Have you been to the Karni Mata temple in Rajasthan? In case, you are planning a trip to the temple where the deity is worshiped as the incarnation of the goddess, don't forget to carry your first aid kit.
The reason: RATS; thousands of them that are as revered as the presiding deity. If one of the rats is killed, it must be replaced with one made of solid gold. Sighting a white rat amidst hordes of black rats is considered especially auspicious.
So imagine rats scrawling around your feet Sounds scary, right? No wonder a recent poll by travel site Tripadvisor has listed it among the most unhygienic tourist attractions.
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The Blarney Stone
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Location: Ireland
Details: The Blarney Stone is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney, about 5 miles (8 km) from Cork, Ireland.
According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). Reports say that the stone has been kissed by an unquantifiable number of would-be politicians and salesmen.
Seattle Gum Wall
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Location: Downtown Seattle, US
Details: The Gum Wall is a brick wall now covered in used chewing gum. Reports say that the tradition began around 1993 when patrons of Unexpected Productions' Seattle Theatresports stuck gum to the wall. Theater workers scraped the gum away twice, but eventually gave up after market officials deemed the gum wall a tourist attraction in around 1999.
People initially stuck coins to the wall using the gum, and some people create small works of art out of gum.
Oscar Wilde's Tomb
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Location: Pere Lachaise in Paris, France
Details: By tradition, the Irish novelist, poet and playwright's admirers kiss the art-deco monument while wearing lipstick. The modernist angel depicted as a relief on the tomb was originally complete with male genitalia, which have since been vandalised; their current whereabouts are unknown. In 2000, Leon Johnson, a multi-media artist, installed a silver prosthesis to replace them.
St Mark's Place
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Location: Venice, Northern Italy
Details: Besides being filled with people and great specimens of architecture, St Mark's Square is also full of pigeons. Pigeons have long been a problem in the square but only recently did the city pass a law that banned the feeding of these birds. The pigeons have caused much damage to the delicate mosaics on St Mark's Basilica and to other buildings around the Square.
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
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Location: 6925, Hollywood Boulevard, US
Details: It has since been home to many premieres, birthday parties, corporate junkets and three Academy Awards ceremonies. Among the theater's most distinctive features are the concrete blocks set in the forecourt, which bear the signatures, footprints, and handprints of popular motion picture personalities from the 1920s to the present day. Its oft-touched hand prints are no cleaner than any other stretch of pavement.
Karni Mata rat temple
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Location: Deshnoke, 30 km from Bikaner, Rajasthan
Details: Karni Mata is the official deity of the royal family of Jodhpur and Bikaner. The temple is infested with rats. Numbering in thousands, the rats are as revered as the presiding deity. If one of the rats is killed, it must be replaced with one made of solid gold. Sighting a white rat amidst hordes of black rats is considered especially auspicious. Oh, by the way, bare feet are mandatory for visitors.
Monkey Valley
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Location: Everland Resort at Yongin, a city in Gyeonggi-do province, South Korea
Details: Everland Resort is South Korea's largest theme park. Along with its main attractions, it also boasts a zoo. In the past, a zoo meant wild animals in cages, but at Everland that's an outdated concept. Monkey Valley doesn't have any bars on the cages. Some people may worry that the monkeys will run away. However, the monkeys are quite friendly. But that doesn't make them any cleaner.
Glastonbury Festival
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Location: Glastonbury, Somerset (UK)
Details: Glastonbury or Glasto, is the largest green field open-air music and performing arts festival in the world. It is said that the he festival began a day after American guitarist and singer-songwriter Jimi Hendrix died in 1970. The festival is best known for its contemporary music, but also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts. However, the Bronze Age conditions of the festival's toilets are the stuff of legend.
Children's Ballpool
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CBGB's toilets
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Location: 315, Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.
Details: The full name of this rock club is CBGB & OMFUG, which stands for 'Country Bluegrass Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers'. In the late eighties, the record store was closed and replaced with a second performance space and art gallery, named "CB's 313 Gallery". The gallery went on to showcase many popular bands and singer-songwriters who played in a musical style more akin to acoustic rock, folk, jazz, or experimental music.
On November 2, 2007, it was announced that high-end men's fashion designer John Varvatos would open a store at CBGB's former space at 315 Bowery in early 2008. Varvatos expressed a desire to "do justice" to CBGB's legacy. Much of the graffiti covering the bathrooms was preserved, along with some playbills from the club's 10th anniversary shows in 1983 that were discovered behind a wall. The store opened in April 2008. The original Punk Rock haunt flies the flag for filthy rock club loos the world over.
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