Tamara Mellon, the co-founder of luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo, is one of the wealthiest women in Britain with a net worth around £180 million ($280 million).

Go straight to the life of Tamara Mellon >

She is also arguably one of only two women on The Sunday Times Rich List of the UK's 1,000 wealthiest people who made her own fortune, rather than inheriting it or being married to someone rich. (The other being is Harry Potter author JK Rowling, whose net worth is £570 million.)

She had an affluent start to life. her father is stuntman and Vidal Sassoon owner Tom Yeardye. Her mother is Chanel model Ann. But she rose to the top of the fashion industry through her own business acumen and eye for trends.

She's so ruthless she once sued her own mother over Jimmy Choo's assets that she claimed didn't belong to her. And she ended her partnership with the company founder who's name was used for the luxury brand company, in a bitter corporate divorce.

Her personal life has been just as colourful. She met her banking heir husband Matthew Mellon in Alcoholics Anonymous, only to part ways after allegations of drug taking and affairs. 

Here, Business Insider details her life through pictures and excerpts from her book "In My Shoes" and interviews with Vogue and the New York Times.

Tamara Mellon was born Tamara Yeardye in London, on July 7, 1967.

She is the daughter of former Chanel model Ann Yeardye née Davis and entrepreneur Tom Yeardye, who co-founded the hair salon chain Vidal Sassoon. Here he is in 1973.

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In 1976, Tamara's family relocated to Beverly Hills and lived next door to Nancy Sinatra.

Elite special forces are some of the best-trained and most formidable units a country can boast.

They go where other soldiers fear to tread, scoping out potential threats, taking out strategic targets, and conducting daring rescue missions.

These really are the best of the best.

Although it's extremely difficult to rank these forces relative to one another, there are some units that rise above the rest in their track record and the fear they instill in their adversaries. These soldiers have been through rigorous training exercises designed to weed out those who can't hit their exacting standards.

In a world where the importance of the sheer size of a country's military forces is no longer a guide to their effectiveness, these soldiers are the ones state's look to in order to get the job done.

8. The Special Services Group, SSG, in Pakistan is better known in the country as the "Black Storks" because of the commandos' unique headgear. Training reportedly includes a 36-mile march in 12 hours and a five-mile run in 20 minutes in full gear.

In October 2009, SSG commandos stormed an office building and rescued 39 people taken hostage by suspected Taliban militants after an attack on the army's headquarters.

7. Spain's Unidad de Operaciones Especiales, or the Naval Special Warfare Force as it has become since 2009, has long been one of Europe's best-respected special forces. Originally established as the volunteer Amphibious Climbing Company unit in 1952, it has since followed the SAS's example to become an elite fighting force.

Every year, the "Assassin's Creed" franchise takes players to a new historic locale and sics 'em on the locals. 2015 is no different, with the series heading to 1880s London in "Assassin's Creed: Syndicate." 

It's the usual hunt and murder bad guys structure, highlighted by some notable differences from past years. The game launches this holiday on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

SEE ALSO: These Video Game Images Of Paris Look So Vivid, We Mistook Them For The Real Thing

AND: One Of The Hottest Video Games Has Some Hilarious Glitches

Female combatants are a notable addition in "Assassin's Creed: Syndicate," like the woman seen here with the rifle.

The "hidden blade" signature to "Assassin's Creed" is now a combination blade, firearm and hookshot. Here's the blade form.

And here's a look at the hookshot in action. It enables main character Jacob to move above London's wide streets unnoticed, and to create new vantage points from which to drop on enemies.

To celebrate a new office move and mark its second anniversary doing business in the country, Twitter held a party at its Canadian HQ in Toronto earlier this month.

Its grand opening was a "community affair,"Twitter says in a blog post.

Twitter hosted local advertising partners and Tweeters, putting on local food and entertainment.

Bieber was there, of course (in cardboard cut-out form.)

Brendan Canning from Canadian indie band Broken Social Scene supplied the tunes (not a cardboard cut-out.)

Twitter Canada named its party #NestWarming.

With excellent perks, great pay and benefits, and high job satisfaction, employees at the 50 best companies to work for in America seem to have a pretty good deal going for them.

But before you start seething with envy, you should see some of the questions they had to answer to get there.

To find these odd queries, we sifted through hundreds of reviews on Glassdoor submitted by people who interviewed at these companies in the past year. 

If you're thinking of tossing your own hat into the ring, be sure to prepare for some of the most ridiculous interview questions you've ever heard.

"Choose a city and estimate how many piano tuners operate a business there."

Asked by Google for a project manager position.

Source: Glassdoor

"How much do you charge to wash every window in Seattle?"

Asked by Facebook for an online sales operations position.

Source: Glassdoor

"What do you think of lava lamps? And Dilbert?"

Asked by Boeing for an engineer position.

Source: Glassdoor

California is in its fourth year in the worst drought the state has seen in 1,200 years. 

Yet many Californians continue to use virtually the same amounts of water they were using before the drought began.

Some have cited almonds as the culprit, since the tasty snack use a whole gallon of water per nut.

Compared with noshing on a few almonds, though, many other activities are far worse in terms of the amount of water they require, from watering huge lawns to keeping sprawling waterparks open all season.

Keeping their swimming pools full — especially in the middle of the desert. The average Palm Springs resident uses a whopping 201 gallons of water, more than twice the state average.

Playing golf. A single golf course requires roughly 400,000 gallons of water per day, reports the hospitality association Hotel & Leisure Advisors.

Filling decorative ponds. New state regulations proposed last week ask communities like Palm Springs — where residents use more than 165 gallons of water per person per day — to cut back their usage by 35%.

Securing funding from venture capitalists in Silicon Valley isn't easy.

Just ask the founder of Wattage, a hardware startup that recently had to shut its doors.

Wattage aimed to create highly customizable electronics, and the founder created a beautiful pitch deck to make the sell to investors.

But despite fawning over the pitch deck, investors refused to pony up funding.

"The one piece of consistent feedback we received throughout this entire process was how nice our pitch deck looked," Wattage founder Jeremy Bell wrote. "We often joked that no matter what happened with Wattage, I could at least take a job building decks for others. Obviously its contents didn’t do much to help build a successful business."

American Express Travelrecently released its list of the top 10 most popular cities to visit this summer in the United States. 

To make this list, the travel company looked at the top destinations that its customers have booked trips to this year and compared the results to last year's findings.

From the silky sands of San Juan's beaches to the surreal hiking trails of Richmond, Virginia, here are the US cities people want to see this summer. 

10. HOUSTON, TEXAS: In the summer, you'll see stunning bat migrations from Houston's Waugh bridge. An estimated 250,000 bats call the bridge home, emerging to swarm the skies when the weather is warm.

9. PENSACOLA, FLORIDA: Pensacola Beach, named one of the top 10 beaches in the United States by TripAdvisor, offers open-air bars and access to the longest protected seashore in the nation, the Gulf Islands National Seashore. In the summer there are concerts in the area almost four times a week.

Learn more about the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

8. NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA: Summer is a celebration of food in New Orleans, where you'll find the the Tales of the Cocktail festival with mixologists from around the world, the Creole Tomato Festival celebrating one of the staples of the city, and the Oyster Fest, offering up raw, charbroiled, and truffle versions of the tasty treat.

Learn more about the Tales of the Cocktail, the Creole Tomato Festival, and the Oyster Fest. 

Many Texas homes have pools in the backyard — 204 Mcconnell Drive in West Lake Hills, Texas has a 1960s bomb shelter.  

Built in 1959, this mid-century house features three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and a fully-stocked fallout shelter created during the Cold War-era. 

If you're in the market for a new home, want to live in Texas, and fear a future apocalypse, this property is for you.  

The one-story ranch sits on about a half an acre of land, replete with large, shady live oaks and a view of Austin.

The backside of the home includes an open porch and a spacious backyard. Walk down a flight of steep concrete steps set in limestone to access the bomb shelter, which was created by a retired Air Force colonel.

Fears of nuclear bombs during the late 1950s and '60s sparked many Americans to build shelters in order to survive radioactive fallout. The shelter is stocked with about 1-2 weeks worth of supplies, including canned soup and crackers. This was the estimated amount of time it would take for nuclear residue to clear.

Despite a recent Business Insider headline ("If you're moving to San Francisco, this housing flyer will make you want to cry"), I have decided to trade in the City That Never Sleeps for the City By The Bay.

I've lived in Brooklyn for more than two years, and I never thought I would leave. But alas — love, year-round room-temperature weather, and something called the "Sushirrito" enticed me to pursue greener (though drier) pastures on the West Coast.

Before I move to San Francisco at the end of the month, I made a "bucket list" of all the things I've always wanted to do in New York, but never made time for. With weeks to go, I'm glad to say I've crossed off all 32 of these activities.

Whether you're visiting New York for the first time or leaving it, you won't want to miss these classic city rituals.

First: A trip down memory lane. One of the first things I did when I moved to New York City was take a walk on the High Line, a refurbished rail line suspended over Manhattan's far west side. I had to visit the park once more before my move to the west coast.

I was fortunate that the new downtown Whitney Museum of American Art opened before my departure. In addition to a magnificent art collection, the 8-story behemoth offers panoramic views of the city, including the Empire State Building, Freedom Tower, and Statue of Liberty.

It blew my mind how easy it was to get to Coney Island by subway, after hearing for years about its kitschy carnival games and famous food stands. I rode the infamous Cyclone, a rickety wooden roller coaster that celebrates its 89th birthday this year.

The recent explosion of craft breweries in the US has shifted the beer industry's attention to quality, not quantity. May 11-17 is American Craft Beer Week, which means it's the perfect time to discover a new artisanal brew.

We found the 22 coolest American craft brewers making waves in the industry.

We went by the Brewers Association's definition of "craft brewery," which is a brewery that produces no more than 6 million barrels a year.

Melia Robinson contributed to a previous version of this article.

5 Rabbit Cervecería

Bedford Park, Illinois

Located outside Chicago, the first Latin American-style brewery, or cervecería, in the country infuses its brews with ancho chili, piloncillo cane sugar, and other Latin flavors.

5 Rabbit was inspired by an Aztec myth, and the names of the beers all coincide in some way with the Aztec calendar. The brewmasters believe in enjoying and savoring life, so every few weeks they publish a recipe on their website that would pair well with one of their beers.

Alchemist Brewery

Waterbury, Vermont

Alchemist sells just one beer: Heady Topper, which is found only in Vermont. They say they'd rather focus on doing one beer perfectly instead of doing many imperfectly.

Heady Topper is a double IPA brewed with a proprietary blend of six hops that blend together to make a great beer.

AleSmith Brewing Company

San Diego, California

AleSmith is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, and what better way to do so than to launch a new tasting room and brew system capable of producing 100,000 barrels? AleSmith 2.0, as the brewery is calling its renovation, is set to open this summer and plans to expand production globally.

The brewery's beers are chiefly inspired by European styles, famous for its "Wee Heavy" Scotch ale, Speedway Stout, and namesake Anvil ESB, after its anvil logo.

For awhile, all we ever heard about were the "Rich Kids of Instagram." 

What started out as a hashtag on the photo-sharing platform turned into so much more (there's even a book.)

Now there's a new generation: the rich babies! Using hashtags like #RichBabiesOfInstagram, #RichBabies, and #RichBaby, there's a younger crew staking out their turf.

The 'Rich Kids Of Instagram' was a popular hashtag throughout the last year.

Teens in private planes and yachts, surrounded by money and expensive luxury items were the norm.

Now there are the "Rich Babies of Instagram" straight from humorous parents filling up their own feeds with pics of their kids.

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For many entrepreneurs, Kickstarter represents a level playing field where good ideas can find people with the cash to help make their dream a reality. 

Just look at the success of the legendary Potato Salad, where a guy tried to raise the funds to make, well, potato salad — and ended up raising over $55,000 and throwing a potato party for charity.

In 2014, over 22,252 projects were succesfully funded on Kickstarter, with a total of $529 million pledged. That's a lot of money going to a lot of innovative new ideas. 

But not every good idea survives contact with the real world.

Here's a look at the most successful Kickstarter projects of all time, and where they are today.

The return of Reading Rainbow: $5,408,916

The Campaign: Reading Rainbow, the popular children's TV show, got pulled off of PBS in 2006 after a 23-year run. In 2012, Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton took to Kickstarter to fund an iPad and Kindle Fire interactive reading and "virtual field trip" app. The world was ready for the return of Reading Rainbow, and it hit 540% of its funding goal and raised $5,408,916. 

Today: The Reading Rainbow app comes as a subscription package: For $50 a year (or $10/month), parents can give their kids access to a library of children's books, kind of like a Netflix for young readers. 

The Veronica Mars movie: $5,702,153

The Campaign: Teen detective series Veronica Mars went off the air in 2007 after three seasons on UPN and The CW, but fans wanted more. Series creator Rob Thomas took to Kickstarter to fund a Veronica Mars movie — and raised $5,702,153 on April 12, 2013. 

Today: The film premiered at the 2014 South by Southwest film festival to mostly positive reviews, and went on to gross $3,485,127 worldwide — none of which made it back to Kickstarter backers, it should be noted. Meanwhile, Kickstarter backers got a digital version of the Veronica Mars movie that just didn't work very well.

Neil Young's Pono Music player: $6,225,354

The campaign: Music legend Neil Young started Pono with the belief that if you wanted to hear the music the way it was meant to be heard, your standard-issue mp3 player or smartphone just wouldn't cut it. The Pono Music player is designed to provide what it promises is "best possible listening experience of your favorite digital music." Pono Music raised $6,225,354, or 778% of its funding goal, on April 15, 2015.

Today: The $399 Pono player failed to set the world on fire. It commanded a premium price point for an increase in music quality that most people couldn't even hear, and Ars Technica referred to the Pono as "A tall, refreshing drink of snake oil" in a review. 

It's out with the old and in with the new for network television.

The broadcast networks are unveiling their new series for the 2015-2016 seasons this week in an annual event called Upfronts.

At Upfronts, the networks present their fall schedules and upcoming new shows to advertisers in order to entice them to spend their commercial dollars.

This year's fleet of new shows have several name actors attached, including Rob Lowe, John Stamos, Neil Patrick Harris, and even Muppets.

There are also a few shows inspired by big screen flicks, such as Fox's "Minority Report" and ABC's "Uncle Buck" (this time with a black cast). And, of course, comics-inspired shows are still going strong with CBS's "Supergirl," The CW's "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" and Fox's "Lucifer" among this year's batch of new shows. 

*Updated as networks announce decisions and release photos and trailers.

"The Catch" (ABC)

Stars: Mireille Enos, Alimi Ballard, Damon Dayoub, Jay Hayden, Jacky Ido, Bethany Joy Lenz, Rose Rollinse, and Elvy Yost

Expected premiere: Thursdays, Midseason 2015

Synopsis: From Shondaland’s Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers ("Scandal,""How to Get Away With Murder), “The Catch” is a new thriller centered on the strong, successful Alice Martin (Mireille Enos). She’s a fraud investigator who’s about to be the victim of fraud by her fiancé. Between her cases, she is determined to find him before it ruins her career.

Watch the trailer:

"The Family" (ABC)

Stars: Joan Allen, Allison Pill, Margot Bingham, Zach Gilford, Liam James, Floriana Lima, Madeline Arthur, Rarmian Newton, Rupert Graves, and Andrew McCarthy

Expected premiere: Midseason 2015

Synopsis: This thriller follows the return of a politician’s young son who was presumed dead after disappearing over a decade earlier. As the mysterious young man is welcomed back into his family suspicions emerge — is he really who he says he is?

Watch the trailer:

"Dr. Ken" (ABC)

Stars: Ken Jeong, Suzy Nakamura, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Dave Foley, Jonathan Slavin, Albert Tsai, and Krista Marie Yu

Expected premiere: Fridays, Fall 2015

Synopsis: Doctor turned actor/comedian Ken Jeong ("Community,""The Hangover"), plays Dr. Ken, a brilliant physician with no bedside manner on this new multicamera comedy. He is always trying to be a good doctor, as well as a good husband and dad to his two kids. However, these good intentions have a way of driving everyone crazy at both work and at home. Luckily, his therapist wife Allison (Suzy Nakamura) is just the right partner to keep things sane.

Watch the trailer:

With a total compensation estimated at about $82.6 million, Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts was the highest-paid female executive in the U.S. last year, Bloomberg reported last week. 

Ahrendts has had a long and successful career in the fashion and retail industry, and she was pivotal in Burberry's return to popularity. 

As the first female on Apple CEO Tim Cook's executive team, she's come a long way from her small-town roots, and she has the fabulous lifestyle to prove it. 

Ahrendts, who was hired by Apple in October 2013, was paid $82.6 million last year. According to Apple's recent proxy statement, she was paid about $37 million at Burberry.

Source: Proxy statement

Ahrendts grew up as one of six children in New Palestine, Indiana. She was creative from a young age, making collages from fashion magazines and transforming a downstairs cupboard into her own artistic oasis.

Source: Marie Claire

After college, she moved to New York City and worked her way up the ranks of the fashion industry, eventually serving as president of Donna Karan International and executive vice president of Liz Claiborne Inc.

Most people are familiar with Apple's famous products like the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. But Apple has also created some rare items over the years that few know exist.

From the limited edition Apple TAM computer to solid gold headphones and Apple's own clothing line, these are the Apple products nobody talks about.

Just remember you won't be able to buy any of these from Apple today.

Apple rainbow logo wall hanging

Back in 1983, Apple worked with artist Myra Burg to create a set of limited-edition wall hangings of the rainbow Apple logo that were made available through Apple's gift catalogue. Only 25 were created and sold, each crafted by hand by Burg, and they sold for $350 each, according to The Apple Pop Up Museum, though two more were given to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak as gifts.

The Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh (TAM)

Apple's "TAM" computer was created to celebrate the company's twentieth anniversary, and debuted in 1997 with a price tag of $7,499. One of Jony Ive's first projects at Apple, the TAM has a peculiar design that features two Bose speakers and a satellite subwoofer. The TAM also has a unique startup chime that won't be found in any other Apple product.

Apple IIGS "Woz Edition"

To celebrate Apple's 10th anniversary, Apple produced 50,000 limited-edition Apple IIGS computers that featured Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak's "Woz" signature engraved in the front casing. Owners of the rare machine could also mail their registration form to Apple to receive a machine-printed certificate of authenticity signed by Woz and 12 of Apple's top engineers.

McDonald's has been shedding new light on its heavily-criticized food sourcing and processing practices, as it seeks to revive lagging sales.

In the face of growing consumer demand for transparency, the Big Mac chain has launched marketing campaigns in the US, Canada, and Australia to answer consumer- submitted questions such as, "Are McDonald's eggs organic or free-range?" and "Does McDonald's import beef from other countries?"

McDonald's has also addressed the rumored existence of "pink slime" in its meat and information about which egg dishes are cooked in the restaurant and which ones are pre-made and frozen.

We have selected some of the most commonly asked questions and provided summaries of the company's responses. 

Are McDonald's eggs organic or free-range?

"Our eggs are not organic, nor are they free-range; they are from caged hens," McDonald's Australia writes on its website.

Caged hens produce the cheapest eggs, which helps keeps McDonald's prices low, the company says.

"Our goal is to provide customers with great quality food at great value," the company's answer reads. "The cost of organic or free range eggs would raise the price of our food to a point that our customers may not feel they are receiving the value they've come to expect from us."

In the U.S., however, McDonald's buys a "small amount" of cage-free eggs "as part of a scientific research project McDonald's is part of to better understand different hen housing systems,"the company writes.

"In the U.S., there is no consensus or firm scientific research on whether one type of housing system is better than the other, which leads to a lot of confusion," McDonald's USA adds. 

Why do McDonald's chicken nuggets contain an "anti-foaming" agent?

"McDonald’s frying oil contains a small amount of an additive called dimethlypolysiloxane, which helps prevent oil from foaming and spattering in our restaurants," McDonald's USA explains. 

Dimethylpolysiloxane is also used in some non-food products, such as putty, caulks, and cosmetics.

For that reason, "there have been individuals who have erroneously claimed that these items are also in our food," the company explains.

The company added that scientific names for ingredients can "sound scary" even if they are safe and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"For example, the salt you use to de-ice a driveway is a variation of the salt you use in the kitchen, however they are both sodium chloride," the company writes. 

Does McDonald's USA import beef from other countries?

Most of the beef that McDonald's uses in its U.S. restaurants is raised domestically, "although we import a small percentage of our 100% beef from suppliers in Australia and New Zealand to supplement our U.S. purchases,"the company says.

All of the chicken served in McDonald's U.S. restaurants is raised domestically.

The best chefs in America have been revolutionizing the culinary industry not just with innovative new dishes, but equally innovative new ways to present and display their gastronomical art.

Think edible foams, fragrant smokes, and mad scientist-level creations that take taste and texture to a whole new level.

We based this list off of our list of the 44 best restaurants in America, in which we combined five noteworthy lists compiled by food critics, experts, and diners to come up with a definitive ranking of the best restaurants in the country.

We pulled the restaurants that fell under the "new American,""contemporary," and "concept" genres and reordered them for this list. You can read our complete methodology and see numerical scores here.

15. Victoria & Albert's – Orlando, Florida

Chef: Scott Hunnel
Victoria & Albert's

14. Blackbird – Chicago

Chef: Perry Hendrix
Blackbird

13. Blue Hill – New York City

Chef: Shingoon Hong
Blue Hill

Summer is on its way, and if you're looking to do some traveling during the season, now is a good time to start planning your vacation.

For those looking to venture to warmer, more tropical climates, Hawaii is a great destination.

The Aloha State's eight islands offer something for every type of traveler, from beach bums to golfers to adventurers.

Best for beach bums: Maui

Maui is known for its beaches. Their bright, soft white sand and crystal clear aquamarine waters attract both sunbathers and water sport aficionados.

Some of the top beaches include Kapalua, Kaanapali, Wailea, and Maluaka (also known as Makena). 

Best for honeymooners: Lanai

Besides its two well known golf courses, most of Lanai remains remote and undeveloped. And that makes it a perfect destination for honeymooners who are seeking privacy and seclusion.

Since the island's two Four Seasons Resorts and its Koele golf course are currently closed to the public for renovations, visitors can enjoy more seclusion and fewer tourists.

Honeymooners can explore the island's countryside and hidden beaches by 4-wheel drive or on horseback.

There's also the Hotel Lanai, a tiny 11-room hotel perfect for couples looking for an upscale, intimate experience.

Best for families: Hawaii (The Big Island)

Hawaii's Big Island has a large variety of attractions, from volcanoes to parks to beaches to museums to restaurants, so it's perfect for a family looking to please a number of travelers.

Kids will love the Ellison S. Onizuka Center for International Astronomy and the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, both of which are open year-round. The astronomy center provides stargazing programs.

For families hoping to interact with wildlife, Kona's coast offers sheltered and calm waters for snorkeling, dolphin and turtle spotting, and manta ray boat tours.

Travelers on a budget who don't mind going off the beaten path and taking some risks can find plenty of bargains, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. 

In its 2015 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness report, the group ranked 141 nations from cheapest to most expensive based on the cost of traveling to that country and being a tourist there. 

Among the items considered in its tally: the average cost of roundtrip flights, hotel accommodations, cost of living, fuel prices, and purchasing power parity (PPP).* 

One major drawback: some of these countries are mired in poverty, war, or harbor anti-American views. However, each also offers a unique tourism experience that is sure to fascinate.

Note: Hotel and gas conversions are based on the US dollar and information from the World Bank and are subject to change. PPP is relative to the country's home currency. Airfares are averages for 2014, room rates are based on averages determined from 2013-2014, PPP is the most recent available as of November 2014, and some gas prices are more current than others. Travel suggestions are based on tourism website The Lonely Planet.

SEE ALSO: The 16 most socially advanced countries in the world

#10 Algeria

The north African country of Algeria features the 44th cheapest airfare in the world of 141 countries surveyed. However, the average cost per day of staying in a first-class hotel is $185.70, which ranks 81st of 102 countries.

PPP in Algeria is .4, which means that the average cost of goods and services is about 60 percent less than that of the United States (i.e. the same cup of coffee would be much cheaper in Algeria than in the United States). Plus, gas is a meager $1.09 per gallon on average, equivalent to the 6th cheapest gas price in the world. 

What to do while you're there: Go on safari, check out Algiers, go to the beach, and see the Notre Dame d'Afrique. 

#9 Pakistan

This Mideast country features the 36th cheapest airfares in the world. A first-class hotel in Pakistan will run you an average of $94.30 per night, which is the 18th cheapest in the world.

Even better, the PPP in Pakistan is .3, which is tied with several other nations for the lowest PPP in the world, meaning that goods and services in Pakistan are 70 percent cheaper than they are in America. Pakistan also ranks 38th in the world for the cheapest gas at a rate of $4.30 per gallon on average.

What to do while you're there: See the Karakoram Mountains, visit the capital of Lahore, go to the Taxila Museum, and see the Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, one of the largest mosques in Asia. 

#8 India

Flights to and from India are the 16th cheapest in the world and hotel accommodations will run you an average of $93.00 a night, good for 14th cheapest in the survey.

In addition, India is tied with Pakistan and several other nations with a PPP of .3, meaning goods and services will be 70 percent cheaper in India than in the US. Gas is slightly more expensive, at $4.72 per gallon on average (48th).

What to do while you're there: Visit Bombay and New Delhi, see the Golden Temple of Amirstar, explore the Buddhist caves of Ajanta, go on camel safari in Bikaner, and visit the Taj Mahal.