The World According to Dr Anna Nekaris
The world's leading expert on the slow loris takes a moment from saving the world's cutest animal to give us her take on travel
Mountain/desert/jungle/ocean which are you?
Jungle!
First travel experience?
Rocky mountains on a beautiful pony when I was three years old.
Favourite journey?
From Delhi to Bangalore on the overnight train – 2nd class… non-AC.
Top five places worldwide?
Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia; Florence, Italy; The Western Ghats, southern India; Koh Samui, Thailand; Inner Hebrides, Scotland.
Special place to stay?
The Gibbon Experience in Laos – sleeping in the canopy with these amazing apes!
Three items you always pack?
My ‘travelling cuddly monkey’; A ‘pretty’ but squishable dress! A selection of torches for every occasion.
Passport stamp you're proudest of?
My Indian research visa from my PhD.
Passport stamp most like to have?
A research visa to work in Laos – wow!
Guilty travel pleasure?
Sun block with glitter.
Window or aisle?
Aisle, aisle, aisle.
Who is your ideal travelling companion?
My Cavalier King Charles spaniel Figgy Pudding.
Best meal on the road? Worst?
Best? Vegetarian pad thai from the side of the road…
Worst? Lovely looking nasi goreng that you thought was vegetarian but contains 1,000 tiny baby fish!
Most surprising place? Most disappointing?
Surprising? Aomori, Japan – so quirky and beautiful!
Disappointing? Paris – so touristy!
Where do you NOT want to go?
Benidorm.
Who/what inspired you to travel? Any travel heroes?
Just to see the world’s diversity, to see so many animals, to hear so many languages…
What do you listen to on the road? Any song take you back to a particular time or place?
I listen mainly to local music, whatever is on the radio, and the wonderful sounds of the forest… There is always some song/band that is played 8,000 times that brings me back to a place. Ace of Base is Senegal, Right Said Fred is Sri Lanka!
What do you read?
Georgette Heyer is a standard, but normally whatever period novel can be bought at the airport on the way.
Is there a person you met while travelling who reaffirmed your faith in humanity? Anyone who made you lose it?
Reaffirm: my Sri Lankan friend who risked his life to save a stranger’s child from being pulled into the ocean during the 2004 tsunami.
Lose: watching a trader in the wildlife market cut out slow loris’ teeth – one after the next.
What's the most impressive / useful phrase you know in a foreign language?
The loris is a gem, but only in the eye’s of its mother (it is so ugly only its mother could love it – Sinhalese).
What is your worst habit as a traveller?
Cuddling stray cats and dogs in countries where it is not apropos to cuddle stray cats and dogs.
Snowbound in a tent in Antarctica, how would you entertain your companions?
Singing songs from old musicals exquisite corpse style!
When and where in your travels have you been happiest?
In Cambodia in a god-forsaken forest with no water, wild elephants, stolen food, dangerous loggers, and the best company in the world.
What smell most says 'travel' to you?
The sweat, urine, incense, and spices that surround an Indian bus stand.
Given a choice, which era would you travel in?
The 18th century with no hesitation! A coach and four and wonderful posting inns! And seaworthy vessels if you ventured to go further.
If you could combine three cities to make your perfect metropolis, what would they be?
Amsterdam, Kyoto, Venice.
Dr Anna Nekaris is a primatologist and leading expert on the slow loris. She is founder of the Little Fireface Project, an organisation dedicated to educating the world about lorises and ensuring their survival.
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