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My ideal habitat is a warm day on a tropical beach. I’m also a sucker for beauty in all its most unusual forms (part of the reason I’m on the Board of Burning Man). So, when I heard about the Harbin International Ice & Snow Festival in northeast China (Manchuria meets Siberia: that just sounds frozen!), my initial reaction was, “How far would I travel and how cold would I get all in the name of experiencing an aesthetic phenomenon?” So, after 90 degree humidity in Malaysia, two planes delivered me to this cursed, desolate part of China (20 degrees below zero). Amidst the Siberian wind gusts and short days of daylight, Harbin is a revelation, a place where the light of collective aesthetic joy is experienced by 800,000 visitors annually for the Ice & Snow Festival (90% from China as this is one of the country’s top winter destinations). Oddly, I kept having Burning Man flashbacks...night being preferred over day due to the psychedelic visuals enhanced by the dark, the fact that thousands of artists (15k in Harbin) labor 15 days around the clock to create something out of nothing only to know that these beautiful structures will either melt (Harbin) or burn (Burning Man), and, finally, the sense that no picture or video can capture the sensory overload of being surrounded by spectacle. Think: “You had to be there.” Remember the spectacle of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony? I heartily recommend this trek that takes place late December through February.

Mystical foxes, the torches of gentle giants, spirits kicking around a walrus skull—humans have interpreted the northern lights in many ways over time.

Air travelers are required to turn off cell service during a flight. But what does airplane mode do?

When it opened in 2012, the Wythe was Williamsburg’s first boutique hotel. Head porter Guy St. Elien has been there since the beginning.

From the biggest beer bar west of the Mississippi to the famed Iowa State Fair, there are oodles of reasons to visit this capital city.

And with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the fall might not be much better.

An immersive tale from The Notary Hotel, inspired by the curated experiences of Autograph Collection Hotels.

Hungry for springtime? Try one of these global dishes.

Film, design, and (of course) food are just a few of the reasons to travel to Accra.

An aspiring musician takes her violin to its birthplace and confronts a musical legacy.