Man who tries to visit every country documents his trip to TURKMENISTAN – where “there is no internet”, driving dirty cars is a crime and the cities are “ghost towns”.

A man on a mission to visit every country in the world has revealed what it’s like in the “strange place on earth”.

Chris, who goes by the username Authentic Traveling, has been documenting his progress online as he travels the world.

Most recently, he visited Turkmenistan, his 159th country to date, leaving him with just 56 to explore.

The content creator, who has more than 717,000 followers on Instagram, presented some of his bizarre findings, including that the internet has been banned and that driving dirty cars is a crime.

Chris looked through the desolate scene while visiting the monuments and sights of Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan

As he explored the room, Chris said, “To call this place strange is an understatement. The capital is full of grandiose, functional monuments and practically deserted.

The explorer explained: “The country only recently opened up to tourism after being completely closed since 2020.”

In the clip he uploaded to Instagram last week, Chris begins: “This is what it’s like to travel to the strangest country in the world.

“I’m traveling to Turkmenistan, an isolated country in Central Asia.”

He continued: “The first thing you have to understand is that there is no internet here. In fact, every website was blocked and I had to tell people that I would have no contact for the entire trip.

Chris later explained that although there is technically “an internet, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, news sites and even airline sites are completely banned from booking tickets abroad.”

He said citizens often use VPNs to bypass the ban, but they are frequently disconnected.

The explorer also said: “You cannot travel here without a pre-approved visa and a pre-arranged guide for the entire duration of your stay.”

“In fact, the country only recently opened to tourism after being completely closed since 2020.”

Chris surveyed the desolate scene while visiting the monuments and sights of Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan.

The content creator, who has more than 717,000 followers on Instagram, shared some of his bizarre findings

Chris said that although there is technically “an internet, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, news websites and even airline websites are completely banned from booking tickets abroad.

As he explored the room, Chris said, “To call this place strange is an understatement.

“The capital is full of grandiose, functional monuments and practically deserted.

“It’s just an eerie feeling when you visit these buildings with dozens of empty shops, almost like a ghost town.”

“It just felt like something was wrong and you couldn’t quite put your finger on what it was.”

He said of his findings: “The Turkmen government has used its enormous resources to build these buildings, but it is clear that the majority of the population has a significantly lower quality of life.”

“It seems as if they want to impress the world with these monuments, but for a country that only receives an average of 25 international visitors a day, one wonders who they are really meant for?”

In the caption of one of his videos, he noted that he had “a lot of questions” about the way of life in the country, but admitted that he “didn’t feel comfortable” asking locals questions.

“Almost everyone who visits the city notices an alarming lack of people around the monuments and government-built apartment buildings, but the truth is that most people live in poorer and older Soviet-era apartment buildings in another part of the city .” .

“Why do government workers get such luxury apartments that they never seem to visit, when the quality of life in the rest of the country is much worse?”

“I had a lot of questions, but I didn’t feel comfortable at all in Turkmenistan.”

He also added, “Ashgabat is known as the city of marble and every car must be white or silver and it is a crime to drive a dirty car in the city.”

However, one of the places he enjoyed visiting was the “Gates of Hell” – a gas crater that has been burning continuously since 1969.

While driving through one of the city’s streets, Chris also pointed out something incredibly strange about the amount of vehicles on the road – and revealed the bizarre reason why every car he saw was white or silver and also sparkling clean.

“Ashgabat is known as the city of marble and every car must be white or silver and it is a crime to drive a dirty car in the city,” he said.

However, one of the places he enjoyed visiting was the “Gates of Hell” – a gas crater that has been burning continuously since 1969.

“It’s unbelievable, it’s so hot.” You can feel the enormous heat waves coming our way. Sometimes the wind blows it away and makes your face incredibly hot.

“It’s absolutely amazing to come here and see this really cool natural wonder.”

Chris concluded: “This is without a doubt the strangest trip I’ve ever taken.”

Turkmenistan, formerly under Soviet rule, remains one of the least visited countries in the world.

Due to the high birth rate in the decades after independence, which led to a population explosion, more than half of the population is under 30 years old.

With a desert share of 70 percent, the economy is dependent on cotton cultivation and the extraction of oil and natural gas.