On-Screen Actor, Off-Screen Adventurer: Kubbra Sait On Her Travels
Renowned for her versatile roles on screen, Kubbra's off-screen persona is equally unique, as evidenced by her vibrant Instagram feed documenting her adventures around the globe—from diving deep into the underwater world to summitting the majestic heights of Kilimanjaro's Uhuru Peak, Kubbra recounts her travel escapades with infectious enthusiasm.
Outlook Traveller catches up with Sait at Longitude 77's launch in Dubai to dig deeper into how her journeys across continents inspire her craft as an actor, the destinations that hold a special place in her heart, and the transformative experiences that come with scaling mountains and diving into the depths of the ocean.
How does travel inspire your craft as an actor?
It allows you to absorb so many cultures. You learn about different cultures, so you just learn how to judge less and less and less and less. You learn how to experience different understandings. For example, when I was visiting Finland, I understood that people never have small conversations or talk in Finland. They really ask you, "How is your relationship with your mother?" So, I feel like this world is such a big, huge cultural melting pot, and you are the tool and the access to this entire experience. So, I feel travel as much as you can, as young as you are, and just experience the world for what it is and allow it to teach you all the lessons that it does need to teach you.
Is there a travel memory that is especially close to your heart?
I just came back from Kilimanjaro, where I climbed Uhuru Peak. I had been to Africa before, but never like this, and I think it's a memory that's going to linger for a very long time.
I think most people climb a summit because there is an egotistical attachment to the summit, but I think for me, it was the journey itself, and I'm saying this ever so truly. And while the world may consider Uhuru Peak to be one of the easier peaks to climb, no summit is easy. I had the greatest time ever.
From scuba diving to trekking, you have done it all. What about adventure travel do you love, and what have you learned from your diverse experiences?
I think as far as you embrace adventure as a whole, it gets easier to do a lot of things. They all teach you different things. Scuba diving teaches you the expanse of the universe, and trekking teaches you the depths of yourself. But I believe between the two, there is this moment of "a-ha!" when your brain does not think, your mind shuts down, and I feel that is the biggest turning point in any adventure or any experience.
You are a passionate mountaineer. What has been your most rewarding experience, and what about mountaineering do you love?
The inward journey is the most special. When you're on a mountain, you're not looking outside at all; you're looking inside. I was listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's Qawwali on this entire trip to Uhuru Peak. It was the most incredible, profound and seeking experience of my life. I feel like there is a sense of humility that one just steps into when you climb a mountain because no matter how high the mountain is, when you summit it, you can't stay there forever, and there is a point of descent and you have to come back, come back home, and I feel like you carry home with you wherever you go, and that for me is the most passionate part about being a mountaineer.
Tell us three things that are currently on your travel bucket list.
I haven't travelled to Palau yet, but it has been on my list. I want to go diving there. It has also been a long time since I've been to Thailand, so I think I want to go back to Thailand and eat a lot of street food. And thirdly, I want to go rafting in the Brahmaputra.
