Zoë Sheng

Member since August 2017

#1 1067 0

I'm Zoë. I'm originally from Edmonton, Canada and then moved to Vancouver Island although spent lots of time in China where family members still reside. I also spent a few years at boarding school in England where my trips started when my parents took me around the coastal paths and what later turned out to be world heritage sites which are considered my first "ticks". Since then I traveled a lot, studied part-time in Auckland, and my "skills" of efficiency and organized planning helps a lot - meaning that old towns tend to get an overnight stay to easily explore them while churches, tombs or cemeteries that only take an hour tops to visit are really just scheduled for a quick visit. I do sometimes regret not visiting a place longer but revisits are not out of the question. However, as I don't drink alcohol, party, or require fancy nights out on the town it shortens activities in places too (if you enjoy doing this  then I'm happy for you just don't wonder why I get stuff done quicker). I also scuba dive frequently which I love the most in the world though I'm not a tec-diving nerd and keep it simple (thus Bikini Atoll is probably out). No deco diving for me unless it's a special wreck.

Personally I'm very private. I ditched Facebook over a decade ago, Instagram I only lasted for a few months and even Whatsapp I tend to mainly use for staying in touch, contacting hotels and tour guides. I'm not anti-social and usually travel in a small group if it works out, although I do enjoy solo traveling more because nobody will screw up my planning. Anyone tagging along will know "it's her way or no way". I have met two people from our community although they didn't noticed it was me at the time. I also do not know the name of one of them but maybe I'll find out eventually. I also almost ran into the Aussie couple and their dog but I was stuck in the Peruvian mountains while they were partying (joke, or assumption?!) in Cuzco.

Since 2023 I started slowing down world heritage specific traveling mainly because I have just seen so many and so much already. I'd rather spend the time with friends and my marine buddies the sharks and dolphins than seek out a mediocre church or wine county, plus the list keeps growing with lackluster titles that hardly excite me, not that I try tick off tentative sites as I can anyway but outliers and crappy stuff far away from civilization isn't going to be fun to visit.

In 2024 I had a mitral valve replacement (ugly scar now) followed by an RFA to fix my heart rate. It definitely slowed down any traveling I wanted to do and unsure how it will continue. Hopefully I'm as good as new with medication. Even scuba diving is ok!

At the time of writing I still need to visit 156 sites which doesn't seem like a lot but a few are impossible to visit, some require lengthy trips (30 days for one, two weeks for a few others) and can cost a huge sum of money. There are also those warring states that are currently off-limits (+Venezuela for security/embargo reasons). Having officially visited 151 UN listed countries these are still left with sites:

Afghanistan
Angola
Benin
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Congo, DR
Congo, Republic
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Ghana
Guinea
Haiti
Ivory Coast
Kiribati
Kyrgyzstan
Libya
Madagascar
Mali
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Niger
Nigeria
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Sudan
Syria
Togo
Venezuela
Yemen

For the rest of sites in countries I have been already:

  • Heard and McDonald Island - requires lengthy boat tour
  • Macquarie Island - cruise $$$
  • Khinalig, Azerbaijan - wasn't even tentative I think and it's quite far off the beaten track, next time I visit Azerbaijan it shall be done
  • Okavango Delta - didn't want to cram this as a 1½ day drive-by on my last Botswana trip; worth a lengthy visit for sure
  • Peninsula Valdez, thought hard about adding it into my Argentina trip but early February just wasn't good enough to guarantee Right whales and orcas and September just seems better to splurge the money
  • Brazil - still missing almost half because I backed out twice but I will get it eventually lol
  • French Austral Lands and Seas - well, that's the one you join a ~30 day cargo ship trip that will visit it along the way, "fun"
  • Marquesas Island, it's an extra trip from French Polynesia's main hub
  • Zagori Cultural Landscape, Greece - I drove through this, or past this, but I can't really count it I think. I also don't mind visiting Greece again. For now Europe stays incomplete
  • Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve, Honduras - One could tick this by taking a boat around the coast to one of the villages inside the park but visiting this properly isn't easily accomplished - I don't think visiting the villages will give an insight into the heritage of the biosphere reserve at all
  • India keeps adding tentative sites so I can make the trip more worthwhile in the future but only 3 sites remaining at the moment which isn't much 
  • Jordan - my first trip was the main things and rest, probably "meh", would need another trip.
  • Mongolia - a few sites and a couple of these are HARD to visit as they are in the middle of nowhere.
  • Sub-Antarctic Islands, NZ - cruise
  • Te Wahipounamu, NZ south island - technically have been there but I want to hike for a week+ to count this visit
  • Russia is currently off-limits to me personally
  • Aldabra Atoll used to have a $$$ cruise but I think Covid killed it (literally) so the only way to visit is taking the cruise from Zanzibar that stops there on the way. Not super expensive and seeing that you get a cruise it's a nice vacay - if you are into that. Having already done Zanzibar and the Seychelles doesn't help me but maybe fun in a small group
  • Tajik National Park (& Tugay Forests) require a lengthy road trip best done by car from Osh - however, for the last few years the countries haven't seen eye to eye so they won't let rental cars from Kyrgyzstan cross over thus one would have to go from Dushanbe and that's a hefty additional mileage!
  • Gough and Inaccessible Islands - named "inaccessible" with reason
  • Henderson Island - you need special permission to visit although joining a charter trip would include it; however, they are rare and $$$
  • Tauric Chersonese - well, Crimea is now in "Russian" territory and not sure I'm even allowed to visit
  • Zimbabwe I have only visited Victoria Falls but definitely interested in exploring the rest!
  • Palestine: would never visit the Gaza strip and now they have a site so it's probably unvisited from me for a while, mainly due to their policy to fast track the sites under warfare

My most impressive site: Abu Simbel, Ilulissat Icefjord, Cocos Island

My proposal for a new site: Mariana Trench

Recent Visits
  • 1
    0
    Sept. 16, 2024
    Iguacu
  • 3
    0
    Sept. 16, 2024
    Churches and Convents of Goa, Great Himalayan National Park, Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers
  • 3
    0
    Sept. 5, 2024
    Chola Temples, Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas, Western Ghats
>

About Zoë Sheng

First name
Zoë
Member since
August 2017
Country of Origin
None
Visits
Rank
#1
WHS
1067
Tentative Sites
0
Website Participation
Reviews
379
Ratings

Ratings

World Heritage Sites
Tentative Sites
1067 160
Photos
N/A
Locations
N/A
Zones
N/A

Reviews by Zoë Sheng

Page 15 of 19
Nuruosmaniye Complex by Zoë Sheng

Nuruosmaniye Complex (On tentative list)

Nuruosmaniye Complex

The complex, as mentioned already previously, should probably be an extension to the Istanbul WHS. It isn't even far from the main area of sites with a little touristy road …

Takht-e Soleyman by Zoë Sheng

Takht-e Soleyman (Inscribed)

Takht-e Soleyman

Going to Iran in winter has obvious risks of snow ruining your plans. Taking the smaller eastern road into Soleyman, it was cleared but still a few ice patches, the …

Ancient Thebes by Zoë Sheng

Ancient Thebes (Inscribed)

Ancient Thebes

It's not every day that you meet the real Indiana Jones, and I'm talking about one of the heads of the archeological team inside King Tut's tomb right when I …

al Dimaniyyat Islands Nature Reserve by Zoë Sheng

al Dimaniyyat Islands Nature … (On tentative list)

al Dimaniyyat Islands Nature Reserve

One would think the WHS status hurts the islands more than the current status. It already national protection and the boat captains follow strict guidelines to what they say helps …

Alisadr Cave by Zoë Sheng

Alisadr Cave (On tentative list)

Alisadr Cave

Have you ever done one of those lovely swan boat rides and think it's so awesome that you want to do it in a cave? Welcome to Alisadr Cave.

Lake Malawi by Zoë Sheng

Lake Malawi (Inscribed)

Lake Malawi

Lake Malawi was on my safari tour so I visited this without gunning for a WHS “tick” before I started travelling more frequently. The lodges at the shore are nice …

Gonbad-e Qâbus by Zoë Sheng

Gonbad-e Qâbus (Inscribed)

Gonbad-e Qâbus

A lot has been said in the below review that I can't really add much. The site is remote, even with he nearby forests/parks probably WHS soon, as well the …

Trans-Iranian Railway by Zoë Sheng

Trans-Iranian Railway (Inscribed)

Trans-Iranian Railway

What does it take for a railway to become heritage? Is it the history, the track building, the engineering, the trains? Italy/Switzerland is the best and arguably the most loved …

Seljuk Caravanserais on the route from Denizli to  by Zoë Sheng

Seljuk Caravanserais on the r… (On tentative list)

Seljuk Caravanserais on the route from Denizli to

I wonder if one day all Middle Eastern countries, or even going further East, will have a caravanserai listed. The ones Turkey is trying to list are not one of …

Abu Mena by Zoë Sheng

Abu Mena (Inscribed)

Abu Mena

Probably the most hidden cultural site, tucked behind the new massive Mary church and no sign to indicate it is there. Google map has it as “Old Mary Church” and …

Maymand by Zoë Sheng

Maymand (Inscribed)

Maymand

I unfortunately have to rate this a bit low even though it is kind of interesting. I don't think living in cave houses is that special though, I saw it …

Pasargadae by Zoë Sheng

Pasargadae (Inscribed)

Pasargadae

Although the site doesn’t look like it covers much more than Cyrus “the Virus” oops not the baddie of Con Air, Cyrus the Great (one day coming to a theater …

Qinghai Hoh Xil by Zoë Sheng

Qinghai Hoh Xil (Inscribed)

Qinghai Hoh Xil

I am finally writing a review because I have decided I will never REALLY visit the site, and I doubt most tourists have the chance. It is actually super easy …

Hamoun Lake by Zoë Sheng

Hamoun Lake (On tentative list)

Hamoun Lake

I squeezed in this “visit” by having more time than expected as I visited Mount Khajeh. Little did I know that the lake is dry in winter and that the …

Rock Art in the Hail Region by Zoë Sheng

Rock Art in the Hail Region (Inscribed)

Rock Art in the Hail Region

Hail Rock Art is one of the easier places to visit in the Kingdom. I wanted to come a day earlier but got stuck on a road leading into the …

Qalhat by Zoë Sheng

Qalhat (Inscribed)

Qalhat

Qalhat looks like a joke nomination but apparently there is more than the lone building at the side of the highway. Unfortunately I can't report better news than the other …

Champaner-Pavagadh by Zoë Sheng

Champaner-Pavagadh (Inscribed)

Champaner-Pavagadh

If any site in India should be de-listed it is Champaner. Unlike Manas which I find has no more value left, this inscription makes a mockery of any kind of …

Ras al Had Turtle Reserve and Ras al Jinz by Zoë Sheng

Ras al Had Turtle Reserve and… (On tentative list)

Ras al Had Turtle Reserve and Ras al Jinz

Ras al Jinz is more than the resort/museum, tagged along a huge coastal nature reserve Ras al Had, which in turn I don't think it is accessible without going to …

The Persian House in Central plateau of Iran by Zoë Sheng

The Persian House in Central … (On tentative list)

The Persian House in Central plateau of Iran

Kashan is potentially a hotspot for WHS but even without the title it is a superb stop for a full day of sightseeing. The brochure handed to me talks of …

Persian Caravanserai by Zoë Sheng

Persian Caravanserai (Inscribed)

Persian Caravanserai

I visited many caravanserai in Iran. Some of them are new, basically pit stops for gas, food and repair your car, they often call them service station now though as …

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