The town of Parachilna sits with Wilpena Pound to one side and the great Australian Outback to the other. The Prairie Hotel is the worst kept secret in Adelaide for a decade, and its winning ingredient is being so far from Adelaide itself.

War zone? Tsunami? Poverty? Civil Unrest? Religious Persecution? It's all here in Sri Lanka but despite the fighting it continues to seduce in surprising ways.

The city of Bangkok is literally built on Buddhism. Sprawling along rivers and khlongs is a city landmarked as much by golden temples as its shopping malls. Even a shopping trip in Bangkok can become an exercise in enlightenment, just follow the monks.

The lucky country has grown into the lucky dining country. Beechworth in northeast Victoria is the centre for Australia's richest, most diverse dining and drinking region.

A small island off the coast of Borneo is one of the top diving spots in the world, a tiny coral bloom on the tip of a volcano. The shallow coral gardens around the island are also a playground for turtles, and snorkelling.

Oprah and her travelling circus has left town, perhaps this could be Sydney's treat to entice her back?

The jungles of Papua New Guinea were once dark places where European explorers could seek glory in the bizarre. Now it's only tourists and the occasional Naked Hungry Traveller who find themselves confronted with PNG's more sinister rituals.

Once known as the Land of A Million Elephants the country of Laos is today home to little more than 1000. Half roam wild in the forests, half work in the logging industry and a select few make friends with travellers looking for the path less travelled.

Spend $300 million on an upgrade? Why not? When owners as cashed up as the Oatley family is, serious money is seriously spent. Now Hamilton Island isn't what it used to be. Read on to find out if $300 million has been worth the expense. (Yes, it is.)

Two extinct volcanoes. Two harbours. One drop dead gorgeous peninsula just over the hill from Christchurch.

Beijing is jammed with bland brand name anonymous mega-hotels. The Opposite House is the opposite of the mass marketed dormitory approach to the accommodation business.

Siem Reap and Angkor Wat are Cambodia's cultural heartland. Dirty politics in this land of tears requires a stoic heart for visitors. Where is Lara Croft when you need her?

Nothing says Paris like a cheap miniature Eiffel Tower sold by an Algerian hawker, unfortunately. Here's a few suggestions when you want to take home a real treasure from the world's most beautiful city.

Time moves slowly in the Greek Islands, because even time itself doesn't want to move on from here. Blue water meets the blue sky, a match made in the Aegean.

Dumpling Queen Melissa Wong works hard at knowing her dumplings. Though Melbourne isn't Beijing or Shanghai, it does offer a sizeable array of Chinese nosheries scattered around town. Some are bloody awful. Some are bloody good. Here's a rundown of five from an expert.

Tropical torpor is unavoidable when the average humidity exceeds average temperature. Being in Darwin during the Wet is like being cloaked in damp inertia. And it's going to cost you... a lot.

An indigenous community in Arnhem Land welcomes visitors to listen closely to the wisdom of their ancestors. Hidden in the landscape itself are simple ochre and ash paintings, and hidden within those paintings are stories that have travelled through time.

In the far north of Finland the ethnic minorities of Sami people have been herding reindeer for centuries. They have adapted to live inside the Arctic Circle with the help of their antlered friends, and while the modern Sami prefer snow mobiles to sleds they still have a strong and living connection with the reindeer.

There's a war of chocolate happening in Strasbourg between the best of German and French culinary styles, and the family run Pâtisserie Christian Meyer seems to be winning. Their secret is to combine the best of both to produce a uniquely Alsatian approach to chocolate. And have fun doing it.

Llamas are hairy beasts that smell funny and have very bad manners. In South America this combination makes you pretty popular. Travelling in Peru through the eyes of the llamas is a good way to get off the beaten track and onto the remote trails.