My next memory involves being at the bottom of a Costa Rican river wondering which direction was up and holding my breath while I waited for my life-preserver to sort things out which it did.

WSJ: Dilbert Creator Scott Adams's Year Without Fear

It may be their budget offering (apart from a few river-facing rooms, it has shared bathrooms), but the art direction is no less obsessive, down to the potted palms in the lobby and a clanky old lift.

BBC: Brand new old New York

No matter which direction you travel on the canal, you will meet the Chao Phraya River, where you can catch a boat across to Thonburi on the public riverboats that constantly pass by.

BBC: Exploring Bangkok��s canals

In the other direction, a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk heads 300m along the banks of the Pieman River to an ancient Huon pine tree.

BBC: Tasmania��s true wilderness