• Karyn Farr is a travel advisor who has visited more than 125 countries.
• Of all those places, Farr told Business Insider that Mongolia was one of her favorites.
• She said Mongolia's natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, and hospitality make it worth visiting.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with travel advisor Karyn Farr, a Californian who has traveled to 125 countries. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I've been a travel advisor for 24 years and have visited over 125 countries.

My travels have taken me to Canada, all across Europe, the United Kingdom, the Nordic and Baltic countries, India, South and Central America, the Middle East, Asia, coastal Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.

Of all the places I've been, Mongolia is one of my favorites. It's incredibly beautiful and unique, with a lifestyle and culture that not many people get to experience.

I first visited in the summer of 2018 with a small group of people, and we traveled the country extensively. While Mongolia is very welcoming to foreigners, you'll want a guide — unless you're just staying in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, where a lot of the population lives.

If you're heading to more rural and remote areas, you need guides who speak English and transportation arranged in advance.

The country certainly isn't one of the more touristy destinations. I had to fly from Los Angeles to Beijing — a two-day journey just to get there. It requires a truly adventurous spirit, but it's absolutely worth visiting and experiencing for yourself.

Mongolia's scenery is stunning

One afternoon, when I was in Ulaanbaatar, I was walking around when a local man approached me and asked, "Where are you from?" I said, "California," and his eyes widened. He said, "Well, that's far down there," and said, "Welcome, I hope you enjoy your stay in Mongolia."

I did. I spent about two weeks there and visited many different regions, each so different.

Mongolia has a beautiful landscape. There are many lakes, pine forests in the North, which have a climate similar to the northern United States, and open spaces filled with greenery, where cows and horses freely graze.

In the South, there are a lot of mountains, including the Gobi-Altai Mountains. The southern region is also home to the Gobi Desert, which has a lot of sand dunes.

One afternoon, while my group and I were exploring the dunes, our tour guide showed us a natural spring flowing up from the ground. I spent the afternoon watching the spring feed nearby horses. I just felt very connected with the land.

Mongolia is best known for Genghis Khan, a conqueror who founded the Mongol Empire, which became one of the largest empires in history. If you head east, you can visit the Genghis Khan Statue Complex. It has massive statues of Genghis Khan and his warriors.

The country is also known for its horseback riding, made famous by Genghis Khan's army. I had several opportunities to ride the horses when I visited, and it was wonderful.

I had many adventures in Mongolia

There's a lot to do in Mongolia. When my group was in Ulaanbaatar, we stayed in a small Western-style hotel. During the day, we visited a Buddhist monastery. In the evening, we went into town and enjoyed entertainment like traditional music and dance. Mongolians have a distinct vocal style: they throat sing.

When we were in the Gobi Desert, my group stayed at the Gobi Nomad Lodge, a resort with many gers, also known as yurts, which resemble tipis in Native American culture.

At night, we would sit outside and watch some of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen.

In the desert, we saw camels, horses, sheep, and yaks. I also tried my hand at archery. Hunting is a historic tradition in Mongolia, and there was an archery range set up. I wasn't exactly accurate, but I was proud to get my arrow to the target.

In Ömnögovi Province of the Gobi Desert, we visited a local family and spent time in their yurt home, where they served us traditional food and fermented mare's milk.

We also explored the Flaming Cliffs, also known as Bayanzag, famous for their glowing orange rocks; the Singing Sands, sand dunes that make music when shifted by the wind; and the Khavtsgait Petroglyphs, ancient rock carvings dating back to the Bronze Age.

I feel incredibly special and blessed to have had the opportunity to experience this. It's not something everyone dreams of doing, but I grew up in Iowa, where you don't see much beyond the familiar.

As a child, I would read books and imagine distant places. I always wanted to travel. One time, my mother asked me, "Why do you want to go to all these places?" And I simply said, "Because I can."

I would definitely return to Mongolia — I had so many great adventures, made unforgettable memories, and even made a friend.

Our group's guide, who shared so much about her lifestyle with us, later came to California to visit me and a few other members of our tour group. She and I cooked a Mongolian dinner for everyone in California, giving us a chance to reminisce about our time there.

Father’s Day is just before the official start of summer, so it’s an ideal time to grab some outdoor gear dad can use for the warmer weather. I’ve selected a number of options covering a variety of interests, so if your pops is a beach bum, hiker, aspiring pitmaster, amateur pizzaiolo or just likes to hang out around the fire pit, you’ll find a gift idea for them here. Smart grills, a handy grilling companion, a Bluetooth speaker and more are on the list and ready for all of the summer vibes. Plus, most of this stuff can be used year-round, so dad will be reminded of your gift-giving prowess all year long.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-outdoor-gift-ideas-for-dad-154513097.html?src=rss

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© Engadget

• I'm an American spending my retirement living in different countries around the world with my wife.
• We've lived in about 50 countries, and Vietnam, Italy, and Malaysia are some of our favorites.
• Our favorite place to live is Croatia, as it's beautiful and there's so much to see there.

My wife and I are Americans who have been fully nomadic since 2019. In the past few years, we've visited about 50 countries.

We have stayed in some places for as little as a few days and others for several months, but our "sweet spot" is four to six weeks, which gives us time to absorb the flavor of the local culture.

Of all the many questions we get asked about our full-time nomadic lifestyle, the most common is probably, "What's your favorite country?"

As simple as that query is, it's also one of the most challenging because we love so many and consider several of them "home."

However, if I had to choose, here are a few of my favorite countries we've lived in — plus our top pick.

Vietnam felt like an affordable expat heaven

We spent 17 months traveling around Southeast Asian countries and fell in love with many places in the region, including Vietnam.

The second time we visited Vietnam, we stayed for all of our 90-day maximum visa period. We felt we got the most bang for our buck in the amazing city of Da Nang.

It seems popular among fellow expats, likely because it's affordable and close (about 30 minutes away) to the ancient city of Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage site with incredible preserved history and charming canals.

As expats, Da Nang was also a great city for transitioning into Southeast Asian culture, since it still has many Western-style offerings, like grocery stores with offerings that remind us of home.

The country's fairly inexpensive cost of living made it easy for us to comfortably live, explore, and eat well during our stay.

We had so much affordable and incredible food (and fresh fish) in Vietnam. I loved frequent bahn mi sandwiches for less than a dollar, and pho soup breakfasts for not much more.

My wife and I never had a dull day in the country since it also has many beautiful landscapes, rivers, and beaches. And with the convenience of our affordable $45 a month scooter rental, nothing felt too far away.

Italy is magnificent and filled with history

It's easy to see why Italy is on many bucket lists, and we've now lived there twice.

The country is filled with historic architecture, churches, and museums, which have been incredible to explore.

One of our first stays was in the small medieval town of Tivoli, about 20 minutes east of Rome, where we lived in a 500-year-old apartment. That blew my mind, as it's about double the age of the United States.

The ancient town was founded hundreds of years before Rome, too, and it was my first gut punch of recognizing how little of the world I had seen.

Eight months later, we were on the island of Sicily for six weeks. It carried the same sense of ancient history, with the stunning, centuries-old Temple of Apollo prominently in its town square.

And, of course, we enjoyed Italy's world-famous culinary scene and incredible wine offerings. While in Sicily, we regularly visited the local street market to stock up on fresh fish and $2 bottles of delicious wine.

We appreciate the medical tourism in Malaysia

Over the years, one of our biggest incentives to visit Malaysia has been its affordable yet high-quality medical services.

As full-time travelers, it's been our go-to place for medical tests and scans. After all, Malaysia's medical tourism market is pretty huge.

We've had positive experiences with high-quality clinics in the country that have been more affordable than what we've encountered in the US and most other countries we've lived in.

During our time in Malaysia, we've gotten full-body exams, blood tests, and head-to-toe scans for only a few hundred dollars.

We've easily paid for all our medical expenses here out of pocket without navigating complicated insurance policies and red tape, which is almost unheard of in the US.

Plus, it's worth mentioning that Malaysia has impressive skylines, mountains, and rainforests worth exploring, too.

Croatia is still our favorite country we've lived in

Although we've spent time in about 50 countries, Croatia still tops them all.

We spent almost two months there in 2019, and have been back three more times since. When we first moved to Croatia, we didn't know much about it. However, we quickly fell in love.

Fortunately, English is widely spoken here, so communicating with locals was easy. Plus, we were able to eat tons of fresh seafood while in the area.

During one stretch, we lived in affordable waterfront lodging about 20 minutes north of Split, one of our favorite cities.

Its focal point is the downtown waterfront Diocletian Palace, which has residential and commercial units built into the walls. Its charm and history felt intoxicating.

We loved regularly walking several miles along the city's promenade and enjoying the changing view of the water, ships, and sandy beaches.

A few years later, we toured Croatia's northern region, starting from the Istrian Peninsula and heading south while stopping at half a dozen islands along the way.

Even this excursion barely made a dent in how much beauty there is to see in the country, since it has 49 inhabited islands and hundreds of others.

We look forward to one day going back.