Off to Chiang Mai

My short stint in Udon Thani is over. It was interesting for no other reason than Udon Thani isn’t on the normal tourist route. I did manage to sneak in a trip to World Heritage site #51 yesterday, the Ban Chaing Archeological Area. It was a nice museum, but like the other archeology site I …

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Most Beautiful Baroque Churches in the Philippines

Beautiful Baroque Churches in the Philippines

One of the most remarkable parts of traveling through the Philippines is the chance to immerse myself in every aspect of culture and history. Perhaps nowhere is this fascinating blending of culture more noticeable than in the beautiful Baroque churches in the Philippines. These beautiful churches are so significant they were named one of the …

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World Heritage Best & Worst

I am going to caveat this whole post to say first, that any list of the best and worst things in the world is highly subjective, and second, that most of the “worst” sites fall into “disappointing” rather than downright bad. There is something of value in each site, otherwise it wouldn’t have gained the …

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East Rennell

East Rennell, Solomon Islands - UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the East Rennell World Heritage inscription: East Rennell makes up the southern third of Rennell Island, the southernmost island in the Solomon Island group in the western Pacific. Rennell, 86 km long x 15 km wide, is the largest raised coral atoll in the world. The site includes approximately 37,000 ha and a marine …

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Te Wahipounamu

Te Wahipounamu UNESCO World Heritage Site, New Zealand

From the World Heritage inscription for Te Wahipounamu: The landscape in this park, situated in southwest New Zealand, has been shaped by successive glaciations into fjords, rocky coasts, towering cliffs, lakes, and waterfalls. Two-thirds of the park is covered with southern beech and podocarps, some of which are over 800 years old. The kea, the …

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Top 10 Cultural World Heritage Sites

There are the top 10 World Heritage Sites of cultural significance I’ve visited so far on my trip, which Includes East Asia, the Pacific, SE Asia and Australia. 10) Temple Complex of Prambanan – Indonesia Prambanan is only about 20km from Borobudur, but it is centuries apart. Prambanan is a Hindu temple dating back before …

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Tongariro National Park

Tongariro National Park, New Zealand: World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for Tongariro National Park: In 1993 Tongariro became the first property to be inscribed on the World Heritage List under the revised criteria describing cultural landscapes. The mountains at the heart of the park have cultural and religious significance for the Maori people and symbolize the spiritual links between this …

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Last Call for Lao

Tonight is my last night in Vientiane. While it is a very nice city, there isn’t a whole lot here and I really need to get moving. Tomorrow I’ll be taking a bus to Udon Thani, Thailand which is a 2 hour bus ride over the border. (Knowing my luck, it will turn into a …

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The Fascinating Heads & Statues of Easter Island

Rapa Nui National Park - UNESCO World Heritage Site

Easter Island, also called Rapa Nui, is the most isolated island on Earth—it’s located 2,000 km from the nearest speck of land and 3,700 kilometers from the continental coast of Chile, and yet Easter Island has captivated the world. Famed for its stone heads—or moai, as they are known locally—the entirety of Easter Island is …

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