The World's Top 100 Wonders

[ncr]

(www.hillmanwonders.com)

So how many of them have you seen? I scored a 15 (11 in Europe, 3 in Asia, 1 in America). I am sure somebody will be able to beat me? Come on, post your numbers!

Sometimes it is a bit ironic...... You have been so close, but not quite there. For example, I am from Germany (though not Bavaria), but have never visited Neuschwanstein Castle. I have been to Paris, but not to the Louvre. I have been to Italy many times, but I can only count in Venice, not Florence or Rome (and Rome alone, if you include the Vatican, has three top 100 attractions). Then, on the other hand, sometimes you sort of picked something up in passing (like in my case: "Oh, the Chartres Cathedral is also on the list? The Old Town of Prague? Cool. Delphi? Yes, I have been there....", and so on.)

Anyway, I guess all of us here have at least seen attraction no. 47 (Wat Phra Kaeo).........

[sabaisabai]

I can see what you mean about the places you've *almost* bean to. The closest for me would have to be The Loevre. I had one day to visit it, and I only found out what I got there that it's closed on Tuesdays! (If I remember correctly)

I've seen eleven on the list:
Bali
Angkor Wat
Hong Kong harbour
Emerald Buddha
Uffizi Gallery
Florence
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Petronas Towers
Eiffel Tower
Yangtze River cruise
Ayers Rock

[Pas]

Those places are interesting indeed. I've only been to Six of those wonders :P

The Lourve
Temple of Emerald Buddha
Metropolitan Museum
New York Skyline
Eiffel Tower
British Museum

Pity I haven't even been to Angkor Wat or Schwedagong Pagoda... some of the world's treasure right next to our doorstep.

I'd also recommend a book called "Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0563487461/026-9347135-5222845)"
They have those places mentioned in the website and some very nice photos.. ;)

[Hitesh]

Ive seen 8, thats more than what I thought I had seen.

2. Great Wall of China
3. Taj Mahal
15. Forbidden City
36. Hong Kong Harbour / Cityscape
47. Temple of the Emerald Buddha
52. Golden Temple
81. Petronas Twin Towers
89. Burj al Arab

[ncr]

Thanks for your feedback!

To make the lists complete, here is mine:


Angkor Wat
Acropolis & Parthenon
Canals of Venice
Temple of the Emerald Buddha
Prague Old Town
Chartres Cathedral
Delphi
St. Basil's Cathedral (Moscow)
St. Mark's Basilica/Campanile (Venice)
Kremlin
Mont-St-Michel
Petronas Twin Towers (been up to the Sky Bridge... :) )
Matterhorn
Eiffel Tower
San Francisco Bay/Cityscape

[jpatokal]

36. Does this get me an extra ranking as an Air Asia pilot or something? :D A few are a bit iffy tho, eg. I've seen Everest only from a plane window (although I have been to Nepal) and while I know I've been to San Fransisco, I can't remember a thing because I was 4 years old.

Still a lot more left to go, it seems...

[ttaaee]

3 is my magic number...

- Temple of Emerald Buddha (quite a few times and feel the urge of pride every time) :cool:
- Yosemite National Park (spent only 2 hours in it... Does it count?) :confused:
- San Francisco Bay/Cityscape (been in there for 4 years and loved it) ;)

[admin]

i'm at 14

would have been 15, but when i was in kyoto i missed the golden temple...

[The Enforcer!]

I am at only 13 but some I do nor really consider as wonders!

However when I was 10 I made a list of the ten things I wanted to see in my life and completed the list in 1996 ....29 years later!!

1. Mount Everest
2. The statue of Jesus Christ in Rio
3. Taj Mahal
4. Krakatoa
5. Geneva Geyser
6. Mona Lisa
7. Grand Palace (Siam)
8. Matterhorn
9. Iceland
10. One Eyed Idol in Kathmandu

The Enforcer!

[ncr]

Something in the same vein: create a map of all the countries you have visited (http://www.world66.com/myworld66) and print it, send it to your friends, put it on your website, or just save it for your pleasure.

[The Enforcer!]

Something in the same vein: create a map of all the countries you have visited (http://www.world66.com/myworld66) and print it, send it to your friends, put it on your website, or just save it for your pleasure.
What fun!

The Enforcer!

[Yappofloyd]

If anyone saw the 'thaiglish' BMA ad for Chatujak market in Fridays Post then you would believe that Chatujak market is 'one of the worlds best 50 tourist sites'!!!

Anyway, minus Chatujak, market I make 22;
9. Bali
12. GBR
13. Anghor Wat
21. Acrop./Parth.
30. Colosseum
32. St Peters
34. Borobudur
36. HK
37. Sistine Chapel
39. Lourve
45. The MET
47. Emerald Budda
51. Old Prague
60. Rio
70. Shwedagon
76. Carnival in Rio (why did I leave!?)
81. Petronas
83. NY
85. Eiffel Tower
88. British Museum
93. Uluru (traditional owners name of Ayers Rock)
98. San Fran

I'd add in the Bamyan cliffs in the central highlands (end of Hindu Kush) of Afghanistan (about 120kms n-w of Kabul) which was where the worlds biggest buddas were located until the Taliban blew them up in March 2001.

[ncr]

And here's more: How could I forget the New 7 Wonders initiative: www.n7w.com? (Only for buildings, not natural wonders.)

The voting period has just been extended and the final results will be announced on 1 January 2007.

The current statistics (http://cms.n7w.com/index.php?id=4) :

Great Wall of China, China: 10.95 %
Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet, China: 8.47 %
Taj Mahal, India: 7.74 %
Colosseum, Rome, Italy: 6.95 %
Pyramids of Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico: 6.29 %
Statues of Easter Island, Chile: 6.00 %
Tower of Pisa, Italy: 5.94 %

However, now they seem to charge you (via the cost for a telephone call to get your code) for making votes...... it used to be free and easy before.

[jpatokal]

Potala Palace as #2? I sense tree-hugging wannaba-Tibetanism in the air...

And as for modern wonders, I'll take the Channel Tunnel, Kansai Airport and the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge instead. On some days I'm tempted to add the Skytrain to the list too :D

[Pas]

I'm surprised no one votes for the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt! :p

[ncr]

Something in the same vein: create a map of all the countries you have visited and print it, send it to your friends, put it on your website, or just save it for your pleasure.

What fun!

The Enforcer!Here's more fun: I have created a related poll (http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?t=707) in the "everything else" section of the forum, where you can let us know how many countries you have been to.......... start counting, Ladies & Gentlemen!

[ncr]

And here's more: How could I forget the New 7 Wonders initiative: www.n7w.com? (Only for buildings, not natural wonders.)

The voting period has just been extended and the final results will be announced on 1 January 2007.Now they have just added Wat Thammakai (more precisely, its UFO-like main stupa) to the list of eligible candidates.......... as the only proposal from Thailand......

Some background on this more than strange sectarian temple is here (http://www.2bangkok.com/news04a.shtml ) (scroll down to 03 January 2004).

[jpatokal]

Now they have just added Wat Thammakai (more precisely, its UFO-like main stupa) to the list of eligible candidates.......... as the only proposal from Thailand.....
This sounds like something I have to add to my collection of weird and wonderful temples visited (previous top contender for Thailand here (http://jpatokal.iki.fi/photo/travel/Thailand/NongKhai/)). Any instructions for getting there/finding it, other than by following the astral emanations? The Slate article's description of a bus from "downtown Bangkok" isn't too helpful.

[jpatokal]

OK, it would have been too hard to check their website (in surprisingly good English at that) before posting. Here's the location page complete with a handy map (down, GWR, down!):

http://www.dhammakaya.or.th/about/location.htm

Direct buses from Sanam Luang, Ramkhamhaeng U. and Victory Monument every Sunday at 7:30 AM-ish. Next Major Event, "Earth Day", is scheduled for April 22.

[ncr]

This sounds like something I have to add to my collection of weird and wonderful temples visited (previous top contender for Thailand here).Oh yes, the good, old, quirky (to say the least) Sala Kaew Khu in Nongkhai......... also nice! (By the way, liked your photo of the mangled-English sign proclaiming WESLL THEFIH'S FOOD HERE - the literal translation of the Thai text would be you are invited to admire the big fish, though......)

Here's the location page complete with a handy mapThat's one of the better location maps I've seen! Really, not bad at all. To reiterate the way: Basically you go up Phahonyothin Highway until you reach the big interchange after Bangkok University and immediately before the entry to Thammasat University's Rangsit Campus and AIT (this intersection is locally known as "Bang Khan" - the name of a gold shop at the NE corner). Here you turn right (to do that, you actually go left and make a 270 degree turn) and head straight east towards the Eastern Outer Ring Road, across the inspiringly named Khlong Nueng, Khlong Song, Khlong Sam (Canal 1,2,3 - it goes on until at least 30 or so). After maybe 3 km, the access to Wat Thammakai is on your left. Rather unlikely to miss, at least when I was last there (2003), they always had that giant billboard with a white-clad nun at the entrance.

All clearly to be seen on said location map.

I entered the grounds once - back then the main chedi (or whatever that structure has to be called; they write it as cetiya, probably derived from Sanskrit?) was not yet finished. I only entered that vast assembly hall intended for mass meditation. Impressive, but the golden UFO is the true marvel - "built to last for 1000 years" and made up of 300,000 Buddha images on the outside, plus decorated with another 700,000 (!) inside. Well, you cannot accuse them of being megalomaniac, can you? Probably the interior is still not completed.......

site layout (http://www.dhammakaya.or.th/tour/tourmain.htm)with links to detailed descriptions of the structures

[ncr]

And an article (http://www.millionairemagazines.com/cthai/profileindex.htm) mentioned by GWR in another thread (http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=4905).......

[Dionysus]

Here we go.....

1 Pyramids of Egypt
6 Grand Canyon
9 Bali – Indonesia
17 Karnak Temple
21 Acropolis & its Parthenon
27 Nile River Cruise
30 Colosseum of Rome
31 Fjords of Norway
32 St Peter's Basilica
33 Egyptian Museum
35 Valley of the Kings
36 Hong Kong Harborscape
37 Sistine Chapel
38 Alhambra
39 Louvre Museum
40 Canals of Venice
41 Versailles
47 Temple of Emerald Buddha
49 Pompeii
51 Prague Old Town
53 Amalfi Coast & Driv
56 Mezquita of Cordoba
59 Uffizi Gallery
64 Abu Simbel
65 St. Mark's Basilica/Campanile
66 Florence Cityscape
72 Leaning Tower of Pisa
74 Mont-St-Michel
79 Yellowstone
81 Petronas Twin Towers
85 Eiffel Tower
87 Niagara Falls
88 British Museum
92 Yosemite
94 Chambord Chateau
98 San Francisco Bay/Cityscape

[ncr]

Now they have just added Wat Thammakai (more precisely, its UFO-like main stupa) to the list of eligible candidates.......... as the only proposal from Thailand......

Some background on this more than strange sectarian temple is here (http://www.2bangkok.com/news04a.shtml ) (scroll down to 03 January 2004)....and a satellite image is here (http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=14.082584,100.647426&spn=0.010149,0.015836&t=k&hl=en) . (Centered on the UFO, excuse me, stupa - to see the giant assembly hall, pan down.)

[dick]

Taj Mahal
Louvre
Canals of Venice
Tempel of Emerald Buddha
Varanasi
Topkapi Palace
Stonehenge
New York Skyline
Eiffel tower
British Museum
Neuschwanstein
Dubrovnik
Delphi
Jerusalem
Portofino
Acropolis Athena

But sometimes I visited countries like Nepal, but I have not seen Katmandu, Everest, and so on.
And believe me, Amsterdam is also a wonder of architecture. :)