Marion Grasby, Celebrity Chef and Cookbook Author

My favourite holiday destinations are anywhere in South-east Asia! I love the white sands of Nai Yang Beach in Phuket, the bustle of downtown Kuala Lumpur and the jam-packed side-street eateries in Hanoi. My ideal destinations always have a mix of great food and interesting cultural sights. But food is definitely always the highlight!

My Top Ten Travel Tips

1. Do your research! I always come up with lists of 'must-eat' restaurants before I leave home.
2. Choose a hotel in the area you'd like to spend the most time. For me, this means near local food markets or restaurants.
3. Check out weather forecasts before you go and make sure you've got enough luggage allowance if you're going somewhere cold. Winter jackets take up so much room in a suitcase!
4. If you're planning to eat street-food style – pack your own personal plastic chopsticks, forks and knives to keep in your handbag.
5. Always carry tissues.
6. Keeping a fan in your handbag is a must if traveling anywhere that's hot and sticky.
7. Closed-in comfortable walking shoes may not be pretty but they're much more practical than flimsy flip-flops.
8. Turn off data-roaming on your phone before your plane takes off.
9. Write down emergency and family phone numbers on a piece of paper to keep in your suitcase in case your phone or wallet gets lost or stolen.
10. Have fun

Marion is hosting an upcoming Vietnam Culinary Tour from October 12-20, 2013 to raise money for Variety. Read more about this unforgettable trip of a lifetime in our Deals pages.

About Marion:

Marion is a little bit Thai (courtesy of her Mum) and a little bit Australian (courtesy of her Dad). Her love of food and travel became ingrained at an early age as her globe-trotting parents lived and travelled in Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Australia.

Marion counts her successful meal solution range, Marion’s Kitchen as one of her biggest achievements to date. Last year she launched her cookbook ‘Marion: Recipes and Stories from a Hungry Cook’ and continues to source her recipes from all over the world.

Alison Carmichael-Rulten

Hi, I'm Alison Carmichael-Rulten the Publisher of Vacation Goddess, and I want to thank you for visiting Vacation Goddess – the one-stop shop for insider travel news, deals, 'Guest Goddes's stories, and of course our personal travel experiences. Plus, as we love to cruise we also try to find some amazing cruise deals for you too. From luxury, longer escapes right down to weekend breaks we know you love everything travel related. Here at Vacation Goddess, we hope you will find loads of inspiration and of course some amazing travel deals. We love a holiday at a great price and that's why we seek out what we call 'Champagne Experiences, on a Sparkling Wine Budget.' We constantly showcase a variety of special deals and offers and from time to time some very special competitions. Our recent 'Win a Trip to London' competition received over 24,00 entries. We invite you to visit us often, join our mailing list and please tell your friends