10 Countries You Did Not Realize that You Need to Visit, NOW!

Tripoto

Your love for travelling can be best described as unconditional and your urge to explore the unknown remains satiated for no longer than a couple of days of having returned from the last trip.

Once the travel bug bites, there’s no stopping those of us on the go. We understand.

And since you're out exploring uncharted terrain, and the same beach-mountain vacation bores you, we bring you a list of destinations that come with their *ahem* 'quirks' to help you satiate some of the gypsy spirit.

1) Russia: The Country with the Coldest Town of Permanent Habitation

Photo of 10 Countries You Did Not Realize that You Need to Visit, NOW! 1/10 by Antra Sharma
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When was the last time you saw your breath condense to crystals? Yeah, that’s what we thought. You needn’t worry about your ice cream melting in Yakutia, located in eastern Siberia of Russia as you watch fallen trees explode and emit blue sparks.The lowest recorded temperature of -67.7 ⁰C in Oymyakon town here is second to only that of Antarctica in the Northern Hemisphere.

This trip would be a cool one. Quite literally too.

2) Guatemala: The Country which speaks 23 Languages

Photo of 10 Countries You Did Not Realize that You Need to Visit, NOW! 2/10 by Antra Sharma
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Whoever asked you to learn English before going to South America has clearly not done their homework. The Spaniards definitely managed to conquer Guatemala territorially, but the country made way for its indigenous languages to thrive for all these years. Apart from German, French and English the government of Guatemala recognizes Amerindian languages including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, and Xinca.

Here we thought India beats the multicultural race, may be not.

3) Turkmenistan: The Country which sells Gas without Charge

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Thanks to a mining project gone wrong, Turkmenistan till date spots a huge crater at the site. 44 years after the gas leaking from the ground was set on fire, it still burns and makes the country immensely rich in the resource. So while the Indian citizens are under public scrutiny to give up gas subsidy, Turkmenstanis are provided the same, for free.

How much better would 'Eat Pray Love' get, when you get them all for free?

4) China: The Country where you don’t Empty your Plates

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Indians and courtesy get along well; only as long as you forget about your table manners in China though. The quintessential Punjabi family would never let your plate or glass be devoid of paranthas or lassi. However, the Chinese accept the same act of leaving an empty plate as a sign of disrespect implying that you were not fed enough.

Like they say, an empty stomach works harder.

5) Japan: The Country where Noisy is Polite

Photo of 10 Countries You Did Not Realize that You Need to Visit, NOW! 5/10 by Antra Sharma
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Love sipping on that last sip of your drink but hate the looks the aunty sitting at least three tables away is giving you? Japan will welcome you with open arms. The customs there not only appreciate the slurping of noodles and soup but apparently are known to improve the flavour of the dish.

Be who you want to be, eat how you want to eat.

6) Scotland: The Country with the Unicorn- ALTER THE BEGINNING

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Your existential crisis is going to leap all mediocre levels in front of the Scottish belief, which chose a national animal that does not exist, the Unicorn. The people insist that the mystical creature symbolises magic and recount it as perfectly representing their superstitious, mythical and legendary culture.

Did you say that you wanted to explore the unexplored or the unreal?

7) Nauru: The Country without a Capital City

Photo of 10 Countries You Did Not Realize that You Need to Visit, NOW! 7/10 by Antra Sharma
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With A population less than EVEN half of Goa, Nauru is only the second smallest republic in the world. Inhabited by around 10,000 people, this Pacific island has no room to establish a capital city, with it's airport runway spanning almost the entire length of the island!

Landless labourers or labour-less lands?

8) Kiribati: The Country in All 4 Hemispheres

Photo of 10 Countries You Did Not Realize that You Need to Visit, NOW! 8/10 by Antra Sharma
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As the fight to break down barriers becomes stronger each day we have a winner amongst us. The Pacific Ocean comprises of the nation of Kiribati which happens to have numerous smaller islands scattered around the Pacific. Surprisingly but not so shockingly anymore, Kiribati appears to have a territory each in all 4 hemispheres of the earth.

So apparently neither love nor islands know borders.

9) Iceland: The Country that Believes in Elves

Photo of 10 Countries You Did Not Realize that You Need to Visit, NOW! 9/10 by Antra Sharma
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According to more than 50% of the Icelanders you cannot possibly live in such a landscape as that of their country without the belief in a force greater than you. And while your thoughts wander off to God and other supernatural elements, they pick their source from your dusted copy of fairytales–Elves.

Flash alert: When grandma says that “Once Upon a Time, there was a Shoemaker and his Elves..", she was not kidding about the elves; they really were.

10) Ethiopia: The Country that is 7 Years Behind

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Remember that listicle on the top 10 things you’d tell yourself in 2013? Apparently, you can re-track and live it too. Only in perspective and in your head though. The people of Ethiopia, under the influence of the Coptic Orthodox Church, function according to the traditional calendar, which is still 2 years behind the rest of the world.

Travelling through all that time and space now, are we?

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