Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The Top 12 Places in the world You Can't Visit ...

North Sentinel Island
Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal



North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal has an indigenous population of somewhere between 50 and 400 Sentinelese, one of the last groups to have resisted contact with the modern world. Extremely protective of their isolation, any attempt by outsiders to land on the island is likely to result in a hail of arrows.
North Sentinel covers only 28 square miles and is amazingly well suited to both support and isolate a tribe like the Sentinelese, according to Neatorama. For instance, the island has no natural harbors and is surrounded by uncharted coral reefs, which have largely kept out visitors.
In the 1960s, there was limited success to make contact with the Sentinelese. However, incidents such as the one in 1975, when a Sentinelese warrior shot a National Geographic film director in the thigh with an arrow, were not uncommon. After 20 years of visits and gift offerings, the first recorded friendly contact was made in 1991.
But that's a close as the Sentinelese ever came to opening up to the outside world. In the mid-1990s, the Indian government decided its policy of forcing contact with the Sentinelese made no sense and ended its visits in 1996.

Ise Grand Shrine
Ise, Japan


In Japanese mythology, you'll find gods and goddesses that rule storms, the wind and the moon. But the country's most sacred shrine site is dedicated to Amaterasu, the Sun goddess.
The Ise Grand Shrine (which is actually a series of more than 100 shrines) has been in existence since 4 B.C. Access here is seriously restricted. Only priests and priestesses of the imperial family are allowed inside, and the public can only see the thatched roofs of some of the shrines over the fence. This may be because the site is purportedly home to one of the most important objects in Japan, a sacred mirror called Yata no Kagami.
Interestingly, the shrine is demolished and rebuilt every 20 years in keeping with the Shinto idea of death and rebirth. The next rebuilding will be completed this year on the lower, northern site — not that we'll be able to see it.

Club 33
Anaheim, Calif.



There's no special pass needed to access Anaheim, Calif.'s stunning beaches and sunny weather, but only the truly magical (and rich) can enter Club 33, a quasi-secretive club in the heart of Disneyland. 
Named after its location at 33 Royal Street in Disneyland's New Orleans Square, the club serves a five-course tasting menu of French/New American food and is decorated by antiques chosen by Walt Disney and his wife. It's also the only restaurant in the Happiest Place on Earth that serves alcohol.
The club opened its doors in 1967 and was dreamed up by Disney as a place to entertain dignitaries and celebrities. The club's current roster allegedly includes Tom Hanks, Christina Aguilera and Elton John.
Fees for joining cost $10,000 per year, plus a $25,000 initiation fee per person. Last year, the club gained major media attention when it sent invitations to 100 new members for the first time in more than a decade.

Metro-2
Beneath Moscow, Russia

One way to escape Russia's brutal winter is to search for Metro-2, a long-rumored subway system beneath Moscow. That's if the KGB will let you.
Codenamed D-6 by the KGB, Metro-2 was supposedly built by Joseph Stalin for use by Russian secret services and top government officials. It's said to have four lines that connect the Kremlin to KGB outposts and the government airport at Vnukovo. There have also been rumors of an underground city, capable of accommodating 30,000 people.
Could a secret subway that parallels the public metro really exist?
There are hints that it's plausible, including the demolition of the Rossiya hotel near the Kremlin, which revealed a tunnel. People who claim to have helped build Metro-2 have also been interviewed over the years. However, Russian agencies will neither confirm nor deny its existence, making it pretty difficult to visit.

Mount Weather
Virginia, U.S.


Let's hope that we never get to see the inside of this place.
The Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center is the real-life version of the secret "doomsday" bunker used by top government officials in movies. It's located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, about 48 miles from Washington, D.C., and consists of two parts: the above-ground FEMA complex, and a 600,000-square-foot underground facility.
Designed to survive the unthinkable and completed in 1958 (the year after the Soviets launched the Sputnik satellite), Mount Weather continues to operate today. No one has ever been allowed to tour the underground complex, but in 1991, Time magazine published an expose after talking with one of the facility's retired engineers. He described a sprawling bunker complete with mainframe computers, air circulation pumps, and a TV and radio studio for post-nuclear presidential broadcasts.
The facility is so secretive not even regular authorities can enter — Mount Weather reportedly has its own police and fire departments.

Vatican Secret Archives
Vatican City, Italy


Half a millennium ago, the Holy See created private archives meant to be protected both from the elements and prying eyes.
According to writer Dan Brown, the Vatican Secret Archives are a shiny high-tech fortress, filled with secret documents and suppressed scientific theories. In reality, the archives rely on disarmingly old-fashioned technology, with a creaking metal lift connecting different floors and millions of documents stored by the papacy over the past 1,200 years, the Telegraph writes.
The word "secret" also doesn't truly apply, despite the name. You can view any document you wish that's more than 75 years old (in order to protect diplomatic and governmental information), but you can't enter the archive.
Since 1881, only select academics, pursuing scientific research, could apply for entry. However, Internet users can get a peek inside some of the rooms on the Vatican website.
Today, the archives are said to contain more than 50 miles of shelving, filled with books, decrees and correspondence between successive popes and some of history's biggest names — from Henry VIII to Mozart.

White's Gentlemen's Club
London, England


An invite to White's Gentlemen's Club, the most exclusive club in England, isn't very likely to happen; unless you're royalty or in another powerful position.
Created in 1693, White's is a traditional gentlemen's club that remains mostly unchanged by modern times. The membership is still all male, members are mostly aristocrats and etiquette is extremely important.
The club is also famous for its "betting book," in which members make bizarre gambles. The most famous is a $4,671 (or £3,000) bet on which of two raindrops would slide down the window first. Other bets focused on politics, sports and social issues, such as men's fashion and marriages.
Not too much is known about the application process, but it's said prospective members need an invite by a sitting member who has the support of two other members.

Room 39
Pyongyang, North Korea


Getting into North Korea is hard enough — imagine trying to sneak your way into its most secretive government facility, Room 39.
It's widely believed, although unproven, that Room 39 is involved in illegal activities, such as counterfeiting $100 bills, production of controlled substances (including heroin and crystal meth) and international insurance fraud. Although the seclusion of the North Korean state makes it difficult to evaluate this kind of information, many claim Room 39 is critical to Kim Jong Un's continued power, enabling him to buy political support and help fund the country's nuclear weapons program.
According to the Guardian, North Korea has denied taking part in any illegal activities.
Room 39 is believed to be located inside the ruling Workers' Party building in Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea.

RAF Menwith Hill
North Yorkshire, England



RAF Menwith Hill is believed to be the largest electronic monitoring station in the world, with secret inner-workings that have spawned numerous conspiracy theory debates. The site has a massive satellite network that intercepts signals from across the globe.
Although it's UK owned and controlled by the Royal Air Force, the United States National Security Agency has a presence at RAF Menwith Hill.
The general public isn't privy to exactly what is being intercepted at RAF, but that doesn't stop the theories. One of the most popular is that ECHELON, a worldwide, multi-country government monitoring of civilian communication is based here.
This place is able to detect any type of missile attack across the globe, reportedly.

Coca-Cola's Recipe Vault
Georgia, U.S.


Coca-Cola may well be the planet's favorite drink, with a reported 1.7 billion servings sold everyday.
Since its creation 125 years ago, Coca-Cola has kept its formula a jealously guarded trade secret, and mythologies about the ingredients have formed around the brand. For example, company legend has it that only a tiny band of people know the recipe, and they're not allowed to travel together for fear of an accident in which the formula might be lost forever.
In 2011, the recipe was retrieved from its vault at SunTrust Bank and transferred a few minutes down the street to a new purpose-built vault at the company's World of Coca-Cola exhibit.
This vault is never opened and is protected by a barrier that keeps the viewing public several feet away. There's also a keypad and hand-imprint scanner by the door, but officials have not confirmed if these are simply for show.

Area 51
Nevada, U.S.



This list probably wouldn't be complete without including the top-secret Area 51 military base.
No one is quite sure what happens at this strip of Nevada desert 83 miles outside of Las Vegas. Some believe the base is used to develop and test secret aircrafts. The conspiracy theorists will tell you it's where the government is hiding crashed UFOs.
Either way, anyone looking to find out for themselves will face deadly force.

---Courtesy: www.weather.com

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