The World's 8 Most Unusual Travel Journeys

Apart from typical resort vacations, there are also bizarre, mysterious, and quite peculiar travel journeys scattered across the globe. What awaits after the trip remains unknown, yet it promises a period of adventure, sometimes demanding courage.

1. Boldly Visit a Temple Filled with Venomous Snakes

This temple is located in the area of Bavan Lepas, near the airport in the famous tourist city of Penang. The snakes residing within the temple are predominantly green vipers, highly venomous and aggressive. What's strange is that within this temple, they appear harmless and rather docile. No one has ever been bitten by a snake in this temple.

Inside the temple, tourists witness the spectacle of snakes slithering around branches, in water tanks... a sight that sends shivers down many spines. Brave visitors can even take photos with the snakes for a small fee and with guidance. Don't miss the snake farm behind the temple to marvel at various species of fully grown deadly snakes.

2. Stroll through the 'Empire of the Dead'

Exploring the 'Empire of the Dead' in Paris

This is a necropolis located in Paris, where thousands of ancient Parisians' bones are housed. The catacombs also serve as an open burial ground for all tourists wanting to experience a spine-chilling sensation.

3. Chasing Tornadoes

Although many locals in tornado-prone areas consider it a crazy idea, travel agencies still organize quite a few tornado-chasing tours.

You'll be guided by tornado-chasing experts who ensure your safety by calculating potential risks and keeping you at a safe distance from the tornado.

4. Climbing into Mines and Playing with Explosives

Exploring the Silver Mines of Potosi, Bolivia

The town near Potosi Mountain in Bolivia truly attracts visitors with its silver mine open for tourist exploration. Joining this tour, you can walk, climb, and crawl through dark tunnels, where miners are still at work.

5. Traveling to Meet... Ghosts

England boasts a specialized industry to take tourists with nerves of steel on tours to meet... ghosts. Visitors are taken to ancient castles, dressed in medieval noble attire, gather in the living room, sip tea by the roaring fire of the fireplace, and listen to ghost stories.

After the storytelling session, each tourist will hold a small lantern to explore all the rooms in the castle. More and more people are curious, rushing to join this 'spine-chilling' tour in hopes of meeting ghosts.

6. Corruption Tourism

Embark on this peculiar tour that takes travelers to places allegedly linked to corruption in the Czech Republic. Specifically, tourists get to admire the opulent mansions of wealthy businessmen caught red-handed in shady deals.

Next, tourists visit a non-existent house yet serves as the headquarters for 589 shell companies. It also functions as a university where students can obtain a degree in just 1 year, albeit at a certain price. Or a hospital renowned for its shady procedures, a cable car route with no value but exorbitant prices.

7. Sneak a Visit to the Mouse Temple

After nearly half an hour by car from the capital New Delhi, you'll arrive at the gate of the famous temple called Karni Mata, also known as the Mouse Temple. The temple allows free entry for visitors but requires you to remove your shoes outside. The first sensation is the stench that assaults your nostrils upon entering the temple courtyard. It's said that around 7 a.m. when the mice come out to forage, the courtyard becomes packed with nearly 20,000 scurrying mice. Large bowls filled with milk attract the mice.

As one of the strangest temples in the world, the Mouse Temple welcomes curious visitors every day. If someone accidentally steps on and kills a mouse upon entering the temple, they must buy a golden snake or a silver mouse to place in the temple as an offering to atone for the dead mouse.

8. Eccentric Funeral Tour in Indonesia

In the town of Rantepao, Indonesia, tourists can engage in a peculiar tour: attending a funeral. From the coastline of Sulawesi Island, tourists must embark on an 8-hour bus ride, passing through lush coffee and cocoa plantations to reach the town, where the Torajan people reside.

The Torajan people are renowned worldwide for their elaborate funeral rituals lasting several days, including buffalo sacrifice ceremonies. Today, more than 200,000 tourists flock here annually. On funeral days, the Pasar Bolu market, a buffalo market, is bustling. Each buffalo can fetch up to thousands of dollars. Some families often keep the deceased's body at home for several years until they can afford to hold the funeral because some funerals require sacrificing up to 24 buffaloes.

***

Source: Mytour Travel Handbook