In the spotlight: Stuart Forster

What's your earliest memory of travel?

My first memories of family holidays are sunny trips to Devon and Cornwall, and visiting Edinburgh and watching the squirrels in the park below the castle. Ice cream with chocolate flakes then seemed an integral part of the travel experience.

What's your most bizarre memory of travel?

On my first trip to New York I’d just got out of the car close to the Chelsea Hotel and immediately saw one of the stars from the movie The Dead Poets Society. In the hours that followed the city struck me a great place, charged with energy and strangely familiar, thanks to films and photographs.

Which is the place you haven't been to yet but would most like to visit?

I would love to view wildlife on safari in Africa, a continent I haven’t yet visited, and also to sip on a coffee in one of the traditional souks of Morocco or Tunisia.

Where would you never want to go again?

There’s nowhere that I’d put into that category as I think perceptions change as we develop. I was in Belgrade just before the outbreak of war in the early 90s and it struck me as a grim place. That said, I think there’s an argument for heading back there, to get a feel for how it is these days.

If you could take a day trip back in time to any point in history, when and where would you visit?

I love history and studied it at university, so that’s like asking a kid to choose just one bar of chocolate during a visit to the Cadbury factory. I’ve just been doing some work on eastern Germany so that’s a destination which is fresh in my mind. It must have been fantastic to be there in 1989, on the streets of Berlin, as euphoria and hope swept people to break down the wall. It was a momentous moment in European history and charged with humanity too.

What's the best travel advice you've ever been given?

Don’t be afraid to try everything, so long as you first weigh up the risks.

How did you get involved in travel writing?

My travel writing stemmed from my involvement in photography, as I was asked to submit copy along with the pictures. Learning to write travel features, rather than the history essays I started out with, is a process that took time. Writing has helped me deepen my travel experiences and I’d say it has also helped me to take better travel photographs too, as I’ve paid more attention to the details which help complement broad visual impressions of destinations.

Favourite museum or gallery?

As a northerner who still sees any trip to London as journey to “the big city” (despite spending time Asian cities) I love visiting the museums and galleries of the British capital. The National Gallery stands out. I’d love to visit the Smithsonian in Washington sometime.

Most memorable hotel?

Shreyas, which is a resort rather than a hotel, close to Bangalore, stands out. I went there for the yoga but ended up spending hours batting in the nets, as they have one of the bowling machines used by cricket academies around the world. But for a cold beer and a spectacular sundown it is hard to beat the Leela Kempinski Hotel at Kovalam Beach in Kerala.

When and why did you join the Guild?

I joined in October 2008 to meet fellow travel writers, offer my recent knowledge of India (where I was based from 2004 to 2008) and to learn about the industry from people with more experience of it than myself.

How has the Guild been most helpful?

It’s been very good to hear of people’s experiences and to gain a better overview of the market. Working alone can be tough at times and it’s good to be able to log into the website and know that there are people listed there who can be contacted.

Everyone gets it wrong sometimes, so what's the biggest travel blunder you've ever made?

My Vietnam visa expired before I left the country. As I attempted to fly out of Ho Chi Minh City I was taken into an office by a uniformed guard and threatened with prison and a hefty fine. I’d been given incorrect information while applying for my visa while in India and fortunately could prove the error was no fault of mine. The guard then warmed up, beamed a smile and stamped my passport. That taught me to check visas carefully before travelling.

Which travel destination has taken you most by surprise and why?

I was in Puducherry (the former French territory of Pondicherry) earlier this year and had mentioned to a friend that I expected it to be “about as French as Blackpool.” Eating croissants by the beach for breakfast was a simple pleasure and in what turned out to be a pleasant city.

If you had one tip to share with other travel writers what would it be?

Keep it going. The doom and gloom surely can’t last forever.

A favourite travel book to pass the journey?

That is such a tough question. I really enjoy reading a variety of authors to gain insights into differing styles. I’ve just picked up Pico Iyer’s The Lady and The Monk, set in Kyoto, but haven’t started it yet.