The actor-director reflects on a wild road trip to L.A. Photo / Unsplash
A LIFE IN TRAVEL
SAM WANG
The actor and director shares his favourite travel stories.
What are your strongest memories from the first overseas trip you ever took?
My first overseas trip was when I moved to Australia with my mum to join my dad in Sydney, aged 6. I remember the customs officer with a big moustache unzipping my bag, taking one peek and looking back at me with a big smile of approval: “Toys!” It was a very warm first impression for a kid in a new country.
What was a standard family holiday like when growing up?
Road trips to Wollongong and Canberra. No shade on those places but when you’re a self-conscious 8-year-old, those places are boring.
Who has most inspired your travels?
This sounds super stupid, but I really love nature documentaries so it’s not someone. It’s wandering albatrosses! It’s migratory whales! It’s ducks that cross oceans and cranes that climb Everest. That’s what I call travelling.
What is the greatest trip you’ve ever been on?
I wandered around New York for five months when I was 24 after getting temporarily (and justifiably) kicked out of drama school followed by a three-week stint in hospital with stomach ulcers. I lost my wallet within three weeks of arriving, ate $1 pizzas for three months, shared a cheap room with some hilarious ex-military Russians and spent the rest of the time volunteering for a theatre company. I even went on a road trip to LA with two strangers I found on Craigslist looking to save some gas money. Even then, I think I knew this was kind of a coming-of-age moment for me.
And the worst?
My parents dragged me on a 13-day cruise with exorbitant Wi-Fi fees back in 2012 when the world was supposedly about to end according to the Mayan calendar. Just where I want to be during an impending doomsday - in the middle of the ocean on a giant boat.
What’s your approach to packing for a big trip?
I’m a writer, everything’s last minute!
What is the destination that most surprised you – good or bad?
Paris. I always thought Europe was a boring place with old buildings. Then you see it in real life and it’s like “… Oh… ”
Where was your most memorable sunrise/sunset?
Day turning into night on the Eiffel Tower. Again, I never knew why a giant antenna made out of metal toothpicks was such a big deal. Then you see it to scale and it’s like “ … Oh, okay … ”
What’s the first thing you do when you get home from a long trip?
Dump my stuff then drive back out for a coffee or a meal at the usual.
Where is the one destination you must see in your lifetime?
Space. I mean, if it’s there …
What’s your favourite thing about travel?
Connecting the world you’ve read in books and seen in films to the real one out in the field. Then, trying to imagine what inspired those authors to write those stories.
Sam Wang created and stars in Homebound 3.0, currently screening on Thursdays, 9pm on Three and streaming on ThreeNow.
Jenni Mortimer checks in to see where the hotel's money has been spent.