Episode 21
June 12 , 2018
21. Sonali Shah: BBC1’s Escape to the Country Presenter on East Africa, Dodging American Helicopters in Afghanistan, the Beauty of Rajasthan and of Course the English Countryside
Travelling the breadth of the UK in her enviable job as the presenter of BBC1’s Escape to the Country is more calming than Sonali Shah’s previous travels which included making a ‘kidnap plan’ when filming in Afghanistan, needing armed guards at her wedding in Kenya and being stuck in a military coup in Bangkok. With family from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and India she’s a true child of the Commonwealth and also a Londoner through and through.
On this episode we cover:
Feeling like a true Londoner
Coming from an East African Asia family
Being a true child of the commonwealth
Her family in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
The Indian work ethic
Lisa and Sonali’s shared Indian background
Her dad studying Pharmacy at Bradford University in Yorkshire
Her mother training to become a midwife
The British Asian Community in England
Growing up in Harrow, London
Growing up speaking Gujarati
Beating playground bullies
Dealing with racism
Having a foot in both camps
Loving her Indian wardrobe and Indian dance
Huge Indian weddings
Great curry!
Being a vegetarian
Visiting Africa as a child
How London is the best city in the world
Being in love with London
Spending every summer in Kenya and Tanzania
Visiting India for the first time
Lisa’s experience in India
The weird feeling of looking Indian but not actually being Indian
Worrying about Malaria now she has kids
How we are now a bit more risk conscious
Filming a documentary in Afghanistan.
Seeing the beauty in Afghanistan through the destruction
Visiting Haiti after the earthquake
Visiting China after the earthquake
Reporting on the Beijing Olympics
Supporting arsenal since childhood
The departure of Arsene Wenger
Reporting for BBC Sport on triathlon in New Zealand., Canada, San Diego, Stockholm and more
Having to go on ‘hostile a environment course’
Preparing for being potentially kidnapped in Kabul
Feeling vulnerable in Kabul
Wearing a Hijab
Hoping American helicopters wouldn’t think the camera was a weapon
Kids avoiding mines cluster bombs in Afghanistan
The Garden Route in South Africa
Loving Safaris
Brazil
Being mistaken for a local in Japan
The beauty of weddings abroad
Weddings in Spain, Africa, India, Greece…
The most fabulous wedding she attended
The beauty of Rajasthan in India
Greek Orthodox weddings in Greece
Getting married in Kenya
White water rafting in Seattle and Australia
Gorilla watching in Uganda
How travel has changed since having kids
Not wanting to spoil the kids
Taking the kids to Dubai
Kids and sleep or rather the lack of it
How glamping beats camping
Safari in the Ngorongoro Crater
How Italy is great for vegetarians
Rediscovering Europe with children in tow
The peril of being tied into school holidays
Childhood trips to Butlins, Pontins and Blackpool
Why camping is an alien concept to Asians
Her job on BBC1’s Escape to the Country
Showing people properties around the country
Travelling the UK for three nights a week
Climate change and its effect on the seasons and weather patterns
Climate change’s effect on the Maldives
Devon, Cornwall, Norfolk, the Peak District, dry stone walls, Chatsworth House.
Why the ‘mystery house’ is always the favourite
A celebrity version of Escape to the Country
Moving to Brighton or Sussex
Being stuck in a military coup in Bangkok
The 2006 Tsunami
A terrifying tsunami warning when in Malaysia
Her strange holiday in South Africa shortly after the murder of British honeymooner Anni Dewani
Providing armed guards at her own wedding in Kenya
The girl from Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro
