Celebrity Travel: Go Away With Lisa Nichols

Founder and CEO of Motivating the Masses, Inc. (http://www.motivatingthemasses.com/home/), Lisa Nichols was once a single mom relying on public assistance to help make ends meet. Now a motivational speaker and best-selling author, Nichols says she feels grateful to be able to help others. The 49-year-old California resident's latest book is "Abundance Now: Amplify Your Life and Achieve Prosperity Today" (Dey Street Books, $25.99). To keep updated on her projects, fans may follow Nichols on Twitter (https://twitter.com/2motivate).

Q. Have you traveled to a place that stood out so much that you felt compelled to incorporate it into your work?

A. Yes! When I went to Johannesburg, I visited Nelson Mandela's jail cell and stayed there for eight hours. I sat in his jail cell. I sat where he had his meals. I wanted to understand his level of sacrifice, as well as his level of forgiveness. I wanted to understand more about how he could leave prison after 27 years and lead the largest forgiveness movement in history. I often share the profound impact that had on my life and my ability to forgive the perceivably unforgivable. The trip to Johannesburg inspired me to want to be a better woman and I often share that experience from the stage.

Q. What is your favorite vacation memory?

A. My best vacation memory is of us in Swaziland. My son, Jelani, and I met the queen regent right after an extremely long safari. We did not have time to eat and my son was 10 years old at the time. He was famished and made me promise to feed him after we visited with the queen. During the visit, we were served small plates with a bite-size piece of chicken and some veggies. Jelani began to aggressively tear into the piece of chicken. I saved my piece to give to him as well, and he tore into that, too. At this point I was getting a bit embarrassed. After he finished, he blurted out, "Excuse me, Mrs. Queen, can I have some more of your chicken, please?" I stopped breathing momentarily and the queen, seeing the look on my face, burst into laughter and had a line of servants standing one behind another with small plates of chicken waiting for Master Jelani -- as she affectionately named him -- to finish with the previous plate. Jelani blazed through at least four or five plates before he slowed down. The queen instructed her head chef to wrap up half a dozen chicken legs for Jelani to take with him. This doubles as my fondest and most embarrassing moment while traveling. (Laughs)

Q. What was the first trip you took as a child? And did you love it ... or not so much?

A. My family went on a family reunion to Little Rock, Arkansas, when I was 12 years old. I loved the trip tremendously, because it was with my family and we bonded in such an amazing way. The only challenge that I had was my cousins wanted to walk around barefoot all the time and I attempted to do the same. I resigned myself to the fact that I'm a city girl and require shoes -- except for the beach!

Q. What's the most important thing you've learned from your travels?

A. Travel with cash, get a sufficient amount of singles, fives or tens for tipping. Always be prepared to honor the people who serve you. Call the phone company and the credit card company and let them know when you are traveling, especially internationally, so that you don't incur unsuspected charges or get your credit card shut down for security reasons. Pack and leave a little space for my bag to expand with goodies during my trip.

Q. What are your favorite vacation areas?

A. The Caribbean. I love Tortola (British Virgin Islands).

Q. To someone who was going there for the first time, what would you recommend that they do during their visit?

A. I would recommend that they spend as much time taking in the breathtaking beauty of the ocean, white sand beaches and tropical views. Lay on the beach or enjoy a day on one of the marina yachts. Pack a lunch, download some great music and enjoy a day island-hoping and swimming in some of the most beautiful water on the planet.

Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?

A. I'd love to visit Alaska, Spain, London and Fiji.

Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?

A. My must-have items include Emergen-C, B12 and Airborne for my immune system. Febreze for the not-so-nice smells that I encounter, disposable ThermaCare back heating pads for the long trip. A wrap for the chilly flight. My iPad and Bluetooth speaker for my music and movies. At least three mildly scented candles.

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(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and travel writer. You can respond to this column by visiting her website at www.jaehakim.com. You may also follow "Go Away With..." on Twitter at @GoAwayWithJae where Jae-Ha Kim welcomes your questions and comments.)