Big statues

The Mongolian countryside is famously vast and equally flat. Add to that the fact that it is also the world's least densely populated country and it becomes easy to understand how far it is possible to travel without interruption. All of a sudden, over the horizon will emerge a huge statue of Mongolia's greatest historical figure, Genghis Khan. At 50 metres high and covered in the shiniest stainless steel, there is no way you can miss it. Take the elevator to the top and spend some time on Khan's horseback, gazing across the Mongolian steppes. If you want proof of the vastness of Mongolia, that's where you'll find it.

A visit to Pyongyang is more a trip back in time than anything else. The broad streets are vacuumed of everything besides political manifests. The few shops that exist do not advertise, the bright blue traffic directors (strangely all makeup-wearing young females) look like something from a children's book, and all the women fancy haircuts from the 50s. Even the subway (which by the way is the deepest in the world, going 120 m underground) looks like a toy model. It is a wicked mix of drab Soviet-style buildings and grand monuments, which are all dedicated to their dear, dead, leader Kim Il-Sung and his son Kim Jong-Il. This fascinating city is built on ideology and fully cleansed from all capitalism - and where else on the planet do such places exist? Welcome to people's paradise!

Clouded in controversies, this monument is considered in eye-sore by many Dakarois. At 52 metres it's the tallest statue in Africa - taller than the Statue of Liberty. To visit the viewing platform on its top is expensive. However, there are decent views of Dakar from its base on top of one of Dakar’s two mamelles – or "breasts". A price tag of €20 million and the fact it's build by the North Koreans are enough to earn the monument some harsh remarks from locals. Add to this that local artists have taking a dislike to its aesthetics and that the religious complaint about the nudity of both the male and female figure. As if all this wasn't enough former President Wade, who initiated the construction, has claimed "intellectual property rights" landing him 35 percent of the entrance income.

It doesn't get more New York iconic than this. The 93 m (305 ft.) tall (from ground to torch) copper lady was a gift from the French people to the Americans as symbol of freedom and democracy. She was made in France, shipped to the USA, and assembled from 350 pieces in 1886. She was created by the commissioned French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and it is believed that his mistress and later wife was the model for the torso, and his mother for the face. Even the famous engineer Gustave Eiffel (yes, the dude who designed Eiffel tower and Long Bien Bridge in Hanoi) was involved in the project. It is possible to get up in the crown by climbing the stairs inside her, but you need to make reservation way ahead.

The city of Vinh doesn't have very much to offer in the sense of mind-blowing sights, but there is one thing the city can brag about: The biggest Ho Chi Minh statue in Vietnam, which must presumably also be the largest in the world. The square in front of the statue is laid out exactly like the Ba Dinh square in Hanoi in front of the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. If you are a true Ho Chi Minh buff, you must also visit the birthplace of the great leader in the village of Kim Lien, a 14 km drive from Vinh.