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Jetsetting with Game Of Thrones’ Jessica Henwick

SINGAPORE — Well, the question on everyone’s mind after the fifth season of Game Of Thrones ended last month was: “Who’s actually coming back for Season Six?”

Game Of Thrones actress Jessica Henwick. Photo: Hon Jing Yi

Game Of Thrones actress Jessica Henwick. Photo: Hon Jing Yi

SINGAPORE — Well, the question on everyone’s mind after the fifth season of Game Of Thrones ended last month was: “Who’s actually coming back for Season Six?”

But Jessica Henwick, who plays the bullwhip-cracking Nymeria Sand from House Martell isn’t telling. “I don’t know,” she said politely.

The half-Singaporean actress — her mother is Singaporean while her father is English — was, however, more forthcoming about revealing her favourite spots in London, where she now lives.

“On the Millennium Bridge in London, crossing the River Thames, you will find pieces of gum all over that have been painted and have tiny little names on them, with poems, inscriptions and pictures. It’s by a painter who is known locally as the Chewing Gum Man,” said the 22-year-old. “I was just walking across the bridge one day with one of my Singaporean friends and we saw this man with a tiny blowtorch. I thought he was a worker, but my mother, who would go up to anyone on the street and talk to them, asked him what he was doing. And he said, ‘I am the Chewing Gum Man!’ He turned all the pieces of chewing gum on the bridge into art.”

And, yes, Henwick has been immortalised as bridge art too. “There is now a piece of gum with my name on it, and a monkey, on the bridge — I got him to paint that for me. But you have to go and look at it now, because the government clears the bridge every six months, so it’ll only be there for a while.”

Q: What role do you play when you travel with your friends or family?

A: I am the planner. Everyone leaves everything to me because I am really organised. People say to me, ‘It’s because you’re a Virgo.’ Virgos all over the world are taken advantage of. I am the planner, I have the map, I have the money, I am the one who books the tickets. I do everything. It’s not their fault — it’s also me. I know that I would do it right if I did it myself.

Q: What is one thing you look out for in a hotel?

A: It’s all about the bed, because I don’t spend time in hotels. I like to sleep there and be out for the rest of the day. If I can avoid staying in a hotel, I will. I’d rather an Airbnb or stay with friends or sleep on a couch. One time, I rented a room in Scotland, and the bed was awful! The landlord could have just put a sheet over a couple of cardboard boxes, because that’s what it felt like. And I was there for two months. It was so cheap though, it was £40 (about S$80) a night.

Q: What is the craziest thing you’ve done on a trip?

A: When I was in Italy last year, I went hydrospeeding, where you go down white water rapids on a bodyboard instead of a raft. I was on Grade 4 rapids, which is the highest level in Italy, on this tiny little float. It was horrible! Halfway down, I had a panic attack, and I’d never had a panic attack in my life. The river split into two and the instructor said, ‘Don’t go to the left because you will die; make sure you go to the right.’ I started hyperventilating and he had to guide me down, because I couldn’t even understand what he was saying. I was so scared, the most scared I had ever been in my life!

Q: Why did you even try it in the first place?

A: I YouTubed a video and it looked like fun. I’d never heard of hydrospeeding before — it’s not very well-known, for good reason. I am a big water person, I love rapids, I’ve gone kayaking and rafting. But in those situations you’re in the safety of a vessel. The reason why hydrospeeding is so scary is you’re on this board, and for the men in my group it was fine because they were a lot heavier than me, so they weighed the board down. But for me, I was so light, that the board just slid from under me. I will never do it again, it was horrific. I literally could have died. Hon Jing Yi

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