"How I Travel" With Actress Aisha Dee

For the LA-based Gold Coast-born star of upcoming drama Watching You, travel is less about ticking off destinations and more about following her senses. 

Where’s your favourite place in the world?

An island in Mexico called Holbox. I went by myself and had the most magical time. There are no cars there and it has this feeling of authenticity. It grounded me. 

The film or show that takes you away?

Sweet Charity. I used to borrow it from the library a lot as a kid. The backdrop is New York, which is one of my favourite cities in the world, and it was shot in technicolour; everything is so camp and so extreme. 

Your must-listen holiday songs?

I love Ethiopian jazz from the 1970s. It always puts me in a relaxed state. The song Tezeta by Mulatu Astatke is one of my go-tos. 

The book that inspired you to travel?

My friend Dylin Hardcastle wrote A Language of Limbs. It’s a queer love story, really beautiful and descriptive. The way they describe the jacaranda trees and small details about the ocean in Australia inspire me to come home more.

Where did you have your most memorable meal?

One of my favourite places to eat is a sushi restaurant in Austin, Texas, called Uchi. It has this dessert, Uchiba Fried Milk. It sounds simple but is actually very bougie.

Top destination on your bucket list?

The music and DJ scene in Berlin is something I’d like to experience. I love music when people’s bodies are moving in unison. It feels spiritual to me; it feels like church.

What’s the first thing you pack when you travel?

My favourite moisturiser, Rixx Lotion, is very gentle (I have sensitive skin) and works well. If I’m in a hotel and they give me a tiny bottle of moisturiser, I just know it’s not going to cut it. So for me, the first thing to pack is my moisturiser – if I’m hydrated then I know I’ll be happy. 

The hotel you’d return to in a second?

The Carpenter Hotel in Austin, Texas. I filmed a Netflix movie in the city in 2021 and because everyone was fresh out of the pandemic, all the Airbnbs were taken so I was in the Carpenter for two months. I spent so much time there that it became special to me. And it’s right by Barton Springs Pool – you can walk beside the water and look at the turtles. 

Your perfect snapshot travel memory?

When I was in Holbox in Mexico, I was texting with a friend of mine and he was actually on the same island! That’s one of my favourite travel memories because we didn’t intend to have that time together. We ended up overlapping by a few days on this tiny island – our hotels were a two-minute walk from one another.

SEE ALSO: “How I Travel” With Model and Actress Charlee Fraser