Zoë Sheng Profile
I'm Zoë. I'm originally from Edmonton, Canada and then moved to Vancouver Island although spent lots of time in China where family members still reside. I also spent a few years at boarding school in England where my trips started when my parents took me around the coastal paths and what later turned out to be world heritage sites which are considered my first "ticks". Since then I traveled a lot, studied part-time in Auckland, and my "skills" of efficiency and organized planning helps a lot - meaning that old towns tend to get an overnight stay to easily explore them while churches, tombs or cemeteries that only take an hour tops to visit are really just scheduled for a quick visit. I do sometimes regret not visiting a place longer but revisits are not out of the question. However, as I don't drink alcohol, party or require fancy nights out on the town it shortens activities in places too (if you enjoy doing this then I'm happy for you just don't wonder why I get stuff done quicker). I also scuba dive frequently which I love the most in the world though I'm not a tec-diving nerd and keep it simple. No deco diving for me unless it's a special wreck.
Personally I'm very private. I ditched Facebook over a decade ago, Instagram I only lasted for a few months and even Whatsapp I tend to mainly use for staying in touch, contacting hotels and tour guides. I'm not anti-social and usually travel in a small group if it works out, although I do enjoy solo traveling more because nobody will screw up my planning. Anyone tagging along will know "it's her way or no way". I have met two people from our community although they didn't noticed it was me at the time. I also do not know the name of one of them but maybe I'll find out eventually. I also almost ran into the Aussie couple and their dog but I was stuck in the Peruvian mountains while they were partying (joke, or assumption?!) in Cuzco.
Since 2023 I started slowing down world heritage specific traveling mainly because I have just seen so many and so much already. I'd rather spend the time with friends and my marine buddies the sharks and dolphins than seek out a mediocre church or wine county, plus the list keeps growing with lackluster titles that hardly excite me, not that I try tick off tentative sites as I can anyway but outliers and crappy stuff far away from civilization isn't going to be fun to visit. At the time of writing I still need to visit 160 sites which doesn't seem like a lot but a few are impossible to visit, some require lengthy trips (30 days for one, two weeks for a few others) and can cost a huge sum of money. There are also those warring states that are currently off-limits (+Venezuela for security/embargo reasons). Having visited 150 UN listes countries these are still left with sites:
Afghanistan
Angola
Benin
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Congo, DR
Congo, Republic
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Ghana
Guinea
Haiti
Ivory Coast
Kiribati
Kyrgyzstan
Libya
Madagascar
Mali
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Niger
Nigeria
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Sudan
Syria
Togo
Turkmenistan
Venezuela
Yemen
For the rest of sites in countries I have been already:
- Heard and McDonald Island - requires lengthy boat tour
- Macquarie Island - cruise $$$
- Khinalig, Azerbaijan - wasn't even tentative I think and it's quite far off the beaten track, next time I visit Azerbaijan it shall be done
- Okavango Delta - didn't want to cram this as a 1½ day drive-by on my last Botswana trip; worth a lengthy visit for sure
- Peninsula Valdez, thought hard about adding it int my Argentina trip but early February just wasn't good enough to guarantee Right whales and orcas and September just seems better to splurge the money
- Brazil - trip upcoming so I'll update this soon
- French Austral Lands and Seas - well, that's the one you join a ~30 day cargo ship trip that will visit it along the way, "fun"
- Zagori Cultural Landscape, Greece - I drove through this, or past this, but I can't really count it I think. I also don't mind visiting Greece again. For now Europe stays incomplete
- Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve, Honduras - One could tick this by taking a boat around the coast to one of the villages inside the park but visiting this properly isn't easily accomplished - I don't think visiting the villages will give an insight into the heritage of the biosphere reserve at all
- India - quite a few places but I feel I've already seen the best so I'm not urging myself to go back. Actually had a plan to tick all off in 2023 but the trip fell through and India keeps adding tentative sites so I can make the trip more worthwhile in the future
- Jordan - my first trip was the main things and rest, probably "meh", would need another trip.
- Mongolia - a few sites and a couple of these are HARD to visit as they are in the middle of nowhere.
- Sub-Antarctic Islands, NZ - cruise
- Te Wahipounamu, NZ south island - technically have been there but I want to hike for a week+ to count this visit
- Russia is currently off-limits to me personally
- Aldabra Atoll used to have a $$$ cruise but I think Covid killed it (literally) so the only way to visit is taking the cruise from Zanzibar that stops there on the way. Not super expensive and seeing that you get a cruise it's a nice vacay - if you are into that. Having already done Zanzibar and the Seychelles doesn't help me but maybe fun in a small group
- Tajik National Park (& Tugay Forests) require a lengthy road trip best done by car from Osh - however, for the last few years the countries haven't seen eye to eye so they won't let rental cars from Kyrgyzstan cross over thus one would have to go from Dushanbe and that's a hefty additional mileage!
- Gough and Inaccessible Islands - named "inaccessible" with reason
- Henderson Island - you need special permission to visit although joining a charter trip would include it; however, they are rare and $$$
- Tauric Chersonese - well, Crimea is now in "Russian" territory and not sure I'm even allowed to visit
- Zimbabwe I have only visited Victoria Falls but definitely interested in exploring the rest!
Recent Reviews Zoë Sheng
Kilifi Caves (Panga Ya Saidi, Mawe Meru and Chasimba Caves) (T)
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 18-Jan-24
I visited all three components although Mawe Meru appears to be just the black rocks on top of Chasimba Caves which is even marked so on the map. Also I don't see ANY cave. Maybe 70,000 years ago this was a cave system and has now been eroded to just have rocks. Both cave sites are taken care of by the local family (unofficially?) and they'll be happy to take you on a small tour. By tour it means you walk over sharp karst and maybe fall if you aren't careful - honestly this is so not recommended to visit. My advice is to save you some money (not that it cost a lot to tip them) and just take a picture of the wall rock as you drive past it
Read OnLe parc national de la Kibira (T)
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 18-Jan-24
A natural extension to Rwanda’s Nyungwe NP, boasting the same floral and fauna. That park has already got a great review so I won't bump it down with my scribblings. Instead I can focus on the Burundi side which is easier to reach than the loooong drive from Kigali.
I dropped my bag off in town and took a bus from COTEBU market to Bugarama. It's a single road so you can't do much wrong. Just ask the drivers for Bugarama and they'll advice you. My empty bus departed soon and took 90 minutes, costing me 10k francs
Read OnThe Historic Town of Gedi (T)
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 19-Jan-24
Gedi is to be nominated very soon and I wouldn't be surprised if it slides through even though the visitor centers are all "Kenyan style" half built and then left forgotten. It can do without so just seeing the ruins is enough.
You arrive at the main gate where you can pick 3 tickets. If you are into snakes and butterflies stolen from the nearby forest then be my guest. They also guilt you into thinking you are supporting the local community this way. What you could do it hire a guide for the Gedi ruins alone. I chose not to because Gedi is like Angkor Wat and you explore overgrown ruins on your own. Zoe Croft was not going to miss out on this one!! (Don't want a sidekick for that!)
Read OnTombs of Buganda Kings
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 18-Jan-24
As of 2024 the main building is still under renovation. You arrive in the busy area of Kampala to be taken to a mandatory guide who explains mostly well until you get to the main building. I wasn't really impressed and I find 4 generations of kings hardly an impressive feat in the world. It is mildly interesting to hear how cultures works around here but no way would I recommend it. In fact after the first building, the drum building and the view from the large center one is taken around graveyards and SLUMS that are actually housing of the king's wives
Read OnRwenzori Mountains
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 16-Jan-24
I can't add much new to this site. I did even less hiking than Els doing only 4.75km to the first camp and then back to the main gate. It is easy to add this to any itinerary but not usually offered by your agencies by default as they don't expect tourists wanting to visit. The road from Kasese is long and rough though. You won't experience anything special on your hike as the exclusive flora is deep in the range which means a 7 day trek is required. It's mainly done by hardcore trekkers. The camps will be cold, no shower, tough hiking if it's raining. The best part of my journey was the scenery around me. Surrounded by lush forest butterflies, birds, a monkey here and there is good, but the peaks in the near distance make you believe this is Jurassic Park. No road, people in sight
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Zoë Sheng
- Country
- Chinese-Canadian
- Most Impressive
- Abu Simbel, Ilulissat Icefjord, Cocos Island
- Proposal
- Mariana Trench
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 09.02.24
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Visited WHS
Rating StatsAngkor 5Calakmul 5Florence 5Petra 5Potosi 5Rapa Nui 5Rome 5Dolomites 4.5Dubrovnik 4.5Ephesus 4.5Everglades 4.5Giant's Causeway 4.5Granada 4.5Great Wall 4.5Göreme NP 4.5Huanglong 4.5Nemrut Dag 4.5Shirakami-Sanchi 4.5Sintra 4.5Teotihuacan 4.5Tugendhat Villa 4.5Victoria Falls 4.5Ani 4Baalbek 4Bagan 4Brugge 4Budapest 4Cordoba 4Cuzco 4Fujisan 4Hegra 4Istanbul 4Kotor 4L'viv 4Le Morne 4Matera 4Meteora 4Paphos 4Pergamon 4Prague 4Red Fort 4Redwood 4Sanchi 4Segovia 4Seville 4Timgad 4Uluru 4Verona 4Aachen Cathedral 3.5Agra Fort 3.5Alto Douro 3.5Ashur 3.5Avignon 3.5Ayutthaya 3.5Bordeaux 3.5Brú na Bóinne 3.5Butrint 3.5Chichen-Itza 3.5Copán 3.5Delos 3.5Djémila 3.5Dong Phayayen 3.5Ferrara 3.5Fontainebleau 3.5Garajonay 3.5Golestan Palace 3.5Gordion 3.5Haeinsa Temple 3.5Hiraizumi 3.5Hué 3.5Imperial Palace 3.5Jeju 3.5Kinabalu Park 3.5Koguryo Kingdom 3.5Koh Ker 3.5Las Medulas 3.5Longmen Grottoes 3.5Masada 3.5Medina of Sousse 3.5Mistaken Point 3.5Mogao Caves 3.5Mount Etna 3.5Mount Hamiguitan 3.5Mérida 3.5Nikko 3.5Pico Island 3.5Pimachiowin Aki 3.5Potala Palace 3.5Québec 3.5Ravenna 3.5Rhodes 3.5Rideau Canal 3.5Samarkand 3.5Shark Bay 3.5Siena 3.5Skocjan Caves 3.5St. Kilda 3.5Sucre 3.5Tadrart Acacus 3.5Tassili n'Ajjer 3.5Taxila 3.5Telc 3.5Thingvellir 3.5Tubbataha Reefs 3.5Uxmal 3.5Vall de Boi 3.5Valletta 3.5Vienna 3.5Volubilis 3.5Wadi Rum 3.5Warsaw 3.5Westminster 3.5Albi 3Arequipa 3Assisi 3Avila 3Babylon 3Bamberg 3Belem 3Belfries 3Bisotun 3Bryggen 3Corfu 3El Tajin 3Elvas 3Hampi 3Hattusha 3Hoi An 3Ivrea 3Kerkuane 3Kujataa 3Malpelo 3Morelia 3My Son 3Mystras 3Odesa 3Olympia 3Oporto 3Orange 3Pienza 3Pompei 3Puebla 3Quanzhou 3Riga 3Saryarka 3Si Thep 3Sigiriya 3Split 3Tallinn 3Tanbaly 3Tarraco 3Toledo 3Urbino 3Vat Phou 3Vegaøyan 3Vilnius 3Yazd 3Ajanta Caves 2.5Anticosti 2.5Anuradhapura 2.5Banska Stiavnica 2.5Blenheim Palace 2.5Boyana Church 2.5Byblos 2.5Carlsbad Caverns 2.5Castel del Monte 2.5Chaîne des Puys 2.5Cuenca 2.5Curonian Spit 2.5Diamantina 2.5Fujian Tulou 2.5Gelati Monastery 2.5Grand Pré 2.5Hatra 2.5Hollókö 2.5Ironbridge Gorge 2.5Kairouan 2.5Karlskrona 2.5Kathmandu Valley 2.5Koguryo Tombs 2.5Kulangsu 2.5Lake Turkana 2.5Luang Prabang 2.5Lut Desert 2.5Lyon 2.5Lübeck 2.5M'Zab Valley 2.5Mafra 2.5Mahabalipuram 2.5Medina Azahara 2.5Medina of Fez 2.5Mount Taishan 2.5Mount Wutai 2.5Mtskheta 2.5Nan Madol 2.5Nancy 2.5Naples 2.5Neolithic Orkney 2.5Nessebar 2.5Nesvizh 2.5New Lanark 2.5Nice 2.5Old City of Acre 2.5Old Rauma 2.5Palenque 2.5Pattadakal 2.5Persian Garden 2.5Ping Yao 2.5Potsdam 2.5Qinghai Hoh Xil 2.5Querétaro 2.5Quito 2.5Reims 2.5Risco Caido 2.5Rohtas Fort 2.5Røros 2.5Salamanca 2.5Salzburg 2.5Shakhrisyabz 2.5Sian Ka'an 2.5Syracuse 2.5Takht-i-Bahi 2.5Taputapuātea 2.5Tiwanaku 2.5Torun 2.5Trang An 2.5Visby 2.5Vlkolinec 2.5Willemstad 2.5Yogyakarta 2.5Çatalhöyük 2.5Úbeda and Baeza 2.5Al Ain 2Anjar 2Aquileia 2Aranjuez 2Arles 2Bagerhat 2Bukhara 2Caceres 2Camagüey 2Carthage 2Corvey 2Dengfeng 2Divrigi 2Evora 2Genoa 2Goias 2Graz 2Kandy 2Kondoa 2Kraków 2Kuldiga 2Le Havre 2Lima 2Macao 2Meknes 2Modena 2Mostar 2Paquimé 2Pearling 2Provins 2Quirigua 2Samarra 2Shushtar 2Susa 2Tipasa 2Trebic 2Trier 2Trogir 2Troy 2Tyre 2Vigan 2Vézelay 2Zamość 2Ancient Jericho 1.5Arslantepe Mound 1.5Bahla Fort 1.5Ban Chiang 1.5Burgundy 1.5Campeche 1.5Centennial Hall 1.5Chaco Culture 1.5Champagne 1.5Chavin 1.5Cienfuegos 1.5ESMA Site Museum 1.5Erbil Citadel 1.5Gammelstad 1.5Gonbad-e Qâbus 1.5Historic Jeddah 1.5Holasovice 1.5Hopewell 1.5Ibiza 1.5Imperial Tombs 1.5Island of Patmos 1.5Jelling 1.5Jodensavanne 1.5Kaesong 1.5Kernavė 1.5Lake District 1.5Levuka 1.5León Cathedral 1.5Maymand 1.5Nalanda 1.5Namhansanseong 1.5Orkhon Valley 1.5Panamá 1.5Quedlinburg 1.5Rabat 1.5Robben Island 1.5Rock Art of Alta 1.5Saltaire 1.5Sarazm 1.5ShUM Sites 1.5Sheki 1.5Stećci 1.5Surtsey 1.5Tabriz Bazaar 1.5Tsodilo 1.5Wudang Mountains 1.5Zacatecas 1.5Zollverein 1.5Gyeongju 1Mazagan 1Qalhat 1Tequila 1Aapravasi Ghat 0.5Abu Mena 0.5Al-Ahsa Oasis 0.5Battir 0.5Beemster Polder 0.5Djerba 0.5Hortobágy 0.5Kuk 0.5Lumbini 0.5Luther Memorials 0.5Mir Castle 0.5Peking Man Site 0.5Sammallahdenmäki 0.5Schokland 0.5Stari Grad Plain 0.5Taos Pueblo 0.5Valongo Wharf 0.5Valparaiso 0.5Yin Xu 0.5Reviewed WHS
- Tombs of Buganda Kings
- Rwenzori Mountains
- Fort Jesus
- Lamu Old Town
- Noel Kempff Mercado National Park
- Jodrell Bank Observatory
- Studley Royal Park
- Kondoa
- 'Uruq Bani Ma'arid
- Cold winter deserts of Turan
- Nahanni National Park
- SGang Gwaay
- Selous Game Reserve
- Stone Town of Zanzibar
- Ogasawara Islands
- Chitwan National Park
- Lorentz National Park
- Jodensavanne
- Maloti-Drakensberg Park
- Auschwitz Birkenau
- Hani Rice Terraces
- Walled City of Baku
- Los Katios National Park
- Tipasa
- Echmiatsin and Zvartnots
- Shiretoko
- Old Town of Lijiang
- Island of Mozambique
- Tubbataha Reefs
- Sítio Roberto Burle Marx
- Malpelo
- Caves of Maresha and Bet Guvrin
- Sarazm
- Cocos Island
- Central Amazon Conservation Complex
- Tadrart Acacus
- Carthage
- Dougga/Thugga
- Masada
- Djerba
- Tassili n'Ajjer
- M'Zab Valley
- Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad
- Ani
- Gordion
- Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia
- Arslantepe Mound
- Shark Bay
- Richtersveld
- Chongoni Rock Art
- Margravial Opera House
- Ningaloo Coast
- Silk Roads Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor
- Xinjiang Tianshan
- Stoclet House
- Quanzhou
- Willemstad
- Tak'alik Ab'aj
- Belize Barrier Reef
- Ruins of León Viejo
- Coiba National Park
- Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda
- Teotihuacan
- Archipiélago de Revillagigedo
- Chan Chan
- Sucre
- Odesa
- Tierradentro
- Eisinga Planetarium
- Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works
- ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape
- Talayotic Menorca
- Kakadu National Park
- Taxila
- Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China [Phase II]
- Himā Cultural area
- Northern Martinique
- Cordouan Lighthouse
- Chiribiquete National Park
- Vegaøyan
- Antigua Naval Dockyard
- Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple
- Mistaken Point
- Pimachiowin Aki
- Aasivissuit - Nipisat
- Ilulissat Icefjord
- Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands
- Paris, Banks of the Seine
- Funerary and memory sites of the First World War
- Fagus Factory
- Mount Wutai
- Lumbini
- Hegra
- Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine
- Koguryo Kingdom
- Safi al-Din Ensemble in Ardabil
- Susa
- Robben Island
- Fossil Hominid Sites
- Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains
- Hyrcanian Forests
- Takht-e Soleyman
- Ancient Thebes
- Lake Malawi
- Gonbad-e Qâbus
- Trans-Iranian Railway
- Abu Mena
- Maymand
- Pasargadae
- Qinghai Hoh Xil
- Rock Art in the Hail Region
- Qalhat
- Champaner-Pavagadh
- Persian Caravanserai
- Petra
- Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River
- Xidi and Hongcun
- Al-Ahsa Oasis
- Khangchendzonga National Park
- Nalanda
- Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
- Chengjiang Fossil Site
- Alto Douro
- Hubei Shennongjia
- Struve Geodetic Arc
- Plain of Jars
- Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art
- Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region
- Chief Roi Mata's Domain
- Tr’ondëk-Klondike
- Gunung Mulu
- Liangzhu Archaeological Site
- Sigiriya
- Phong Nha - Ke Bang
- Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution
- First Coffee Plantations
- Yakushima
- Wood Buffalo National Park
- Danube Limes
- Papahanaumokuakea
- Mount Hamiguitan
- Gaya Tumuli
- Medina Azahara
- Amami-Oshima Island
- Kladruby nad Labem
- Žatec – Landscape of Hops
- Fanjingshan
- Okinoshima Island
- Mount Wuyi
Visited TWHS
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