Solivagant

Member since December 2005

#None 0 0

I am now retired but have been "travelling" for a "hobby" since I was 15 (1957!) whilst pursuing otherwise normal mundane career and "home" things in UK - thus being limited by "annual leave" allowances. During that time I have visited 164 "independent countries" - defined by me as the 193 full UN members plus (somewhat illogically, but they are generally accepted as "sovereign") Taiwan and Holy See (but am not pursuing "193"!). Unfortunately quite a few relatively easily accessible current WHS got "missed" along the way. If only I had known they would get chosen - they are not all obvious choices! Despite the weaknesses in the list and the politics involved in the selection and voting mechanism they provide a quick means of grasping the highlights of many countries and sometimes lead down interesting knowledge and research "avenues" which would otherwise have remain unexplored. 
Proposal for a new WHS:- Roca Agostino Neto Cocoa Plantation Sao Tome.
There are just too many European WHS relative to the rest. Little Sao Tome became the world's greatest producer of cocoa under the Portuguese. So poor were the social conditions that Cadbury boycotted Cocoa from there in early 20C. At Roca Agostinho (and other crumbling colonial sites on Sao Tome) you might just get a feeling for the economic system which created it and "fed" Europe with a raw material so often taken for granted - a really atmospheric place. But it isn't even on the "Tentative list"!

My most impressive site: Machu Picchu. I would like to choose somewhere

My proposal for a new site: See under

Recent Visits
  • 11
    0
    July 28, 2024
    Beijing Central Axis, Funerary and memory sites of the First World War, Gedi , Hegmataneh, …
  • 0
    4
    Jan. 1, 2020
    City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Dunhuang Yardangs, The Lijiang River Scenic Zone …
  • 0
    5
    Jan. 1, 2020
    Ancient cities of Upper Myanmar, Bago, Inle Lake, Shwedagon Pagoda, Wooden Monasteries of Konbaung Period
>

About Solivagant

First name
Solivagant
Member since
December 2005
Country of Origin
None
Visits
Rank
#None
WHS
0
Tentative Sites
0
Website Participation
Reviews
442
Ratings

Ratings

World Heritage Sites
855 0
Photos
N/A
Locations
N/A
Zones
N/A

Reviews by Solivagant

Page 11 of 23
Wooden Monasteries of Konbaung Period  by Solivagant

Wooden Monasteries of Konbaun… (On tentative list)

Wooden Monasteries of Konbaung Period

The Schwekyaung monastery included as part of this site is presumably also included in the Mandalay part of the “Ancient Cities” site since it is the only surviving building of …

Memorial Sites of Genocide by Solivagant

Memorial Sites of Genocide (Inscribed)

Memorial Sites of Genocide

We visited Gisozi (then just called Kigali Genocide Memorial) and Murambi during a visit to Rwanda in Sept 2006. Like most tourists we were in Rwanda primarily to see Gorillas …

Hal Saflieni Hypogeum by Solivagant

Hal Saflieni Hypogeum (Inscribed)

Hal Saflieni Hypogeum

Hal Saflieni is an archaeological site of world significance whose “visit experience”, put in place as part of a major conservation project lasting some 10 years which ended in 2000, …

Petra by Solivagant

Petra (Inscribed)

Petra

Petra holds a special place in my “travel memory” as, back in 1964, I visited it on my first major “expedition” whilst hitch-hiking from UK to Jerusalem (then in Jordan) …

Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region by Solivagant

Hidden Christian Sites in the… (Inscribed)

Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region

Nagasaki offers a lot to see and we “lost” over an hour going through immigration facilities for a mere 10 hour stay by being bussed from our vessel to another …

Kerikeri Basin historic precinct by Solivagant

Kerikeri Basin historic preci… (On tentative list)

Kerikeri Basin historic precinct

Kerikeri Basin contains a number of sites representing the “early period” of contact between Maori and Pakeha dating back to 1819 when a mission was first established there. It is …

Jeju by Solivagant

Jeju (Inscribed)

Jeju

Another day, another island on our RTW cruise – but this visit to Jeju was more critical than most as it offered the promise of a completely new WHS after …

Wet Tropics of Queensland by Solivagant

Wet Tropics of Queensland (Inscribed)

Wet Tropics of Queensland

With a day to spare in Cairns it was a toss up between a trip out to the Barrier Reef or to the Wet Tropics. The latter WHS was the …

Waitangi Treaty Grounds historic precinct by Solivagant

Waitangi Treaty Grounds histo… (On tentative list)

Waitangi Treaty Grounds historic precinct

The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 is presented as THE significant event in the creation of the New Zealand as it exists today - that country’s “founding …

Chan Chan by Solivagant

Chan Chan (Inscribed)

Chan Chan

Chan Chan was a site we had long wanted to visit but, when it came, the “reality” didn’t, for a number of reasons, quite live up to the “vision”! One’s …

Panamá by Solivagant

Panamá (Inscribed)

Panamá

On our previous visit to Panama way back in 1991 neither the ruined Panama Viejo nor the Casco Viejo historic district of Panama City had yet been inscribed. Nevertheless we …

Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas by Solivagant

Ciudad Universitaria de Carac… (Inscribed)

Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas

The Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas is, with UNAM (Mexico), one of 2 inscribed mid 20th Century Latin American University campuses – is this either a surprising coincidence or evidence of …

Rapa Nui by Solivagant

Rapa Nui (Inscribed)

Rapa Nui

It is an unfortunate fact that long-anticipated visits to “iconic” WHS can often disappoint, but ours to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) most certainly did not! This, despite the fact that …

Antigua Naval Dockyard by Solivagant

Antigua Naval Dockyard (Inscribed)

Antigua Naval Dockyard

Nelson’s Dockyard is Antigua’s main historic “attraction” (excluding its now sadly decaying old cricket ground!) so inevitably we visited it during a stopover there in Jan 2012 even though it …

Willemstad by Solivagant

Willemstad (Inscribed)

Willemstad

My assessment of Willemstad passed through a number of phases during our 2012 visit and certainly finished “higher” than it stood at some stages during the day we were there! …

Early Christian Necropolis of Pécs by Solivagant

Early Christian Necropolis of… (Inscribed)

Early Christian Necropolis of Pécs

The first advice about visiting the Pecs site is don’t go there on a Monday – you need to go “inside” really to appreciate the WHS and it is “closed” …

Asante Traditional Buildings by Solivagant

Asante Traditional Buildings (Inscribed)

Asante Traditional Buildings

We visited the Ashanti Shrine at Besease in Nov 2010. Our research (the Nomination File, the Web and the Bradt Guide) indicated that it was the easiest and best of …

Forts and Castles Gold Coast by Els Slots

Forts and Castles Gold Coast (Inscribed)

Forts and Castles Gold Coast

In Nov 2010 we visited Cape Coast and Elmina castles (just 15 kms apart) and climbed up to, but didn’t enter, Fort St Jago which is also at Elmina. These …

Kenya Lake System by Solivagant

Kenya Lake System (Inscribed)

Kenya Lake System

Across the years we have visited each of the 3 inscribed lakes. The photo is of Lake Bogoria and our visit there in 1991 is the one we remember best …

Wadi Rum by Solivagant

Wadi Rum (Inscribed)

Wadi Rum

Unfortunately I can’t say our visit to Wadi Rum in 1999 has left us with particularly good memories. We went there with high hopes and the images from the Lean …

Page 11 of 23