http://www.instagram.com/drewbinsky

It’s been a wild several days in Turkmenistan. In my opinion, this is (by a long shot) the world’s most bizarre country.

In this video, I explain the 10 strangest things that I find about Turkmen culture — from the thousands of white-marble buildings to the shockingly empty streets, a massive fire crater in the desert that hasn’t stopped burning for 50 years and the heavy censorship of the internet.

Turkmenistan is essentially the “North Korea of Central Asia.” Both capital cities of Pyongyang and Ashgabat feel eerily similar when walking around. The only major difference is that the people of North Korea are oppressed, whereas the people of Turkmenistan seem to be warm, friendly and hospitable.

Please share any thoughts/comments/questions about Turkmenistan and I’ll be happy to answer!