prosperous due to gold mines.”
CHINA
“Our family backpacking expedition to China in 2002 was turned into a six-part TV documentary. We all became immersed in the culture and our fourchild family were objects of fascination throughout. My daughter, Lucy, went on to study Mandarin, and I made a surprise return on her 21st birthday.
“But our visits to the beautiful and wild Xinjing region and befriending Uygur families now sit uncomfortably with our memories.
“The country is vast and the most fascinating areas include the snow mountains near Lijiang; they’re enchanting and suitably named Shangri-la because of their inaccessibility.”
NEPAL
“Filming an Everest expedition in 2007 for the Scout Association was my second visit to Nepal, having backpacked there in 1999 with the family. I fell in love with its mountains and people. The Scouts I filmed wanted me to join them on their trek to the summit. I knew I was too old so gave them my camera kit which made it to the top, along with them. The Himalayas, especially in the morning are a sight you never tire of. I was lucky enough to meet Edmund Hillary and the thought of him and Tenzing Norgay reaching the peak together always fills me with wonder.”
GEORGIA
“In 2019 I trekked solo in the high Caucasus, close to the Russian border. Tbilisi is a vibrant and artistic capital and its people celebrate its independence with passion. The countryside is inaccessible in winter and the roads constantly under reconstruction but it’s exciting – as was my meeting a Caucasian shepherd dog who thought I was after his sheep!
“The stone Svan defensive towers dotted around the countryside are always interesting to see, as are the vineyards; Georgia was among the first countries to harvest grapes.”