Joanna Lumley - From the archives
The Travel Diaries
Holly Rubenstein
4.5 • 813 Ratings
🗓️ 30 September 2025
⏱️ 72 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
I'm bringing back some treasures from the Travel Diaries archive, while I take a little time off on maternity leave. And this one has to be one of the best - a name synonymous with travel, Dame Joanna Lumley. Joanna's appetite for adventure was deeply engrained from childhood. She was born in Kashmir in the last days of British India, the daughter of an army officer who served with the Gurkhas. Throughout her childhood her parents lived in Asia, moving to Hong Kong and Malaysia, while she spent term times at school in England.
From her early days as a fashion model, gracing the covers of magazines and strutting down runway, Joanna Lumley was destined for greatness. But it was her iconic role as Patsy in the hit TV series "Absolutely Fabulous" that truly catapulted her into the hearts of millions. I love Wikipedia’s description of Patsy - “an alcoholic, a chain smoker, and a frequent recreational drug user. She carries drugs with her at all times, storing joints in her trademark beehive."
After surviving solo on a desert island, on the groundbreaking show Girl Friday, Joanna soon became as synonymous with travel as she was with Ab Fab, setting off on epic journeys that would make even the most seasoned globetrotter green with envy, from Japan and India to the Caribbean and the Silk Route. What makes her so remarkable is not just her fearless spirit but her genuine love for the people she meets along the way. She champions causes close to her heart, advocating for the rights of the Gurkhas, supporting endless charities, and shedding light on the important issues affecting our world.
So, fasten your seatbelts and get ready as we embark on a journey through the extraordinary life and awe-inspiring travels of Joanna Lumley, from Malaysia to Uzbekistan, Italy to Indonesia.
Holly's travel diary: Heckfield Place, Berkshire, England
Joanna's Destination Recap:
- Kashmir, India
- Hong Kong
- Malaysia
- Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia
- Madagascar
- Delhi, India
- Uzbekistan
- Tash Rabat, Kyrgzystan
- Sienna, Italy
- Banda Islands, Indonesia
- Sudan
- Romania
Thank you so much for listening today. If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to hit subscribe, or if you’re on Apple Podcasts, tap follow, so that a new episode lands in your podcast app each week.
To be the first to know who’s joining me next week, follow me on Instagram and TikTok at @hollyrubenstein. I’d love to hear from you.
And if you can’t wait until then, there are already 15 seasons to catch up on, with more than 160 episodes to keep you busy. You’ll also find all the destinations mentioned by my guests in the episode show notes and on my website: thetraveldiariespodcast.com.
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Transcript
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| 1:25.7 | Hello and welcome back to the Travel Diaries podcast. |
| 1:29.8 | I'm your host Holly Rubinstein and here each week I'll be speaking to a very special guest |
| 1:35.2 | about the seven chapters in their life's travel diaries. |
| 1:38.9 | From the first place that they fell in love with to their all-time favorite destination, |
... |
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