Golden Pavilion

Why the
Golden Pavilion
is special

The building in Kyoto, Japan sits on a serene pond, which reflects the beauty of the Golden Pavilion and forested backdrop. This creates one of the world’s loveliest settings.

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Golden Pavilion
tips & insights

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Long-time painting op

Long before the camera was invented, the Golden Pavilion became a prized subject for Japanese artists.

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Boost to tourism

The resulting artistic exposure soon lured countless Japanese to visit Kyoto to view the striking Golden Pavilion firsthand. Today, it draws tourists from around the world.

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History

A quick overview:

The Golden Pavilion was built in 1397 by the then ruling shogun.

On his death, it became a Zen Buddhist temple.

Disaster struck in 1950. The Golden Pavilion was burned down to the foundation by an arsonist (a fledgling Buddhist priest).

The Japanese rebuilt the Golden Pavilion in 1955, faithfully following the original design. The major change was in significantly increasing the amount of gold leaf applied to the Golden Pavilion's exterior and interior.

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Niagara Falls

Why
Niagara Falls
is special

It is one of the mightiest falls on earth. Although Niagara Falls is smaller and less breathtaking than Iguazu Falls in South America and Victoria Falls in Africa, it is awe-inspiring in its own right.

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Seasons

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The time of the year
makes a big difference
in what you'll experience

Summer - Positive points
Summer is best in terms of water fall strength. The greater the volume, the more spectacular the viewing experience.

Summer - Negative points
Unfortunately, summer is the season when the lion's share of the 15 million annual visitors come. Crowds can be overwhelming and line waits unbearable.

Winter is the least
desirable time to visit
Winter can be bitterly cold, a major factor considering that watching the falls is primarily an outdoor standing activity. Moreover, in deep winter, layers of ice can hide the falling water.

Compromises
The two best compromise times are early May and late September.

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Best sightseeing
times of day

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During the peak
summer period

Avoid long lines by scheduling your visits to the popular attractions in the morning (before 10:30 a.m.) or late afternoon (after 4:00 p.m.).  And, if possible, avoid weekends.

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Eiffel Tower

Why the
Eiffel Tower
is special?

It's the photo icon of Paris and France - and one of the most recognizable structures on earth.

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Eiffel Tower

tips & insights

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How to avoid
the long waiting lines

Elevator wait lines (especially for the third level) can be excruciatingly long during the summer tourist season. Be the first in line when the gates open in the morning or arrive after 6 pm. It also helps to avoid weekends.

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Photographing the Eiffel Tower

The best photo location for a full-view shot of structure is from the Place du Trocadero terrace across the Seine River.

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Origin

It was built in 1889 for an international exhibition in Paris, France and named for its builder, Gustave Eiffel.

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Once the world's tallest

The Eiffel Tower instantly became the world's tallest man-made structure. It broke the record held for over 4400 years by the Khufu Pyramid in Egypt (only to lose it 41 years later to the Chrysler Building in Manhattan).

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Not everyone liked it

Some people back then thought it was hideous. One sarcastic critic famously said he liked being on the Eiffel Tower because "it's the only place in Paris where I cannot see it".

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Today

Times have changed. Almost all Parisian citizens today love it.

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Valley of the Kings

Why the
Valley of the Kings
is special

Most of the pharaohs of the 18th and 19th Dynasties in the New Kingdom (circa 1570-1080 BC) were interred in the parched Valley of the Kings, near Luxor and the Nile River in Egypt.

The individual royal tombs were chiseled deep into steep, solid-rock slopes and, after the burial ceremonies, "permanently" sealed.

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Valley of the Kings
tips & insights

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Tomb robbers

It didn't take tomb robbers long to pilfer the buried treasures that the mummified pharaohs were supposed to take on their voyage to the next world.

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King Tut’s tomb

The ancient robbers somehow missed the tomb of the then insignificant pharaoh Tutankhamun (popularly known today as King Tut).

It lay undisturbed in the Valley of the Kings for over 3,000 years until British Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered it in 1922.

Most of the found treasures are now on exhibit in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

However, the burial chamber (see photo) still contains King Tut's mummy encased in his outermost coffin inside the stone sarcophagus.

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Decorative tombs

Archaeologists have retrieved few treasures made of gold and precious stones elsewhere in the Valley of the Kings, but many captivating paintings and hieroglyphics on the tomb walls survive.

Of all of them, I found the tomb of Seti I to be the most marvelous.

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Chocolate Hills

Why the
Chocolate Hills
are special

Over a thousand tall, natural conical domes dot the landscape in the center of the island of Bohol. Most of the Chocolate Hills soar 30 to 50 meters (100 to 160 feet). The tallest measures 130 meters (430 feet). During the dry season, the grass blanketing these formations turns brown, giving the hillocks the appearance of gargantuan Chocolate Kiss candies.

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Chocolate Hills
tips & insights

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Two popular legends

One tells us that the Chocolate Hills are the stones and sand that two fighting giants hurled at each other. The other says they are the teardrops shed by a giant for his beloved mortal who passed away.

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How were they formed?

No one knows for certain. Geologists have different theories, but most agree that the formations are the wind-and-rain weathered remnants of an uplifted ancient limestone seafloor.

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Unique?

They are rare, but not unique. Similar mounds exist elsewhere, notably in Indonesia. However, the Chocolate Hills are by far the most symmetrical and spectacular in the world.

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Mayon Volcano

Why the
Mayon Volcano
is special

Mayon Volcano has a near-perfect cone shape, endowing it with symmetrical beauty. You can see all of its grandeur, from base to summit, because it sits alone above a vast sloping plane.

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Mayon Volcano
tips & insights

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Mayon Volcano is still active

Almost 50 other eruptions occurred over the past 400 years. That’s an average of one every eight years. The last eruption happened in August 2006.

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Most deadly eruption

It happened in 1814. Over 1,200 people perished. Most of them took refuge in the church in Cagsawa. Unfortunately, lava and mud flows plus airborne ash and rock fragments buried the church. Today, only the church’s reclaimed bell tower bears physical testimony to the resulting tragedy. It is now a popular travel attraction.

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Near-perfect shape

But Mayon is not the world’s only near-perfect cone volcano. Other famous ones include Mount Fuji in Japan and Osomo in the Argentine-Chilean Lake District.

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Photo op

The church bell tower offers a striking photo opportunity: The Mayon Volcano flanked by the lonely historic tower poking out of the ground.

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Colosseum of Rome

Why the
Colosseum of Rome
is special

The Colosseum of Rome is truly colossal - it stands 50 meters (165 feet) high and measures 185 meters (600 feet) long. It was large enough to hold 50,000 roaring spectators when it was inaugurated in 80 AD.

Today, it is one of the most dramatic, historic and recognized archaeological monuments on earth.

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Colosseum of Rome
tips & insights

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About my
animated picture

The picture on the upper right depicts the wonder in its youth. I drew and superimposed its awning over the Caen model. This illustrates how the Colosseum of Rome appeared when its massive awning was temporarily mounted to shield spectators on raining and hot sunny days.

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Condition of today's
Colosseum of Rome

The wonder is in a partially ruined state, but it is in remarkable condition when you consider it was built nearly 2000 years ago.

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Why the
Colosseum was built

The Flavian Roman emperors built the Colosseum of Rome for entertaining their subjects (and to distract their minds from the woes of the time).

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Crowd pleasers

There were bloody contests pitting gladiators against gladiators - and against wild beasts. Even naval battles were staged in the Colosseum of Rome (the arena's floor was flooded for those events. Non-martial events were staged, too, including lavish theatrical productions and tamed animal acts.

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Popular
misconceptions

Hollywood movies reinforced some widespread false impressions about the Colosseum of Rome.

Wholesale martyring
Historians doubt that the wholesale martyring of Christians occurred there.

Lions
And, the image of lions eating the Christians before cheering crowds is likely fantasy.

Thumbs down
Films have also bolstered the myth that thumbs down meant to kill the person in the arena. It was just the opposite in Roman times. Thumbs up signaled "kill him" and thumbs down, "spare him."

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Which spelling is correct:
Colosseum?  Coliseum?  Colloseum?

All three are all correct. However, the first two spellings are more widely used.

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