In a world where we’re acutely aware of fashion’s carbon footprint, environmental offences and atrocious human rights violations, it feels important to spend time with garment workers through organisations like Saheli Women. To witness workers spending an entire day stitching a single garment, and to understand what this work means for them, their families and their entire village, is a truly transformative experience.

For now, Ethiopia remains a well-kept secret, which means you’ll feel as though you have the country to yourself as you explore. From meeting the remote tribes of the Omo Valley in the south and dancing the night away in Ethiopian jazz clubs in Addis Ababa, to exploring the 900-year-old rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and hiking alongside gelada baboons and Ethiopian wolves in the Simien Mountains, Ethiopia will surprise and delight at every turn.

For anyone searching for the quieter, lesser-known side of Europe, Georgia’s Svaneti region is the perfect find. Visit in spring and summer (early June to mid-October), though, and it’s one of the world’s best hiking regions, filled with ancient villages, tousled meadows upholstered in wildflowers, and excellent food and wine.

On the wall of my bedroom on the east coast of Australia hangs an intricately embroidered, ochre-coloured huipil blouse. The stitching is imperfect, the colour is mottled, it is torn in certain places. But it is, without doubt, my favourite piece of clothing. Every time I pass it I think of my travels to Guatemala, especially the five-day weaving workshop I took there, which taught me the importance of honouring the garments we adorn our bodies with. After that experience, I never looked at clothing the same way again.

There is a place in northern India that’s whispered about by those in the know. A laid back, lackadaisical little town that’s far from India’s usual honk and blare, it blooms like a lotus from a peaceful holy lake, opening out towards the surrounding rolling desert. Lean in and listen closely: the name of this spiritual hideaway is Pushkar. Say it out loud, and say it slowly. Pussshkaaar. Like an exhale, isn’t it? Which is exactly what you’ll do when you arrive in this place of solace and rest, one of the oldest and most holy cities in India, after an eight-hour train ride from Delhi.

On my first afternoon in Namibia, I found myself standing in a cloud of sun-gilded dust, ice clinking in my gin and tonic, watching two baby white rhinos tussle just 20 metres away. It was the kind of moment African travel dreams are made of, and one that made me immediately understand why Namibia is such a magical and increasingly enticing destination for travellers…