If you're going to be traveling overseas, you already know you can't take gas canisters with you.  That makes cooking problematic.  I love my alcohol stove, and I'm relatively confident I can find alcohol most places.  But you can avoid that problem entirely by going with a wood stove.  And, Vargo Outdoors happens to make a pretty cool ultralight wood stove.  Their Hexagon wood stove has hinged panels that fold flat so it takes up very little space in the pack.  And one panel is also hinged so you can open it and control air flow without needing a wind screen.  I haven't seen cooking times - it's not going to compete with gas, but you won't have to worry about finding fuel in the middle of nowhere either.  They recommend single serving meals only on this though.  It's available in stainless steel or titanium.  The stainless version weighs in at 7.4 oz and $39.95.  Or you can chip in an extra $20 for the titanium and cut it down to 4.1 oz.     

I live in Asheville, and in recent weeks we've had two black bears wander into the city limits, one of them attacking a dog.  Bears meander into Asheville occassionally, with so many parks and wilderness areas surrounding the city, it happens.  As the area develops, there are more people and less wilderness for them so it happens more often though.  Bear's aren't the only danger in wilderness areas; a hiker was killed by a lighting strike at Max Patch near Asheville last week.  And, a woman fell from a waterfall here and died last week. 

So, don't take your safety for granted when going hiking, or just going to your favorite swimming hole.  Make sure someone knows where you are going, and when to expect you back.  Avoid solo hiking.  Don't leave your bear bell at home.  And know the dangers of where you are hiking - be it lighting, bears, snakes, etc.