jho

"Vik i Myrdal is a charming small village on the southernmost region of Iceland. Fenced in with the Atlantic ocean to the south and a big ice cap to the north as well as the rivers Jokulsa to the west and the river Blautakvisl to the east. The area is quite spectacular with the black sand and the hard ocean waves beating the shore of Reynisfjara. Reynisdrangar are basalt sea stacks situated under the mountain Reynisfjall near the village Vík í Mýrdal, southern Iceland. According to legend the Reynisdrangar needles were formed when two trolls were trying to drag a three-masted ship to land. When daylight broke they turned to stone. The Needles can be seen clearly from the village of Vík and are 66 meters above sea level at their highest. In one of the many caves here – there is a local legend about a monster having lived here for many centuries. The monster seems to have disappeared after a landslide over 100 years ago…" - jho

"The Republic of Guinea-Bissau (pronounced /ˈɡɪni bɪˈsaʊ/; Portuguese: República da Guiné-Bissau, pronounced [ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɐ ɡiˈnɛ biˈsau]) is a country in western Africa, and one of the smallest states in continental Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west. Its size is nearly 37,000 square kilometres (14,000 sq mi) with an estimated population of 1,600,000. Formerly the Portuguese colony of Portuguese Guinea, upon independence, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with the Republic of Guinea. Guinea-Bissau's GDP per capita is one of the lowest in the world." - jho

"This Russian aircraft-carrier boat had a strange story. When it was being built it was called “Riga” - the name of Latvian capital city, but just after the construction was over and 20 minutes later the ceremony of the ship’s launching started they got a call from Moscow demanding to change the name to “VARYAG”, probably just because at that time Latvia demanded independence, so Russian government understood that if they leave the old name, in just a few months one of their top-ships would carry the name of the capital of the another state. So they called and changed the name same day the boat was launched. That was a bad sign." - jho

"Jiuzhaigou Valley (simplified Chinese: 九寨沟; traditional Chinese: 九寨溝; pinyin: Jiǔzhàigōu; lit. "Valley of Nine Villages"; Tibetan: Sicadêgu) is a nature reserve in the north of Sichuan, a province in south western China. It is known for its many multi-level waterfalls and colorful lakes, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. It belongs to the category V (Protected Landscape) in the IUCN system of protected area categorization." - jho

"Hua Shan (simplified Chinese: 华山; traditional Chinese: 華山; pinyin: Huà Shān, sometimes spoken Huá Shān) is located in the Shaanxi Province, about 100 kilometres east of the city of Xi'an, near the city Huayin in China. The mountain is one of China's Five Sacred Daoist Mountains, and has a long history of religious significance. The mountain has five main peaks, of which the tallest is the South Peak at 2160 m." - jho

"There are three ways up to Huashan's North Peak (1613 m), the lowest of the mountain's major peaks. The most popular is the also the original route, which winds for 6 km from Hua Shan village to the north peak. There is also the cable-car, as well as a path that follows the cable car to the North Peak. From the North Peak, a series of paths rise up to the four other peaks, the West Peak (2038 m), the Center Peak (2042 m), the East Peak (2100 m) and the South Peak (2160 m).[4] Huashan has historically been a place of retreat for hardy hermits, whether Daoist, Buddhist or other; access to the mountain was only deliberately available to the strong-willed, or those who had found 'the way'. With greater mobility and prosperity, Chinese, particularly students, began to test their mettle and visit in the 80s. The inherent danger of many of the exposed, narrow pathways with precipitous drops gave the mountain a deserved reputation for danger. As tourism has boomed and the mountain's accessibility vastly improved with the installation of the cable car in the 90s, visitor numbers surged. Despite the safety measures introduced by cutting deeper pathways and building up stone steps and wider paths, as well as adding railings, fatalities continued to occur. The local government has proceeded to open new tracks and created one-way routes on some more hair-raising parts, such that the mountain can be scaled without significant danger now, barring crowds and icy conditions. Some of the most precipitous tracks have actually been closed off. The former trail that leads to the South Peak from North Peak is on a cliff face, and it was known as being extremely dangerous; there is now a new and safer stone-built path to reach the South Peak temple, and on to the Peak itself. Many Chinese still climb at nighttime, in order to reach the East Peak for the dawn - though the mountain now has many hostels. This is also a hangover from when it was considered safer merely not to be able to see the extremes of danger and exposure of the tracks during the ascent, as well as to avoid others descending down what at many points were pathways with scarcely room for one to pass along." - jho

"Yunnan (simplified Chinese: 云南; traditional Chinese: 雲南; pinyin: Yúnnán, IPA: [y̌nnǎn] ( listen); literally "South of the Clouds") is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers (152,000 square miles). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Vietnam." - jho

"Meili Snow Mountain or Kawa Karpo (6,740 m) is a sacred mountain in Deqin County, Yunnan, China. It is sacred to most Chinese Buddhist people. It is the highest mountain in Yunnan. Kagebo is the highest peak. The mountain is known as a meditation site. Kawa Karpo is part of the Yunnan Trek. Meili Snow Mountain has 13 peaks which are over 6,000 meters above sea level, the main peak being the imposing Mount Kagebo, which stands 6,470 meters above sea level" - jho