I grew up in Hawaii. Here are 9 surprising things about living in the tourist hot spot.

Not all islands are created equal. Some people may believe one speck of sand is the same in the Maldives as one in Indonesia or that the pitons in St. Lucia are close enough to Mount Otemanu in Bora Bora. Still others may assume all of Hawaii’s 137 islands, including the eight large ones, are alike. If there’s one thing my travel has proved, it’s that islands are vastly distinct. Among those in Hawaii, Kauai, the oldest of them all in the region, is the prize place.

On my first day in Iceland, I paid 2,690 ISK, or about $20, for a piece of avocado toast at the Blue Lagoon.

The best hotels in the world become so because they know how to enchant and surprise their guests; thinking through every aspect of the stay, from decor to food and service. It’s not a surprise to learn that they are also able to source and curate superb gifts.

I’m sitting with Leonard Tee at a marble-top table in the dining hall of Warong Old China. The Malaysian Chinese restaurant owner has been in business in Kuala Lumpur for 20 years, and this Chinatown address is the newest of his three venues. I ask a question that elicits a long pause for consideration: what dish best symbolises multicultural Malaysia? Tee finally speaks: “The quintessential Malaysian dish is nasi lemak because there’s a Malay, Chinese and Indian version.”

Major airlines in the United States are expecting record numbers of travelers this year over the Thanksgiving holiday period.

Throughout the five years that I worked as a VIP tour guide at Disneyland, I experienced the park through different lenses and noticed things that many parkgoers may not.

National parks are affectionately known as America's best idea. As someone who's traveled solo to 59 of the 63 major US national parks, I'd have to agree.

When it comes to bar innovation and cocktail creativity, the world looks to New York. This is a city whose venues feature prominently on the World’s 50 Best Bars list year after year. There’s a whole mix of styles and approaches here, from small-cover bars hidden down backstreets to boundary-pushing establishments so popular, people queue round the block to get in.

At 27 years old, I completed my wanderlust dream of traveling to every country in the world as a solo female traveler. To be exact, I've visited all 193 sovereign nations — plus Taiwan, Kosovo, and Palestine. Then, by the age of 30, I achieved my athletic dream of becoming an Ironman. I find great fulfillment in inspiring and educating young women to get out and pursue their passions — or whatever gets them excited in life.  

This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Christina Hazel, a 23-year-old American woman who was born in France and grew up in Tunisia. She shares her experience moving back to the US for college. It's been edited for length and clarity. 

The No 50 Purbeck Breezer travels regularly between Swanage and Bournemouth past the beautiful beaches of Studland Bay. Behind Knoll Beach there’s a heathland nature reserve with a lagoon and a giant natural sand pit. In Poole we visited the Japanese garden at Compton Acres and the historic harbour. From a child’s perspective, the best thing about the No 50 is that it goes on a boat: the chain ferry that plies the harbour mouth between Studland and Sandbanks. The return trip at sunset on the open upper deck made us laugh out loud: it was like being on a rollercoaster. Jenny Lunnon

Earlier this year, I decided to move back to the US after four years of living in the UK, where I spent most of my life.