Why I like to visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites…

After all they are often crowded with gawking tourists taking cheesy photographs of themselves pretending to carry the Taj Mahal in their palm or stopping the leaning Tower of Pisa from tumbling down…

I remember what Andara, my concierge in Bali told me about spots that are normally heaving with tourists:

The most beautiful places often have tons of tourists because they are most beautiful places.

And that is why.

So I strive to visit must-see sights not because I want to wear the dome of the Taj Mahal as a hat or replace my head as atop a broken Buddha statue (I saw a couple of blonde jokers do this recently at Borobudur…) but because they inspire me with their beauty, their resilience and their timelessness. For most if not all of this places, there is a spirit (if not spirituality) that tells a story of how human beings have the power to create from nothing.

Here is a short list of the UNESCO sites I have visited so far (with and without Keyaan and Leonard) and this, I promise, will grow:

1. Australia: the Sydney Opera House

2. France: Paris, Banks of the Seine