Whenever conversations about the tourist hot spots all over the world spring up, the default topics have always been: Paris, Venice, The Great Wall, the Caribbean and Mediterranean islands, Rome, New York and Hollywood… Until now, these places still hold their magnificence and attract millions of visitors every year. However, several other places in the world have gone and risen up to the occasion, to face up to the challenge held by the ‘default’ tourist destinations. Here are a two of them:

The Gulf. Dubai boasts of a world renowned seven-star hotel visited only by the VVVIP’s. Abu Dhabi is the new face of the New Middle East- a region that is now focused on investing, diversifying and cooking up new things for their region. Being the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi aims to be a sophisticated center of global art. The Sorbonne in Paris, the Guggenheim and the Louvre have branches soon to open in Abu Dhabi.

Macau. Yet another Asian city that aims to have a touch of that European elegance: a romantic travel along the rivers of the Venetian Macau with a singing gondolier to gloss up the experience, glamorous hotels and shopping centers. All of that with a twist… an insane amount of gambling!

Any type of travel, be it long distance or a short one, requires one to have a regular-sized and handy, carry-along bag that contains all the immediate needs they may have during their trip. While the rest of your bags and luggage are checked in at the baggage cabin; having this bag on your person at all times makes it easy for you to have your valuables close and at hand.

Aside from the usual collection of wallets, jewelries, purses, mobile phones, organizers and other such valuables, there are other items that need to be in your easy-access travel kit.

For your security: Your mobile phone charger or spare cell phone batteries should always be close at hand for emergencies. Your travel kit should also contain your identification information and emergency contacts. It is also wise to walk around with some sort of self-defense contraption, the most common of which is the pepper spray.

For your comfort and enjoyment: You should always have a supply of ‘travel meds’ for the road. This is for motion sickness, allergies and sleeping pills that you may need to help you deal with the jet lag. It is also good to bring along a pocketbook for light reading; this is to amuse you if you find yourself alone and waiting for your time to board. Your travel kit will not be complete without a small pack of chocolates or any other energy bar. A bit of a sugar rush is good for the road.

“Real” long distance traveling can never ever be called traveling if you’re not tugging along with you a bunch of stuff called luggage. These bags and packages contain the little bits and pieces of your personal space and helps you set-up your temporary territory in wherever lace you might find yourself to be. For some unfortunate others, their lovely and relaxing trips get twisted endings because of bad things happening to their precious cargo. Undoubtedly, the safety of your traveling bags is tantamount to your own safety. This being the case, take the time to look at the following tips to help you safeguard your very own cargo:

Pack only what is necessary. Pack light whenever possible. The less bags and packages you need to watch over, the better. Right? You can do this successfully by good planning. If you know what to expect in your travel destination, you’ll know exactly what you’ll need to bring with you.

Label your packages properly. This is very important especially if you’ll be checking them in onboard. Also, make it a point to put clear identifying marks and attachments to your bags so it would be easy for you to locate them on the conveyor.

Lastly, go with sturdy bags that will definitely hold up to the challenges of your travel. Also, don’t forget to put proper warning messages like “This Side Up” and “Fragile”.

I once read on an October 2007 issue of Newsweek about “poorists”. These are tourists who forego the highly comfortable yet highly predictable tour itinerary for the globalized parts of the world. They actually pay money so they could visit impoverished and grimy places like Soweto in South Africa, the slums of New York, and one among the largest slum areas in Asia- the slums of Mumbai in India.

A Brazilian slum-tour company claims to have booked 650 tourists for a single month. The tour has its own dark charms- the prices are cheap compared to that of the regular travel packages to popular tourist destinations; the relatively well-off ‘”poorists” get a chance to see for themselves what it is like to have limited means for survival- something that they could hardly imagine possible.

The article got me thinking about Bono and how he started, years and years ago with his advocacies for the poor and the oppressed. He started with something similar; he and his wife tried living for a month with a village of natives in South Africa. It was a life changing experience that got Bono using his rock star charm and smarts. He helped bring about and is still bringing about a lot of good change for third world countries.

I know I need not go on any slum-tour to get my epiphany… but I wish other tourists would think about taking the alternate route to a more rewarding experience.

Countless movies and TV shows have made references to the Pacific islands as the perfect get-away. The most popular is this island nation in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu – well might as well go ahead and say it – FIJI! As if one couldn’t easily guess that; in fact, do a random survey about the beaches and islands that people would want to run off to and Fiji is one of your top answers.

What is it with Fiji anyway? Fiji may be thought of as the embodiment of everything exotic: from hot sandy beaches to tropical rainforests waterfalls and villages. Choosing was a real challenger but here are the top destinations in the island paradise:

Mamanuca Islands. Learn to scuba dive or snorkel with the diverse marine life, soft corals and dolphins. Visit Navala Village and explore the Yasawa islands. You can even go skydiving from Nadi or sightsee from a seaplane or helicopter.

The Bouma National Park is a marine park that boasts of waterfalls and coastal walks while the Navua River runs from the rainforest to the villages. The more adventurous can explore the remote islands of Kadavu, Lau or Lomaiviti.