Travelling along the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan and the Karakorum Highway in Pakistan introduced me to some of the most stunning landscapes I’ve ever seen. I’ve always found such remote areas enchanting, so perhaps it’s no surprise that I fell in love with the wildernesses and endless steppe of Mongolia, where there is no contact with the rest of the world. The beautiful mountains, cheesebreads, wine and hospitality found in Georgia puts the country high on my list of favourites but Iran always continues holds the top spot. I visited when it was against FCO advice and tourists were rare, although even now crowds of travellers are delightfully uncommon. The incredible friendliness of the Iranians will always stick in my memory, accompanied by the awe inspiring mosques and rice adorned with saffron and barberries.

I have recently returned from Jordan, a country I have visited on several occasions and adored even more with each visit. The friendliness of the Middle East is found everywhere in Jordan, whether you're walking down the candle-lit siq in Petra to see the iconic Treasury facade at night, floating in the Dead Sea (a strange but must-do experience that should be on every traveller's bucket list) or hiking through the Great Rift Valley in the stunning Dana Nature Reserve. 

If Central Asia doesn't excite you as much as it interests me, Borneo is a fantastic option for a unique holiday with plenty of potential for adventure, but without having to step quite so far out of your comfort zone. The view from the top of Mount Kinabalu after a long (but well worth it) hike to watch the sun rise is an experience I would recommend to everybody, before you set off to catch a glimpse of some of the world's last remaining wild orangutan populations in the virgin rainforest. 

Travel has always been my passion and there is no better feeling than fulfilling someone’s dream to travel on a day to day basis at Regent Holidays.

Having worked in the travel industry now for a number of years, I have been extremely fortunate to have visited many incredible countries and for me the Iceland & the Arctic region is my favourite. A career highlight has to be my trip to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in 2014, where I was lucky enough to photograph Polar Bears and their cubs in their natural habitat. This incredible region in the Arctic North boasts huge glaciers, icebergs, ice fields, snow-capped peaks and more polar bears than people – hopefully I will get back there soon!

I have recently returned from a fly-drive in Iceland where I travelled from bustling Reykjavik up to the beautiful North of Iceland. On this drive I visited the remote man-made Ice Cave of Langjokull, Iceland’s second largest ice cap. It was simply breathtaking and an experience I will never forget!

My first visit to Russia, or to the then Soviet Union, was in 1973. Oranges were a sought after luxury and the tour guides towed the party line. Many illusions of down trodden, sullen people were dispelled – with temperatures hitting the upper 80s folk were out and about in summer clothes, eating ice creams, swimming in the rivers, picnicking and queuing at street barrels for the alcohol-free malt beer kvas. So started a long love affair with Russia.

I have since returned many, many times but my excitement for the country has never waivered. There is always a frisson of tension and a hustle and bustle about the place, especially in Moscow. One cannot fail to be awe-inspired by the former wealth of the Tsars and the autocracy with their opulent palaces and priceless art collections. It is worth venturing off the well-trodden tourist routes to experience the vastness of the world’s largest country.

Take the train from Moscow to Irkutsk - an amazing piece of engineering in itself - to gaze in wonder at the world’s deepest lake, Lake Baikal. Stop en route in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s first industrial city; and the gateway between Europe and the East with the Ural Mountains forming a natural boundary Yekaterinburg’s main claim to fame is as the city where the last Tsar of Russia’s family were assassinated.

My first tour with Regent was over 27 years ago to the then staunch communist state of Albania. All foreigners were viewed with suspicion and one had to walk through a disinfectant trough on entry in order not to contaminate the local populace. Several times I was hauled before the secret police because members of my group had tried to venture on to a train. It took much persuasion to convince them of the British love of rail travel. North Korea is not dissimilar today; in order to pay your respects to the late Great Leader and founder of the present day state, you have to be fumigated!

If I had to pick a favourite tour it would have to be Russia and the trip I took down the river Volga. There's the Kremlin, GUM and Red Square in Moscow at the start and the Great Palace and famous museums of St Petersburg at the end, but the best bit is that you get to see Russian life from the banks of the Volga. There is also a stop in Kizhi Island. The huge wooden churches here are one of Russia's least known but most impressive attractions.