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This is part 58 of the puzzle series Around the World in Many Days. Each part is solvable on its own.

Dear Puzzling,

This is a diagramless checkerboard crossword. Empty cells are either blue or white; one of these cell colours only contains vowels (A, E, I, O, U) and the other only consonants (including Y). Clues are given in alphabetical order by their answer. Solve the clues and fill the grid with the answers. Answers can be anywhere in the grid, are allowed to share letters with other answers, and don’t need to be separable using grid lines. For example, if two of the answers are ABET and GABE, it is allowable to insert them into the grid as GABET, sharing three letters. I hope this makes sense!

Today I have explored rock formations, cave systems and underground rivers in a World Heritage-listed national park. Can you guess where I am?

Love, Gladys.

Empty crossword grid
Solve on Penpa+

Across
1. Become rotten (5)
2. A type of number that can be 3D? (11)
3. Country whose flag has the words "Allahu akbar" written in the middle (4)
4. Cut, wounded (9)
5. Genuine (5), or flee (3,2)
6. Pale purple flower (5)
7. Like the works of Verdi or Puccini (8)
8. White people, according to some Native Americans? (9)
9. Harshly criticise; rhymes with duke (6)
10. Lactose, e.g. (5)
11. Trip, journey (6)

Down
1. — Good Men, 90s legal drama (1,3)
2. The distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger (5)
3. Natural living environment (7)
4. Stayed still over a fixed spot, like a helicopter (7)
5. The I in GIMP (5)
6. An Ashkenazi or Sephardi, say (3)
7. Bacon in Hollywood (5)
8. Important shipping route in Central America (6,5)
9. Heal by growing new tissue (10)
10. Charles Foster Kane soundbite (7)
11. What a googol has 100 of (5)

Gladys will return in Plumbing Issues.

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1 Answer 1

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Gladys is visiting

Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park in Vietnam.

The answers to the crossword clues are as follow.

Across
1. Become rotten (5) DECAY
2. A type of number that can be 3D? (11) HEXADECIMAL
3. Country whose flag has the words "Allahu akbar" written in the middle (4) IRAQ
4. Cut, wounded (9) LACERATED
5. Genuine (5), or flee (3,2) LEGIT
6. Pale purple flower (5) LILAC
7. Like the works of Verdi or Puccini (8) OPERATIC
8. White people, according to some Native Americans? (9) PALEFACES
9. Harshly criticise; rhymes with duke (6) REBUKE
10. Lactose, e.g. (5) SUGAR
11. Trip, journey (6) VOYAGE

Down
1. — Good Men, 90s legal drama (1,3) A FEW
2. The distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger (5) CUBIT
3. Natural living environment (7) HABITAT
4. Stayed still over a fixed spot, like a helicopter (7) HOVERED
5. The I in GIMP (5) IMAGE
6. An Ashkenazi or Sephardi, say (3) JEW
7. Bacon in Hollywood (5) KEVIN
8. Important shipping route in Central America (6,5) PANAMA CANAL
9. Heal by growing new tissue (10) REGENERATE
10. Charles Foster Kane soundbite (7) ROSEBUD
11. What a googol has 100 of (5) ZEROS

Then we can fill the answers into the grid, starting from the longest ones. Doing so we can gradually fill all the cells.

Solving process

So here is the filled grid.

Filled grid

And we see that the circled letters spell the final answer.

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    $\begingroup$ I deleted my response well done for narrowly snipping me 😂 I cba to do a step by step analysis for the grid if I don’t think it will increase my chances of getting it accepted also I have been answering way to many questions on here it’s about time someone else got the cake 🤣 $\endgroup$
    – PDT
    Commented Mar 28 at 8:07
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    $\begingroup$ For anyone who cannot follow the gif, here are the still frames: i.sstatic.net/4FMlK.jpg $\endgroup$
    – ACB
    Commented Mar 28 at 13:13
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    $\begingroup$ Ah nice 😅 better than anything I could have done. $\endgroup$
    – PDT
    Commented Mar 28 at 13:21

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