“I’m on a beach in Waikiki!” is every tourists’ dream vacation. Waikiki has a beautiful coastline with Diamond Head as the backdrop; the water is so pristine you almost want to drink it. This city is also a part of a larger city called Honolulu, which has the largest population of people in all of Hawaii. So, Waikiki has a lot of high rise hotels and apartment complexes, most of them with stunning views of the water (Makai-side) and the mountains (Mauka-side). This fun touristy-area of Oahu has high-end shopping, beautiful beach bars, many upscale hotels, and easy access to a lovely (but crowded) beach.

In southern Utah, about an hour from Kanab, lies a desert-like trail called Wire Pass at the end of a 4-wheel-drive-only dirt road. We were stunned that the 3.4-mile Wire Pass Trail also leads to a photobook-worthy slot canyon called Buckskin Gulch.

When you think of Utah, you think of all of its incredible national parks, the strikingly tall mountains, and that Salt Lake City became home-base for Mormon pioneers in the 1800s who built the city around their church. I also did not realize that when you think of Utah, you should also think of FRY SAUCE. Huh? Yes. Fry sauce! A delicious side-kick to French Fries here. This orange-colored sauce is generally made up of ketchup and mayonnaise as the base, and most have pickle juice to add a tangy, more exciting flavor. Then, each restaurant likes to add on their own variations for their own homemade fry sauce. For the three months I spent in Utah, I asked every person I ran into where their favorite fry sauce place was. I tallied the ones that got mentioned the most and that’s where the 10 that I tried came from. My chart is the order I tried them, and the ranking is on the right hand side. As you can see, Crown Burger is the champion!

A national park I had never heard of turns out to be another version of the Grand Canyon, albeit smaller. For me, it was easier to “grasp” Canyonlands National Park than the Grand Canyon; easier to spot the Colorado River (and the Green River) flowing from below so you can understand the magnitude of the surroundings. There were many wow moments in this national park, especially Mesa Arch at sunrise.

In its name, this national park is full of… Arches! It makes sense why the Utah license plate is the famed “Delicate Arch” as there are more than 2,000 magical arches in this park. The geological phenomenon of the arch had a very similar effect on me as Bryce Canyon National Park; I just wanted to stop and stare and take it all in. I enjoyed this red rock desert-like scenic park twice while living in Utah.

A moderately difficult 8-mile hike was very much worth the effort towards the end of the winter after a snowstorm, as the cold white-covered trees were a stark contrast to the hot steamed water. This main photo got me photo of the week for Salt Lake City Photography’s Facebook group!

One of Amanda’s (one of my high school besties who lived here) other favorite places on the main island is Sanur. I only was here for one night as a way to get back on the main island and be closer to the airport to fly home. Since it was raining while I was there, I only got to experience the food and my nice hotel! However, the food is one of the best parts about Sanur; since it’s closer to the big city of Denpasar, the restaurants are really good here and are worth mentioning.

The islands off the coast of Bali were a real treat! I would highly recommend coming here as the spectacular scenery is some of the best in the world. I also stayed at some amazing hotels that are very much worth mentioning!

Lempuyang, or the east side of Bali, is known for the Lempuyang Temple which shows off the powerful Mt. Agung volcano with the temple in the foreground. This is very much a tourist attraction but it fulfilled making me feel like I was in Bali to take the iconic picture between the “gates of heaven.”

Take a break and relax at an ocean front bungalow with a beautiful pool and scenery. The accommodations are not as modern as I would’ve liked but it forced me to take a step back and contemplate, do some yoga, relax by the pool, meet some cool people, and have delicious Balinese food.