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We arranged a private tour of the Mekong River Delta through the Park Hyatt Saigon. We were driven from the hotel to Cai Be in a Cadillac with snacks and drinks, then escorted to our private river boat (also loaded with fresh fruit, coffee and tea, and other snacks). Our english-speaking tour guide brought us onto a small rowed boat through the smaller channels of the delta, explaining local life and the various trades of the people who live there. We saw a floating market and had lunch at Mr. Kiet’s historic house. Highly recommend spending the morning and afternoon on this tour.

Come to this neighborhood corner establishment for the seafood, but don’t overlook the beef tartare, complemented by radish, nori, and ranch (and don’t be ashamed to order two if you’re with a party of three or more). Pricing is akin to the Ordinary, without that big brother’s fancy full experience, but it’s worth a visit for treats like tempura blowfish tails—bone-in adult lollypops of crispy, savory flavor, with lemon and spicy mayo on the side. Unconventional entrees like the smoked fish curry (amberjack one week, mackerel the next) with pumpkin and peanuts and hints of citrus, make each bite a pleasant and surprising adventure of textures and tastes. The tiny dining room gets packed quickly on weekends, and the residential setting means they still haven’t acquired a liquor license a year in, but the flavor is worth any sacrifice. The small but excellent wine list includes creative sparkling varietals, and the restaurant is one of a few places in town to serve Life Raft Treats desserts—don’t leave without a waffle-flavored ice cream in the shape of a small chicken leg, coated in toasted corn flakes, wrapping a frozen cream-filled chocolate wafer.

Architecture lovers flock to the Huangpu River’s western side to stroll the Bund, a waterfront tourist magnet in central Shanghai. There’s a glorious mishmash of late-19th- and early-20th-century styles here, from Gothic revival to art deco. Walk by the Fairmont Peace Hotel—first opened in 1929 as the Cathay Hotel—to behold its copper pyramid roof turned aqua with age. (Talk about aging gracefully.) Then hit the marble-floored HSBC Building (No. 12) to admire the domed ceiling’s eight mosaic murals, with frescoes depicting the 12 zodiac signs.

You’ll need some sustenance for a busy day, so after observing the early morning action at Hoan Kiem Lake, head to nearby Pho Thin for a warming bowl of Vietnam’s de facto national dish. Hanoians like their beef noodle soup fairly austere and unsullied, but this venue is known for stir-frying its tender strips of beef in garlic before adding the meat to the broth.

Elizabeth street cafe is the charming outpost offering French breakfast bites & creative Vietnamese plates you didn’t know you needed in your life. The menu consists of everything from ho and bun bo hue to sticky rice, banh mi, and chocolate croissant and macaroons. It’s most known for its brunch, but they also server dinner.

Wymara Resort Turks & Caicos (formerly the Gansevoort aims to be as much a scene as it is a hotel. Of course, with tots wandering through the lobby with sand buckets, it isn’t quite the party you might have in South Beach or NYC. But then, trendy urbanites don’t have this—the white-sand beach of Grace Bay, or an infinity pool with wood-deck islands that can be reserved for sunbathing, private dining, or just making everyone else feel less important. The 91 rooms are designer chic, with an open floor plan and plenty of space to stretch out. Also available for booking are seven luxury oceanfront villas, located on an elevated hillside overlooking the bay and Turtle Tail. Each features four to five bedrooms as well as two private pools, expansive indoor-outdoor living areas, sunken outdoor lounge areas with firepits, and over-the-water swimming platforms with direct ocean access. Stelle, the Mediterranean-influenced restaurant, has a DJ who spins on Friday nights. And Exhale Spa counterbalances the chill party vibe with sunset yoga in an outdoor pavilion.

Still run by the descendants of its founder, Malcolm Mackay, this 114-year-old family-owned working cattle ranch in Roscoe, Montana, has been hosting guests—Roy Rogers and Robert Redford among them—since the 1980s. Lazy E-L Ranch is often booked a year in advance due to a capacity of just 14 guests who stay in three period cabins furnished with Western art, family pictures, and Navajo rugs. Instead of a formulaic schedule of staged chuckwagons, cowboy sing-alongs, roping practice, and nose-to-tail trail rides, guests have the option of a more authentic experience, joining ranch staff as they manage stock on 12,000 acres roamed by moose, deer, and bald eagles. The main draw here is integrating into ranch life, feeding chickens and horses, cleaning barns, and helping prepare family meals (though chores are optional). There are no guest cattle drives, but experienced riders can occasionally join or observe Lazy E-L professional cowboys moving 2,000 head of cattle. For guests preferring play to work, there’s horseback riding and hiking across pristine alpine pasture and barren plateaus; non-horse people can mountain bike down the terrifying Beartooth Highway, play soccer, baseball, and croquet, fish a private six-mile section of the West Rose Bud River, or raft the Class IV Stillwater River.

Amid the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong, it’s hard to believe that nature is always just a short taxi ride away. Opened in 2009 as a designated historic site, the Tai Tam Waterworks Heritage Trail on Hong Kong Island is a picturesque network of idyllic pathways along the dams and pumping houses built by the British in the 19th century. On sunny weekends, you’ll bump into locals with their dogs in tow.

Though primarily known as a family-friendly resort, this beachside getaway is equally popular with kid-free travelers who love the location, service, and long list of amenities. Tucked among the hills of the Son Tra Peninsula, overlooking the East Sea, the resort is home to 197 guest rooms and 22 suites, each with modern Vietnamese-inspired decor, an oversize bed, and a rain shower; suites and villas also have indoor/outdoor lounge spaces, butler service, and in some, private pools. (Another reason to upgrade: Suite and villa guests have access to a dedicated airport lounge, complete with mini-spa.) If you do have little ones in your party, drop them off at Planet Trekkers, the signature children’s club, where activities encourage cultural connection through workshops, arts and crafts, and outdoor playtime. Adult fun can be found by the pool, in daily diversions like tai chi classes, and at the award-winning Harnn Heritage Spa, where holistic treatments complement the Pedi:Mani:Cure Studio, created by French celebrity pedicurist Bastien Gonzalez. The resort’s dining and drinking spots include La Maison 1888, the domain of Michelin-darling chef Pierre Gagnaire, and Buffalo Bar, where you can top off a perfect day with vintage bubbles and hand-rolled cigars. Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites are located a day trip’s ride from the resort—that is, if you can tear yourself away.

There’s a different way to see the African wildlife in their natural habitat than a safari and it’s called Boulder Beach. We ventured to the Eastern side of the Peninsula (Indian Ocean) to meet and spend time with the locals, Cape Town‘s penguin colony. Following the wooden boardwalks, you gain access to Foxy Beach, a sheltered cove with soft white sand, crystal clear water, massive granite boulders, and birds in butler-style tailcoats. Its nothing short of an Instagram-worthy photo op but I recommend climbing atop a boulder and spending time to take it all in. It’s impossible to capture how majestic this destination truly is.

Bến Thành market has been around Saigon in one form or another for over 300 years. At some points it neighbored bodies of water including a small lake. It is a monster, overwhelming at first. If you come to Saigon and you love to shop, this is the one-stop shop you are looking for. Personally nothing is more thrilling at Bến Thành than the art of “The Barter.” It’s a strategic game of wits of where you pit product desire against pocketbook ability and the house always wins. It’s not always easy, in fact it’s never easy. Hot, stagnant air ripe with the smell of fish and squid always seems to hang in the air right over that gift you can’t live without. You’re constantly walking that fine line between feeling like you got ripped off or feeling you’re further oppressing the local population. Bến Thành is the stadium packed with hundreds of thousands of pieces of clothing, jewelry, and art- and they’re all yours to play for.

The Bridges of Samaná, also called the “Bridges to Nowhere,” are a string of bridges connecting the small islands that stretch across the outside of Samaná harbor. They are remnants from a project in the 1960s and ’70s by President Joaquín Balaguer to build a restaurant on one of the islands, connected to the mainland by a pedestrian bridge. The restaurant never opened, but the bridges and the shell of the building remain as curious relics of recent history.

Soaring more than 1,600 feet into the air, Taipei 101 is one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world and probably Taipei’s most iconic site. For a small fee, visitors can spend time on the observation deck—a large space that offers a 360-degree view of Taipei. From here, you can get a better understanding of the city and how it is organized. For that reason Taipei 101 is the best place to start your sightseeing adventures. There are also a number of great restaurants in Taipei 101 along with shops and entertainment options; you can plan at least half a day of experiences at this one site.

Eleanor Tinsley Park in Houston is a great place to spend time outdoors. There’s the Waugh Bridge Bat Colony, hiking and biking trails, and tons of green space to enjoy.

After crawling through a few of the tunnels that have been somewhat expanded for tourists and seeing the displays of recovered bombs, people who were not involved in the Vietnam War (called the American War there) can get a feeling of the horror that occurred during those years. A system of 125 miles of tunnels became almost a complete underground city. The picture offered above is the delivery bomb of cluster bombs from the U.S. The Vietcong recovered many of these and other unexploded bombs and used them against South Vietnam and the U.S. It is a sad place but worth going for a better understanding of why the U.S. lost this war.