Few things linger in my memory as strongly as the sight of torches ablaze, as the Jarl Squad marched through the streets of Lerwick during the Viking Fire Festival of Up Helly Aa – nor the tropical jungles in Borneo and the scent of its aromatic culinary delights. With my father from Borneo and my mother from Shetland, I was immersed in diverse cultures and endowed with a curiosity of the world around me from a young age.

That same curiosity enriches the conversations I share with our travelers. As a Travel Expert, I want to understand what drives others to travel and discover a world beyond what they know. Every trip starts with a conversation, a feeling, and only then does it navigate its way toward a specific place (or places). It’s why, at Black Tomato, we’ve never believed in ‘cookie-cutter’ itineraries. Ideas evolve and lead down unexpected paths; sometimes, that might even involve a fire festival or navigating the jungle.