Here's "10 Places You Don't Want to Visit" (via Scott Beaulier). Clearly remote snake-infested islands are not the sort of places I'd like to experience, but the list also provided an introduction to some fascinating places. The Zone of Alienation is somewhere I've been intrigued by ever since seeing Elena Filatova's travel diary. I think I would like to visit.
One place on the list I'd never even heard of is Darvaza, Turkmenistan (aka "The Gates of Hell").
While drilling in Derweze in Turkmenistan in 1971, geologists accidentally found an underground cavern filled with natural gas. The ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed, leaving a large hole with a diameter of about 50-100 meters. To avoid poisonous gas discharge, scientists decided to set fire to the hole. Geologists had hoped the fire would go out in a few days but it has been burning ever since
It doesn't seem all that dangerous, but incredibly beautiful. Here are some more photos. Seeing a live volcano in Gautemala (coincidentlaly with Scott) remains one of the most incredible natural sights I've seen. Of the other items, Yungas Road is somewhere I'm intrigued by but would be terrified of.
Browsing the listverse.com I also came across London Necropolis Railway Station - a station in Westminster that was solely built to serve funeral trains (see here for more). Someone once told me that there's more disused underground stations in London than are in use, which is a scary thought. Finally, I liked this image:
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