Himali Singh Soin is a writer, artist, curator and traveler. Her work covers the distance between the ground to the cosmos, and the language we use to reach both. She’s the first person we turn to when we want to stray from well-worn routes, and is also the co-founder of The Idiom, where she plans unusual adventures far beyond Paris, Tokyo, and New York.Here, she answers the Nico Q&A:

Insider tip for Madagascar:
Sail the Mozambique channel in a Dhow, crab curry on board and a local king if you're lucky.

Any odd travel rituals:
I always cry on planes. That's not a ritual, but it happens :). As does bumping into some kind of shaman, spiritual healer or mystic who tells you or shows you something uncanny.

Souvenirs I always bring home:
Sand in a valise, a piece of jewelry (a ring made of zebu bone in this case), a book of poems by a national poet, boots in unrecognizable patterns. Stories about local ghosts, fairy or occult occurrence.

Dying to visit:
The surface of the moon.

Daily uniform:
I wear a different thing every day, besides carrying a notebook everywhere I go, I have almost no 'habits'.

A wardrobe piece you can't live without:
A torn piece of a patchwork silk skirt I found on a hillside somewhere in India, that I wrap into a turban.

Himali shared her recommendations (and her packing list) for a trip to Madagascar here.