Carlo Sarion Profile
My enthusiasm for UNESCO World Heritage Sites is rooted in my love for travel, geography, cultures, and conservation. I am originally from the Philippines but now live in New Zealand. I trained as a biologist, dabbled in human resources, and now works in policy.
Recent Reviews Carlo Sarion
Bahá'í House of Worship at New Delhi (T)
Carlo Sarion Philippines | New Zealand - 21-Jan-24
Despite having flu that was worsened by the awful smog, I decided to visit the Lotus Temple on the morning of our last day in Delhi in December 2023. I was pretty sure I was gonna regret it if I didn’t visit the site since it was close to our hotel (we were staying in Friend's Colony). My visit turned out to be quite wonderful, contrary to what Ralf had unfortunately experienced. Some notes about my visit:
1. The Information Centre - the centre is at the opposite end of the walkway leading to the temple. It contains heaps of information about the Baha'i faith: its origin, contemporary history, basic teachings and philosophy, religious sites around the world, social work, and community service projects
Read OnHumayun's Tomb
Carlo Sarion Philippines | New Zealand - 08-Jan-24
My visit to Delhi in Dec 2023 was part of my mission of retracing my steps back in 2013, when I first travelled to India and missed visiting Humayun's Tomb and Qutb Minar. That was the time when I didn't care much about UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and my travel companion had a set itinerary I didn't want to deviate from. This time, I made sure that I would visit these sites.
The inscribed property refers to a complex comprising one main tomb (Humayun's tomb itself) and several other smaller tombs. Note that this complex of tombs is just one of the many tombs that are scattered across Nizamuddin neighbourhood and the greater Delhi. As a friend would call it, Delhi is both a metropolis and a massive graveyard.
Read OnElephanta Caves
Carlo Sarion Philippines | New Zealand - 04-Jan-24
The previous reviews pretty much described what to expect from a visit to the Elephanta Caves, a collection of rock-cut cave temples dedicated to Shiva. Here are some observations and updated info from my visit to the island in January 2024.
1. Logistics - getting to the caves remains the same: you get on a ferry from the Gate of India, sail for about an hour, catch the toy train upon arrival, walk uphill and dodge eager vendors, and pay the entrance tickets. Unless I missed it, there didn't seem to be an option for "luxury" ferry anymore, as everyone got one type of ticket at INR 260 return, with an option to pay extra INR 10 for a seat on the upper deck. I took the toy train (INR 18) and paid INR 5 for the local tax (or 'village' entry fee). I also decided not to buy a guide booklet being sold for INR 180 as I've had internet connection and knew that there would be info panels at the caves
Read OnSites of Saytagrah, India's non-violent freedom movement (T)
Carlo Sarion Philippines | New Zealand - 01-Jan-24
First TWHS review of 2024? If so, yay! :D
I did not give much attention to this TWHS simply because it was overshadowed by all other outstanding WHS and TWHS in my itinerary. Yes, a UNESCO WHS is not about superlatives, grandness, or exceptional experiences, but it is natural for us to set aside those that are not as flashy. However, this serial nomination represents an important part of modern Indian history and a movement/ideology/philosophy founded by Mohandas Gandhi--the satyagraha. During my visit to Ahmedabad and India post-Christmas December 2023, I spent some time exploring the following four properties listed in this serial nomination.
Read OnAhmadabad
Carlo Sarion Philippines | New Zealand - 30-Dec-23
Immediately after visiting the dusty cities that make up the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur), arriving in Ahmedabad seemed to be a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively. Yes, the classic mayhem and modern urban problems typical of Indian cities are all present in Ahmedabad. However, its RELATIVELY cleaner air, a well-maintained airport, gentrified riverfront, and less touristy feel made the city a rather nice place to travel to. Such observation is quite contrary to previous reviews, but a lot has happened since—according to a hotel staff I talked to, there has been a rapid development in Ahmedabad in the past several years, and he felt this beginning in 2022. The gentrification was of course limited to certain parts of the city, but somehow it worked
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Carlo Sarion
- Country
- Philippines | New Zealand
- Most Impressive
- Quite a few: Namib Sand Sea, Cappadocia, Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, Ancient Thebes, Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur, and Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand, Machu Picchu, Iguazu Falls
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 20.05.24
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Visited WHS
Rating StatsAngkor 5Bagan 5Ephesus 5Iguacu 5Istanbul 5Borobudur 4.5Chichen-Itza 4.5Cuzco 4.5Fraser Island 4.5Great Wall 4.5Gunung Mulu 4.5St. Petersburg 4.5Teotihuacan 4.5Brasilia 4Fujisan 4Québec 4Anuradhapura 3.5Arequipa 3.5Guanajuato 3.5Hoi An 3.5Ping Yao 3.5Prambanan 3.5Rani-ki-Vav 3.5Rio de Janeiro 3.5Sigiriya 3.5Sukhothai 3.5Trang An 3.5Vigan 3.5Yazd 3.5Bolgar 3Kandy 3Lima 3Nikko 3Puebla 3Red Fort 3Vat Phou 3Ahmadabad 2.5Baroque Churches 2.5Camino Real 2.5Golestan Palace 2.5Grand Canal 2.5Hué 2.5Imperial Tombs 2.5Kazan Kremlin 2.5Kinabalu Park 2.5Meknes 2.5My Son 2.5Pasargadae 2.5Rabat 2.5Rideau Canal 2.5Sviyazhsk 2.5Tequila 2.5Chavin 2Pampulha 2Macao 1.5Thang Long 1.5Reviewed WHS
Visited TWHS
- Archaeological site of Laodikeia (T)
- Auckland Volcanic Fields (T)
- Bahá'í House of Worship at New Delhi (T)
- Brazilian Fortresses Ensemble (T)
- Chapultepec Woods, Hill and Castle (T)
- Chocolate Hills Natural Monument (T)
- City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (T)
- Colonial Urban Plan and Fortifications of the Walled City of Manila (T)
- Corregidor Island and Historic Fortifications of Manila Bay (T)
- Delhi - A Heritage City (T)
- Desert National Park (T)
- Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's Home-Study Museum (T)
- Egyptian Museum in Cairo (T)
- El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area (T)
- Etosha Pan (T)
- Former M-13 prison/ Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (former S-21)/ Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre (former Execution Site of S-21) (T)
- Great Sandy World Heritage Area (T)
- Hikone-Jo (castle) (T)
- Human Rights, Liberation Struggle and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites (T)
- Inle Lake (T)
- Jame' (Congregational) Mosque of Esfahan (T)
- Kahurangi National Park, Farewell Spit and Canaan karst system (T)
- Monuments, Sites and Cultural Landscape of Chiang Mai, Capital of Lanna (T)
- Mt. Pulag National Park (T)
- Napier Art Deco historic precinct (T)
- Nasqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab (T)
- Palais de la Culture, ancien siège du Ministere de l'Education et de la Santé, Rio de Janeiro (T)
- Persepolis and other relevant buildings (T)
- Rural Temples of Cusco (T)
- Salt Mines of Maras (T)
- Shwedagon Pagoda on Singuttara Hill (T)
- Sites along the Uttarapath, Badshahi Sadak, Sadak-e-Azam, Grand Trunk Road (T)
- Sites of Saytagrah (T)
- Sun Temple, Modhera and its adjoining monuments (T)
- That Luang de Vientiane (T)
- The Central Axis of Beijing (including Beihai) (T)
- The Lijiang River Scenic Zone at Guilin (T)
- The Padang Civic Ensemble (T)
- Vali-e Asr Street (T)
- Waitangi Treaty Grounds (T)
- Waters and seabed of Fiordland (Te Moana O Atawhenua) (T)
Reviewed TWHS
- Bahá'í House of Worship at New Delhi (T)
- Sites of Saytagrah, India's non-violent freedom movement (T)
- Salt Mines of Maras (T)
- Rural Temples of Cusco (T)
- Waitangi Treaty Grounds historic precinct (T)
- Palais de la Culture, Rio de Janeiro (T)
- Napier Art Deco historic precinct (T)
- Archaeological site of Laodikeia (T)