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Every year on July 12, the World Civil Aviation Stewardship Day is celebrated around the world – the people who accompany us in the world of flights and air travel. It may seem that stewards and stewardesses are carefree little birds fluttering from one airport to another and spending free time between flights in endless walks in new cities and countries. This is a myth: the flight attendant schedule is clearly regulated, the flight schedule is quite tight, and the number and direction of departures are selected by the system, so that stewards are not always able to even go to the city in the places where they fly. Nevertheless, among flight attendants there are real travelers who can easily tick off many remote corners on our planet.

Africa

My first bright independent trip was a trip to Morocco. This country attracted me for many reasons: as a corner of the unknown and mysterious East, it retained its true spirit: old streets, classic noisy bazaars with colorful goods and even more colorful sellers of everything in the world – and at the same time it allowed me to touch a completely different, different to the world. I returned from Morocco under the great impression and, probably, “hooked” on travel.

To be honest, the more time you spend in the sky, the more countries and cities you see from a bird’s eye view, the more you want to explore them in detail, dive into the local cuisine, culture, meet people. Fortunately, 70 days of vacation and discount tickets allow this. So, having traveled to Morocco, Israel, having visited several European countries, I realized that I want to experience the most distant and exotic countries, and I set myself the most remote goals: to visit Australia, Brazil, Japan.

And in Africa, I dream of being in Namibia, where there are no tropical diseases, but all the African flavor is present. They say that representatives of the Himba tribe can be found in the traditional appearance – covered with red clay and in loincloths (pictured)  – even in an ordinary supermarket!

Australia and Oceania

When my dream came true and I ended up in Sydney, my first impression was a feeling of some incredible eclecticism: I left the hotel and saw classic low buildings, as if transferred here from London. And next – the theater building with a massive colonnade, as if just taken out of Rome. Around the bend are palm trees planted in neat rows, like in Miami. And now, it would seem, nothing would surprise you, but you see the huge glass skyscrapers, as in the center of New York, and you understand that this city is absolutely amazing and really does not look like any other on Earth!

My farthest trip in this region was a trip to Fiji. I flew through Hong Kong, then through Australia and another 4.5 hours over the Pacific Ocean. Of all the places where I was on the globe, it was there that I met the friendliest people, although the large and tall Papuans seem to make a rather frightening impression. Perhaps this is the effect of remoteness from the mainland, but these are incredibly kind, sincere and helpful people.

The moon made the most indelible impression on me here. We live in the northern latitudes, and Fiji is our exact opposite. Therefore, when night fell, I was genuinely surprised to see the Earth’s satellite “from below”, not at all where it should be. The moon seemed to peep out of the sea, leaving a wide silver trail on the water. I saw in Fiji many beautiful places and things – the island of Bounty, by the way, is also there, but I always remember that moon as one of the most vivid memories of my travels.

Asia

Training at the Shaolin Monastery, China; photo from the archive of Ilya Golchansky

Asia is so amazing in all its manifestations that it is even difficult to choose the most vivid impressions. Hot India soaked in spices; unique Thailand, which is capable of shocking even a sophisticated tourist, Bangkok with its fantastic skyscrapers, immense impressions of China and, of course, Japan, which is more like some kind of separate planet.

Probably the most interesting thing in Asia is how your perception changes depending on the context and the number of visits to the country. So, when I first came to China, we had a local guide who, as I remember now, was called Lenya. He showed us the “cream”: he drove us to the most selected restaurants, to the circus, where acrobats performed wonders of juggling, took us to some factories where you could buy whatever your heart desires. I was completely delighted and decided to definitely return. The next time I ended up in Beijing without a guide, I didn’t even know where to eat! The menu in the restaurants looks either like a white laminated sheet with hieroglyphs, or like a huge Talmud with photographs that even make it impossible to determine whether the chicken is in front of you or the fish! But probably the most memorable trip was to Shaolin, and most of all I was not struck by the monastery itself, but by the nearby Lunmyn caves, where thousands of grottoes and indentations with temples and giant Buddha statues are carved directly in the rocks. This is not a very popular destination among tourists, although little can be compared with this place by monumentality.

And in Japan, the whole difference in the mentality of eastern and western people was revealed to me. I was fortunate enough to meet in Tokyo with local friends who helped me figure out the stunning scheme of underground and ground transportation. They volunteered to escort me to the park to a famous monument. There was a ticket office at the entrance and a queue of several dozen people curled towards it. Nevertheless, no one guarded the entrance: there was no access system, not even a ribbon, which would at least somehow prevent the entrance. I offered to just go to the park so as not to stand in line, but my proposal was met with a genuine misunderstanding: “How can I get through, we did not buy a ticket? What does it mean that no one bothers to get through – but we don’t have a ticket? ”I had to give up and stand in line for 20 minutes, simply because

Europe

It’s probably difficult to surprise anyone with Europe. If you have a Schengen visa, many people go there not just on vacation, but simply on the weekend – for shopping, a concert or an opera. But there is a place with which, by the way, I met precisely thanks to my work. Here you need to clarify: most of our flights are return flights, which means that you fly from point A to point B and almost immediately return back on the same side. And there are relay flights. This means that you fly to point A, and another team flies back instead of you. You can stay on a business trip for several days, observing the pre-flight rest regime, of course.

So I discovered the Canary Islands and Tenerife with the surrounding beaches of black volcanic sand. Due to the peculiar location (closer to Africa than to Europe), a fantastic climate is created on the islands – optimal weather is maintained here all year round. However – and this advice saved me from the locals – if you are going to the mountains, take a 50+ scarf, a windbreaker and sunblock with you, because otherwise you risk freezing and sunburning, as in ski resorts. The rest of the islands leave an indelible impression: the abundance of cheap and delicious seafood, the prices that are pleasant relative to mainland Spain, the quality service and the fantastic Atlantic Ocean make me come back here again and again.

South America

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; photo from the archive of Ilya Golchansky

In Brazil, as a football fan, I dreamed of visiting since childhood. The country that gave the world Ronaldo, Pele and Carlos was the limit of my dreams. When I visited there, I realized that it’s worth living for this. The sky is of a special blue hue, the ocean, the white sand of Ipanema and Copacabana, the warm sea wind, the boys play football on free spots – and above all this stands a statue of Christ. The sensations are exceptional.

Coffee gives a special charm to all this. Although many people call Italy the main coffee country, but after Brazil I am ready to question this thesis. So if you find yourself in Rio, be sure to try the “cofezzino” – a small portion of coffee, which in volume resembles dopio, but has a unique rich aroma and taste. Perhaps it is coffee that makes the people of this country so energetic. For those few days that I spent in the city, several holidays and carnivals passed, under which they blocked the whole city.

North America

In North America, I managed to visit Toronto and see with my own eyes the legendary Niagara Falls. By the way, it’s worth looking at it, precisely from the Canadian side, because the main “extravaganza” of water is better visible and more clearly felt there. The most interesting thing is that from afar or in photographs it does not produce even half of the effect that is created in the immediate vicinity. Noisy, booming, at the same time slender, beautiful and even, it fascinates with its natural power.

But no matter how trivial it was to admit it, New York was and remains one of my favorite cities in the world. Probably, the love of this city comes from my childhood, because when I first got there, I first threw things and went to the “same hotel” where young McCaulay Culkin lived in solitude in “Alone at Home 2”. My love for megacities also plays a significant role here – it is there that I feel as harmonious and calm as possible, despite the surrounding clutter and bustle. The more people (and New York is a real melting potfrom nationalities, races, languages, cuisines, cultures and styles), the more fish I feel in the ocean. Everything in this city is boiling and bubbling, and probably its best reflection is Madison Square Garden, a huge hall where, during the day, a basketball game and then a hockey game can take place, followed by Madonna in the evening. This is the whole of New York – it is constantly opening for you from different angles. In the future, I would really like to drive the United States from east to west, see “one-story America”, see natural beauties and get to the West Coast.

Photo: Getty Images, Ilya Golchansky