Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Tribune
June 9, 2020
“Traveling is a privilege not afforded to all, so I really try to be conscious of that every time I get the chance to go anywhere,” said actress Richa Moorjani. “Now more than ever, I’m grateful for every opportunity I’ve ever had to see some of this beautiful world. I actually returned from my honeymoon in Thailand the first week of March before the quarantine began. Luckily, we were able to enjoy our two weeks there without getting sick or facing travel complications. I don’t know when we’ll be able to travel again and I’m just so thankful we had the ability to go and witness some of the beauty of Thailand before coming home to a different reality.” Moorjani is one of the stars of the Mindy Kaling Netflix series “Never Have I Ever.” Fans may stay in touch with the Los Angeles-based actress via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?
A. One of the places I’ve visited recently that I felt very connected to was Tulum, Mexico. It’s about a two-hour drive from Cancun and it’s a miraculous city full of culture, history, ancient sites and the most gorgeous beaches. It’s bursting with spirituality as well with yoga and meditation centers sprinkled throughout the town. I only got to spend a couple of days there after my wedding in Cancun, but my dream is to go back there for a yoga retreat one day.
Q. What was the first trip you took as a child?
A. (It) was with my family to visit our relatives in India, which we have done every year or every two years since I was born. I honestly can’t remember what my experience was like the very first time I went, since I was probably two or three years old. But going to India throughout my childhood years definitely had a large impact on forming my bicultural identity living in California. It also broadened my perspective of the very diverse world we live in along with its extreme living conditions.
Q. When you’re on the road, would you rather eat at a food truck or a fancy restaurant?
A. Definitely a casual meal at a street cart. The food is almost always more delicious. When traveling, it feels much more like an authentic cultural experience than sitting in a fine-dining restaurant that’s probably very commercialized and not as unique of an experience.
Q. Where is the most romantic destination?
A. During our recent honeymoon in Koh Samui, we stayed at a resort called Silavadee Pool Spa Resort on a cliff overlooking the turquoise ocean. It had the most breathtaking views. We woke up every morning at dawn to see the sun rising above the sea from our private pool villa and it was so quiet and peaceful. At night, we ate dinner at the rooftop restaurant under a blanket of stars with the ocean breeze hitting our faces. I’ll never forget how romantic it was.
Q. If you’ve ever gone away for the holidays, which was the best trip?
A. This past Christmas, my husband and I went to Whistler, Canada. It was my first time seeing so much snow on Christmas and now I want to always be in a place with snow during the holidays. One of the most spectacular sights I’ve ever seen was on the Peak 2 Peak Gondola ride, which rises to about 1,400 feet off the ground, and you see the gorgeous snowcapped mountains from a bird’s-eye view.
Q. What are your five favorite cities?
A. Mumbai, Varanasi (India), Vancouver, Barcelona, Tulum.
Q. Where have you traveled to that most reminded you of home?
A. I visited Morocco when I was studying abroad in Spain back in college and I remember feeling like the culture and the people were so similar to that of India. Even though the language is different, it felt like home. I consider India my other home outside of the United States.
Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A. Yoga pants, vegan protein bars for when I can’t find vegan meals, a good book, a journal and warm socks for the freezing airplanes.
Q. What would be your dream trip?
A. I would love to spend a few months in Europe with my husband, visiting historical sites, learning about different cultures and traveling by car or train to see as much as possible in between each destination.
Q. What is your best and/or worst vacation memory?
A. I went to my best friend’s wedding in Mumbai with my husband last year. I was so excited for it and also to show my then fiancé the city, because I used to live in Mumbai for a couple of years before I knew him. I had very precisely planned all the people I wanted him to meet, the places I wanted us to visit and for him to just see what my life was like when I lived there. I got so sick the day we arrived, that I ended up missing half of the wedding events and not being able to do any of the things I had planned for my husband and I to do in our short visit. I was so depressed, but the beautiful thing about it was that I was able to just let go of all the expectations and plans I had for the trip, which were actually stressing me out, and I learned my lesson that you can only plan so much and then you just have to go with the flow. We ended up having an amazing experience anyway. I’ll never forget how compassionate, loving and wonderful my husband was when he had to take care of me. These are vacation memories that you can’t plan.
© 2020 JAE-HA KIM
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