Nelufar Hedayat, 28, was just 6 years old when she and her family fled the Taliban and war-torn Afghanistan. Her experiences as a refugee and immigrant shaped her desire to make a difference. Hedayat's current project is the Fusion docuseries “The Traffickers,” where she delves into subjects such as the illegal selling of human organs and sex. Hedayat is based out of London. An edited version of our conversation follows.

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What has been the most notable place you have traveled to?

I was really keen to get to China, and we managed to do so twice (for the series). I have been bitten by the China bug and would love to explore it more extensively. I think what you're often hit with when visiting a new place is the sense of scale. A trip to New York, Mumbai or Guangzhou makes you feel like an ant in a metropolitan jungle, and that is a heady combination. When on holiday, though, I always seem to be drawn to the small. I love island-hopping in Thailand. I adore the calm of Borneo and parts of Bali.

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Tell me a little about Borneo.

The animals that I saw there, pygmy elephants, bonobo and orangutans, to name a few, rebalance my connection with the planet and make me feel human. With the island being so close to the equator, you see a version of the night sky that has a regal sparkle unchallenged in its beauty. I cannot be more helpful than to recommend that you bring insect bite cream. Also, adjust your expectations. I was born in and have always lived in mega cities but in (Malaysian) Borneo, I was forced to readjust my views of timing, comfort and I learned to be patient.

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How can travelers be mindful of the cultures they are visiting?

Google it. Seriously, it's not terribly hard and it's much better to be slightly overprepared than under. I've been there and done it. Supershort shorts in the Buddhist temple, no head scarf at the Turkish mosque and way too tight a top for the Pakistani market. This problem obviously affects women disproportionately to men, but I've learned to quell the feminist fire burning within me if only to really blend in and have a true experience of the culture and traditions of the place.

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What untapped destination should people know about?

Vietnam. It's a truly awesome place and still on the cusp of being touristified. You can still find pockets of it that have little to no tourist trail and the people are stoically polite and kind.

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What are your five favorite cities?

This is hard, but I've whittled it down to: London, L.A., Kuala Lumpur, Lagos and Mecca. I love them all for very different reasons.

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Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?

Antarctica, Papua and New Guinea, Madagascar, Russia, Kazakhstan, North Korea. The list goes on. The more I travel, the bigger the world seems to get.

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What is your guilty pleasure when you're on the road?

I always try to save along the way, staying at very basic places so that the last three days are five-star. When my friend and I traveled around Thailand, in the beginning, we slummed it. But then, at the end of the trip, we were living in paradise on the Phi Phi Islands with massages every day and a private balcony.

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