This traveller visited Palestine and spray-painted a memorial to her late friend. She also sweet talked her way into Emirates’ luxurious business lounge, where she was pampered for 9 hours. For this epic badassery, Shamini gets the title of Wanderer of the Week.
Name: Shamini Selvaratnam
Age: 33
Home Base: Toronto (YYZ)
No. of countries visited: 15 (6 of them this year)
What do I do when not travelling: Communications and PR professional
My next stop: Likely Thailand
My wildest and craziest travel adventure was: When I visited Israel and Palestine. After visiting the historic sites in Bethlehem, my friend and I decided to spray paint a memorial in Palestine for our late friend, Alexandra Dodger. After we told our taxi driver about Alex’s story of working for a human rights legal organization, he offered to help us.
We waited in the car while our driver brought us the paint cans in a brown paper bag. He then drove us to a spot where we could spray paint without being spotted by security. We painted a beautiful memorial, and then visited the Wall Museum. It features stories about the impact of the Separation Wall on Palestinian women in Bethlehem. This is something we likely wouldn’t have found if we didn’t go on this adventure.
Weirdest thing I’ve ever eaten or drank: In Turkey, they have this thing called Tursu (a type of pickle). When I was in Istanbul, I was told it was a local tradition to drink pickle juice…so I did. They had three flavours to choose from and all of them were gross.
I’ll never forget that time: My wallet was stolen in Durban, two days before I left South Africa. American Express was a sending a replacement card to my next destination in Istanbul. But in the meantime, I had no access to my bank account or credit cards, and a 9-hour layover in Dubai.
I took a chance, and explained my lost wallet situation to Emirates. They were kind enough to let me use the business lounge! I spent 9 hours in absolute bliss eating the finest foods, drinking champagne, napping and getting spa treatments. I thanked the universe for turning my bad experience into an abundance of luxury!
Most Memorable Meal: My first meal on the Island of Tobago, at the Original House of Pancakes. I had read rave reviews on TripAdvisor and it did not disappoint. I had coconut pineapple pancakes with nutmeg syrup, bacon and scrambled eggs. It was best scrambled eggs I’ve ever had. The hospitality we experienced at the restaurant made the meal special and set the tone for the adventure in the island paradise of Tobago.
One thing on my bucket list: I have so many things in my list. Going to Singapore to experience the cuisine is pretty high up there.
Three things I always pack: Afterbite, if there are mosquitoes I get bit. Three pairs of shoes (heels, sandals and flats or runners). Tums.
My travel advice: Do your research and read reviews before booking hotels and choosing restaurants. But don’t be afraid to try things that off the beaten path. I found the most amazing fish pastry in a bakery on the side of a cliff while driving through Tobago. The entire time I was there I tried to find that again and but never could.
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