I got 10 ticks from this years batch .....but there were 3 near misses - with varying degrees of "annoyance".
Tirgu Jiu (Added to T List in March 1991) In 1999 we drove around a large part of Romania and Tirgu Jiu was an important planned visit..... BUT.... during the morning we were driving there we were involved in a (small) car accident.......by the time matters were sorted out with the police etc we had to miss it out altogether!
Moidams (
added to T List in April 2014). In Feb 2013 we visited NE India - At the time the ONLY WHS were Manas and Kaziranga which we picked up..... Whilst, for TWHS there was Majuli which we spent a day going out of our way for but which has, so far failed to get inscribed despite several nominations....and Namdapha NP in the far corner of Arunachal Pradesh and unachievable in our timescale. There were no other entries from the North East - Then, just over a year later, India added the Ahom Dynasty Moidams... We had spent half a day in nearby Sivsagar. This city had been the Ahom Capital and we visited several Ahom related sites .....and then, on our way from there to Nagaland, drove through Garhgaon, a mere 15kms from Choraideo where the inscribed Modams are situated!!!
It gets worse...... I note that the Root Bridges were added to India's T List in April 2021.....destined I fear to be another near miss in the future as we were within 16kms of the double decker bridge on our way to nearby Cherrapunji whose claim to fame (disputed!) is to be the "wettest place on earth". I can even remember discussing with our driver whether we could fit it in such an interesting site even though it had no WHS aspect in 2013 (paying extra if necessary!!) - but it was not possible in the time available.
Schwerin (
added to T List in Jan 2015). Our main trip to the former DDR had been as early as May 2002 and we must have driven right past on our way from Berlin to Wismar!! We had another chance in Aug 2013 when we got as close as Hamburg (110kms away) but were concentrating on the then Inscribed and T List so Schwerin wasn't even considered! After that trip I think we had completed both the German then Inscribed and T (?) Lists - but, as we know, Germany just keeps identifying more and more and more.....
Tirgu Jiu is the most annoying as I genuinely would like to have seen it for more than just because it is a WHS - and, without bad luck could have. It would be quite high on my personal list of "
Top missing WHS I really would like to have visited" even if it is only running at 2.5 stars from this Community! The others show the problem of having done so much travelling before some sites now being inscribed were even on a T List to give a "target" to aim at!. The Moidams are the more disappointing as, with some extra preparation/reading on the Ahom monarchs etc before I went, I could well have identified by myself (without a UNESCO pointer!) their nearby value and we had plenty of time. I am less concerned about Schwerin - yet another German Castle which, I am sure has its merits but, which in all honesty, I don't particularly want to visit other than for a mere "tick"! Am certainly not "going back" for it!