Suit Up for Adventure, Hollywood-Style
Ahead of the season premiere of hit show Suits, star Meghan Markle spills on glacier climbing, jerk chicken and Rwandan stardom. Chelsea Bengier gets the scoop.
"The more life experience you have, the stronger you’ll get at your craft as an actor." That explains why Meghan Markle has fans the world over. The LA-based Suits star spends upwards of eight months of the year on the road, filming in Toronto, making appearances in New York and globetrotting for her lifestyle site, The Tig.
The site grew out of Markle’s love of discovery, be it food, culture, fashion or travel, with insider guides documenting her journeys, from Croatia’s Dalmatian coast to New Zealand’s South Island. "When your job is to say other people’s words believably, it becomes really important to have an outlet to share your own words," Markle says.
But that’s not to say she doesn’t love saying the words of the career-driven, fashion-savvy Rachel on Suits. Now entering its fifth season, the hit show makes great use of her global insight. "Seeing another way of life informs your perspective, and you can bring those layers to a scene."
After filming wraps up in Toronto, she’s hoping to sneak away to go island-hopping in the Philippines or bliss out in Turks & Caicos.
"It’s a beautiful whirlwind," she says. "I’m always after a life of wanderlust, so now the question is ‘Where to next?’"
Want to get in on the adventure? Enter our contest to win a trip to the set of Suits.
Tune in for the Suits Season 5 premiere tonight, Wednesday, June 24 at 9pm ET on USA Network.
Best destination or travel experience
Campervanning around New Zealand's South Island. You go everywhere from coastlines to wineries to waters filled with dolphins to glaciers. It's a pretty action packed two weeks.
Earliest travel memory
My mom was a travel agent while I was growing up in LA. I was fortunate because I was an only child so traveling was easy to do. She took me to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead Festival when I was seven years old, and I remember stuffing my mouth with chiclets, and running around completely immersed in the town's culture and tradition. I was very moved by the experience. It was the catalyst for me wanting off-the-beaten-track travel.
Most memorable meal on the road
Though I've been so spoiled to have incredible Michelin-starred meals like a gorgeous five-hour lunch at Per Se, I always go back to simple foods. There's this restaurant about 20 minutes outside of Bangkok that's a tuk tuk, about 10 feet big. I had a plate of pad thai that made me go, "Oh, this is what pad thai is supposed to taste like? What have I been eating my whole life?" I remember every single nuance of flavor. For dessert, the cook said to get sticky rice from the cart across the street. I love food with a story attached to it.
Most memorable meal continued
Another dish I love is the open-fire jerk chicken and jerk lobster at this place called 3 Dives in Negril, Jamaica. It's so chill and has great live reggae. I stayed at the Rockhouse Hotel nearby.
Where she's dying to go next
I would love to go to Palawan, an island outside the Philippines. And I've had my eye on Parrot Cay in Turks and Caicos, which would be an amazing escape from filming. The idea of turning it all off sounds divine.
Her travel essentials
I always bring a big cashmere shawl. It's like a big hug on the airplane; you can roll it up and use it as a pillow or a coverup. I always have a baseball cap, which isn't the best for international travel because it pegs you as an American, but it's comfortable. I come from LA, which we know has a very relaxed sensibility. I also never leave home without big sunglasses, tea tree oil, and a great moisturizer.
Bucket list trip
I have yet to make it to the beaches of Brazil, and South Africa is always high on my list.
Most surprising fanbase
I was in Rwanda in January and kept getting stopped in the capital of Kigali. I was like "Wait this show [Suits] is in Rwanda?!" Life is full of surprises.
On her globetrotting lifestyle
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