I was very impressed by the idea of 'the Continent' as a child. My father's job on the railways meant we got travel passes so we could afford to have a holiday. Our first time abroad was to Ostend in Belgium — I was about 15. Everything seemed so exotic: we could smell fresh coffee in the morning but we didn't know what it was, because then most British people only drank tea.
If you have an opportunity to travel, you have an opportunity to grow. It's one of the greatest openers of people's intellect and imagination. There are so many places I've yet to explore. I'd like to go to Bulgaria and Romania; Mongolia and Bhutan would be fascinating, and I'm keen to go to some more Buddhist countries, such as Vietnam or Cambodia.
Everywhere influences me musically. In Thailand I bought a lot of traditional music, because it was so off the wall. And listening to people in Brazil playing music on the streets, to drums early in the morning in Jamaica, and the gamelan in Bali have all had a lasting effect.
I dread packing, but getting to a destination and unpacking is a joy. When I'm going to a far-flung place, I often drag along 'essential' items (like toiletries), only to find I can get everything there. I'm not good at limiting myself, and no matter how much I travel I don't get any better.
On my trips to Africa I got to see things a normal tourist wouldn't. It's a vast continent and I've only covered a fraction of it with my charity work, visiting people with preventable diseases like HIV. Seeing the truth behind the facade had a life-changing impact on me.
A luxury holiday is a wonderful thing. But balancing it with contributions made in other ways seems more rounded. I live an easy life financially and to enjoy that without giving something back would feel a little shallow.
Here in the UK we're always looking for more light. We gravitate towards the sun because we can never be sure it'll last long. My ideal holiday is one by the ocean, doing very little. Being in and around nature is very restorative.
Annie Lennox's latest album, A Christmas Cornucopia (£9.99, Island Records), is out now.
