From the natural beauty of Kauai's Na Pali Coast to Hong Kong's neon nightlife, SMART TRAVELS--PACIFIC RIM WITH RUDY MAXA V delivers the best of this exotic and ancient region. Award-winning journalist and travel expert Rudy Maxa models hassle-free ways of plotting a memorable, independent trip to intriguing destinations around the Pacific Rim. To bring the Pacific Rim's history alive, Maxa travels to tourist-savvy sites, rambling through ancient ruins, temples and cobbled streets to highlight the region's past. Along the way, Maxa motorbikes in Australia, navigates up river in New Zealand and samples Chinese haute cuisine in Hong Kong. Throughout his travels, Maxa offers tips on travel philosophy, reservations, overcoming the language barrier, adapting to different surroundings, changing money, pacing travels and meeting people. Maxa also ferrets out lesser-known sites and shares these pristine off-the-beaten-path surprises with viewers.