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

Sometimes the most memorable parts of travel are small moments and unplanned, but fascinating, encounters. 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 ithat even I would enjoy visiting a pickled onion factory quite so much. At The Blue Banner pickled onion factory in Ulverstone, Tasmania, watching the elite onion team create the crunchiest of pickles is 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

IWhen I first visited Cambodia, I had almost no preconceptions about the food. I suppose I would have thought that due to its location in SE Asia, it would perhaps be similiarly tasty as the cuisine of its neighbours in Thailand or Vietnam. In fact, it is quite different, with a surprising and very delicious range of flavours 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 … I saw the caramel coloured cheese bought some and, at ate the lot far too quickly. It is just so good, nutty, sweet and smoky. Why is it not more available!

Norwegian Canning Museum, Stavanger

I do like a museum, and especially the smaller quirky ones, but a museum of cans and canning? The jury was out. It turns out that  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 sliver 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, in particular a mid-western airport in the US? But just beyond security at the MSP Internatioan Airport you can find  regular, live music performances, encompassing soul, jazz, R&B, Latin and classical. There are food shacks and bars and the atmosphere is 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. When I was told this one we were visiting in Isfahan in central Iran was under a bridge, I was unsure what to expect. 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, thought, they are purely functional _ but not at the One World Trade Centre in Manhattan, the tallest building in the US. The lift here is quite special. As you rise, the walls become screens, initially showing a pre colonisation Manhattan Island. As you ascend, the city of New York develops and rises up around you.

The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic

I was leading a tour in northern Syria. We arrived the town of Maaloula, known as 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 Bachus. A local worshipper asked us if we would like to hear the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic. We certainly did – it was a memorable and beautiful experience, truly spine tingling.