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Quebec really knows how to throw a party. It may be cold, but the Quebecois absolutely love it. The Hotel de Glace is just one example. Covering 32,000 square feet, this glistening example of “ice engineering” is just too much fun to pass up. If you’re feeling adventurous, make a reservation and spend the night, all of the rooms are themed differently with unique ice carvings in each room. The hotel will provide you with arctic-style sleeping bags designed to keep you warm well below zero. If perhaps you would like a libation, there is a bar that serves signature drinks. I sampled a Hotel De Glace cocktail that consisted of vodka and ice cider served in a shot glass carved from ice. After dark, the hotel comes to life with beautiful colored lighting that really highlights the structure. For a bit more fun for you adrenaline junkies, you will find a climbing wall made of ice, the gauntlet is now thrown down. For more information visit the hotel’s web site at http://www.hoteldeglace-canada.com. Photograph by www.xdachez.com

Westminster has a surprising number of lakes and ponds, all of which are man-made. The city says there are more than 40 that are at least an acre in size and together they account for seven percent of Westminster’s land area. City Park Lake and Standley Lake are two of the more popular ones. You’ll find interesting birds and other wildlife there.

While many cities have rivers, few take advantage of their waterways quite like San Antonio does. One of the city’s most popular tourist attractions, the River Walk runs along the San Antonio River and features both quiet stretches for jogging and livelier areas lined with colorful bars, restaurants, and shops. For an immersive experience, take a boat tour and learn more about San Antonio’s history and architecture.

Me Wah is considered one of the best Asian restaurants in Australia, and lucky for travelers there’s a location in Launceston as well as in Hobart. The cuisine is Cantonese-Australian fusion—think prawn chow mein, lamb pancakes, ginger scallops served in the shell, trevalla dumplings, and fried ice cream. Diners can also find specialties that are quintessentially Tasmanian such as deep-fried Bruny Island oysters. Banquet options and modern desserts add to the exquisite setting (that’s what me wah means in Chinese). The ambience is old-school with impeccable service to match. Savor the smiles; you’ll never see this many at an Australian restaurant again.

Santa Barbara spot prawns roasted under a layer of salt. Nasturtium leaf tacos filled with scallop tartare. Gelée of littleneck clam and chorizo served in the clam shell. These are just a few of the delicacies guests might taste at chef-owner Michael Cimarusti’s seafood mecca Providence. This top Los Angeles chef is so masterful with unusual ingredients that he even serves a course inspired by his travels in Japan called the Ugly Bunch, transforming unattractive ingredients into a breathtaking plate. The game-changing chef is also the West Coast pioneer of Dock to Dish Los Angeles, a restaurant-supported fishery program promoting sustainably caught seafood. Naturally, the menu at this destination, decorated with driftwood chandeliers and ceramic barnacles, changes nightly and always includes three tasting menu options. Those in the know book the four-seat private chef’s table overlooking the kitchen for a special occasion, or go for Friday lunch, when they can enjoy chef Cimarusti’s skills in the light of day. Must-order: One of head bartender Kim Stodel’s “zero-waste” cocktails, like the Tom Kha curry–flavored Muay Thai creation, with a rum infusion made from lemongrass, ginger, and kaffir leaf leftover from the kitchen, and served with a biodegradable straw.

Built on a deck overlooking the Vigie marina, The Coal Pot is a local favorite that makes a breezy, delightful spot for a lunch or dinner with a view. Named after the traditional methods of island cooking, the restaurant specializes in some of the best seafood on the island, including St. Lucian crab back and traditional saltfish with green fig (banana), as well as steaks, poultry, salads, and soups. Weekday lunches have a fixed three-course option. Reserve ahead for a bayside table: At night, the setting couldn’t be more romantic.

Man Mo Temple was built by wealthy Chinese merchants between 1847 and 1862 as a tribute to the God of Literature (man) and the God of War (mo). Both deities were worshiped by ambitious students eager to succeed in the rigorous civil examinations of imperial China; good grades paved the way for a prestigious career in government administration. Today, tucked in the shadows of hulking apartment towers on busy Hollywood Road, it’s Hong Kong Island’s oldest temple and probably its most well known. The dimly lit Man Mo, with its carved wooden panels, ornate ceramic figurines, plaster moldings, murals, and giant incense coils hanging from the ceiling, feels wonderfully ethereal. A visit to Man Mo is a step off the grid in frenetic Hong Kong.

Antonio de Montesinos held it down in the New World and defended the rights of the indegenous people. He was truly ahead of his time. This statue located in Santo Domingo’s colonial section is dear to my heart. I used to go play and ride my bike there all the time. The stone and bronze statue was a gift from Mexico and was made by artist Antonio Castellanos in 1982, a year before my birth. Below is Montecino’s famous quote, which as you could imagine enraged the Spanish King and all of the aristocracy at the time. #Legendary. “Tell me by what right of justice do you hold these Indians in such a cruel and horrible servitude? On what authority have you waged such detestable wars against these people who dealt quietly and peacefully on their own lands? Wars in which you have destroyed such an infinite number of them by homicides and slaughters never heard of before. Why do you keep them so oppressed and exhausted, without giving them enough to eat or curing them of the sicknesses they incur from the excessive labor you give them, and they die, or rather you kill them, in order to extract and acquire gold every day.”

The biodiversity of Madagascar is staggering: It’s home to more than 11,000 plant species, and close to 90 percent of the wildlife in this African island nation can be found nowhere else. Even the top eco-lodges here were rough around the edges until the arrival of Miavana, a private island resort off the northeastern coast. Miavana is undeniably over-the-top (the sustainably designed villas start at nearly 5,000 square feet), but the wildlife encounters are the real draw. Along with snorkeling and marine safaris, the resort offers guided treks to see native species such as jeweled chameleons and silky sifaka.

In the 17th century, the British and French were fierce rivals for control of St. Kitts. The only thing that eventually brought them together was the existential threat of an attack by the island’s native Carib inhabitants—a fear so real that, in 1626, a joint force of British and French soldiers cornered and massacred more than 2,000 Caribs at what came to be known as Bloody Point. Today, guests can visit the historic site by hiking along the river—which was said to have run red for three days after the slaughter—from the village of Challengers through Stone Fort Canyon, where they can also find 100 petroglyphs carved into the rocks.

Around 11,000 humpbacks—a quarter to a third of the global population, by some estimates—visit Hawaii from November until early May. They migrate here to mate and give birth. Intensely focused on procreation, these marine mammals don’t eat and can lose up to a third of their body weight while frisking in warmer waters. Nonetheless, the gray giants remain impressive, reaching 52 feet long and weighing up to 40 tons. That bulk doesn’t deter them from spectacular aerial displays of breaching and slapping the surface with their heads, fins, or tails, though! Boat tours like Captain Dan McSweeney’s Whale Watch Learning Adventures remain popular, but you can also spot these amazing creatures off the western Kohala Coast or Holoholokai Beach Park, and from campgrounds in Waipiʻo or Pololū valleys.

In a nod to the arching lines of the archetypal Maldivian fishing boat that lends its name to the place, the Dhoni at the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa is an architectural stunner. Welcoming guests as soon as they arrive on the tropical island, the lounge’s impressive wooden structure was crafted by actual fishing-boat builders and is framed by a pool so still its surface looks like glass. Start the evening at the resort’s Island Grill and watch chefs whip up dishes like seafood paella or succulent crustacean bisque on a traditional grill that’s combined with a wood-fired oven; then make your way to the Dhoni and enjoy a nightcap amid the lounge’s open air.

Including more than 500 different vendors, the Santa Marta Market (Mercado Público) is a lively and colorful experience. You can wander among the exotic fruits and vegetables in one row of stores, see meat and poultry vendors in another and find gifts and clothing in a third section of the market. Even if you don’t find the perfect souvenir, exploring the market provides a glimpse into daily life in Santa Marta.

I hadn’t been awake for longer than a minute. I peeled back the tarp door to my room, walked out onto my deck, and leapt. It was an abrupt but purifying way to start the day. The cool, brackish water instantly defogged my mind, and my eyes opened to see the surrounding Tatai River and dense Cambodian rain forest. A lone sampan, anchored along an islet, was the only man-made object to interrupt the natural scenery. My chic bungalow lightly swayed on the calm water behind me, an incongruous encampment against the wild jungle backdrop.

Located on the southern tip of the Cardamom Mountains, near the Gulf of Thailand, the 4 Rivers Floating Lodge lives up to its name. The retreat’s 12 landless suites all float on their own buoyant platforms, moored to the riverbank. Outfitted with a ceiling fan, armoire, and wood-paneled shower, each of the towering, safari-style tented rooms also provides a nearly 360-degree view of the tropical landscape. A boardwalk connects the rooms to a central lounge and dining area decorated in a muted variety of Miami Beach sleek.

At first blush, getting to this secluded outpost might seem daunting. Guests can arrive by boat, drive, come by cab or take a bus from Phnom Penh: I took a five-hour bus trip from Phnom Penh, followed by a half-hour longboat ride from the village of Tatai. But the journey is well worth the peaceful reward. The Cardamom Mountains contain the largest and most intact evergreen rain forest in mainland Southeast Asia. For decades, the region was largely off-limits to developers because of land mines and fighting between government forces and the Khmer Rouge militia. This very isolation protected the area’s natural habitat, which is now home to scores of endangered species, including Asian elephants, hairy-nosed otters, and Siamese crocodiles.

Mine-clearance efforts and the end of hostilities have made travel here safe for more than 10 years, but it remains a sparsely populated frontier. The area’s remoteness is remarkable in and of itself. In the afternoon, I took a boat ride to the Tatai waterfall with several other guests. Even our skipper, a young Cambodian man who leads visitors on these trips every day, was still in awe of the lush surroundings. “So quiet and beautiful,” he said, looking at the palm trees along the river’s edge. After we arrived at our destination, I spent the rest of the day sitting beneath the waterfall’s forceful but soothing cascades, letting nature’s masseuse relax my muscles.

I returned to the lodge for dinner beneath an orange and purple sunset. On the restaurant’s uncovered patio, the only sound accompanying the clang of my utensils was the soft splash of kingfishers swooping to pluck fish from the river. I was less delicate, digging into skewers of mozzarella, watermelon, and fresh shrimp and a plate of steamed river fish topped with a basil cream sauce. In the lingering twilight, I sipped a gin and tonic on my private terrace before easing under my bedsheets. As the gently undulating waters rocked me to sleep, any illusions I had about roughing it in the wilderness drifted away. —Brendan Brady

One of the perks of staying at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort is the opportunity to test your skills at the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club, an 18-hole, par 71 course laid out along the island’s Caribbean coast. If you’re not a Marriott guest, however, head to the Irie Fields Golf Course at Kittitian Hill, where organic farms fringe the fairways. Designed by World Golf Hall of Famer Ian Woosnam, the course is maintained without pesticides or chemicals—if you see a herd of sheep grazing on the back nine, let them play through.