What essential travel items do you take. In your hand luggage en route? Three things. A compass: I always like tosleep with my head to the north. A tape measure, so that I can capture thearchitectural details of a room I like. And a magnet. When flying, if you weara magnet on your head ten minutes before landing and ten minutes afterwards,it greatly reduces the effects of jet-lag.In your suitcase for when you get there?That depends where I am going. What's the first thing you do when you arrive at a new destination? I start talking to the taxi driver, the chauffeur and the concierge and ask themabout good restaurants and places to visit. I do plan ahead when I travel butlocal knowledge is always of interest. What are your favourite destinations for: A luxury one-night/weekend stay?Florence or Marrakesh. A week's charter?The south Mediterranean.An extended holiday? Travelling around New Zealand. The ultimate experience?Heli-skiing in Canada.What inspires you to travel? I travel a great deal for business, so quality is important. I very much likeflying with Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Virgin. I enjoyvisiting new destinations, meeting people and experiencing different cultures.What's your one piece of foolproof advice when it comes to travelling?If you are travelling through different time zones, the above-mentionedmagnet is most important. Drink lots of water and set your watch to the timeof your destination as soon as you board the plane.Dream destination yet to visit / travel ambition yet to experience? I am very fortunate to have travelled widely for business and leisure - thereare not many parts of the world that I haven't yet seen.Favourite destination?My home is in the Maldives, on Soneva Fushi, Six Senses first resort. My wifeEva [pictured above] and I spend up to five months a year there. If we hadour way we would live there all year.On holiday, do you relax or try to jam in as much as possible? Eva and I both lead extremely busy lives, so on holiday we unwind andrecharge our batteries. Having said that, we both have a passion forexploring and trying new things. Travel light or pack the kitchen sink? Sometimes I visit 14 destinations in a fortnight, involving constant packingand unpacking - I always take an abundance of books and DVDs. I pack insuch a way that I can settle into a hotel room in 10 minutes and leave within15 minutes.Take home only photos - or shop until you drop for mementoes? We are not great shoppers, so we take home only photos and memories.n88I sea&iI WINTER 2011thelastwordbeforeyou go Travel tales fromSonu Shivdasani,Founder and CEO of Six Senses Resorts & Spas