One night in Bangkok – When I first saw the musical Chess, the main song stuck in my mind (for decades, now!). It made this global city into something more – a journey into the unfamiliar, perhaps.

During the early days of March 2016, it was announced that the North Korean government sentenced a 21-year old student from West Virginia to 15 years of hard labor. His crime: attempting to steal a propaganda poster for a friend back home.

Flying can be stressful - let's not even dig into the reasons why, because it will just make us crabby. But in an effort to discover more happiness in travel, we've published a three part series that focuses on the positive - happy tips for travel. Our resource for all questions about happiness is Deborah Heisz, Editorial Director of Live Happy - and ask her a few questions. Deborah has a B.A. in English from Texas Tech University and an MBA from the University of Dallas.

Remember those days of drawing a line on the backseat of the car, and not allowing your brother to cross it? Or, fighting for the armrest on the airplane (wait, that still happens!)? I'm all for family travel - and am constantly promoting it as a way to explore the world together, whether in your backyard or in far-flung places. But there are ways to create happy family travel - less stress, more bonding and joyful journeys. Interested? Of course!

No one wants to spend the first few days of their holiday recovering from their flight, but if you are flying long haul, this can be a common occurrence.

I don’t think there are many people who will disagree with this statement: Food is an important part of every culture. It follows then that one of the great pleasures of travel is the opportunity to taste the local cuisine. There's something about sharing a favorite dish with a friend or stranger that makes it taste even better. We truly do bond over a meal.

It’s easy enough to make sure your good time isn’t making someone else’s life tougher if you’re aware of the culture you’re visiting. Don’t limit yourself to the suggestions in this chapter, as ethical considerations should inform all your travel. Volunteering is another way you can make a difference to the places you visit, even if you just help out for a few weeks.