What’s your earliest memory of travel?
At the age of seven, without telling my parents I was going, I rode my bike from Ilford to Southend and back - 27 miles each way - and filled the gasmask case I used for my sandwiches with winkles picked from the seashore to prove I'd really been there.

How did you get involved with travel professionally?
I travelled extensively as a journalist, promotion man and sometime record label manager working in the music business. I saw lots of concert hall backstage areas, nightclubs, hotels and airports - then decided I actually wanted to see the countries of the world for real, so I switched to travel writing.

When did you join the Guild and what’s the best thing about it?
I can't remember the year but it was well over a decade - maybe even two - ago. The networking is fantastic and has brought me more than enough work to justify my subs ten times over. It's also useful to compare experiences.

What's your best travel experience?
Standing at the base of the Statue of Liberty, I was asked by a young man to take a photo of him with his girlfriend. He showed me how to work the camera then went across to her, dropped to one knee and proposed as I clicked away. The girl said "Yes" and I was walking on air for weeks.

What’s your worst / most bizarre?
Being detained by border guards at a crossing between Hungary and Slovakia and, after a couple of hours, still not knowing why. Eventually a Slovakian border guard who spoke French ambled across and translated for me. It seemed they thought I had stolen the hire car I was driving and wanted to detain me over the weekend until they could check with the people in Vienna. I told them to tell their boss I was researching a travel feature for the London Times (a white lie of course) and that my report was getting less favourable with every passing second. Within minutes I was ushered into the big man's office, given a large vodka and an even larger Cuban cigar and offered profuse apologies.

What do you never leave home without?
My diary, listing my itineraries and all those phone calls I somehow never get time to make, and, of course, my laptop.

What’s the best thing about being professionally involved in travel?
The music business is a great industry full of not very nice people; travel, on the other hand, is generally staffed by the good guys.

What is the place you haven’t been to yet which you would most like to visit?
Myanmar, because my dad was there in the war and on return became national welfare officer and a vice president of the Burma Star Association. The motto "When you go home, tell them of us and say, for their tomorrow we gave our today" always brings a lump to my throat.

Who or what would you like to be in the next life?
Myself, but get it right this time.

Who do you most admire?
Leonardo Da Vinci - a true man for all seasons.

Future plans and ambitions?
The more you travel, the more things you realise you are never going to see but I'd like to visit fresh destinations, re-visit old favourites and, most importantly of all, meet more wonderful people around the world. To be honest, I'm like a small boy who has been given the key to the toy factory and told to go in and play - and long may it stay that way.

Roger St Pierre This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it