thanks for your suggestions. i have travelled extensively in europe and USA on business, so i will probably not spend much time there, although i strongly agree that new york, san fran and vegas are very cool places.
I am bit surprised that most recommandations focus on asia-pacific. Has nobody been to africa or south america - or are these places just not high on your list?
HKG and Bali seem like a very good combo for a couple of days, so does australia or NZ.