No matter where your travels take you, you’re bound to discover that people from all over the world harbor varying perspectives on what is considered interesting and entertaining. One of the best ways to fully experience and enjoy a travel destination is to immerse yourself in the local culture, history and attractions, especially when they are particularly bizarre. These four  museums are known and loved throughout the world for their stunning individuality and the sense of wonder that they inspire in their guests.
1. Museum of Enduring Beauty
Throughout history and all over the world, people of various cultures have prized different ideas of true beauty. The Museum of Enduring Beauty, located in Malaysia, embraces these differences and pays homage to the varying ways men and women have altered their bodies over centuries, all in the name of aesthetic appeal and social acceptance.
From the feet of young women bound in impossibly tiny shoes to heavy brass rings laid upon the shoulders to elongate the neck, this attraction has it all. Next time you find yourself complaining about your makeup regimen or high heels, this museum and its fantastic exhibits can quickly provide some perspective into what other cultures have required in the name of beauty.
2. The Hair Museum of Avanos
Located in beautiful Cappadocia, Turkey, The Hair Museum of Avanos contains the largest collection of human hair in a single basement beneath a potter’s shop. The story behind the hair museum is equally as interesting as the display itself, telling of the shop owner’s lonely friend who received a lock of hair from a kind woman upon his leaving the city. When women would visit the shop thereafter and listen to the touching story, they would each carefully snip a few of their own strands to leave in his memory.
Today, the dimly lit basement features more than 16,000 samples of hair donated by female visitors over the years. Every surface other than the floor is covered in hair of thousands of colors and textures. While guests certainly aren’t obligated to leave a bit of their hair behind to add to the monument, scissors and tape are readily available for anyone who wishes to make a contribution to the constantly growing exhibit.
3. Siriraj Medical Museum
Known to visitors and locals alike as “The Museum of Death,” this Thailand attraction houses countless medical oddities sure to capture your interest as well as your curiosity. Some of the most popular specimens on display include forensic evidence gathered from murder scenes and dissected organs suspended in a liquid solution, viewed clearly through their glass containers.
Because the museum is actually comprised of six separate sections, each with its own specialization, this trip is one that can take an entire day to fully enjoy. Walk in and let your imagination run wild with the thousands of pathological, forensic, parasitological and anatomical anomalies within.
4. The Meguro Parasitological Museum
Fascinating, educational and undeniably bizarre, The Meguro Parasitological Museum in Tokyo, Japan, is the only museum in the entire world exclusively dedicated to the display of parasites. The relatively small size of the unique Japanese museum lends itself to a quaint and cozy atmosphere upon entrance, a feeling nearly immediately replaced with intense intrigue and, often enough, squeamishness and revulsion.
The museum’s expansive exhibits feature approximately 300 different specimens of parasites from across the country, many of which are encased in clear, glass vials and similar containers for ease of viewing. Visitors are invited to stare into the mouth of a preserved turtle’s head to see a parasite that has attached itself to the reptile’s tongue. A tapeworm measuring nearly nine meters long can be seen winding up and down behind the lid of a tall glass case and, just to provide guests with proper scale, a length of fabric identical to that of the parasite is available for hands-on examination.
While the majority of the museum’s spectators find themselves taken aback, eyes partially covered, by the horrific items on display, there does exist a certain element of morbid curiosity and fascination that simply can’t be ignored. Even as your stomach churns at the thought of these creatures, you may find that something keeps you from looking away altogether.
Philip J Reed on behalf of the Westwood College hospitality degree program
