The one thing I always pack in my suitcase…

I always pack chilli sauce. There’s a specific sauce I get from Belize. It’s quite spicy, with habanero chillies. I can’t do without it – I have to have my chilli sauce. I’m not going to take it to a really nice restaurant, but when I’m travelling, I’ll often take it with me to have a simple meal or a snack. It’ll go on some grilled meat or fish, a bit of chilli sauce on top. It gets packed in my suitcase every time.

I have a little recorder from years and years ago, with a picture of my daughter on it from when she was probably four years old. She made a little recording on it. She said “Mummy, Daddy, I love you so much.” I always have that with me. Whatever hotel I’m in, for however many days, I push that button and hear her voice when she was four. Now, it’s almost 20 years later, but I still love to hear that wherever I am.

It’s slightly embarrassing, but it’s a very practical thing for me: I always bring my pillow. When I was 17 or 18, I was in a really bad car crash and I damaged my neck quite a lot, so I always need to sleep with this really firm, therapeutic pillow. It’s not the most sexy and glamorous thing, and logistically it’s kind of challenging to find space in my luggage for this pillow. But it’s pretty much the only thing that I really need to bring with me.

I always actually take a box of snuff. It’s like a snorting tobacco. It’s something that my dad always takes and it is also good for meeting new people. I don’t take the stuff regularly, but it’s a good icebreaker when you travel around the world and are meeting different folks. It’s a bit like a pick-me-up. It’s like nicotine, even though I’ve never really smoked cigarettes. It’s really strong menthol, so it kind of burns. It’s more the shock that I like, rather than the effect it has.

I always pack a really good pair of boots. Seeing places on foot for me is really important. It sounds silly, but physically having your feet on the ground and putting in the leg work when you go to a new place is one of the most important ways of being able to get a real sense of how a place ticks.

I bring a French press and a pound of coffee. I also bring Tabasco sauce and gummy bears. If I am going on a really long photography trip where I need my comfort food, I have to have gummy bears, coffee and Tabasco.

I always take something to read. I try to make that thing I read something that’s germane to where I’m going. The first time I went to Australia, I read The Fatal Shore, Robert Hughes’ great book about the Penal Colonies. When I travelled through America, I read a great book about the Trans-Continental Railroad. It’s always a book and never a Kindle. I’m old school. I often see a book in a book shop that I read yonks ago and buy it for two bucks, The World According to Garp or something like that.

I have this really bad habit of packing too many sneakers. There always needs to be at least six pairs of sneakers in the bag. I usually take giant duffle bags, so I can put up to maybe nine pairs of sneakers in there, to have the choices that I need. I always pack an excessive amount of kit.

My guitar always goes with me. No matter where I go, work or no work. I can’t imagine being too far from home without my guitar. I am not very practical when I travel. I always carry way more stuff than what I need. Even if I go only for a couple days, I always carry a big suitcase. I always take some white clothes with me, too. It’s a symbol of peace for me. I always feel great and relaxed when I dress in white.

Normally, I like to travel with something work-related. I’m travelling with a lot of old photographs at the moment that I’m trying to write about, as I’m working on a book, a memoir, so I need to have those scattered about my hotel room. I’ve got a lot of family photos, pictures of me as a young person travelling to lots of different cities. It’s sort of helping me collect together all those memories.

I always pack a portable fishing rod. I’ve always done it since I was four. My granddad taught me to fish. Usually there isn’t time, as we’re usually too busy filming, but if there’s ever a chance anywhere on our travels, I’ve got to take the chance to get the rods out. What I fish for depends on which country I’m in, but I always pack it.

I always pack pictures of my kids. I took them to space to. I carry them as a reminder of who I am, what’s at home and what I truly love. It makes me feel good to look at them.

I always take superglue, which is terrific for both gluing stuff and covering blisters and small cuts, and a bandana.

I travel everywhere with my desert boots. I wear them in every environment, on mountains, in deserts, in jungles, in the countryside, on the beach. My desert boots are my most important piece of clothing. They’re just all-terrain, so they suit everything. They’re actually a military pair from America. They’re sturdy, they dry incredibly quickly, they’re soft on the feet and they’ve got a good tread. I’ve tried every kind of boot over the years and I swear by them.

To read full-length interviews with Bryan Cranston, Monica Galetti, Moby, De La Soul, Martha Wainwright and others, including Bill Bailey, David Attenborough and Michael Kenna, click here: www.wanderlust.co.uk/interviews or www.wanderlust.co.uk/inspire-me

Main image: Suitcase (Dreamstime)