Things to Do in The Whitsundays & Hamilton Island

The Golden Mount - or Wat Saket - was constructed by King Rama I shortly after the founding of Bangkok. Built just outside the original city walls and intended as a burial site, the mount has many thousands of bodies interned here - most of them dating from Rama II's rule when plague swept through the city.

A rocky plateau straddling the borders of Israel and Syria, the Golan Heights is one of Israel’s most scenic regions, with its hilly landscape dotted with ancient ruins and biblical sites. Despite the long-standing dispute over Syrian and Israeli occupation of the territory, the Golan Heights are still an increasingly popular tourist destination, home to Mount Hermon, Israel’s highest peak at 2,284 meters, and the Gamla Nature Reserve, renowned for its population of rare birds.

Other top attractions of the Golan Heights region include the Hammat Gader hot springs, located on the Syrian and Jordanian border; the ancient Jewish town of Katzrin, where the extensive ruins include a synagogue dating back to the 6th century; Israel’s largest Byzantine monastery in Kursi; and the extinct volcano of Mount Bental, which offers magnificent views over the Golan plateau and the Syrian Quneitra Valley.

One of Cappadocia’s most famous sites is the Göreme Open Air Museum, a ring shaped collection of churches cut into the soft volcanic cliffs.
 
In the 4th century the area became known as the Land of the Three Saints after the theologians St. Basil the Great, his brother St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Gregory of Nazianzus. In the Middle Ages the importance of this area again soared and many monasteries, churches and chapels were dug out of the rock. The best of these still have vivid Byzantine frescoes of religious scenes.
 
Churches include Basil Kilise (St Basil’s Church), Elmali Kilise (Apple Church), and the richly decorated Tokali Kilise (Buckle Church), which is the oldest and lies just outside the gates of the museum. The best-preserved frescoes are in the Karanlık Kilise (Dark Church) which has been restored after being used as a pigeon house until the 1950s. The Göreme Open Air Museum is just a 15-minute walk (1 mile/1.5km) from Göreme or a short drive from Ürgüp.

The Goethe House & Museum is the site where the great German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in 1749. Goethe’s former house is a fantastic and tangible example of the living style of the 18th century Frankfurt's gentry. The house was technically Goethe's parents', and he lived here until moving to Weimar where he died in 1765.

Main features include Goethe's original writing desk and the library on the fourth floor, where Goethe composed his famous epistolary, The Sorrows of Young Werther, and where he began writing Faust. The rooms are decorated with a charming mix of reproduction and original furnishing. The museum is a picture gallery dedicated to the Age of Goethe. The Goethe House & Museum offer an intriguing a peek into 18th century lifestyles and Goethe’s early years.

There are dozens of street markets in Mong Kok crowded with vendors selling “designer” purses, cell phones and t-shirts. The most interesting and unique section is down North Tung Choi street: an area colloquially known as Goldfish Street.

As the name implies, the street is devoted to all things with gills.  Here you will find over forty fish shops spilling over with everything from colorful goldfish in ballooning plastic bags to aquariums full of tropical fish. Turtles, lizards and even puppies are also for sale.

Fish are a popular pet in tight-spaced Hong Kong so this area is often crowded and busy. Many sellers are adverse to pictures, but it's fun to just stroll the street and observe the spectacle. The best time to visit is at night when the stores are illuminated and the fish look particularly exotic.