SH: What inspires you to travel?
DN: It's difficult to answer that question without reeling off a pretentious-sounding list of phrases that look like they've been copied straight off the spines of my local book shop's self-help section, but I really do think that travel is a great means to "Expand The Mind", "Aquire New Skills", "Learn About Other Cultures" and "Develop As An Individual". These may sound like rather lofty goals, but they really are what I try to do when I travel and when I create China experiences for our guests at Newman Tours.

SH: What are some of your favourite destinations?
DN: One of my favourite destinations in China is a small Buddhist Temple hidden away in the Cangshan mountains of Yunnan. It's called Wuwei Temple, and the abbot who runs it is a student from Shaolin who teaches local orphans Chinese martial arts. I love going to Wuwei Temple because you not only get to learn some amazing kung fu, but also get to experience traditional temple life, and spend time with the friendly abbot.

SH: Most valued travel tips?
DN: I think that learning a bit of the local language is one of the best ways to get the most out of any trip overseas. Even if you just read the relevant phrases in the back of your guidebook it will open lots of new doors in terms of culture, knowledge and opportunities. But perhaps most importantly of all, make sure you always carry a spare roll of toilet paper.

SH: What do you miss about Shanghai while you are away?
DN: Very little! Shanghai is an amazing city full of energy, excitement, great museums, architecture and fascinating history, but it is also very competitive place, so it's great to have the chance to escape the rat race once in a while. That's why Newman Tours also offers tourists and expats alike the chance to escape the hustle and bustle of Shanghai for the day and enjoy the comparative repose of an excursion to Hangzhou, Suzhou or Zhujiajiao.

SH: Which aspect of traveling do you find the most difficult to do?
DN: I sometimes find it hard to be there in the moment and enjoy the experience without thinking about things left unresolved back home or the things I want to do when I get back to reality. I guess that's another reason that I like visiting temples that teach Chinese martial arts because whilst you're training, you feel like you're very much there in the moment.

SH: How do you maintain health and fitness when you are away?
DN: The temples and schools that I go to make you spend at least four hours a day practicing martial arts. So the problem is actually maintaining my health when I get back to Shanghai. Here I obviously do a lot of walking leading things like French Concession Tours and Ghost Tours, but I also spend a lot of time in front of the computer, so I try to make it to the local gym and do a yoga class when I get the chance.

SH: What can’t you leave home without?
DN: I guess it's indicative of my inability to completely leave my world back home behind me, but these days I can't go anywhere without my iPhone. I know that's rather sad, but having that equally cursed and beloved tool enables me to capture memorable moments from my trips, record key pieces of information with which to turn the best bits into future tours, and stay in touch with people all over the world. Actually, right now I am in Anhui leading a tour of the majestic Yellow Mountains and am writing this on my iPhone.

SH: What is your most treasured possession you have picked up while traveling?
DN: That would have to be a Taoist duster that I picked up in Wudang Mountains. I know it sounds strange that my most prized travel trophy is a duster, but in Wudang these dusters also serve as religious implements and martial weapons.

SH: What has been your most memorable holiday?
DN: I was working as a teacher in Georgia shortly after the end of their civil war in 2000. That doesn't sound like much of a holiday, but what really made those four months so incredibly memorable was the warmth and hospitality of the local people. Having just been through a war, lots of people there had very little, yet I was constantly invited to wonderful feasts and weddings, and treated like a guest of honour, being forced to down huge quantities of red Georgian wine from enormous ram horns.

SH: What is the best restaurant, café, bar that you have visited while traveling?
DN: I remember an absolutely amazing Indonesian restaurant in the middle of a small town on Hainan. In retrospect the food there probably wasn't that amazing, but in comparison to everything else we'd eaten in Hainan, it really was ambrosia. They had delicious curries, rice that you could scrape out of fresh pineapples and delicious lassi-like coconut milkshakes that they made right in front of you. It was so good that we stayed in the town for an extra couple of days just so we could bask in the heaven of that food and those milkshakes.

SH: What are the top holiday destinations that you are yet to visit?
DN: I am yet to visit several "epic" countries like Egypt, Brazil, Peru and Russia. I'd also put Italy, Greece and China on my list, even though I’ve already spent quite a bit of time in each. I prefer non-English speaking countries because, although I'm far from good at learning languages, I enjoy trying to chat to the locals.