I was halfway through my Dreamcatcher massage when the masseuse started dancing around the table. Now, I’m somewhat of an experienced spa-goer, but this was new for me. As were so many other things at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in southwestern Pennsylvania, which just recently completed a $20 million renovation. I also drove an off-road Jeep Rubicon over rocks, through streams and up mini-mountains, scaled a climbing wall and shot a rare white buffalo — to which Native Americans from far and near come to pay homage -- with my camera.

Fifteen flashlights shone downward as we gingerly picked our way through the bush. At the appropriate signal, we extinguished our lights, and 15 expectant adults gathered noiselessly behind our boot-and- camouflage-attired leader. As his sole light hopped and skipped across the dark, remote seaweed-strewn beach,suddenly we saw her –- the elusive New Zealand kiwi.

Descending the steep, narrow plank, inch by inch, hand over hand along the long pole, I thought: “This better be one hell of a cave!” Exploring the other-worldly interior of Hang Trong Cave was to be one of many surreal experiences I was to have traveling along Ha Long Bay in northeast Vietnam.

What do Bill Gates, Hillary and Chelsea, Martina Navratilova and Prince Charles have in common? They've all taken an Abercrombie and Kent safari in Tanzania. I figured that's a pretty good recommendation.

As little as five years ago, some Americans still thought of Tanzania as an exotic destination; now more and more are choosing it as a vacation alternative to Kenya. And when most people think Tanzania, they think Serengeti. They picture millions of wildebeest and zebras stretching endlessly across the plains in their annual migration during the dry season.