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Recent Reviews GabLabCebu


Lake Titicaca (T)

GabLabCebu Philippines - 01-Apr-21

Lake Titicaca (T)

I visited Lake Titicaca in April 2016, crossing from the Bolivian side into Peru one afternoon, then visiting the Uros Floating Islands the next morning before leaving. While the experience was admittedly brief, I can say that I was able to experience, and therefore compare, both sides of the lake (wrote a review on Bolivian side a while back, kinda cringe but y'all can check it to see my complete opinion anyway). While I agree that the Bolivian side, with the Islas del Sol y de la Luna, packed more of the authentic cultural-heritage-site punch, along with an overall more pristine environment, I can't really see the two sides as separate. Naturally, they form a single lake, one of the most pristine for its size, simply separated by arbitrary political boundaries

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Ancient Thebes

GabLabCebu Philippines - 25-Apr-20

Ancient Thebes

WHS#61

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Ancient Thebes is one of the most underrated WHS out there. I don't think it gets quite the reputation it deserves, among both tourists and more in-depth travellers, for I dont know, maybe housing not just one, but multiple world-class wonders? For being the peak of Ancient Egyptian history, culture, and art? For being one of the most influential cities in world history? In Egypt alone, Cairo and Giza get almost all the attention, while more in-depth travellers might prefer the more peaceful Aswan and far-away Abu Simbel, but Luxor is in the middle of it all, and I don't think enough people realize that. And it's not only the best of both worlds, it's the best in its own right

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Cuzco

GabLabCebu Philippines - 18-Apr-20

Cuzco

WHS#27

Cuzco is like the most quintessentially South American city, and yet, there's no other quite like it. It's truly an amalgamation and conglomeration of indigenous and colonial cultures; amalgamation because all these aspects have formed a single fused culture of today's Cuzco, but also a conglomeration in that each specific origin is distinguishable and provides interesting contrasts to the experience of visiting here. It's got this historic core made up of several neighborhoods of colonial architecture with some traces of the precolonial Inca city, surrounded by the modern city of Cuzco

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Sucre

GabLabCebu Philippines - 15-Apr-20

Sucre

WHS#26

I visited Sucre on my trip to South America in April 2016. I did basically use Sucre as a jump-off point to see sites like Cal Orcko, Potosi, and the Salar de Uyuni. In the end, Sucre kind of fell into the background for me. It's definitely a very pleasant city, one of many great colonial cities in Latin America, but nothing about Sucre really stood out for me. The "White City" (cue my white city syndrome) just didn't impress me, nor was it any prettier than some of the other colonial cities I had visited on the trip. I had just come from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, which wasn't much less pleasant than Sucre, aside from the weather. But before this turns into a ramble, let's discuss the actual experience I had, which wasn't half as bad as it might be looking now.

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Rio de Janeiro

GabLabCebu Philippines - 12-Apr-20

Rio de Janeiro

WHS#25

Oh, Rio...

I don't really know what to make of this WHS. Now don't get me wrong, I love Rio de Janeiro as much as anyone else. Yes, my visit, like my entire visit to Brazil, was a bit too short to soak everything in, so the experience would've definitely benefited from a longer stay. But I really truly don't understand the OUV of a cultural site like this. Cultural landscapes are one thing; iconic landscapes are another. I feel like Rio's natural landmarks fall under the latter more than the former, and to me, that makes for a weak, if not nonexistent, OUV. Sure, every iconic place is iconic for a reason, but not all of these reasons may be a reason to become a WHS. Niagara is a pretty iconic waterfall, but it sure doesn't hold the natural values that Iguazu or Victoria Falls do

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Profile Data

Name
GabLabCebu
Country
Philippines
Most Impressive
Te Wahipounamu, Ancient Thebes
Proposal
Baroque Churches of Southern Cebu, Dalaguete Range and Chocolate Hills Karst Landscapes of the Visayas, Kitanglad Mountain Range of Bukidnon, San Sebastian Church in Manila