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At first light of dawn, when a cool breeze fills the air and the morning sun shines on the palace, Taj Mahal is at its height of beauty. Set against the azure skyline, it looks like a mirage in a desert - the greatest monument to love.

It was exactly like this when, on an early December morning, I made my first visit to the legendary monument. It is certainly also true that it is a very special view to see the early morning sun rays embrace this absolutely magnificent white marbled tomb.

The story has been told many times - of Shah Jahan's favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal,

who died at the age of 39 when delivering a child and the greif that then made the Shah immortalize their love by building the 'dream in marble' - 22 years in the making with the help of over 22.000 craftsmen.

History tells that when Shah Jahan started to plan for his OWN mausoleum to be built in black marble across the river Yamuna, his son had just about enough of his fathers spending and locked him up in the Agra Fort. And there he sat until the day he died, gazing at the distant tomb of his long-lost wife. Almost makes you want to shed a tear, right..?

I spent three months living deep in the Jungles of the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve; it is an incredible place full of wildlife, birds and varying ecosystems. For the nature lover travelling in Mexico, it is an absolute must.

Sure the road to Punta Allen is a bit less traveled than the Trans-Canada or the I-5, but with a little spirit of adventure, a trusty scooter will take you all the way from Tulum in a gentle three hours. If driving at night, watch out for giant blue crabs on the road - they scream and snatch their claws if you get to close. Keep your balance in check if you are two and getting through the sand bars may require a short walk. Driving a scooter through the biosphere reserve was not only a great way to get intimate with nature, but is ecologically and economically friendly.

There are several companies that offer tours to the Biosphere, Ecocolors is a good choice, Cesiak, Sian Ka'an Tours, Community Tours in Tulum, and others if you look around. Maps are few and far between, but don't worry, the road doesn't branch the whole way from Tulum to Punta Allen, just go south on the coast road and stop along the way as you are surrounded by beauty. Being a small penninsula, you will see beautiful lagoons on one side and the warm Caribbean Sea on the other the entire way. Don't forget to visit the Visitors Center (9Km from the entrance)where …

It's not just a cemetery, it is also a nice park for an afternoon stroll whilst you are contemplating and solving the world problems. And if you are into architecture you’ve probably already learned that the cemetery was planned and laid out by the Swedish architects Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz in the 1920:ies and has been an inspiration for cemeteries all around the world. The site is easily accessed via the Stockholm underground (station: Skogskyrkogården) and once there you turn right and just walk through the gates while you are facing the Chapel of the Holy Cross on your left side. Since I have a few of my relatives buried here, I usually visit the site once a year or so and in the spring and summertime it’s a nice walk under the tall spruce trees that populates the cemetery. During All Saints Day (Halloween) the cemetery is lit up by thousands and thousands of candles and it’s likely to be the day of the year to best visit the site.

Being Swedish and grown up in Stockholm, Drottningholm was probably the first World Heritage Site I ever visited, long before UNESCO’s took the initiative to create the famous list. For me personally the site is associated with many memories and it’s truly a wonderful place for an excursion while visiting Stockholm. The castle and its surrounding park is obviously best visited in the summer and the best way is to approach the site is by boat. Many tour boats depart from the Town Hall in central Stockholm and it takes about an hour to slowly cruise through Lake Mälaren on a steam boat, a nice experience in itself.

The castle is inspired by Versailles but obviously not as enormous as its French cousin. Still it has played an important role in Swedish history. You will find wonderful French and English park as well as the oldest theatre in Europe still in use. A slow stroll through the park to the China Castle, were you will find a nice café, is an absolute must.

Seldom noticed by the tourist is the small village on the right side of the main road that runs by the castle. This village was planned and built in the mid 18th century for the people working at the castle and contains many picturesque houses and villas and is in itself a good example of how a Swedish village once would have looked like. Don’t miss this when you visit Drottningholm.

Vienna was a stop on my honeymoon, and the highlight of our visit was Schonnbrun Palace. The impressive gardens, ornate decor, and charming zoo made for a wonderful day and served as a reminder that it truly is good to be the king.

I visited Segovia with my daughters the summer of 2007. One of my daughters was studying in Madrid and she arranged for a day trip to Segovia by Bus. She wanted us to see the Cathedral as it was her favorite of all those she had visited in Spain. We could not find words to describe how amazing it was to view the Aqueduct. Lastly, we visited the Alcazar. My daughter suggested walking down the walkway to view the Castle from Below. From there you can view the base structures of the Castle that originate from a river. Truly Spectacular! We will never forget the memories we made there.

During a trip to Belgium in June 2004 and specifically to the Wallonian area I had decided to visit the Neolitic Mines of Spiennes as my 138th World Heritage Site. Having arrived in the city of Mons, I jumped into a taxi heading for the small village of Spiennes were I had made an appointment with archeologist Helen Collet who was going to show me the site. She was waiting for me and we drove off to the first of the two archeological sites while telling me that the whole area of Spiennes is scattered with over 1000 Neolithic mines, holes in the ground, around 4-12 meters deep, where the ancient Neolithic men dug for flint stone about 4000 years BC. “Tools made from Spiennes flint has been found as far as in eastern Germany”, Helen continued. “But unfortunately we have only been able to investigate two mines so far. But these two are very deep, something that is quite unusual from that period”.

The first of the two sites was housed inside a small building on top of the first “hole”, built by the archeologists who first discovered the mines in the late 19th century and now the office for the archeological investigations. After a coffee and some initial discussions about Neolithic mining with Helen and her husband Michel who now had joined the party, it was time to enter the underworld. My outfit of the day was completely discarded by Helen and Michel in favor of some more …

The Caves and Ice Age Art are yet another prehistoric site with all the caveats that go along with it. There isn’t all that much to see. The findings were moved off site and are shown in several museums. As upside, I really enjoyed hiking along the Lone valley on a sunny summer day. And as the caves aren't that touristy you are free to explore them.

Getting There

Blaubeuren and Schelklingen are on the same train line from Ulm. The caves are found between Schelklingen and Blaubeuren. Seeing the Urgeschichtliches Museum is in Blaubeuren, it seems best to start at the far end in Schelklingen and end up at the museum at the end.

Getting to the Lone area is a bit trickier. The Archäopark Vogelherd has a shuttle bus to the train station in Niederstotzigen. Bihourly there is a direct bus (#59) from Ulm stopping in Öllingen (get off at Hirsch) for the Bocksteinhöhle and Stetten ob Lontal (get off at Kirche) for the Archäopark. My recommendation would be to start in Öllingen. From the bus stop it's a 30min walk to get to the Lone river. Be advised that the signposting in the area leaves much to be desired and that especially the area around the Bocksteinhöhle is a bit challenging.

Google Maps is wrong for the area. The location of the Bocksteinhöhle is wrong. And the buses are missing from the public transport connections. Our data meanwhile is correct. The best public …

While in Olympia for a couple of days, I hiered myself a local guide to take me up the mountains to visit the temple of Vasses, my 142nd World Heritage Site. Driving along the steep sloapes and the mountain villages was quite an experience on this warm July afternoon. Finally reached the temple, still wrapped up in it's tent but in a very good shape. While you're there, also take the opportunity to climb up the extra 150 meters to the small temples on the nearby mountain top. From here you have an outstanding view of the surrounding landscape and also get a good feel for the nature in the Greek mountains

My first trip to visit historic northern city was with a group shutter bugs from a local photography club. Unfortunately for us, we had a small incident with 2 drunk particiapnts and apparently, we made quite a 'scene' in the town. ;o)

Vigan is neither imperial nor grand. And to be honnest, the houses (its main WHS draw) are rather stark compared with the more flamboyant ones found in other historic towns across the Philippines. This is a reflection of local Ilokano culture- a group of people known not exactly for being fanciful but more for being frugal.

But what makes Vigan unique is the concentration of Hispanic influenced (with Asian details) period houses perhaps unmatched anywhere else in the country. I particularly liked the pastel-colored Spanish-colonial cathedral ith Chinese lions and a pagoda-inspired bell tower(above) facing the main plaza fronting an American-colonial government house. The town is small enough to be explored in a day and the nearby Santa Maria church (another WHS) provides for an excellent day trip.

Of course, a trip that lasts more 10 hours (thats the distance it takes to drive from Manila) should be worth more than that and it is! The excellent views of the South China Sea meeting the town's Abra river is stunning. As are the beaches further north (Pagudpud), the time-worn churches (including another WHS- the Paoay Church) and Marcos memorabilia are what makes the Ilokos province a gem of a place.

I have spent a great deal of time in Kyoto and it never ceases to break my heart.

The city itself is an utter monstrosity, a nightmare mess of urban planning.

There are some wonderful spots in the city, but these are marred by the city itself. Many of the temples, gardens and shrines are almost ruined by tacky souvenir stalls that seem to dog this country's tourist sites.

I have visited virtually all of the temples and sites inscribed on the list and would recommend the following:- (1)Byodo-In, one of the few remaing Heian period buildings left in Japan. It is a real gem. (2) Enryaku-Ji. A wonderful mountain-top temple that has beautiful views over Lake Biwa. (3) Nijo-Jo. One of the most outstanding palaces remaining in Japan.

The most visited temple is Kinkaku-Ji - the Gold Pavillion. I find this place rather gaudy and overdone. It is a relatively recent creation, built in 1955 after the original was burnt down.

Nishi-Hongan-Ji is currently undergoing a massive face-lift and rebuilding project. The Kondo Hall will be off limits for several years.

Ginkaku-Ji (The Silver Pavillion) is looking a bit worse for wear these days and could use a lick of paint.

Re-building is something that always has to be born in mind with Japanese temples - what you are looking at may be advertised as being 700 years old, but it could easily be a modern re-construction.

Despite the touristy nature of virtually all of Japan's ancient sites, Nara is one place where you can get some idea of what Japan used to be like before everything old was almost entirely replaced with concrete.

Todai-Ji is a magnificent building and the Daibutsen Buddha is a jaw-dropping spectacle. This is, without question, the star of Nara-Koen and possible the highlight of all of Japan's cultural relics.

The rest of the park is also fascinating, with the 5 storey pagoda of Kofuku-Ji another gem.

The Ancient forest (also on the World Heritage list) at the back of the parkland is well worth hiking around for a few hours. It's a great way to get away from the crowds.

We visited Sewell in February 2008 encountering some difficulties. There is a homepage (www.sewell.cl) for sewell by CODELCO, the state owned company, which runs several mines, amongs them El Teniente, to which the mining town of Sewell belongs.

This page is of limited use as rather than telling you how to get there, what it costs, etc, it refers to a company called VLT which has the monopoply of taking people there. This is done either by bus on Fro, Sat and Sun for approx 45 USD pP or on all other days as private tour for 144 USD pP.

The committment that CODELCO seems to have with UNESCO is that Sewell as a seperate entity from the mine has to become profitable entity from its tourism engagements within a rather short timeline, otherwise CODELCO might step out. We have been told, that the number of tourist to come to Sewell for the reasons UNESCO declared it a world heritage is already declining after an initial peak, people are more interested in the actual mine rather than in an aboandoned mining town.

Finally one has to understand that you see today only a fragment of the initial mining town, large parts, in particular the part where the american settlements were has been pulled down when the town had to be abandoned due to pollution problems.

The restauration efforts which happened so far are rather disappointing, if they continue at that speed, the whole thing is gone within a few years.

…

Gunung Mulu National Park

Within the boundaries of Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak is one of the most extensive and spectacular limestone cave systems on earth, as well as the second highest mountain peak in the state. Gunung also enjoys unusually high rainfall. As a result it bursts with life, and many new plant and animal species have been discovered here. Officially constituted in 1974 and opened to the public in 1985, Gunung Mulu National Park encompasses only 544 sq. km in North Sarawak, Borneo. Gunung Mulu's Caves are extraordinary. Mulu's Sarawak Chamber is the largest natural chamber in the world, and Deer Cave is the largest cave passage known to man. It has two huge entrances at either end of the mountain it penetrates. Most of Deer Cave is illuminated, one can see 600-foot waterfalls pouring from the roof following a rain storm. Perhaps the most popular attraction of this cavern, however, is the daily exodus of its colony of nearly a million bats. Every evening the bats stream from the cave to spend the night dining on Gunung's rich insect population.

Clearwater Cave is the longest cave system in Southeast Asia. Although little of it is open to park visitors without special permission, over a hundred kilometers of passages have been discovered so far. Not all of Mulu's limestone features are contained in caves. Gunung API, a 1,750 meter high mountain of limestone, lies directly beside Sarawak's second highest mountain peak, Gunung Mulu (2,376 meters). Both mountains …

I just took the train trip from Qinghai to Lhasa. Due to the influx of tourists from this new train service, the visiting hours to Potala Palace is now only one hour, although they increased the daily inflow from 1,000 to 3,000 people so everyone can get a chance to see inside. The result is a rush through the palace, with barely sufficient time to take in the art and monuments. The tickets are officially 100 RMB (US$14), but scalpers ask for up to US$100. So plan carefully with your travel agent.

One politically incorrect comment: While we see the current 14th Dalai Lama as a wise, benevolent, sagacious leader, the theocracy that ruled Tibet over the last 400 years were no angels. A system of absolute power over every phase of people's lives in a almost hermitically sealed region, with no checks and balances always lead to abuse of power. Look at what happened in the Catholic Church over history...men are men.

Anyone interested in US history should see the city of Philadelphia, which is the actual birthplace of this country. Many important events that led to the founding of the United States took place there when New York was still a much smaller city and Washington not even a thought in the minds of the founding fathers. Independence Hall especially is important, since in this building both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. Because of this it is on the WH list, since the building itself is not bad but not really superlative. The whole surrounding area of downtown Philadelphia is protected as Independence National Historic Park, containing many interesting buildings and museums; most famous is the pavillion containing Liberty Bell. In general, Philadelphia is not the greatest city to visit, but its inner city does have redeeming qualities, and Independence Hall is very well worth a visit.

The WHS additions in July 2004 were a mixed lot in my opinion but 1 stood out for me –the “Cape Floral Region Protected Areas”. Alongside the usual litany of uninspiring/mediocre European sites (Liverpool, Muskauer and Andorra Valley?) and shady political dealings (The Koguryo China/N Korea “compromise”!) here was a site whose selection showed real imagination. A site of genuine uniqueness and justifiable preservation. Yet it took UNESCO from the year 2000 with 2 “deferrals” to get this nomination accepted! So typical of bureaucrats to concentrate on “Dotting the I’s” rather than on the value of the concept!

To quote

“Although the smallest of the world’s 6 principle floristic regions and in a temperate zone it has a degree of species richness comparable with most tropical hotspots. In less than .5% of the area of Africa it has nearly 20% of its flora and in less than 4% of the area of Southern Africa it has nearly 44% of the sub-continental flora of 20367 species. Nearly 69% of its vascular species do not occur naturally anywhere else in the world”

From within this “kingdom” 8 areas have been inscribed stretching as far as 450kms from the city of Capetown. The most famous and easily accessible is that of the Cape Peninsular itself although this is the second smallest - you will go through it if you go down to the Cape of Good Hope (as we did).

To quote again “The distinctive flora which contains 80% …

Currently Uruguay possesses but a single WHS : at Colonia Del Sacramento on the banks of the River Plate. In summer 1999 we were journeying from Buenos Aires to Iguassu and didn’t want to miss such a close new (for us) country with another WHS so took an indirect route by hydrofoil across the Plate. The next day we continued by bus through the rolling pastures of Uruguay via Fray Bentos (not then even on Uruguay's T List) to cross back into Argentina at the Salto-Concordia frontier.

On arriving at Colonia the vast majority of hydrofoil passengers jumped onto waiting busses and continued to Montevideo. We found ourselves in a small town with plenty of hotels and restaurants and obviously heavily dependent on serving Porteno tourists - so many indeed that we had problems finding an unbooked room.

The town is pleasant enough with a number of cobbled streets bounded by low houses in colonial style together with a few ruins in the form of town walls/gates overlooking the River Plate (it is said that the lighthouse is the only “high building” -photo). The town is supposed to reflect in its layout and architecture its origins as the most southerly Portuguese colonial settlement but I can’t say that this aspect was particularly noticeable to us. It was originally founded in 1680 and changed hands a few times before its final incorporation into the Spanish empire in 1777.

It was a pleasant stop-over but whether the town really …

The main glories of Yemen are to be found in Sanaa and the mountains. On either side of these however are 2 other sights – to the east the desert ruins of Marib which are currently only on the WHS Tentative list and, to the west, the WHS inscribed old town of Zabed,

The West side of Yemen consists of a flat low-lying strip of semi desert called “The Tihama”. This area is hot, hot, hot! Facing Africa, it feels very different from the rest of Yemen. If you go there you will probably overnight in the port of Al-Hudayda and Zabed lies a few miles south.

Zabed is one of those WHS which, if it justifies its inscription, does so because of what it has been rather than for what you can see now. From the earliest years of Islam a Koranic university flourished there. It is said that the word “Algebra” (Al-jabr) was coined by a scholar from the town. The very first mosque in Yemen was founded nearby by a local leader who actually visited the Prophet Mohammed in Medina.

The old town is surrounded by walls in mixed state of repair. The main entrance is through a medieval gate and inside there is an area of suqs, a few mosques and a “palace” (19th century). Pleasant enough but, in the heat, not anything to get excited about! The centuries of Islamic scholarship do not come across to the casual non-Islamic visitor!

We were however invited into …

Honduras has its merits as a tourist destination but lacks the appeal of Guatemala with its indigenous peoples, historic sites and scenic variety. However, if you are basing a self drive holiday on Guatemala you can still easily visit one of Honduras’s 2 WHS at Copan since it lies very close to the Guatemalan border. We started from the motel (recommended) at Rio Hondo, crossed at El Florido and left our car at the border post as it is not worth the costs of taking it across the border (even if your rental company/insurance will allow it). Next pay the personal exit/entry charges for each country (you will need to pay some of them again on the return but not too excessive! Tell the both sets of authorities that you are only going to the ruins and thus avoid the need for a Honduran visa and make it easier to get back to Guatemala), change $ for a few lempira at the border and take a truck/minibus the 14kms to the Honduran village of Copan Ruinas (they go when full but pretty frequent). From there it is only a couple of kms to the ruins (many buses). Check the border closing times for your return before you set off as the countries don’t operate to the same timetable! It all sounds quite complicated but we really found it very easy.

Copan as a destination does not, in my opinion, rival Tikal – one could easily spend 2 days wandering …