Castillo San Felipe del Morro, also known as El Morro, is a fort located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Built by the Spanish in the 16th century, it was originally used as a defense against sea attacks. Over the years, it has been used by the Spanish, British, and American military forces. The fort is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular tourist attraction. Its unique architecture, breathtaking views, and rich history make it an important landmark of Puerto Rico.

The Bell Tower in the city center serves as a symbol of the city and was built to keep time, like the Drum Tower. It is rung every morning at dawn to mark the start of the day.

Fun Fact: During the Anti-Japanese War, the tower was used as an alarm system for incoming Japanese air raids.

The Drum Tower is a symbol of the city, located in the city center. It was built during the Ming Dynasty to keep track of time. The drum is beaten at sunset to signal the end of the day.

Fun fact: The largest drum in the world and made out of one ox hide. They used a really fat ox.

The Everglades is the largest subtropical wilderness in North America and the third largest National Park in the US. It is located in the southern tip of the Florida panhandle and is home to over 800 species. The Everglades is the only place in the world where both crocodiles and alligators can coexist. Native Americans called it "The River of Grass".

The easiest " Forbidden" place I've ever gotten into 😅. The Forbidden City is the largest Imperial Palace in the world. It took 14 years to build, 1 million workers to complete and was home to 24 emperors. Why is it Forbidden? At the time ordinary people were not allowed to go inside unless given permission from the Emperor.

The main frames on all the buildings are all made up of a special wooden locking joints and the carpenters did not use any nails to piece it together.

Created by the powerful force of the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon is estimated to be over 6 million years old. The canyon is 277 miles long and over 18 miles wide. The rocks found at the bottom of the canyon are said to be 2 billion years old. The Grand Canyon became a national park in 1919 and it is the 17th national park established in the United States. The Grand Canyon is a UNESCO World Heritage site and listed as one of the New World Wonders of the World.

The Great Wall of China is the longest man made structure in the world. The total length of the wall stretches to an astounding 13,170.7 miles or 21196.18 kilometers. The belief that the Great Wall can be seen from space is not entirely true. You wouldn’t be able to see it with the naked eye but with the aid special instruments it is possible. It took thousands of laborers to complete the Great Wall. Because so many people died during the construction that the Great Wall is also known as the The Longest Graveyard in the World. It is estimated that 1 million laborers died. Some rumors say that their bodies are buried within the walls but no traces of human remains have been found to confirm those rumors.

Not only is it listed as one of The 7 New Wonders of the World but also it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Every May there is a marathon held at the Huangyaguan Great Wall located in the Jizhou District of Tianjin. I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the 2019 race. If you want to see the race photos, head to the My Land Adventures and look for Great Wall Half Marathon for pictures and videos.

Mammoth Cave NP is the world's largest and most extensive cave system in the world. An estimated 350 miles of passageways have only been uncovered so far. The rest of the underground network remains a mystery. Also it is the most diverse cave ecosystem known to man. There are over 200 indigenous species in the ecosystem ,42 of which have completely adapted to living in complete darkness. Geologists estimate that the oldest part of the cave was formed 10 million years ago by the Green River and its tributaries.

Mesa Verde National Park is not only a National Park but also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2021 it also became certified as the world's 100th International Dark Sky Park.

Mesa Verde is home to the largest cliff dwelling in North America and holds more than 4000 archeological sites. Not to mention that these are some of the best preserved cliff dwellings in the world. Home to the Ancestral Puebloans, traces of inhabitants can be traced back as far as 550 AD.

These cliff dwellings were built under the overhanging cliffs of Mesa Verde. The rooms range from anywhere to one room to villages of more than 150 rooms. There are self guided tours and ranger tours that will take you inside these dwellings but they fill up very quickly so reserve your tour online ahead of time.

We may have missed the tour to inside the cave dwellings but the real MVP is this space zoom 100x on my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th picture is zoomed in all the way from the Overlook perch we were standing on.

Bring lots of water and sunblock. Extremely hot temps and high altitude not a good mixture.I would definitely come back here.

The Qing Tombs, where 5 emperors, 15 empresses, 136 Imperial concubines, 3 princes and two princesses from the Qing Dynasty are buried here.

One of the tombs that can be found here is that of Empress Dowager Cixi or Dragon Lady. Although the Dragon Lady was the real power during her son’s reign, she herself never ascended to the throne. That is because when the Emperor died and her son being the next in line became the Emperor he was only 3 years old so she became the power “ruling behind the curtain.” Her time in power is a highly debated subject among historians.

Xi'an is the beginning of the famous trading route called The Silk Road. The Silk Road was established during the Han Dynasty 130 BC to 1453 CE. The importance of the Silk Road to China was not only to trade goods from other ancient empires but it also introduced different religions to China as well.

Because of the Silk Road there is a heavy presence of Muslims that have migrated over the centuries. In the millions to be exact. A majority of Muslims live and work here on Muslim Quarters or Muslim Street.

And this is where you go when you are hungry. Everything and anything from Chinese Hamburger, dumplings, noodles, BBQ and traditional food can be found here. There's a reason I chose my hotel to be right across the street .

I had a little bit of everything and will never go hungry here. 😂🥢 31 dumplings down... 19 more to go. 

The Temple of Heaven is one Beijing's best tourist sites. Built in 1406 by Emperor Yongle from the Ming Dynasty. Emperors from the Qing and Ming dynasties would come twice a year to pray for a good harvest for the year. This is also where the emperors performed the Heaven Worship Ceremony and sacrifices on the behalf of their empire. The area that it is built on spans an amazing 3,529,412 square yards, making it 4 times bigger than that of the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1998.

Fun fact Emperor Yongle also built the Forbidden City. These emperors sure were over achievers.

Qin Shi Huang was the First Emperor of China. He had many accomplishments during his reign, one of them being that he was able to unify the 7 warring states of China for the very first time in history. But one of his most acclaimed legacy is tied to his death.

The Emperor believed that the spirit of a person does not die when the body dies but transitions to the next phase in life called the afterlife. At the young age of 13 he began to make plans for his after life.

He constructed thousands of soldiers made out of clay to protect him during his afterlife and called it his Terracotta Army. About 8000 soldiers have been discovered and thousands more have not been uncovered yet. The soldiers themselves were molded after real life soldiers and that's why no face is ever the same. The attentional to detail is mind boggling. Archeologists unearthered not only soldiers but horses, animals and chariots. Some were made out of bronze. These Terracotta Soldiers are over 2000 years old 
The Emperor's tomb is buried under Mount Li located approximately 1.4 kilometers away from the soldiers. The tomb is not open to the public because what the archeologists found in the soil were high levels of mercury. So the legend about the Emperor building a river or ocean of mercury to protect his tomb and treasures could be true. Whatever secret treasures he has buried in his tomb has remained a secret since the Emperor killed everyone who knew its secrets and buried them when the construction was finished.

Oh yea, the Emperor built one more wonder for China called The Great Wall. Have you heard of it? Not too shabby for a guy who lived only for 50 years and less 😂. Note to self: I'm really happy I brought my zoom lens for this and had a hard time in customs.