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The Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Bodh Gaya is easily reached nowadays in about 2 hours from Patna via a 4-lane highway that bypasses the city of Gaya. The town of Bodh Gaya is essentially a slum, with desperately poor living conditions and full of people whose main goal in life is to get the most out of the Buddhist pilgrims. India shows itself here at its worst: noisy rickshaws, begging children, severely deformed people hoping for compassion, con artists of all kinds, and dirty children made to perform circus acts by their mothers. They all ply the main street leading up to the temple.

The entrance policy confused me when I tried to find out about it online beforehand, but despite the tiresome stroll through town, it’s actually not chaotic at all. Entrance is free, except when you want to take pictures; then a 100rs fee is required, payable at the "Camera Ticket Counter". Phones are not allowed in, but it seems that when you buy a camera ticket this is waived as well (I did not try).

First going through a new gate with the reassuring label "World Heritage Site" overhead, you will be patted down twice before you enter the temple grounds. These additional security measures were taken after bombs were placed here in 2013 (and two went off) by an Islamic militant group. You only need to take your shoes off in the inner circle of the temple, so leave them on as long as …

Studenica Monastery is one of the WHS that means much more to the people of the nation where it resides than it does to outsiders. I went there with my Serbian friends while staying with them and it's a bit of trek to get to being somewhat buried in the Dinaric Alps.The reason that the Serbian people revere this monastery is because it was founded by Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the medieval Serbian nation. It's an important site for Serbian people and that is very apparent when you're there.The actual monastery comprises of the original Byzantine church and it's later extension plus some monastic buildings. There are important frescoes inside the church that have been sadly damaged during restoration work, this was the case when I visited in 2009, maybe they have been restored now.I found it funny that an old monk said something to me in Serbian which made my friend laugh. I asked later what he had said and she said, "I wish you safe travels on your journey, unless you don't believe in God, then I don't care". Charming!

Ekamra Kshetra is easily overlooked because of its name which doesn’t give a clue to outsiders about what it represents. Translated from the Sanskrit it means “place with mango trees” and it comprises the temple city quarter of Bhubaneswar. The site has numerous temples and ponds, all part of a geomantic Hindu city plan which is shaped like a mandala. The well-written Tentative Site description lists being "a complete Hindu city" and "a living site" as its Unique Selling Points. It compares itself to Varanasi, which is unique in its own right of course, but the people from Bhubaneswar say Ekamra Kshetra is much better managed.

To prepare for a visit, I recommend consulting the Wikivoyage page on Bhubaneswar: it has a very good and recent overview of most temples and other places of interest in this area. There are on-site information panels as well at every temple of some significance.

I started my exploration at the Rajarani temple. It lies across the road from the other main temples (BTW: use the Maps.me location, the one on Google Maps is wrong). This is a single temple surrounded by a manicured lawn with flower beds, a set-up clearly recognizable as directed by the ASI. There’s an entrance fee as well, the usual 300rs for a Tentative Site. I asked whether this would give me access to all temples in Ekamra Kshetra, but that wasn’t the case! Fortunately, most of the other temples are managed by religious caretakers …

If you play Civilization VI, you know what a Seowon is: the Korean variant of the blue Campus District. A Seowon generates a lot of science, is cheap to build, and can give Korea a head-start in the science race.

In the real world, Seowons were Neo-Confucian academies established during the Joseon period. They served two central purposes: as shrines for ancestor worship and as academies for young nobles preparing for the civil servant examination.

The nine Seowons that form the WHS are scattered across Korea. We visited two: Oksan (part of the Yangdong Folk Village WHS) and Pilam. Of the two, Pilam was the better site. It's larger and better preserved. We felt transported back in time, imagining students listening to their instructor in the lecture hall. A word of advice: mind your head as the gatehouse has very low beams. Oksan, meanwhile, is undergoing major renovations (2024), making it hard to appreciate. It felt a bit small and didn't give the same "transported back in time" effect.

You'll encounter many more non-inscribed Seowons in Korea. Gyeongju has one, and there's another attached to the Yangdong Folk Village.

Getting There

• Pilam: Reachable by bus from Gwangju, followed by some walking or a rural bus/cab. We took a cab from the Gochang Dolmen Site.
• Oksan: Connected by direct bus from Gyeongju. The bus also stops at Yangdong Folk Village and runs roughly hourly.

Well, after a decade or so I've finally gone back to Aranjuez! here are my thoughts.

First off I think it's interesting noting that aranjuez was proposed fairly late among the Spanish sites and as a cultural landscape.

As many people have pointed out the actual highlight of the site are the gardens.

The palace is indeed kinda ghastly. The rooms were renovated in the 19th century when Spain, and particularly the crown, were in full crisis. The result is some interior design I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. You can actually skip it tbh. 

The city itself is rather surprising, in the sense that I have no idea why Unesco actually allowed its inscription. A bit of context: Spanish royal sites were thought of as a retirement sites for the monarchs, so they had no population other than the people in charge of the palace and gardens. This changed with Charles III which built up towns associated to each royal site. Spain has for a long time tried to get Unesco to extend the site of El escurial to include the city of San Lorenzo, which was built during this period. Unesco "wasn't thrilled with the idea" . So imagine my surprise when I went back to aranjuez and found out that at large its city centre is in a comparable state. I mean the city and, particularly its plan, beautifully illustrates enlightened ideals of urban planning, but that's hardly unique in Europe. 

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Left me with mixed feelings. At the time of visiting, Prague was the only other big central European city I had been to, and since I enjoyed it so much I couldn't help but compare. A lot of people seemed to tell me to go to Budapest when I told them how much I liked Prague. But Budapest has much more of a disjointed aesthetic and is architecturally very different, even on the less disjointed Buda side with its Castle Quarter.

That said, it has its moments. The Széchenyi Baths (old TWHS) was genuinely a really enjoyable experience despite the crowds and not an insignificant amount of people seeming to dislike them. The Jewish Quarter (another old TWHS) with its synagogues, gives you an authentic glimpse into the city's rich Jewish heritage. The Danube evening cruise gives you some great views of the illuminated Parliament building and other landmarks on the banks of the river, and for me felt like the best way to appreciate the OUV.

The underground cave system (TWHS) and the underground Hospital in the Rock museum are really cool and worth seeking out. Other than this, some of the outskirts like the Gellért Hill area (pictured) gives you a good panorama, and the City Park area also has its charms. But other major attractions fell flat, e.g. the House of Terror museum is rubbish, the Parliament tour feels overhyped, and supposedly iconic spots like the Central Market and even Andrássy Avenue (part of this …

As with many World Heritage Sites, I think the reasons for its selection and justification of its Outstanding Universal Value aren't readily apparent when visiting. The cave itself isn't that impressive compared to others I've visited (Phong Nha in Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam immediately comes to mind as more impressive), but I'm sure the biodiversity and history justify its status on the WHS list.

Reaching the cave hasn't changed since the previous reviews. You need a car to get there, it's 10 euros to take a guided tour (only way to go inside the cave), and winter hours are from 10-2. I wasn't sure if the last tour began at 2, or if they closed the gates at 2, so I arrived at 1pm when I visited in November 2024. The museum is still nearby and included in admission, the nearby restaurant is closed at this time of year, and the view of the surrounding valley is as impressive as the cave itself.

I'll come back some day to take a tour of the lake deeper in the cave during summertime if I'm nearby, but I don't think I'll go out of my way to visit again.

August 2024 - we made a bit of a detour to see this rather unspectular WHS, at least we combined it with TWHS Rimetea. The road from Turda to Hunedoara (Eisenmarkt) goes through wonderful landscape along the Aries river which is worth to change the itinerary for. For Goldbach you have to take a worse road. We parked our camper in the town center and were welcomed by some straying but friendly dogs. The town is in a catastrophic shape with crumbling facades but has typical Habsburg-flair just like banska stiavnica in Slovakia. We made another stop at the Roman mine, where we visited the outdoor exhibition only. We missed to hike along the pit. As the kids were too tired. Make sure to visit the Corvin Castle in Hunedoara, which might be on your way. It is quite sth.

The Pujada Bay Protected Area consists of a mangrove park (Guang-guang), a peninsula shaped like a "Sleeping Dinosaur," a few islands and dive sites - all within the jurisdiction of Mati City, the capital of Davao Oriental province. Overlooking the bay is the mighty Mt. Hamiguitan (see attached photo).

In 2020, it was declared one of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World (MBBW); and what's more impressive is that this alluring landscape/seascape is located within an urbanized area, not in the usual isolated regions away from the towns and cities.

Having the bay inscribed as an extension of Mt. Hamiguitan will need concerted efforts among all residents, officials and visitors of Mati City - zero pollution, sustainable fishing and tourism, and biodiversity conservation. Herculean task? Maybe, but not entirely impossible.

This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that I was very excited to visit, located at the edge of the legendary “Empty Quarter.” Desert landscapes have always fascinated me. However, obtaining information in advance about how best to visit the national park proved challenging. I came across a forum thread online that mentioned a permit was required beforehand.

I reached out to NCW, explaining our wish to visit and the date we had planned for the trip. The following day, I received a polite response asking me to send copies of the passports for all visitors. A day later, I received an email confirming our request for permission has been approved, and informing that they had arranged a guided tour for us! 

At the designated day, after our unsuccessful attempt to visit Al Faw, we headed to the Uruq Bani Ranger Station. Here, we were warmly welcomed with tea, Saudi coffee, and dates. Clearly, they were expecting us! After completing the visitor registration, we set out on a tour with a ranger in his jeep.

From the ranger station, several routes into the desert were marked with signs, but it quickly became apparent that «the roads» didn’t last long, and familiarity with the area was essential. We followed the Arabian Oryxtrail, and the ranger, who spoke a little English, explained as best he could.

The landscape was stunning. We saw several large sand dunes, areas with shrubs, and even spotted a gazelle. It is quite common …

In October 2024 I was lucky that my planned balloon flight over Vilnius was changed at the last minute for a flight over Lake Trakai and the castle. I say lucky because you can get pretty good views over Vilnius from the many hills that surround it and being a bit further up wouldn't have made a huge difference.The flight over Lake Trakai though, was spectacular, a truly memorable experience and the opportunity to see this region from the air.The star of the flight was Trakai Castle and thanks to the skill of our Aeronaut we flew directly overhead for an amazing perspective.I hope that the park makes the full UNESCO list because it's absolutely stunning.

I visited this WHS on 4th of July weekend 2023 and it was an interesting time to say the least. I have been to Texas several times before as I have a friend that goes to school out there (which came very much in handy for the solar eclipse that happened earlier this year!!), but I never made it to San Antonio until last year. Everyone that I know that lives in Texas RAVES about San Antonio so I had my expectations up. Nicely restored Spanish Colonial missions are almost a dime a dozen back in California so I really had to do some convincing to get my family to go see the other missions besides the Alamo.

We visited the Alamo first (how could we forget?) and it was no longer a mission but rather a "shrine" to the battle of the Alamo. Although I am a history nerd, the minute specifics of battles are not very interesting to me at all. Luckily, my family felt the same way and we headed to the other missions in the WHS after a quick stop. The way the Alamo is preserved now does not really gel with the other sites in the WHS and kind of took away from the experience for me at least.

We then stopped at Mission San Jose to grab some information and get NPS stamps at the visitor center. The rangers were very nice there and were happy to talk WHS with me! They …

Kaziranga is the site I looked forward to the most on this India trip, and it certainly did not disappoint. I splurged on staying for 2 nights in the upmarket Diphlu River Lodge (335 EUR p/n all-in). They offer safari packages similar to the lodges in African national parks, including all meals and activities. Its location turned out to be a bit noisy (it lies close to the main road Jorhat-Guwahati) and the somewhat stiffish service didn’t quite reach the African Safari Lodge level, where understated elegance and convivial atmosphere often appear effortless. On the plus side: I had my private car and guide who took me on generously long (4-5 hour) game drives and steered away from the crowds. The food and the room were excellent as well.

The park is only open from November to April, as the rest of the year the area suffers from the effects of serious flooding covering up to 80% of its surface. Markings on park buildings show how high the water reached in certain years. Both man and animal flee to higher-lying areas such as man-made “islands” called chapories and the main road. This also means that the park has to redo all the (unpaved) roads every season, sometimes creating new roads and bridges as the old ones were swept away or the whole riverbank moved.

Included in my safari package were three game drives which brought me to different parts of the park. The first one was the Western …

Being only able to visit one cluster of sites, we focused on Iksan and Wanggung-ri, following Philipp's recommendation. Both mark the final bout of the Baekje Kingdom around 600-700 CE, before it was swallowed up by the neighboring Silla Kingdom. Baekje had been on a downward spiral for a while. Their last semi-great, i.e., ambitiuous, king, Mu, tried to revitalize the kingdom by planning a new capital around Mireuksa and strengthening the state. However, he ultimately failed, and his successor was the last king of an independent Baekje.

The other two locations mark earlier periods of Baekje (Gongju 475–538, Buyeo 538-660). In the southward shift of the capitals, you can see the continuous growing pressure from the north and the competing kingdoms.

What you see today in Mireuksa was discovered only in 1980. The tangible structures were reconstructed, with the second restoration ending in 2018. What I found well done were the markings of the city layout (see picture). You could imagine the city and walking its streets, all the while not imagining too much.

Wanggung-ri is the lesser of the two sites. You get the hills and can envision the fortifications, but Mireuksa leaves the better overall impression. Mireuksa also features the better museum with stellar artifacts (do not miss).

Personally, I was left a bit wanting. These structures are parallel in time to the Roman Empire. The site pales in comparison to the remains of earlier sites from Antiquity (any site in Greece) and …

The road from Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Odisha, to Konark takes you through a pleasant scenery of palm trees, rice fields and small villages with colourful temples. India’s infrastructure improvements haven’t reached this part of the country yet – that’s why it takes 1.5 hours to cover the 67km by car. I had opted for an “Uber Intercity” today, a scheduled ride to and from the Temple with an hour’s waiting time. 

As I had seen Modhera’s Sun Temple two days before, I was expecting something similar. But this one is much more grand. When you enter the town of Konark you can already see the top of the temple popping out above everything else, even when it's Vimana (the tower that covered the sanctum) collapsed some 200 years ago. The site is surrounded by an enormous souvenir market and entrance roads are closed to vehicles. I arrived at about 10.30 and found it busy with thousands of visitors. It turned out that the entrance was free today, because of World Heritage Week!

Photos of the site usually display the intricately carved wheels (they are indeed the highlight of the site), but there is more to it, of course. I am not exactly sure what happened to the seven horses that pulled the chariot forward; I only saw one more or less complete specimen, it stands to the left when you face the temple. There are also two intriguing large sculptured war elephants on a separate platform to …

August 2024 - another wine-themed cultural landscape. I haven‘t had Tokay wine before coming here. Unfortunately we had not informed ourselves what to experience, so drove by the most interesting vinyards. In Tokay itself there is not much to see, but of course we tried some Furmint and Muscat at a local cellar (Benko) before continuing to Puszta.

August 2024 - On my Birthday we started with a tour in Baradla Cave, drove to Tokay and finally reached Hortobagy on late evening. Although most of the WHS is just Puszta, Hortobagy offers a few extras. Just next to the Nine Hole Bridge there is a wonderful restaurant (Hortobágyi Csárda) with local traditional meat dishes. It was a perfect spot to quit the day. For the Sunset it is best to walk the bikepath south of the Nine hole bridge. in Hortobagy we could stay overnight with our Camper even with free WLAN.

Next morning we tried to spot some cows and horses.

From the vibrant city of Padang, it was a half day drive tour on one of the most dangerous roads in Indonesia to the town of Sawahlunto. Along the way, I saw old colonial cement plants, sampled many fusions of Indonesian and Dutch dishes in a local restaurant which is opened for almost a century, drank tea from a former Dutch tea plantation. Dutch industrial heritages on exploiting natural resources from Sumatra are everywhere. When I reached Sawahlunto, area of Ombilin Company Town to be precise, it was already dark, so I directly went to stay and sleep at the heritage Ombilin Hotel, the only hotel during colonial for government officers and important company guests.

Next day early morning I walked around the town to see main component of company town such as Santa Barbara Catholic Church and Co-Operative Building which are just opposite the road, both are built in Nieuwe Indische Bouwstijl or Dutch Indies Style that can be seen in many Indonesian old town quarters in Java. The Assembly Hall (Societeit Glück auf) is in ruinous state after fire damage. On the main road of market area, few buildings are worth to visit for its unique architecture, Comedy House and Pek Sin Kek House, both are built in the so-called Sino-Portuguese style, similar to those shophouses in Malaysia and Singapore. On the hill next to market area is the old Sawahlunto Train Station which is now a museum that displayed old steam trains, the historic …

This tentative property's selling point is still unclear and will not likely be pursued as an active nomination in the coming years.

However, I wanted to share this travel log to preserve fragments of memory during our weeklong mission between El-Arish and Rafah, at the border between Sinai, Egypt and the Gaza Strip, in November 2023. The photo shows El-Arish Castle ruins, in a condition that would later still be improved. 

In the six years I lived in Egypt, I never imagined I would be able to visit any one of the North Sinai archaeological sites. The whole North Sinai Governorate is labeled a "no-go zone" due to security concerns. But strange circumstances last year allowed me and my team to be given special permit to stay in El-Arish City. 

On another note, El-Arish is one of the stops of the venerated Holy Family Trail, i.e., when Jesus, Mary and Joseph left Palestine to escape King Herod. They traveled from Bethlehem to Gaza, entered Egypt through El-Arish, then went to Cairo/Nile Delta, and all the way to Assyut in the south.

A decade ago, on my last day in Seoul before flying home, I ventured to Ganghwa to tick the Dolmens. I waited near a metro station in Seoul, trying to find the correct bus in heavy traffic. I think I missed one but eventually got on the right bus. The ride was long, and being offline, I missed my stop. Several Koreans on the bus gestured for me to get off, and I managed to exit one station late, so I only had to walk a little.

The bus ride was the most memorable part of the visit. There was one iconic dolmen, but for those who have seen Carnac, it was underwhelming. The newly built museum was also closed, likely because it was a Monday. After two loops around the grounds, I waited for my bus back to Seoul.

Given my previous experiences, I was not inclined to visit more Dolmens. However, we had set ourselves the challenge of visiting all Korean sites in three weeks, so we had to visit a Dolmen site. Based on Philipp's review and the involved logistics, we settled on Gochang.

Gochang is a much better site than Ganghwa. There are plenty of Dolmen fields and formations to explore. As previous reviewers noted, there are multiple trails to hike. Exploring the site takes at least an hour. Additionally, the Koreans have set up a full tourist infrastructure with a large, multimedia-heavy museum, a historic village, a tourist train, cafes, restaurants, and …