Indian Ink Theatre Company co-founder, Jacob Rajan, shares why travel is in his blood

Jacob Rajan, co-founder of Indian Ink Theatre Company, shares his travel tales. Photo / supplied

Jacob Rajan from Indian Ink Theatre Company shares his most memorable journeys, and why travel is in his DNA.

What do you miss most about travel right now?
I performed in America this year and the effort to get on that plane and navigate the airports with all the pre- and post-departure testing, paperwork and mask-wearing made me nostalgic for the old days when every leg didn't seem like a space launch.

What are your strongest memories from the first overseas trip you ever took?  It was coming to New Zealand from Malaysia. I was 4 years old so I really don't remember anything but clinging to my mum when we landed in what seemed like a hurricane, which I've now come to know as Wellington.

What was a standard family holiday like when growing up? 
My dad was a big believer in driving as far as you possibly could with three kids in the back and Mum in charge of snacks. We covered Cape Rēinga to Rakiura. Car sickness was not an option.

Who has most inspired your travels?
 My mum. She's one of six sisters who have all travelled and settled around the world. All those immigrant stories have been a part my growing up and because of that I've always felt travel was in my DNA.

What is the greatest trip you've ever been on?
 When I graduated drama school, I shaved my head and went on a kind of pilgrimage through India for three months looking at various drama forms over there. It's such a mind-blowing country and, of course, the drama was actually all around.

And the worst?
Throwing up out of both ends minutes before getting on an eight-hour bus trip from Udaipur to Bundi in Rajasthan.

What's your approach to packing for a big trip?
 I've perfected a technique of laying my clothes flat that allows me to sort of origami them and fit an enormous amount into my suitcase. Unfortunately, you have to take absolutely everything out to find anything.

What is the destination that most surprised you – good or bad?  Chicago. Everyone talks about New York – with good reason – but the art, architecture, music, theatre and food in The Big Onion* astonished me. ( *I don't think anybody calls it that – I'm trying to start something.)

What's the first thing you do when you get home from a long trip?  Hand out the guilt presents to my wife and kids.

Where is the one destination you must see in your lifetime, and why?  Japan. I love the cuisine, I love the aesthetic and somehow I feel like it's the closest I'll come to landing on another planet.

Jacob Rajan's Indian Ink theatre company celebrates its 25th anniversary with a tour of five New Zealand centres from June 9. Go to indianink.co.nz for more details