Honestly, I prefer to go to places where no one else goes that haven’t been ruined by the touristy thing. I don’t know if I would’ve ever gone to Afghanistan if it hadn’t been for my work with UNICEF, but it has been one of my favorite places I’ve ever been in my life. I stayed eight days there in the central highlands of the country in an area that was relatively fortunate when it came to Taliban attacks. Bamyan is in the central part of the mountains and it is just such a beautiful area.
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Pictured: An Afghan woman displays her hand-made rugs during an exhibition in Herat, Afghanistan.(Jalil Rezayee / EPA)
I like places that are dusty, far-flung and mysterious. I went to Nepal to hike and meditate. Nepal was a little easier for me to get around because it isn’t as high up as Tibet and it is more touristy.
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Pictured: Nepalese devotees worship a cow as part of the Tihar festival in Kathmandu, Nepal.(Narendra Shrestha / EPA)
McCormick on Minnesota:
My favorite place in the whole world is Lake Vermilion in Minnesota. My husband’s family has a cabin there and we go there all the time. You drive part of the way and then you have to take a boat to get to the cabin ‘cause you can’t get there by car. It’s really remote and I love it. It’s the most peaceful place I’ve ever been in my life. I swim in the water all day and we go canoeing and just look at how unbelievably gorgeous it is there. I also like to knit when I’m there. One year my daughter and I made ornaments for our Christmas tree that we still bring out during the holidays.
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Pictured: Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis, one of the many lakes for which Minnesota is known.(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Kennedy on the Philippines:
I loved the people in the Philippines. They treated me like a rock star and knew everything about me. They were so respectful, but also so appreciative of my routine. I loved them! I learned a few phrases there, although I’m sure I pronounced them ridiculously badly. I felt very lucky to have gotten to see the country.
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Pictured: Jewelry on display in Manila’s bargain district of Divisoria.(Pat Roque / Associated Press)
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Collen on India:
The people, the culture, the history. It’s just an amazing place. And the food is out of this world. You just want to spend the whole day eating, even if you’re not hungry. Although I have to say, the best Indian food I’ve ever eaten ironically enough wasn’t in India, but in Bradford, England.
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Pictured: The Taj Mahal(Scott Kraft / Los Angeles Times)
Rick Springfield
Singer Rick Springfield is back on the road to promote his new album “Venus in Overdrive. Born in Australia, the rocker calls nearby New Zealand one of his favorite destinations. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
Tunstall on the Maldives:
I visited the Maldives on my first fancy holiday three years ago when I first had success and really needed to lie down for a week! I fell in love with it. What was incredible about the Maldives was that the entire island we were on consisted of sand. There didn’t seem to be any dirt. You could walk around for hours barefoot with your white trousers skimming the ground, and they’d still be pristine white.
Read more: Celebrity travel: Go away with KT Tunstall(Dexter Filkins / For The Times)
Winkler on Montana:
My heart lives in New York, where I was born and raised. My body lives in Los Angeles. But my soul lives in Montana. My wife Stacey and I have been going there since the early ‘90s and, no pun intended, we were hooked from our first trip.
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Pictured: Glacier National Park in Montana(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)