Fashion designer and illustrator Sef Farrugia loves random encounters and unplanned exploration. She shares some of her best travel recollections with us.

Tell us something about yourself.

I returned to the rock three years ago and I’m loving it. I love random encounters and I’m always up for living in the moment.

How often do you travel?

Not as often as I would like to. Most of the time my travelling ends up being a combined holiday and working trip.

Do you remember your first time abroad, and can you tell us about it?

I don’t remember the very first time as I would have been very young. The earliest trip I can remember was with my mother, aged around four. We flew to Sicily and I can still remember the small plane we were on. It only carried about four people! I remember receiving a lot of gifts from my mum’s business associates. Obviously, that was the highlight for me.

Best holiday ever and why?

Florence. However, a trip that meant much more than a holiday was my first visit to London travelling on my own, aged 16. It was that holiday which made me realise that it’s perfectly okay to do something without really knowing what’s what. Of course, I did have something specific in mind. I wanted to get a good feel of the place before moving there to study later on, which ended up being the following year.

Which place would you never visit and why?

Although I have my preferred countries to visit, I would never say never to any destination. Travelling is really one of those things that I would love to do more of as for a long while I couldn’t do much of.

A couple of days after we had gotten on the ship, 9/11 happened and that was that

Best travel companion?

Someone spontaneous.

And what’s the worst your travel companion could do?

Someone who plans everything by the book. I find those sort of people monotonous.

What do you usually look for when you travel?

I like to get to know the people, their way of life, the culture, the music and their ways in general. Of course, I am a big food lover, so that is also a main factor when travelling. I like to try out new things and, mostly, having an authentic experience.

The perfect holiday would be... ?

Travelling across all the corners of Africa. I would also love to visit South America with nothing but the will to experience it all. I want to meet the most unexpected people and to understand other cultures first hand.

What’s the furthest you’ve been from home?

The US.

Package tours or DIY?

DIY is much more motivating.

What’s the best travel advice you can give?

Don’t plan every second of your holiday, otherwise you will miss out on the best moments of it all.

And what’s the worst piece of advice you’ve been given?

Go on a tour, you will see a bit of everything. So untrue.

Flying – hate it/love it/neutral?

Neutral. The longer the flight, the more crazy I get. I am a bit claustrophobic and so when you put me in closed spaces I go a bit nuts. Therefore, I always need many distractions to keep me sane until I get off the plane.

The one place you never get tired of visiting?

Well, I haven’t had the luxury to travel as much as I would like to or to go to one destination multiple times. But I don’t think I’d get enough of going back and forth to Florence. It was simply impeccable. The food, the people, the piazzas, the architecture, the beauty, everything…

Describe one memory that stuck with you from a place.

New York, 9/11. I had managed to get good exam results and my parents took me with them to a month’s holiday to the US. Part of it was 10 days on a cruise liner, where we visited Miami, Florida, Orlando, Mexico and all the highlights. However, a couple of days after we had gotten on the ship, 9/11 happened and that was that! I don’t usually have very good memory, but I still remember the time and what I was doing at that particular moment. I don’t think I can ever forget, also because we couldn’t visit most of the best places we were meant to visit or else we had to undergo really major security checks.

You met the coolest people at... ?

I would have to say London. I spent five years living there and I’ve travelled there so many times that I can’t even remember how many. I have to say that being a melting pot of people, from all around the world, I have met the most interesting characters there.

Your best budget tip to save money on holiday?

Always hide some money in your luggage a few days before you start packing, so once you’re on holiday and all the money is gone, you’ll find a nice surprise. That is, if you remember or you manage to find it on time.

I always need many distractions to keep me sane until I get off the plane

If you actually had to live away from Malta, where would you pick?

I wouldn’t say I have seen or experienced enough countries for me to actually pick one. Having experienced life in London made me grow even more attached to Malta. However, I would definitely love to explore some more and see if I could find somewhere I could settle in.

Having said that, I may be that person who will always be in between countries, so maybe I will never settle in just one. Who knows? I’d like to look back 10 years from now and see if I’d still be here.

What’s the one thing you would never do in a foreign country?

Disrespect their customs. Even if I may not agree with them.

Anything on your travel bucket list?

Where do I start? It’s a long list. One of them being going from desert to desert around the world.

Travel is important to you because... ?

It opens up your perception of people and cultures different to yours. Things you may think you know, you may not know at all. You meet people you would never think of meeting in a million years, experiences that you need to fuel your life and keep you motivated for more. It helps you understand what you are looking for in life, what you are missing out on. For me a holiday is never really just a holiday. I am always looking for a deeper meaning. Well, unless it’s Ibiza I am going to. But, again, who knows? You find meaning in the most unexpected places.

What has travel taught you?

I can never know enough. I can go to the same place a hundred times and always see something new. Most of all, it teaches me that I need more of it!

Where would you retire and why?

Like I said, I think I may always be an in between kind of person. However, I infinitely love Malta and this may be the place I will one day retire (if I ever will). Many things need changing, but what country doesn’t or won’t be going through changes as times go by?!