Gregarious and kind, Shazna is the Head of Business Development at J. Walter Thompson. A keep fit enthusiast, Shazna’s hobbies are reading, designing, providing unsolicited advice to her brothers and friends, pulling out her son’s curls one by one. She loves travel and adventure and despises snakes, flying cockroaches and liars. 

Why do you love travel? 

I discover more about me. I also have to think on my feet and handle different situations. It also leads me to discover people and places and share different views. On top of that, I get to witness God’s creations up close – each city, each road, each sunset, sunrise - it's all different and beautiful. My ideal situation will be to travel with my boys and teach them it’s fun to live impulsively and live out of a bag for a couple of weeks or so. And soon I hope I can... 

Your favourite travel destination and why? 

Alaska - always wanted to go there but haven't succeeded yet, but now Canada, the land of Justin Trudeau and Niagara Falls, is slowly inching its way up my list. 

What do you need for a perfect holiday? 

My boys. The only reason I feel like I have to go back home… oh and yes, a passport that requires no visas would be nice too. 

In which country have you felt most at home? 

England (before Brexit). 

Most unusual souvenir you have brought home? 

I don't have anything unusual that I have brought back from my trips – just the usual touristy things so I know it's from that particular country. I'm also into travelling light and need to be ready to just get up and go. I’m a collector of books and not much else. 

Worst holiday or travel experience? 

I don't think of any experience that travel has brought me as a horrible experience. It's an experience and you add it to the bag, learn, live and grow with it. Of course, the usual drama of lost luggage, late flights, missed trains, flat tyres have most definitely happened, but they’ve only added to the experience. I suppose if you get mugged or end up in jail in a foreign country that would be awful but thank God none of that has happened to me. 

Best piece of travel advice? 

There's no need to make plans on paper, living out of a bag and living impulsively is amazingly exhilarating. Feel the sunshine on your face and worry about your wrinkles later. Grabbing the moment feels like the best way to live. 

Your top five travel destinations? 

How do I pick five? My bucket list only consists of places I want to visit before I die. But definitely Alaska, Peru, Cambodia, Brazil, South Africa. But before all that, I want to see more of my beautiful island. It’s full of surprises and jaw dropping locations. 

What has travel taught you? 

That you can travel alone and have the best time. That the world is a beautiful place and experiencing it and absorbing it can be highly therapeutic. Independence is to be valued as well as the friends you make along the way.  On the flipside, sleeping under the stars is all good until you wake up to a pillow full of dew. 

Which country did you taste the best ever cuisine? 

Singapore. It serves my moods. 

Next travel destination? 

San Diego, USA. This one however, I’m not looking forward to as I will be going to drop my baby off in university. 

By Tina Edward Gunawardhana