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A. I would love to visit Taiwan for the food and the shopping, but also nature walks and temple visits. I'm also interested in how Japanese colonialism might have influenced the city and townscapes in ways similar to and different from Korean ones.

Q. What would be your dream trip?

A. I usually prefer to go somewhere more urban, but right now, I would really like to go somewhere where the pace is slow, the weather is warm and the beaches are calm. I want to lie in a bed overlooking the ocean and read, take very long walks in the woods or on the beach, look at wild animals, go swimming and eat something scrumptious for every meal. I'd probably want to be busy again in a week, but this trip would be a dream. Where can I go to do this?

Q. What is your guilty pleasure when you're on the road?

A. I usually don't feel compelled to get junk food, but I love eating it at the airport before getting on a flight. I always look for a McDonald's. Going to and leaving an airport is often an ordeal, so I need to give myself a treat. Also, an airport is this weird in-between space, where everyone is en route, constantly in motion. So it feels like a meal there doesn't really count, because a regular meal marks certain points of time in a day and flying usually affects or disrupts the daily rhythm, so the best a meal can be in an airport is a snack. Maybe I sound nuts, but the point is, the airport is where I don't feel bad buying unhealthy snacks.

Q. What kind of research do you do before you go away on a trip?

A. How to say at least "thank you" in the primary language of that country, and how to use the public transportation -- or whether that's the best way to move around. I also like to map out all the sites I want to visit and the distances among them, so I can roughly sketch out how I want to spend the day.

Q. What is your best and/or worst vacation memory?

A. Seven years ago, I was in Edinburgh with my friends Jackie and Kira and went up Arthur's Seat. I hadn't expected much, but it was utterly stunning -- the views from the climb and the peak, all of it. I think we unintentionally took a more challenging route that had some rocky and steep paths, but everything we saw on the way was so picturesque. We marveled at the vibrant wildflowers, swans in a pond and, of course, from the top, all of the spectacular city of Edinburgh. We were all breathless for a while, and not just from hiking.

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(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and travel writer. You can respond to this column by visiting her website at www.jaehakim.com. You may also follow "Go Away With..." on Twitter at @GoAwayWithJae where Jae-Ha Kim welcomes your questions and comments.)

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