Monuments

Naypyidaw, An Unconventional Capital

In 2005, the military government of Burma (Myanmar) made one of its most curious moves yet when it gave its ministerial officials less than a day’s notice that they were to pack up and move to a new capital almost 400 km north of the old capital, Rangoon, under threat of arrest or imprisonment. The government had secretly been constructing a capital in the middle of the nowhere called Naypyidaw; a way for the government to escape the congestion and chaos of Rangoon in a purpose-built capital in which everything would be under their control. Naypyidaw covers a sprawling 4,800 km2 – that’s 78 times the size of Manhattan!

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Wednesday, 5th October 2011

MLB Stadium Tour – American League

With Major League Baseball having recently paused for its mid-season All Star Game break, this is the first of a two-part tour of stadiums across North America, focusing on somewhat fanciful features in recently constructed ballparks. We begin with the…

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Thursday, 28th July 2011

South Sudan

It's not every day that a new country is created, but that's what happened on July 9th 2011 when The Republic of South Sudan came into existence. The nation is so new that Google Maps doesn't yet show it. However,…

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Tuesday, 19th July 2011

Fetlar: The Garden of Shetland

One of the most remote places in all of Great Britain is the isle of Fetlar, known as the ‘Garden of Shetland’. The fourth-largest island of Shetland and surrounded by cliffs and beaches, sparsely-populated Fetlar has a population of just 70 residents.

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Thursday, 7th July 2011

White Sands National Monument (Desert Week 2011)

We paid a brief visit to White Sands National Monument five years ago, but with newer imagery now available, this year's Desert Week seems like a great excuse for a return visit to this absolutely fascinating field of white sand…

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Wednesday, 22nd June 2011

Felicity, California (Desert Week 2011)

Did you know that the ‘Official Center of the World’ lies just off of an exit ramp in the middle of the Sonoran Desert of California? It’s true. There’s even a plaque and everything. In 1985, skydiving pioneer/investor/budding children’s author…

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Tuesday, 21st June 2011

Welcome to Google Sightseeing!

Google Sightseeing takes you on a tour of the world as seen from satellite or street views using Google Maps. Our team of authors present weird and wonderful sights as suggested by readers.

Like this site? We published a photo book of the best entries, you should buy a copy.