If youre staying at the top then you can probably avoid many of the problems that come with visiting certain countries.

I think that the advice that headinclouds gave and SD1K seconded is spot on. Choose three or four places and call it a trip. Otherwise it will quickly turn into, if it's Tuesday then it must be Bangkok. Assume that you will have a day of travel with each destination and that leaves six days. Depending on where you go, there are other places close that you can do day or a couple of day trips to. For instance, if you go to Paris then you can spend a few days in Brussels for minimal effort.

I would choose places that #1 are expensive to get to otherwise and #2 that you find interesting. What are your interests? Are you interested in nature or culture or architecture? Are you interested in food or drink? Do you like to shop or hike or sail? Are you interested in safe places or edgy places? Do you want to lounge around a lot, do you like spas, do you like massages? Do you have any prejudices, preconceptions, or hangups about certain things or places? For instance, I have a friend that will absolutely not go to Cairo alone and who will not under almost any circumstances go to Germany. They are simply not options.

These are all questions that cannot be answered by this group, unfortunately. What you have in front of you is a Vegas buffet. You can have an omelete or pizza or spaghetti. None is wrong (except maybe the Sizzlean) because it just depends on your individual tastes.

That being said, here are my suggestions. The order is not deliberate. I would tend to just do a three continent.

Bali - Beautiful place, beautiful people, very interesting culture, you *must* get out of the touristy areas.

Tokyo and Kyoto - The heart of Japan. Enough said. Very expensive, though. Interesting place.

Hong Kong - My favorite city in the world besides maybe Paris. Worth three days just to relax and do a bit of shopping.

Beijing / Shanghai - See China's transformation before the govt here decides to reconstruct all of its history and culture. I am in Beijing right now and I have to say that it is a very, very interesting trip. It can be difficult at times, however, for a number of reasons.

North Africa - I tend to enjoy the Arabic culture but it's not for everyone. You will be largely isolated from the touts and whatnot if you are traveling in style or have a guide with you. Morocco and Egypt are an experience. I haven't been to Tunisia and Libya is somewhat next on my list.

Europe - Just choose somewhere that interests you. Europe is too diverse to pin down. Greece is 100% different from Helsinki which is 100% different from Dublin which is 100% different from Portugal. And they are all 100% different from Prague and Budapest.

If it were my trip, I would do the following (I count by nights, not days):

Bali - 5 nights
Tokyo/Kyoto - 6 nights
Hong Kong - 2 nights
Beijing (with a sidetrip maybe to Xian or Shanghai. I haven't been but was told theyre absolutely worth the trip) - 7 nights
Casablanca - 4 nights
Somewhere in Europe - 4 nights

It overshoots your month by a day or two because of travel time. If you start in a place other than where you live then you can include a couple of sidetrips in the US. I think it gives a good glimpse into several interesting cultures without spending more time in the air than on the ground. In any event, just my two cents.