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Had the tastiest Laing Pizza during a trip to CamSur (Camarines Sur), Bicol Region, Philippines. This is a great example of fusion food which combines an Italian pizza with a very local Filipino dish called Laing. Laing is a dish made of gabi (taro) stem and leaves and coconut milk, which originated from the Bicol Region. Since Bicol is one of the few regions in the Philippines that love to eat spicy food, Laing is heavily spiced with siling labuyo (red hot chilies). Different versions have come about adding a bit of bagoong (fermented shrimp) or meat to the dish. With the Laing Pizza we ate, the spicyness of the Laing combined with the gooey cheese of the Pizza simply wakes up those taste buds! I would definitely want to go back for more :-) You can try this at the cafe inside Camsur Watersports Complex (CWC) in Camarines Sur, which is a popular venue for several world events involving wakeboarding. You can also do some wakeboarding yourself or get some lessons if you’ve never tried it. It’s fun! There are several accommodation options inside the complex from budget to high end.

Under the eave, a monkey supports the weight of a temple roof on Ganghwa Island, in the Han river estuary, northwest of Seoul, a stone’s throw from North Korea... On one of my teen-age visits to Korea, an uncle took us to spend the day here, an island dotted with prehistoric dolmens, Buddhist temples, and 19th-century fortresses that kept out the French and the Americans in the last days before the ‘Hermit Kingdom’ finally opened up to the West. Jeondeung-sa temple, where I took this photo, has been a Buddhist sanctuary since the late 7th century. And here, I first tasted ‘dol-sot-bi-bim-bap,’ the quintessential Korean hot-pot rice dish, served sizzling in a stone bowl.

Parque de Oueste is a shady park toward the north of the city. The park is known for its rose gardens, as well as being home to the Temple of Debod, a gift for the Egyptian state in 1968. The overlook of the park offers beautiful views of the Royal Palace and the larger Casa Del Campo. It’s an ideal spot to split a bottle of wine with friends and watch the sunset after a long day of exploring Madrid.

Entering Hikawa shrine requires a purification ritual that begins with washing your hands, right then left, and rinsing your mouth (with your left hand). Next is the burning fire with smoke to waft over your head to burn off impurities and perhaps bring the blessings of Susanoo, the Shinto god of storms and seas. Now in your new state of purification, you can enter this Shinto shrine between wires covered with fluttering osame-fuda, the prayer paper strips pilgrims tie up at each shrine. White prayer papers are for novice pilgrims who aspire to progress to red papers and then to silver and gold as they become veteran pilgrims. Inside the shrine, take a moment to toss a coin into the offering box or perhaps make a prayer or a wish to the god of the shrine. Sometimes photography is forbidden and other shrines forbid shoes so pay attention to signage. If you have an injury, buy some incense, light it in the shrine and waft the smoke toward your injury to get Susanoo’s attention. Almost every Shinto shrine in Japan (9,000 of them!) has a temple stamp and resident monks to hand paint the stamp into your temple book for a few yen. Purchase a temple book at any shrine and collect intricate stamps at all your temple stops. A full temple book is a gorgeous souvenir from Japan. Should you be lucky enough to visit Japan in September, go to the Akasaka Hikawa Shrine festival.

The Western Wall (also called the Kotel) is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the Jewish Temple’s courtyard in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is one of the most sacred sites in Judaism, outside the Temple Mount itself. The plaza in front of the wall is divided into separate sections for women and men. Some worshipers wedge their prayers, written on small scraps of paper, into crevices between the stones in the wall, while others stand and pray, sometimes for hours. Archeologists have uncovered layers of the wall underground through years of excavation, and via a guided tour, visitors can walk through areas of this original, unrestored site that dates back to the 1st century C.E.

Only kahuna (priests) and alii nui (chiefs) were eligible to visit the Heiau (temples) at Puukohola. The site was dedicated in 1791 before the kapu (taboo) system that included human sacrifice was dissolved in 1819. Now a National Historic Site, visitors can find stone monuments at the site where Hawaii’s sometimes violent history played out. The temples were destroyed in 1819 with the end of the organized worship of the Hawaiian gods and only platforms remain. The surrounding area was used for farming and settlements.

The Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum is the first and longest running venue for contemporary and modern art in San Antonio. It features a plethora of exhibitions each year and always has something going on at the museum. It also hosts concerts and performance art events. The museum is a great place to visit and has had a significant impact on the surrounding communities and the city of San Antonio. One of the best things about the museum is that it’s accessible from the River Walk trail network and can be reached from downtown on a short bike ride. It’s located in a great neighborhood with no shortage of activities, so it’s worth the trip even if you aren’t a contemporary art lover.

This colonial artifact overlooks the turquoise Indian Ocean and the Coast Line train that runs along it. Sights from the ocean-view rooms stretch to the city of Colombo, 20 minutes away. Trainspotters should request a room at the hotel’s north end to score a balcony with views of the ocean and the tracks. From $105, 94/(0) 11-271-1711, mountlaviniahotel.lk

Ace Hotels—whose growing brand epitomizes a cool, unfussy, überhip hotel stay—debuted at this site in 1999, and it has become a kind of template for the company’s trademark style. While offering the essentials (including serious coffee by Stumptown), the Seattle Ace Hotel is very much a budget property and doesn’t provide fancy amenities (in fact, standard rooms share a bathroom). But the minimalist guestrooms, with their vintage furnishings and original, Pop Art-esque artwork hanging on walls, are spotless and cozy, and the hotel does offer a comfortable, convivial stay in the supremely walkable neighborhood of Belltown. The brick building has high ceilings and hardwood floors, and a few of the rooms have partial water views. Common areas aren’t large, but they’re the kind of spaces that invite conversation with fellow travelers.

Suburban Chicago isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think of major religious centers. But Wilmette, a small town located less than 10 miles north of the Windy City, is home to the only Bahá’í House of Worship in North America. Dedicated in 1953, the temple—one of seven in the world—took more than three decades to build and features symbols from different world religions in its intricate design, signifying that everyone is welcome. An ornate dome crowns the nine-sided structure and symbolizes the unity of all people and religions under God. Visitors are welcome to explore the temple and surrounding geometric gardens. You can also call ahead to arrange a group tour.

The 10th century temple of Banteay Srei, known as the ‘Citadel of Women’, is one of the prettiest temples with intricately detailed carvings and decorative features painstakingly carved into the pink sandstone. It’s also one of the most compact and can easily be explored in an hour or two. You can make a day trip of the journey out there (25km from Siem Reap) by combining it with visits to the nearby Landmine Museum and Banteay Srei Butterfly Centre.

Essentially a grand-scale gallery and performance space with meticulously designed guestrooms, this seaside retreat south of Haifa defies easy categorization. Built in 1968 as a sanitarium, the sinuous white building won Yaacov Rechter the coveted Israel Award for Architecture. Arts patron Lily Elstein bought and reimagined the space in 2005, enlisting Rechter’s son to oversee the transformation to boutique-hotel-cum-museum-and-theater. In a nod to the property’s original purpose, the on-site spa is truly sublime, so, if you’re not relaxed enough from catching a Debussy sonata before bed or waking up to expansive Mediterranean views, head there for the signature massage, which includes shiva lingam stones and, naturally, music therapy.

Nakameguro is a hip and trendy area with many restaurants and shops, especially under the train tracks in a complex called Kokashita. The Meguro River that runs through the residential area is lined with cherry trees for sakura-viewing in the spring. Small boutiques featuring local designers as well as imported clothes are concentrated in the Aobadai area between Nakameguro and Daikanyama. Nakameguro is also home to two of the city’s best pizza shops, Seirinkan and da ISA, and yakitori restaurants Iguchi and Toriyoshi. Popular coffee shops in the area include Onibus, Streamer, and Artless Craft Tea & Coffee.

Better known as the Tomb Raider Temple since its starring role in the Hollywood movie of the same name, Ta Prohm has at least as much star quality as Angelina Jolie. Cloaked in dappled shadow and locked in the embrace of the vast root systems that are still reclaiming it for the jungle, the temple is arguably the most atmospheric ruin at Angkor Archaeological Park. Construction on Ta Prohm began in 1186 C.E.; it was built in honor of the mother of King Jayavarman VII. Modern-day visitors are not permitted to climb onto the crumbling galleries of its 39 towers due to safety concerns. Nevertheless, picking a route around the various structures, close courtyards, and narrow corridors sprouting with lichen, moss, and creeping plants is one of the most enthralling experiences at Angkor.

After strolling through the Prague Castle complex and seeing the Cathedral and square, the traveler is further rewarded with a beautiful view of the city from a high point. Parts of Lesser Town can be seen among the sea of red-orange rooftops and greenery.