Director Ben Crowder on his life in travel: Memories, packing tips and favourite spots

The beautiful Acropolis in Athens, Greece is one of Crowder's dream travel destinations. Photo / 123rf

What are your strongest memories from the first overseas trip you ever took?

I celebrated my third birthday on Cyprus. Memories are sketchy: waves, sun, staying with my Aunt in a tiny apartment (she was an army nurse stationed there), standing on a cigarette-butt on the beach, pottery shops, red poppies and noisy war jets flying overhead (it was invaded 3 months later).

What was a standard family holiday like when growing up?

I spent my childhood on the Isle Of Wight. Holidays always involved boats. Usually cramped and hot – but full of adventure.

Who has most inspired your travels?

My parents. They have always been intrepid travellers, not afraid to rough it and curious to seek the unknown.

What is the greatest trip you’ve ever been on?

In my early 20s I headed to India with a friend for several months. We had some extraordinary experiences and really immersed into a different pace and culture.

And the worst?

Cornwall in unrelenting rain – I remember barbecuing in a cave with a windbreak, and that may have been a high point!

What’s your approach to packing for a big trip?

My approach unfortunately tends to be last minute, which often results in panic and excess. I have a curious love for packing cells.

What is the destination that most surprised you – good or bad?

Mumbai on a later trip to India. In part, as somehow I had missed the name change from Bombay, so had rather foolishly been thinking I was going to an unknown city. I arrived via ferry to the Gateway of India – which is towards the tip of the Mumbai peninsula – it felt like all the energy of the city was somehow pushed towards this apex. The city was so beautiful in terms of architecture and vibrancy. I became besotted, knowing I was in one of the great cosmopolitan cities of the world.

Where was your most memorable sunrise/sunset?

For a month in Goa, I waded into the warm waters nightly, up to my chin, and watched the hazy sun dip below the horizon.

What’s the first thing you do when you get home from a long trip?

Connect with my home, the art on the walls, the books on the shelves, the little things that I love.

What do you miss most about home when you travel?

My dog.

Where is the one destination you must see in your lifetime?

The Acropolis – which in fact I am about to see as I’m going to Athens for the first time. I studied classics, including Greek art and architecture at school and university so it is wildly familiar, but also somehow mythic.

Nightsong Director Ben Crowder. Photo / Supplied

What’s your favourite thing about travel?

How life and its everyday pressures simply melt away. The perfect preparation before rehearsing a new show – which is always all-encompassing and demands absolute focus.

Ben Crowder co-directs Nightsong’s I Want To Be Happy, from August 18 at Herald Theatre, Auckland and from September 6 at Circa Theatre, Wellington. nightsong.co.nz