world heritage site

23Feb201320Mar2025

Location: Venice, Italy

Visited: August 13-17, 2012

Background and Opinion:
If you have the dream of a quiet, romantic getaway taking a gondola with a native Venetian singing Solemio, about 200 million tourists thought of it first. Is that to say that Venice is not worth going to, not in the least! Everyone should go at least once! However, Venice gets 20 million visitors a year, which adds up to around 70,000 a day during high season in a city that is not very big to begin with. The crowds are something to consider since during peak season, some streets are bursting at the seems with people, especially those traveling in huge groups by cruise ship.

Venice is one of the most unique places I have ever visited. It is composed of over 100 islands linked together by bridges. Even with a map, it is quite the labyrinth. Probably the most refreshing thing about Venice is not seeing a single car (if you stay away from the bus station that connects to the rest of Italy) in the entire city. The whole transportation system is water based, with boat cops, firefighters, trash collectors, taxis, buses, etc. To truly appreciate Venice, try walking around in the middle of the night when it is finally quiet. Of course, very few places will be open, but the canals will finally settle, and you can even see the tide go up if you look at the steps that lead to the boats (you’ll know what I’m talking about when you get there).

21Feb201311Apr2013

Since the Tomb of King Sejong the Great (A UNESCO World Heritage Site) requires a bus ride from Southern Seoul’s Express Bus Terminal, why waste the rest of the day? When I travel, I find myself trying to maximize my time with things to do. While I enjoy lounging around and just relaxing as much as the next guy, traveling for me is mostly a time to explore, explore, explore! With that in mind, here are three things to do when you return from your trip to Yeoju to visit King Sejong the Great or when you find yourself in the southern side of Seoul.

1) See the Musical Fountain on the Banpo Bridge

A more realistic view than what you would otherwise find online.

One of the reasons I started this blog was to promote places I find incredible, as well as cry foul when I think something is overrated. The Banpo Bridge Musical Fountain touts itself as the longest musical fountain in the world, and Listverse (one of my favorite websites) even ranks it as #10 in a list of best fountains in the world. It isn’t and it is not even close to as beautiful as the Bellagio Fountain in Las Vegas, the Wynn Casino Fountain in Macao, or the Wild Goose Fountain I wrote about on a previous article. It is however worth a visit, especially if you are already in the area. Although I have never seen it at night, I have seen pictures that it lights up. While I normally don’t offer directions, this is a bit confusing to get to:

19Feb201329Jun2015

Location: Teotihuacan, Mexico State, Mexico (Near Mexico City)
Visited:
January 2, 2011
August, 2009
November, 2001

Opinion and Background:
It is my very biased opinion that few know, and take care of their historical sites like Mexicans. This site is no exception. These huge pyramids are well preserved and breath taking as soon as you arrive. The only down side is that without a tour group, foreigners have a tough time arriving here without a huge price hike (‘foreigner price’). The area is quite vast and takes a few hours to walk around and take in. Even though I’ve been here three times, I hadn’t noticed the small museum at the south end with original excavated masks and even human bones until the last time I went in Jan 2011. The site’s main draws are the Sun (large) and the Moon (slightly less large) Pyramids.

17Feb201329Jun2015

Location: Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do Province, South Korea
Visited: October 3, 2011

Opinion and Background:
This was definitely more interesting to me than it would be to the average person who doesn’t really know Korean history (or lived in Korea for that matter). I must note that this is a bit of a cheat. The UNESCO inscription includes all 40 tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, scattered all over Korea in 18 different sites. While I have visited other Joseon tombs, I decided to review only this site that includes three tombs because:

a) It contains the most important king in Korean history (Sejong the Great).
b) It is easier to give an assessment about something that is in a single location.
c) It is the best of the Joseon Tombs that I have visited.

The tombs are very well kept and the entrance is full of replicas of accomplishments by King Sejong. However, most of the things displayed are not originals, as they have been lost by repeated Japanese invasions. In addition, considering that King Sejong is THE most important historical figure in Korean history, I expected this site would have more, grandeur.

15Feb201311Apr2013

Three Things to do in Xi’an, China

Julio Moreno China ancient china, bell tower of xian, big goose pagoda, biggest musical fountain in asia, city walls of xian, drum tower of xian, musical fountain xian, things to do in central china, things to do in xian, world heritage site, xian 0 Comment

This post is in addition to the Terracotta Army WHS post found here. It is mainly to entice you to visit Xi’an, China and give you more things to do. Here are three more things you can do.

1) Drum and Bell Towers of Xi’an

The towers are inside the walled section of the city of Xi’an near the center, so you can’t miss them. They are pretty cool monuments that have stood since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty in the 1390’s. You are allowed to ring the bell (for a small fee), but not the drums. Both towers offer great views of the city, and have small museums inside. The museums are unfortunately in Mandarin Chinese only, but they are still worth a look.

Travel World Heritage

Venice and It’s Lagoon

Three Things to do in (Southern) Seoul, Korea (Near Express Bus Terminal Station) (pt.1)

Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan

Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty

Three Things to do in Xi’an, China