| 1. Loch Ness, Scotland |
Loch Ness is the largest loch in Scotland by volume and this beautiful expanse of water has a mysterious and foreboding air. Over the years there have been many sightings of Nessie which is reputed to be a huge cryptid that lives in the lake. There is a long history of such sightings, all the way back to the seventh century when an Irish Monk claimed a companion was dragged into the lake by a monster, up until the Holmes Video in 2007 apparently captured the beast on camera.
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| 2. Bermuda Triangle |
Located between Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico, the Bermuda Triangle or Devil’s Triangle has seen an inordinate amount of mysterious disappearances. Because this part of the North Atlantic Ocean is near the Caribbean and mainland America it is a very popular route for planes, ships and cruise ships. The first sign of paranormal activity occurred in 1950 when a group of five bomber ships sent out the following radio broadcast before disappearing: “We are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white."
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| 3. Chernobyl, Ukraine |
In 1986 the world experienced its worst nuclear disaster when a reactor blew up in the Ukranian city of Chernobyl. The city has been abandoned ever since while one of the largest toxic waste clean-ups in history was launched. Chernobyl was put under government administration and declared a Zone of Alienation. However this year some parts of Chernobyl will finally be declared safe enough for visitors to take a tour of the affected site.
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| 4. Rotorua, New Zealand |
You often hear about the dazzling beauty of New Zealand and while the mud pools and lakes of Rotorua certainly look pretty, they are an affront to the sense of smell. That is because of a stream of sulphur released by a caldera in Rotorua which creates a distinct aroma of rotten eggs. Nevertheless tourists are still drawn to the effervescent geysers here and the shifting colours which are a result of geothermal activity. Rotorua is situated in the Bay of Plenty on the North Island of New Zealand.
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| 5. Mount Roraima, Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela |
This impressive Mountain is within a set of plateau which spread across three South American countries. Roraima rises above the rainforest clouds with sheer 400 cliff faces which make it very difficult to scale. That is why Roraima has proved a fertile ground for many species of animals. It also holds great religious significance for the indigenous people of the area who see it as a life giving tree. Furthermore Roraima inspired novelist Conan Doyle in his depiction of the Lost World.
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| 6. Mojave Desert Preserve, Death Valley, USA |
The low, dry and hot nature of Death Valley created incredible scenery in the form of sand dunes and weird rock formations. In the 1960s a phone booth was placed in the Mojave Desert Preserve within Death Valley for use by miners in the area, even though it was 13 kilometres from the nearest paved road. The isolated location of the phone booth created an internet sensation when a Los Angeles Times reported wrote a story about it. The booth then became popular with travellers who wanted to leave graffiti messages. Since then spoilsports have removed the phone booth.
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| 7. The City of The Dead, Iraq |
Wadi al Salaam means Valley of Peace. This is the world’s largest graveyard located in Iraq with more than five million people buried there. That is because the area has great religious significance to Shiite Muslims who want to be buried near to the Najaf Mosque. The vast amount of graves has also led to Najaf being called the City of the Dead.
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| 8. Monkey City, Lapburi, Thailand |
Lapburi is the site of a beautiful Thai temple but it is most famous for the mass of monkeys that live in its ranks. These crab-eating Macaques are sacred to the locals who hold a monkey festival every November. Because the animals are regularly fed they are not afraid of humans so it would not be unusual to have food stolen right out of your hands.
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| 9. Atacama Desert, Chile |
The Atacama Desert in the north of Chile is officially the driest place in the world and there is even be one spot in the desert where it has reputedly never rained. However, if the rains do fall then the desert becomes covered in colourful wildflowers. This is also where the Peyote cactus grows, which can be used to produce a powerful hallucinatory drug.
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| 10. Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan |
The foul stench of human waste led this to be known as Tokyo’s anus for many years. That has been cleared up but institutionalized prostitution still remains. In fact there are Information Centres where you can find out more about the girls that you plan to ‘talk’ to. For a small price you can even hire them to sing karaoke with you.
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