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Just across from the bus station in Belmopan, on Market Square, is the welcoming Caladium Restaurant. Serving locals and visitors since 1984, it was the first dining room in town to offer take-out service. The main room is adjacent to a gift shop where traditional Belizean art and crafts are for sale. The menu favors local dishes such as chicken with rice and beans but international options like sweet and sour pork are also available. Fresh-squeezed juices from watermelon, tamarind and papaya are available, as are imported beers and soda. I was glad I saved room for the flan, which was perfectly balanced with a caramel sauce tinged with just a hint of liquor. Breakfast is served in the morning beginning at 7 a.m. and lunch is available from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Located between the two Koreas in the Civilian Control Zone along the 38th Parallel, Dorasan station has recently awakened as though from a spell. Once only used as a showcase boasting of hopes for reunification between the divided peninsula for visitors who passed through on designated DMZ tours, the station is now the last stop on the DMZ tourist train from Seoul. Twice-daily trips from the southern capital to the border bring visitors to the doorstep of the Hermit Kingdom and finally give Dorasan station a reason for that gift shop. Next stop Pyongyang?

With the largest Korean community in the Arab world, Pyongyang Okryu-Gwan in Deira is a fitting place to begin a Dubai exploration of Korean cuisine. Part of a chain of restaurants based in the troubled North Korean capital, this spot includes a karaoke room, an all-female waitstaff, and real North Korean propaganda music. Try the seafood hot pot or the signature raengmyŏn (Pyongyang–style cold noodles), and, of course, load up on kimchi! A quick heads-up: The Okryu-Gwan restaurants send profits back to North Korea.

There are hundreds of things to see, attractions to enjoy, and places to eat in Las Vegas, but there are some must-do experiences that every traveler must have when they visit. This Las Vegas bucket list includes entertainment, restaurants, spas, and shops that can only be experienced in a uniquely Las Vegas way. For those who are visiting Las Vegas for the first time, and for those who are returning again, add these must-do experiences to your list.

Capitol Hill’s Melrose Market is a spacious, sunlit, vintagey-looking indoor market with a variety of artisanal and locally made foods: Rain Shadow Meats, Calf & Kid cheese, the Marigold & Mint flower shop, and Taylor Shellfish. There are also a few wine bars and restaurants in here, like Sitka + Spruce, Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches, and Bar Ferd’nand. There’s outdoor sidewalk seating when the weather is nice, and some indoor tables and bars. You could put together one heck of a fancy dinner party with just one shopping trip (Sonic Boom Records next door can provide the background music) — but it’ll cost you.

Step inside the Eye Film Institute to discover an homage to international cinema replete with interactive displays and perched like an ivory spaceship ready for launch on the northern bank of the IJ River. The striking facility, accessible via a free ferry from the main train station, houses four movie-screening rooms, a museum shop, and an exhibit space showcasing the works of masters like Fellini and Kubrick. Topping the contemporary structure is the eye-popping Eye Bar-Restaurant, where you can wash down a plate of bitterballen with beer on tap while musing about cinematography. On sunny days, a spacious terrace beckons.

Located in southern Seoul at the Sindorim Subway Station is D-Cube City. This retail monolith houses scores of shops and restaurants. There are the ubiquitous H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo, but also trendy Korean labels such as Bean Pole, Codes Combine, and Thursday Island. The food court is especially notable for the traditional Korean food section, where specialties like doenjang jjigae (a soybean stew) and pajeon (a green onion pancake) are served in surroundings meant to resemble a Korean folk village. Be sure to read the many signs and maps posted in English around the mall. My favorite? “D Cube City makes you feel like walking in the woods.” 662, Gyeongin-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul

Though my favorite Provencal hotel is now gone from Saignon, it is still the quintessential, hilltop town worth visiting when you’re biking, hiking or driving through this area of France. The dreamy town center (all of three streets) will provide you with views of this fountain, as well as the gorgeous Luberon Valley. The small church in town is a pilgrimage stop for those walking from Rome going to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. No place in Provence ever stole my heart quite like Saignon did. It’s a quiet place with just one bakery in town and only a handful of restaurants, but it has plenty of charm. For a great walk and the best view around, follow the sings for ‘the rock’. Due to its height and location in the valley on this rock formation, Saignon was used as an ancient observatory and a signal station.

Shanghai’s arts and crafts enclave, Tianzifang, is a labyrinth of narrow lanes bursting with diminutive shops, restaurants, and bars. Most of the shops here are located inside shikumen, stone gatehouses dating to the early 1930s. Gear up for your shopping spree with a coffee alfresco at Kommune before checking out Xingmu Handicraft’s gorgeous handmade leather notebooks or Shanghai Code’s vintage Chinese glasses and watches. Pick up delicate stationery at Dongxi Workshop, Shanghai‘s very first boutique, and head to Sky Music Box for—you guessed it—music boxes from all over the world.

Whether you have time to kill while waiting for your train or you simply like architecture, Milan’s main train station, Stazione Centrale, is worth a walk through for its epic 20th-century architecture. Originally designed at the turn of the century, Stazione Centrale has beautiful, monumental Liberty and Art Deco ornament in its main hall and entrances, while the platform area is covered in a gorgeous rooftop of iron arches. If you have a few more minutes, the Stazione also has some great shops, a traditional Motta caffe, and one of the best newsstands in the city.

Winter snow can frost the tallest peak in Hawaii, technically measuring 13,800 feet. In fact, Mauna Kea holds the world record at 33,500 feet tall when measured from its submerged base to its summit (compared with Everest’s 29,000 feet)! The dormant volcano is home to the native gods and ideal for stargazing, either with the naked eye or the summit’s Subaru Telescope (book ahead). Go earlier and you’ll get an orange blaze—and maybe an elusive green flash—during sunset, too. Note that the high altitude poses serious health risks: Stop for a half hour at the visitor center to acclimate. Plan for steep, winding roads passable only via 4WD. Do not visit the mountaintop within 24 hours of scuba diving.

As ubiquitous as “mandu” (dumplings) may be in Korea, when in Seoul, seek out their Mongolian lamb-filled ‘ancestors.’ One theory says that meat-filled dumplings were introduced to the Korean peninsula during the Mongol invasions of the 14th century. If that’s the case, then “buuz” (Mongolian dumplings) have made a comeback in the 21st century. In recent decades, tens of thousands of Mongolians have immigrated to South Korea, and the neighborhood just to the west of the new Zaha-Hadid-designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza has become home to a Central Asian village. Seek out the Cyrillic lettering and look for “Ulaan Baatar” restaurant, on the second floor of an otherwise nondescript building in an alleyway. A plateful of “buuz” would make a hearty meal, but it’s best shared. Hand-cut noodles, al dente, stir-fried with carrots and mutton are another option. If you want a break from the seemingly non-stop chile-garlic-soy palette of Korean food, but still want a ‘local’ flavor, this is your fatty chance. My wife and I were the only non-Mongolians when we had lunch here. We followed the example of the other diners and ordered salty milk tea to go with our food. I couldn’t bring myself to dunk my dumplings in it, though, as everyone else was doing. (Beer and Fanta are also available.) By subway: at “Dongdaemun History and Culture Park” station, take exit 12, walk west and turn left at the next corner; look for the 10-story building with cyrillic lettering on your right.

One of the most traditional restaurants in Madrid with lovely, attentive waitstaff, and ambiance that is reminiscent of old Madrid. Heavy curtains pulled to the side reveal massive oil paintings next to ornate gold carved light posts which stud the walls. The menu fluctuates with the season and local offerings, but some standards always remain: their most popular being cochinillo (roast suckling pig) and the lamb. When I last visited, I had the broken eggs as an appetizer and they were the best of my life. But, what stole the show was the sommelier who navigated us through the wine list (over 1000 labels) from Verdejo to Vermouth and back again. Dress your best, it’s not unusual to mingle with the highest of Madrid’s society here! Image courtesy of Zalacain.

Why we love it: A centrally located stay near Laguna’s best beaches, parks, and restaurants

The Highlights:
- A dreamy setting right above Main Beach
- Delicious breakfasts and daily wine receptions
- A location within walking distance of Laguna’s best restaurants

The Review:
Galleries, restaurants, and nightlife lie just steps from the Inn at Laguna Beach, while Heisler Park sprawls along the nearby bluffs, offering a place to stroll, see art, or simply lounge in the sun on a grassy lawn. Still, guests don’t even have to leave the hotel to enjoy sand, surf, and epic Pacific sunsets. Here, the 70 guest rooms mix modern comforts (European-style duvets, pillowtop mattresses) with coastal style (louvered shutters, rattan furniture). Some even include private patios or balconies, but all feature extras like newspaper delivery, iHome docking stations, and loaner umbrellas and beach chairs.

Following a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2012, the Inn now boasts a more sustainable design, complete with low-VOC paint, renewable bamboo furniture, low-flow faucets and showers, tile made from recycled stone, and birchwood key cards. Not everything is paired back, however, especially the hotel’s signature breakfast, which includes artisan pastries, bacon brioche sandwiches, and bowls of fresh sliced fruit. Guests can also look forward to a daily wine reception, chilled milk and cookies in the lobby every evening, and cocktails at the Pacific Terrace Bar, which sits high above Main Beach. Best of all, the Inn is dog-friendly, so you can bring along your four-legged friend for a couple of days on the beach.

Locha is a hard word to translate. A literal English translation would be “a problem,” but that misses the mark. You could think of it as a “mess,” but that’s not really it either. Locha is more along the lines of “something funky is in the works.” And true to its name, Chemical Locha is all kinds of funky—and a very colorful kind of funky at that. This little store is set up right where N Main Road turns into Lane 5, and the bright green and purple logo is hard to miss if you are walking past. Duck in for all sorts of quirky, kitsch, and crazy swag. Items on sale include: A rib-tickling collection of t-shirts, including an Iron Man shirt with a turbaned laundrywala ironing a pile. Kooky bar accessories—look out for those with an Indian twist, like the “Horn OK Please” coasters. Bright stationery, including diaries, notebooks, and bookmarks you can plant (the bookmark is embedded with sunflower seeds; the idea is to read, sow, and reap). A set of funny mugs, key chains, and games. If you’re looking for offbeat souvenirs, this is definitely your place.