Around The World in Eight...Unexpected Delights with Jon Baines

Sometimes the most memorable parts of travel are small moments and encounters that deliver more than you anticipated. Or visits that you remember for reasons that have nothing to do with your original plan.

Here are eight of my favourite unexpected delights from around the world.

The Pickled Onion Factory, Ulverstone, Tasmania

Whenever I say pickled onion, I want one. However, I never thought that even I would enjoy visiting a pickled onion factory quite as much as I did. At The Blue Banner pickled onion factory in Ulverstone, Tasmania, watching the elite onion team create the crunchiest of pickles was a joy. Extra zest is added to the experience by pairing the view with a Tasmanian platter. I now will only buy Blue Banner pickled onions.

Cambodian Food

When I first visited Cambodia, I knew very little about its cuisine. I suppose I would have thought that it would be similiarly tasty as the cuisine of its neighbours in Thailand or Vietnam. In fact, it is quite different, with surprising and very delicious flavours that range from hot and spicy to sour and fermented. The combination is delicious.

Norwegian Goat's Cheese

Goats' cheese is an expected delight, but the Norwegian variety takes it up a notch. Popping into a deli in Stavanger, I spotted the caramel coloured cheese, bought some and, ate the lot far too quickly. It is just so good – nutty, sweet and smoky, and unlike any other cheese. Why, oh why, is it not more widely available?  

Norwegian Canning Museum, Stavanger

I do like a museum, and especially the smaller, quirky ones, but a museum of cans and canning? The prospect wasn't filling me with excited anticipation. Stavanger in Norway was the sardine capital of the world, with 70 canneries at the height of the sardine industry. Norway's vast, deep fjords were rich with sardines, with reports of the water being almost solid with the silver fish. It was Norway’s first great export and the excellent museum was, unexpectedly, both mesmerising and enlightening.

Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport  

How can any airport be a pleasure, especially a mid-western airport in the US? I had zero expectations of any delights while in transit, but just beyond security at the MSP International Airport I found live music performances encompassing soul, jazz, R&B, Latin and classical. There were food shacks and bars and the whole atmosphere was relaxed and fun.  A very un-airporty experience!

A Khaju Bridge teahouse, Isfahan, Iran

I love a cup of tea in a nice cafe or tea house. I was unsure of what to expect when told we would have tea under a bridge in Isfahan. My apprehensions were unfounded. We sat on luxuriant cushions under elegant arches that lined the bridge on a floor covered in beautiful rugs, with  myriad coloured glass lanterns hanging from the ceiling. We drank delicious tea and enjoyed the breeze as the river flowed beneath us.

A Lift in New York

What do we think of lifts? Generally not much (although we do have an impressive green Art Deco lift at our office in Melbourne). For the most part, though, they are purely functional. Not at the One World Trade Centre in Manhattan, the tallest building in the US. As you rise, the walls become screens, initially showing pre colonisation Manhattan Island. As you ascend, the city of New York develops and rises up around you. A very special lift experience.

The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic

I was leading a tour in northern Syria and arrived at the town of Maaloula, one of the last places where Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ, is spoken. Abir, our guide, took us to the 4th-century cave monastery of Saint Sergius  and St Bacchus. A local worshipper asked us if we would like to hear the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic. It was both unexpected and truly memorable – a beautiful, spine tingling experience.