Medan is the capital of north Sumatra and the third largest city in Indonesia. It is a huge, sprawling city and a popular entry/exit point for travellers. The solid Dutch buildings of the affluent older suburbs inspire images of bloated bureaucrats and burghers from the colonial era, while jerry-built lean-tos house the bulk of its population.

Alice Springs, located in the heart of Australia’s Red Centre, is a town deeply connected to the desert landscapes and Aboriginal culture that define the region. Long an important meeting place for the Arrernte people, it remains a center of Indigenous art and traditions, with galleries and cultural institutions showcasing some of the world’s most renowned Aboriginal artworks and stories.

Rijeka sits at the head of Kvarner Bay on Croatia’s northern Adriatic, shaped by its long role as a port city at the crossroads of empires.

Bradenton is a Gulf Coast city in southwest Florida, located along the Manatee River near its meeting with Tampa Bay. The city combines a historic downtown with waterfront parks, residential neighborhoods, cultural attractions, and access to nearby beaches. Its location between Tampa and Sarasota gives Bradenton a distinct place within the region, while the Manatee River remains central to its landscape and recreation.

Molokai, island, in Kalawao County, administered by Maui County, central Hawaii, between Oahu and Maui islands, known as the Friendly Island. On the southern coast of Molokai is the port of Kaunakakai. The island rises to 1512 m (4961 ft) in the east at Kamakou Peak. Pineapples, coffee, and cattle are raised. In 1873Father Damien, the Belgian Roman Catholic missionary, began his work in the leper colony of Kalawao on the Kalaupapa Peninsula of northern Molokai.