My Life in Travel – Phil Vickery

What was the last place you travelled to?

Well, I’m on a Saga cruise right now! I flew to Barbados, and picked up the ship there – but not before eating at my favourite restaurant, Lobster Alive, in Bridgetown. So far we’ve visited Grenada, Curaçao and Aruba – which Saga hasn't been to before. And tomorrow we are going to Cartagena in Colombia. I’m going to three coffee shops with a Colombian coffee specialist, which I’m excited about. This is my fourth or fifth Caribbean trip. I just love the way of life, the reggae music, the relaxed atmosphere. When you get in the sea, it’s like swimming in a cup of tea.

What’s your earliest memory of being on holiday?

Gosh, my parents weren't rich at all. My dad worked at the post office, Mum in a toy shop, but we always went to Blackpool to see my grandma, and that was it. We’d go on the Pleasure Beach, and we were allowed one ride each and candy floss. I remember being too small to go on the Grand National roller coaster, but my brother was tall enough. I was really upset. I didn’t get on an aeroplane until I was 22 as we didn't have any money – and that was to fly to Barbados.

What’s the best holiday you’ve ever been on and why?

Oh there are hundreds and hundreds to choose from – because I look at my work as a holiday. Bear in mind, I've been on This Morning now for 25 years, and in that time I've been all around the world. I class that as work/holiday! I've been incredibly lucky. Once we filmed in Australia. We went to the Blue Mountains, Bondi Beach and the Gold Coast. They had shut the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and we were on top of it to get my last piece to camera. That, to me, was life-changing, even though it was work. Eating guinea pig at the highest point of the Andes – 11,000 feet up and the gas wouldn't light! Driving through the Judean hills in Israel, or driving around 1,500 miles in Namibia, north to south, on track roads, looking for elephants.

Why do you love being on a cruise?

It came as a job to start with. Cruises hadn’t really interested me before. Liners are big places – fabulous, don’t get me wrong – but it wasn't really my scene. I was more of a free spirit. But the more I go on them for work, the more I understand that it's a different way of life. I love the whistlestop tours, and going to all these different places. One moment we are in Colombia, then Puerto Rico and then Belize. It keeps it fresh. I talk to the crew, I'm very friendly with the chefs. Their way of life fascinates me – they do nine months on and three months off, and get to go to all these countries.

What’s the best cruise you’ve been on?

Oh gosh, I've been all over. I went to the Arctic Circle with Saga, and the most northerly point of Europe, and Sweden and Finland, visiting Turku, Stockholm, Gothenburg. The Arctic one was about 10 years ago and we went to northern Russia, but you’d never get there now. It was bleak, but beautiful, breathtaking scenery. There is the world of difference between that and the Caribbean. The cruise doesn't have to be far flung, it just has to go to interesting places. Take northern Tenerife – there aren’t many tourists and the restaurants are fabulous. Wherever I go I try to find a local coffee shop and a local restaurant.

What’s the most memorable place you’ve travelled to?

Years ago, with This Morning, we flew to Peru. We went to Cuzco, and then they opened Machu Picchu early so we could do a piece to camera. We got the local train and had a carriage to ourselves. Mick Jagger had been there the week before. I was stood on top of Machu Picchu, and my cameraman and my boss were up on the terraces way out, and they zoomed right in on me. I had to say, ‘This is the most amazing place’ or something like that. You can’t really see me, you can just see Machu Picchu and the sun rising above. Talking about it now, it makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. It was gorgeous and wonderful.

Who do you most like to travel with?

I am more than happy to go by myself. I've travelled the world on my own. Last year, Saga flew me to Toronto and out to St John's in Newfoundland and Labrador, which is a wonderful place where the food was amazing. Then the ship couldn't make it because of bad weather, so I had three or four days by myself in St John’s, meeting people, writing up my blog. Wherever I go, I write great fun stories about the people I’ve met. Last year I took a train from Seward to Anchorage in Alaska with my daughter Winnie. It had a glass top and we could see the mountains. That was wonderful.

What’s the weirdest thing that has happened to you on holiday?

We went to Vietnam and flew north up to Hanoi, which is very French, and then came down to Da Nang where the Americans were during the Vietnam War. In Hội An I went to a snake restaurant. They said to me, ‘We are going to cook snake’ and I thought ‘That’s fine’, but they didn't tell me it was live. He pulled this snake out in front of me and it was a cobra. It reared up and looked at me. The cameraman said, ‘You can't do this’. They stretched the snake out, six feet long. They cut under its neck. The blood went into a glass. They put the bile into another glass, and they cut the heart out and put it on a plate, and said, ‘You’re the guest, you have the heart’. I looked at the heart and thought, ‘Am I ever going to come here again?’ So I put the heart in my mouth, and I picked up the warm blood, which had thickened by this point. The heart was twitching on my tongue, and I ate it. But I’m not doing that again!

Somewhere you’ve never been but are desperate to go to?

I’d like to go to Japan. That's on my list. I’d like to do that properly. I might take my daughter on that one. It’s usually the food that entices me. Everything I do is food or coffee-based – I always like to visit the local markets and see what’s on offer.

What have you learned about yourself while travelling?

Not to have tunnel vision. To think openly and not to be put off going somewhere by thinking, ‘Oh I can’t go there because of this or I don't want to go there because that’s a bit dodgy’. To be open-minded and engage locals, talk to them. If you get among the people, you’ll be surprised how charming and lovely they are.

It shouldn’t happen to… a chef on a cruise?

For my first demonstration with Saga, a few years ago, I pitched up, and there’s a front row of men looking at me as if to say, ‘Who are you?’ I said, ‘I’m Phil Vickery’. And one of them said, ‘No, you’re not, mate. He's a rugby player. We’ve been told he’s here to do a lecture’. And I said, ‘No, it’s me’. And he said, ‘No, it’s not!’ Then he said, ‘So you’re not the rugby player?’ And I said, ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘No, you’re not’. He threw his hands up in the air, and said, ‘Well, that's a waste of time'. He watched it, but afterwards said, ‘We’re not into food and my wife can’t be bothered’. I said, ‘Well, cheers lads’. So now every time I do a lecture with Saga I say, ‘Who was expecting the rugby player? Well I’m really sorry, there’s nothing I can do about that!’

Your favourite beach?

I am a beachy person, but not for days on end. Two years ago, I went to the Turks and Caicos islands in the Caribbean, to visit Grace Bay Beach, what is supposed to be the best in the world. To me, it wasn’t the best beach I've been on but it was pretty cool. We've just left Aruba now, and they have one of the best beaches in the world called Eagle Beach. It’s a little bit busier but massive with vast, soft sand. The older I get, the more I like a sun lounger, and I like there to be palm trees, white sand, warm sea, a tiny bar so I can get a beer, perhaps a good local restaurant. It’s the most relaxing feeling.

Have you ever had a language mishap on holiday?

Not really, because I’m lazy and just speak English!

Best meal ever eaten on holiday?

In Aruba only two days ago, I ate stewed octopus with tomatoes by the sea. It was perfect. That’s got to be up there, because that's such a difficult thing to cook.

Quick fire questions

What was the last book you read on holiday?

Salt, A World History by Mark Kurlansky

Top three items to take on holiday with you?

Sandals, flip flops, and Clarins sun cream – it’s the best.

Top three things to take on a cruise with you?

Books, tweezers (because I’m like Denis Healey these days), and a notebook so I can jot down all the restaurants I go to.

The three best views you’ve seen in your life?

The top of Sydney Harbour Bridge; flying over the 2,000 miles of the Skeleton Coast in Namibia, with the doors off the planes, so we could film up the coast: that was pretty cool; and flying around most northerly point of Europe, in North Norway. We were on a commercial flight, and we were filming – this was a while ago. The captain said, ‘Come on, Phil, come and sit in the cockpit.’ So I was next to the captain as we banked around.

Beach, pool or mountain lake?

Mountain lake – the one in the Andes we jumped into because it was so hot.

Trains, planes, automobiles or boats?

I would say flying to get a ship, because of the anticipation. But the thing about flying is you miss too much. With cruising, you go past things. You see sunsets, dolphins, whales. Every day is different.