Director and Photographer Kinga Burza Talks Travel Essentials, Must See Destinations

Music video, commercial, short and fashion film director, photographer and intrepid traveller Kinga Burza knows a thing or two about making inter-continental city hopping look effortless. Case in point: Kinga – who was born in Poland, grew up in Sydney, decamped to the UK to kickstart her career as a director and is now based in Paris – was in Sydney last week on brand ambassador duties for today’s launch of the Pandora Essence collection. It sounds exhausting, but you’d never know it from looking through her envy-inducing social media feeds. 

Kinga, who has also directed music videos for the likes of Katy Perry (‘I Kissed A Girl’), Marina and The Diamonds (‘Hollywood’) and Patrick Wolf (‘The City’), took five minutes to talk her travel essentials, the chicest destinations and where to go in her old and new stomping grounds of London and Paris should you want to seek out something of the world through her well-curated eyes. 

A meeting in Nairobi, for a Kenyan Beer commercial 

Five essential travel items you can’t go on a trip without? 

1. My vintage 35mm camera 
2. A 3G sim card on my iPad for easy access to Google Maps 
3. Good music 
4. Good company 
5. A suitcase full of cute outfits to compliment the destination 

Hard to pick just one! Being spoilt by Australian beaches growing up, I was never really crazy to go to beach destinations but then in the beginning of the year I ended up in Mnemba Island, just off Zanzibar, where I swam with dolphins, snorkelled with tropical fish, saw a Green Turtles lay a nest under my deck chair and another Green Turtle nest hatch at sunset. Plus the food, cocktails were crazy good, the beach huts were heavenly, the water was a crystal turquoise and the sand was made entirely from coral so it’s was never too hot to touch. It may have been the prettiest place I’ve ever been.

What’s at the top of your travel-destination bucket list? 

• Peru 
• Havana
• Buenos Aires 
• Tulum 
• Greek Islands 
• Kyoto 
• Utah 

I like to get in the mood of the destination I’m going to so that’s a big inspiration otherwise Kurt Vile, Sparklehorse, Elliot Smith, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Tame Impala, Nick Drake, MGMT and Girls have been recent favourite travelling classics.

 

Stone Island, Zanzibar. Heavily overrated. 

The most underrated holiday destination you’ve loved? 

Slab city and Salton Sea. Most people wouldn’t dare consider it a destination worth visiting, but they’re both incredibly interesting and easy to check out along with Salvation Mountain in a day.

The Pavilion Cafe in Victoria Park. It’s run by Aussies and the food and coffee is so good plus you can eat it on the edge of a little pond surrounded by rose bushes and white swans. It’s super pretty.

Address: Crown Gate West, London E9 7DE

Phone: +44 20 8980 0030 

Hours: 7 days a week, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Photo: Howard Barlow via The Pavilion Cafe

Top places to shop in London? 

Address: 34 Wigmore St., London W1U 2RS 

Phone: +44 (0)20 7009 9009 

Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00 – 18:00
Thursday 10:00 – 19:00
Sunday 12:00 – 17:00

Check the Margaret Howell website for other store locations and stockists

Address: 17-18 Dover St, London W1S 4LT

Phone: +44 20 7518 0680 

Hours:
Sunday 12:00-5:00 pm
Monday – Wednesday 11:00 am – 6:30 pm Thursday – Saturday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm

Check out the Idea Books website for more information. 

Labour and Wait 

Address:
85 Redchurch Street,
London, E2 7DJ

Phone: 020 7729 6253  

Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday 11:00am – 6:00pm
Monday – Closed

Check out the Labour and Wait website for more information.

Liberty 

Address: Regent St, London W1B 5AH

Hours:
Sunday 12:00-6:00 pm
Monday 10:00 am – 8:00 pm

Check out the Liberty website for more information.

Topshop 

Check out their website for store locations worldwide. 

A ceramic Mexican wrestler mask money jar from the 60s, found in an antique market in Mexico City.

Your top 3 galleries or museums to visit in Europe? 

• Musee D’Orsay
  Address: 1 Rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 75007 Paris 
• Musee Rodin
  Address: 79 Rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris 
• Monet’s Garden In Giverny
  Address: 84 Rue Claude Monet 27620 Giverny 

Where was the most extravagant meal you’ve ever treated yourself to while on holiday? 

The last extravagant meal was a long lunch at 3 star Michelin Alain Passard’s L’Aperge in Paris. Not exactly on holiday but it was my birthday so that counts right? 

• Address: 84 Rue de Varenne 75007 Paris 
• Phone: +33 1 47 05 09 06

Coachella

• Blue Mountains
• Kangaroo Island
• Wineglass Bay
• Wilson’s Prom
• Byron Bay
• Watson’s Bay
• Whale Beach

All photos via Kinga’s excellent, wanderlust-inducing blog