Except for difference in race and stature, are humans the same all around the world? If you’re not alone at your location, a sweep of your immediate environment in a quick furtive look would prove that assertion true. So why do we bother making plans, spending a fortune in the name of seeing the world when we going to see the same of our kind? Isn’t traveling just a big waste of time and resources and an exercise in futility? The most appropriate answer to that is the pursuit of knowledge. People travel around the world in an attempt to complete their education about our world.

Humans might look the same but they effuse different emotions, isn’t that’s what gave birth to different cultures, languages, dressing, architecture and other human complexities? The need to learn, whether for academic or curiosity reasons, is why most people travel. No one ivory tower, no matter how advanced, can teach everything about humans, you just have to hit the road and explore the world.
The world the human race lives in is a book, it’s only by traveling around it we can avoid getting stuck on a page. Being stuck on a page, not seeing the world, is the real reason being boredom. To continue your education in life, you must put things in good stead, create time off, pick up your passport and be on the next available flight out of the country. So here’s a shortlist of exotic locations around the world where you can advance your cause of learning more about mankind.

1. Bay of Kotor, Montenegro
Bocche di Cattaro (in Italian) or simply known as Boka, this winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro will engulf you with its emerald waters and picturesque mountains. Medieval architecture and numerous monuments of cultural heritage have made the ancient city of Kotor a UNESCO listed “World Natural and Historical Heritage Site”. The shoreline houses beautiful medieval towns like Perast, where you can stop for a meal and interact with the locals.

2. Petra, Jordan
Petra is a famous archaeological site in Jordan’s southwestern desert. Dating to around 300 B.C., it was the capital of the Nabatean Kingdom and was carved out of sandstone cliffs. Rising out of cliffs between the Red and Dead Sea, the lost city of Petra still has secrets to reveal. It has several tombs and carved structures spread across a sandy landscape. Many scenes from the famous Steven Spielberg-directed Hollywood hit, ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ were filmed here.

3. Fregate Island, Seychelles
The private island of Fregate is an ultimate honeymooner’s delight. It is one of the world’s most exclusive resorts with seven pristine beaches to choose from. The island is the easternmost of the granitic Inner Islands of the Seychelles. Simply close your eyes and think idyllic. Someone needs to find out why the island’s Anse Victorin was voted “The World’s Best Beach” by The Times.

4. The Great Blue Hole, Belize
This submarine sinkhole off the coast of Belize is in every scuba diver’s bucket list. Located next to Lighthouse Reef, about 70 kilometres off the coast of Belize, the Great Blue Hole is part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System that was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Even if you are not into enjoying a myriad of species underwater, it’s totally worth flying over the Blue Hole for a breathtaking view.

5. Namje, Nepal
There are no roads to Namje. The only way to get to the Nepalese village is along a series of footpaths with views of Mount Makalu, the world’s fifth-tallest peak. Namje, a small Magar village in Dhankuta, eastern Nepal, has been named one of the 12 best unheard of places by CNN. One of the world’s best-kept secrets, Namje’s native Magar people live very close to nature and still practice animism, a worship of their ancestors, in its sacred burial ground.

6. Taha’a, French Polynesia
Bora Bora and Tahiti as exotic locations have nothing on this intimate and exquisite island of Taha’a. Taha’a is an island located among the western group, the Leeward Islands, of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The landscape is dotted with several vanilla plantations and traditional pearl farm huts. Taha’a is also known as Vanilla Island because it grows nearly 80% of all vanilla produced in French Polynesia.

7. Pisco Elqui, Chile
Those who love to star gaze, look no further than the clearest skies in Pisco Elqui. Pisco Elqui is a Chilean village in the commune of Paihuano, Elqui Province, Coquimbo Region. It’s located in the Elqui Valley, 107 km east from La Serena, at about 1,300 metres above sea level. Surrounded by magnificent Andean mountains, this Chilean village enjoys perfect weather year round.

8. Cappadocia, Turkey
Cappadocia, a semi-arid region in central Turkey, is known for its distinctive “fairy chimneys,” tall, cone-shaped rock formations clustered in Monks Valley, Göreme and elsewhere. Known as Turkey’s most visually striking region, Cappadocia offers caves, clefts, pinnacles and ‘fairy chimneys’ (pointed rock formations). Volcanic eruptions formed this surreal moonscape.

9. Timgad, Algeria
This Roman colonial town founded by Emperor Trajan in AD100 is a UNESCO world heritage site. Centuries later, it still represents the embodiment of Roman urban planning. The full name of the town was a mouthful, Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi, so Timgad works just fine. Located in modern-day Algeria, about 35 km east of the town of Batna, the ruins are noteworthy for representing one of the best extant examples of the grid plan as used in Roman city planning.

10. The Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a nation in the South Pacific, with political links to New Zealand. Many are of the opinion that Cook Islands are the best kept secret in the Pacific Ocean. The 15 islands are scattered over a vast expanse of seductive and sensuous ocean, boasting of idyllic climate and rare beauty. The Cook Islands is renowned for its many snorkeling and scuba-diving sites.

11. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Angkor Wat or Capital Temple is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world, with the site measuring 162.6 hectares. Built by the Khymer civilization, Angkor Wat is the most famed Cambodian temple, which even appears on its national flag. The architectural genius unfolds many enduring tales of Cambodian history.

12. Fiji
Fiji is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) northeast of New Zealand’s North Island. No list of exotic destinations can be complete without mention of Fiji, an archipelago of over 300 islands in the South Pacific Ocean, they call it the ‘home of happiness’. Besides pristine white sandy beaches and fish-packed coral reefs, there is ample opportunity to climb a mountain, soak in a hot spring or explore a village.

13. Bagan, Myanmar
Bagan is an ancient city in central Myanmar (formerly Burma), southwest of Mandalay. Standing on the eastern banks of the Ayeyarwady River, it’s known for the Bagan Archaeological Area, where more than 2,000 Buddhist monuments tower over green plains. Holy sites around Old Bagan include ornate Ananda Temple, built in 1091 and topped with a golden stupa. For an unparalleled view, tourists take a hot air balloon rides at sunrise to see it.

14. Sossusvlei, Namibia
Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert, in the Namib-Naukluft National Park of Namibia. Lifted from a dream, Sossusvlei is full of picturesque sand dunes surrounded by clay pans. The most surreal attraction is the Deadvlei, where the dead acacia trees contrast the white shiny salty floor of the pan.

15. Socotra, Yemen
Also spelled Soqotra, it’s an island and a small archipelago of four islands in the Arabian Sea. The territory is part of Yemen, and had long been a subdivision of the Aden Governorate. Isolated Socotra has a most unique landscape. It’s home to 800 rare species of flora and fauna, about a third of which is not found anywhere else in the world.