1: There is no "best" or "worst" way of photographing flowing water. Check out my DA gallery;
http://TVPR.deviantart.com - I got quite a few pictures of water. With most of them, the details on how I photographed them - shutter speed, aperture, focal length - it's all listed below. You just have to try, and find your own style.
2: Everything. Absolutely friggin' everything. That goes for everywhere in the world, there's _always_ something to photograph. Look around you, that's the key. Look for beautiful things, then photograph that beauty.