When the USA donated cement and funds to expand the airport in Laos, the Laotians built a massive monument instead.

This mysteriously shaped boulder may have been used for human sacrifice in ancient times.

A tangible and sobering reminder of an atrocity that took place during a secret war.

Buried in the Laos jungle is a sanctuary for bears that would have otherwise been milked to death by poachers.

Thousands of effigies of Buddha watch from caves set high above a legendary river, plus whiskey.

More than 200 statues filled with cryptic symbols give this park spot an aura of horror vacui fantasy.

Believed to have once stored either human remains or rice wine, thousands of mysterious stone jars lie in ruin.

A boat ride through utter darkness, lit only by headlamps, reveals an emerald green pool locals believe is sacred.

This tiered waterfall is so pretty it may cause visitors to cry tears of their own.

Many cities have held the title, but Brazil snatched the crown from Chile in 2011.

This singular art museum in São Paulo is unique inside and out.

The crypts are so large they're basically their own underground church.

These Japanese ruins have been brought back to life with elaborately recreated buildings.

Abandoned ships along a deserted beach feel like the set of a post-apocalyptic thriller.

A surreal, Gaudi-inspired play space near an Anaheim community center.

A cake-themed art installation tucked away in historic Chinatown.

An iconic location along the Los Angeles River where countless movie scenes are filmed.

This symbol of peace is appropriately positioned overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

This brightly made over hotel hides decades of suicide, serial killers, and mysterious deaths.

The programmatic glory of LA's giant whiskey barrel building has become an upscale reminder of the city's kitschy roadside past.

After starting as a whimsical tourist attraction that eventually found its way to ruin, these renovated canals offer a lush and exotic locale on the Pacific Coast.

A look into the Church of Scientology's deeply unfavorable view of psychiatry.

Scientists use one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth as a terrestrial base for studying water on Mars.

These passages carved from the Antarctic ice hold strange shrines to the harsh southernmost climes.