Familiar Places, Friendly Faces

A week ago I visited two places that I've been before. One I lived in for more than three years. On the flight out, I sat next to someone who used to work in the same building with me. Then, on arrival at the airport, I met a former housemate and work colleague, a very nice and understanding guy. I also met my former supervisor at the same airport. He's one of the best bosses who I've worked with. The guys in my old office are lucky to have him as their head of department now. When I worked under him, he always looks after me well. When, I moved to a new department, he even warned me about what was happening behind my back especially with my new boss then, who had nothing good to say about me. I couldn't believe it. My boss was known to be a pious man. Anyway, years later, I found out that what my former supervisor told me was all true.

Later on that night, I had dinner with friends, who I used to work with in the same department. It was great to be able to visit the city I worked in before and met the people I knew there.

On the next day, I went to another town and guess what, I met with former colleagues who have moved to work there. I had lunch with one of them. It is a small world after all.

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World Heritage sites in South East Asia

Here's the list of the above. The year the site was included are in brackets.

Cambodia (2)
* Angkor (1992)
* Temple of Preah Vihear (2008)

Indonesia (7)
* Borobudur Temple Compounds (1991)
* Komodo National Park (1991)
* Prambanan Temple Compounds (1991)
* Ujung Kulon National Park (1991)
* Sangiran Early Man Site (1996)
* Lorentz National Park (1999)
* Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (2004)

Lao People's Democratic Republic (2)
* Town of Luang Prabang (1995)
* Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape (2001)

Malaysia (3)
* Gunung Mulu National Park (2000)
* Kinabalu Park (2000)
* Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca (2008)

Philippines (5)
* Baroque Churches of the Philippines (1993)
* Tubbataha Reef Marine Park (1993)
* Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras (1995)
* Historic Town of Vigan (1999)
* Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park (1999)

Thailand (5)
* Historic City of Ayutthaya (1991)
* Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns (1991)
* Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries (1991)
* Ban Chiang Archaeological Site (1992)
* Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex (2005)

Viet Nam (5)
* Complex of Hué Monuments (1993)
* Ha Long Bay (1994, 2000)
* Hoi An Ancient Town (1999)
* My Son Sanctuary (1999)
* Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (2003)

There are no sites in Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Singapore and Timor Leste.

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Malaysia's World Heritage sites

Malaysia now has three world heritage sites. With Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca recently joining Gunung Mulu National Park and Kinabalu Park, which came on the list in 2000. Melaka and George Town are considered as one entry.

In 1972, an international treaty, the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, was adopted by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Under this treaty, UNESCO seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.

Except for Brunei, Myanmar, Singapore and Timor Leste, all other countries in South East Asia are on the world heritage list. Cambodia has two sites, including Angkor. Indonesia has seven sites, including the Borobudur Temple and Prambanan Temple Compounds. Lao People's Democratic Republic has two sites, one of them the Town of Luang Prabang. Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam each has five sites.

There are two other sites in Malaysia, which are consideration for the list. They are the Taman Negara National Park of Peninsular Malaysia and Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary (LEWS) and Batang Ai National Park (BANP) in Sarawak. Both were submitted for consideration in 2004.

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