🇧🇩 Bangladesh is a country of mighty rivers and some dodgy river boats. I decided to jump on one and ride down the river in style in my own VIP cabin. Check out what you can get for the princely sum of $12! And on the way I made some friends. Join me on the world's cheapest VIP cruise!

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The World's Cheapest VIP Cruise! $12!

🇧🇩 There are few countries in the world with a bigger image problem than Bangladesh. I mean, just tell me the last time you heard a good news story from the nation? Exactly! Well, I thought I'd go and see if it really was just a place of monsoon floods and outbreaks of disease or, if there were some good reasons to visit the country. And what I found might surprise you so much that you might want to come visit too...Welcome to what is perhaps the world's friendlist nation: Bangladesh!

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Nobody Visits This Country...Find Out Why You Should!

🇲🇳 There aren't many countries as unknown and as mysterious as the one called Mongolia. All we know is the name Chingis Khan and nothing else pretty much. Well I wanted to fill in the blanks in my mind and travel to the vast remote country slap bang in the middle of Asia to see what it was like. And unlike the few other YouTubers who are had visited Mongolia and just ridden a horse or stayed in a tourist yurt, I was going to go to the mean streets of the cities and to meet the people. And, well, see for yourself what happened...

Cheers to backpacker ben for driving us around the country. Check out his channel @BackpackerBen 

Special thanks to my friend Paul who lives in Mongolia and who took me under his wing when I arrived. Without his help I'd still not have a SIM card or had been able to hire a car. See you in the South of France mate 👍

Also thanks to Olivia 'Dogecoin' who took me to the worst transexual bar in Mongolia.

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Strange Encounters In Outer Mongolia 🇲🇳

🇻🇪 Venezuela, the name conjures images of a country synonymous with economic collapse and violence. But is that reputation deserved or is there another side to the country that the media don't show? Well, despite being nervous for my safety and that of my camera, I flew into Caracas on my own to investigate. Oh, and whilst there of course I had to visit the infamous Petare barrio, known as Venezuela's most dangerous hood. Would I survive? Join me and find out. Vamos a Caracas chamos!

Shout out to @BackpackerBen for accompanying me all the way from Cusco to Colombia and thanks to my chama Lucy for her help with the translations on the trip 🫡

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Solo In Venezuela's Feared Capital City 🇻🇪

🇨🇴 Having checked into my hotel in the centre of Bogota I decided to go and take a walk around and see what the city had to offer. What I found was a place littered with rubbish, toxic smells and well, let's just say the world's oldest profession. However despite all that the people were extremely friendly and we met some Venezuelans who told me what to expect on my journey to their country. Join me on a street tour like no other...

Instagram: realbaldandbankrupt

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Solo On Bogota's Dirtiest Street 🇨🇴

🇵🇪 I was hitching a ride on a transport ship down the Amazon River in Peru when I started noticing people among the passengers who looked distinctly like the descendants of Chinese people. Many boarded and disembarked the ship at the various little jungle towns the ship stopped at until we reached the town of Alto Monte which was like something from a Hong Kong kung Fu movie. But who were these people and why were they dressed in robes and gowns? I disembarked to find out...

Thanks to my amiga and chama Lucy for helping with subtitles on this journey 🇻🇪

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South America’s Shaolin Village

🇵🇪 Welcome to the Jungle! I sailed down Amazon tributaries from the Peruvian town of Pucallpa in search of adventure on my way to Iquitos, a town hacked out of the rainforest, passing villages where foreigners don't stop. And there in a small village on the banks of the Amazon I met the legendary turtle man. Join me.

Sponsored by Life For Men

Thanks to Lucy and her brother for helping me translate the drunken conversations in Pucallpa

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The Amazon's Weirdest Village 🇵🇪

🇵🇪 Peru is currently experiencing a lot of civil unrest due to a political crises. Sixty people have been killed by the police and many hundreds injured. The country has been brought to a standstill by road blocks and protests. And so you’d think I would avoid visiting the country. However no, I wanted to visit and see what was happening on the ground and meet the Peruvian people. And practice my Spanish. Join me…

Thank you to Lucy my teacher and chama for patiently helping me learn Spanish this last year. Without her help this trip would have been completely different and only half and interesting.

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Into South America's Troubled Mountains ( Roadblocks and Protests )

🇱🇦 I've met some interesting characters on my travels but not many like Mr. Suck. But before we get to him and his questionable Google translation skills myself and @BackpackerBen had to cross into a mysterious country called Laos. We entered a world not seen by many and in some ways untouched by modern life. Join us on an adventure where my other mate @TimKyoutube will also be with us on our way south to Saigon.

Please check out both ben's and Tim's channels for another side to the trip.

Channel names:
Tim K
Backpacker Ben

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Tourists Don't Cross This Border 🇱🇦

🇻🇳 It's miraculous that the nation of Vietnam even exists because for over 1000 years mightier neighbours have been trying to invade and subjugate it, be that the Mongols, Chinese, French or USA. Yet the Vietnamese held on and defended their land thanks to leaders like Ho Chi Minh. Well I flew in with two friends to explore this proud nation and to re-visit some of its darker past. Join me in this the first part of the journey.

To seer other versions of this journey please visit @BackpackerBen and @TimKyoutube  who both recorded this journey for their channels called Backpacker Ben and Tim K.

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The Nation That Would Not Submit 🇻🇳

🇯🇵 We are all a bit fascinated by Japan aren't we. So distant and yet so modern and futuristic. I'm no different and have always wondered what the country was like however what really intrigued me was what it had to offer beyond the huge metropolis of Tokyo. Was the whole country wealthy and modern and full of robot restaurants and Harijuku fashionistas? Or were the provinces something else? A place that suffers from the same economic and social problems that much of the rest of the world does? Well to find out I set off across Japan with my mate @Backpacker Ben to see for ourselves, choosing a random town called Itaigowa from the map. What we found was not the Japan we knew existed.

Join us because I think we're turning Japanese, I really think so...

Thanks to Chris from @Abroad in Japan for all his advice behind the scenes. If you don't know his channel yet then definitely check it out for mad Japanese content that is ten times better than anything I could make.

Also check out @Gabriel Traveler who has lots of Japanese videos from his recent trip

Also I misspoke about Megumi Yokota. Her school wasn’t there but further up the coast

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The JAPAN You Never Knew Existed 🇯🇵

🇦🇫 What do you think old when you hear the word 'Afghanistan'? Probably not very good things and that isn't surprising. Afghanistan seems to have been in a perpetual war since forever. Bug with the new government in place and supposedly somewhat safer now I decided to go investigate the mysterious landlocked country for myself to see how life was progressing there. Welcome to Talibanland...

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Travels In Taliban Land 🇦🇫 ( Afghanistan 2022 )

This journey that started for me aged 17 in Anna’s Russian class has now come to an end. I’m glad that you were there to see a huge part of it. From the villages of the Komi republic to the mountains of Dagestan, we have experienced so many adventures ( and Soviet sinks ). I'll always remember the forays into the hinterland and the people I met with great fondness but it's time to to bring the curtain down.  

Glory to the USSR!

Top B

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The Journey Is Over

🇷🇴Deep in the heart of Eastern Europe lies the nation of Romania. A mysterious land to many with its own history of villains and heroes. And it was in search of one such polarising figure that I began a journey across this land ( by the world’s greatest train ) in the footsteps of Ceaucescu. Join me on this personal journey which I have long dreamed of making as we trace the leader’s final days in power and his ultimate demise. 

Shoutout to all the friendly Romanian people I met on the journey. 

The prequel to this video can be found on the Daily Bald channel.

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Solo Through Romania's Dark Past 🇷🇴

🇷🇺Since we began exploring the former USSR we have discovered all kinds of wonderful examples of Soviet art and technology. However this time I went in search of the biggest prize of all…I just didn’t realise it would cause such a fuss as it did. Glory to the Soviet space engineers and cosmonauts! Glory to the Buran!

Check out the Instagram @lanasator for some great photos from Buran and other areas of the former USSR. Without her advice and knowledge this video wouldn’t have been possible.

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This Video Caused An International Incident!

🇬🇧 Having travelled to weird and distant locations over the last four years I thought it was finally time to visit my own nation, Great Britain. A land with a rich history and as you'll see if you watch this video, some absolutely great people who are as funny and friendly as you'll find anywhere else in the world. Join me and my mate @Backpacker Ben as we drive the length of Britain visiting towns unknown to outsiders and where we meet some true characters. Rule Britannia!

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This Is Britain! 🇬🇧 ( Nation of Madlads )

Earlier this year myself and Alina tried entering an Uzbek exclave surrounded entirely by Kyrgyzstan. If you saw the video you will know that we were not allowed in. But we don't give up that easy...And so when we discovered that there was a new flight route started up from Uzbekistan to the unknown exclave of Sokh we decided we would have to investigate and try to get in somehow to see what lay there beyond the mountains. Oh and it just happened to mean flying on an old Soviet bi-plane. How could anyone resists such an adventure?!

Buckle up for a Soviet adventure in the mysterious land called Sokh.
First exclave video can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmKRNQfp_Y0&t=2296s

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Entering A Mysterious Exclave You've Never Heard Of  ( In A Soviet Bi-plane )

Get Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/bankrupt - Enter promo code BANKRUPT for 83% off and 3 extra months for FREE! 

🇸🇾 I always thought the Middle East was just rock and sand and full of fanatical nutters. I mean that's all the media ever show us isn't it. And so to cast off my ignorance and prejudice I travelled down to the country with probably the worst reputation of all, Syria. I was joined by Wales's most famous culinary expert @Simon Wilson ( check out his channel for his videos from the trip ) and our new Syrian mate Rami for a journey that both educated and surprised us. Maybe it will surprise and educate you a little bit too and next time you watch some depressing news report from the country you will be able to better draw your own conclusions. Watch this ( the longest video I have ever made ) and find out for yourselves. Shukran habibis.

🇸🇾 I used an independent tour agency to travel to Syria. www.marrota.com  
I highly recommend them if you are considering visiting. The manager can be contacted here: ayoub@marrota.com

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The Syria The Media Won't Show You 🇸🇾

🇺🇦 With reports that the city of Kyiv was soon to be closed off I decided the best thing to do was to join the crowds and leave for the border before being stuck. Whilst it was a sad to see the people leaving their homes behind and taking their kids and pets with them towards an uncertain future it also showed the best of the people. Spirits were high, nobody panicked, people shared food and drinks with each other. It was humbling to be a part of it. 

https://www.withukraine.org

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Leaving Kyiv On A Refugee Train 🇺🇦

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Solo Along The Ukrainian-Russian Border ( One Day Before Invasion )

If you look at a detailed map of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia you will see some strange shapes appearing in the very south of the country. These are the Soviet formed exclaves belonging to both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. They were formed in the 1950s to answer the question of what to do with small regions which were ethnically diverse from the Kyrgyz Republic the people had found themselves living in due to Stalin's map making. 

These exclaves had always intrigued me and I wondered what life was like in them. However there is zero information online about visiting them. However I am always up for a wasted journey so I hired a car in northern Kyrgyzstan and drove 1000kms to one of these exclaves to see if foreigners were allowed to enter or not.

Join me on a wild adventure towards the mysterious mountain exclave of Shohimardon...

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Avoid this Soviet Exclave!

🇱🇹 As the USSR entered its final stages, law and order began to break down and there began a period which has since been called the period of 'Bandit Capitalism'. This was a period when gangs protected by tough sambo fighters and boxers from the different republics began to form and to exploit the new riches that were to be found in the burgeoning capitalist era. One of those gangs was known as the Vilnius Gang which had a fierce reputation in Lithuania and further afield. 

I have always been fascinated by that short period of history and how those gangs operated and so when I was invited into a former member of the Vilnius Gang's home, well I of course accepted. Fortunately my bodyguard @Johnny FD was with me. This would possibly be the night he would earn his usual $7 fee.

Thanks to everyone at Azerai cafe in Vilnius who allowed us to film the evening ( best food in Vilnius and Soviet vibes ) and huge thanks to Tadeus and Anastasia for their hospitality and the Soviet presents. Was a pleasure meeting you all.

Instagrams:
johnnyfdj ( Mongolian bodyguard )
realbaldandbankrupt ( me )
azerai ( best kebab place in the former USSR )
tadeusvasilevskij ( the big man )

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I Got Drunk With Lithuania's Most Notorious Gangster 🇱🇹

English

Spanish

Russian

🇱🇹 Since Lithuania gained it's independence in 1991 it has removed as much of its Soviet past as it possibly could unlike in other post-Soviet republics where there are constant reminders of the USSR around every corner. However in the north of the country lies the town of Visaginas where I was told I could find the last remaining Soviet mosaic ( kind of ). Join me as I head north to see how life is in Visaginas which was built to house the workers from the nearby atomic power station and maybe meet some babushkas on the way. 

Check out @Johnny FD's channel here: http://youtube.com/johnnyfd

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Visaginas: Lithuania's Nuclear Town  🇱🇹

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🇷🇺 We have all heard of the Trans-Siberian, Russia's mega train journey that crosses Siberia as it skirts the Chinese border. But few have heard of the even more impressive B.A.M ( Baikal Amur Mainline ) which passes through virgin forest in the middle of Siberia. Built in the 1970s by young communists, the BAM is the greatest construction project of the 20th Century. And yet it is unknown in the West.

I decided to go and ride this unknown journey across northern Siberia and speak to the people who came to build it. Join me as we ride 'The Bam'!

The journey route: Tayshet-Severobaykalsk-Novi Uoyan-Tinda

Instagram: realbaldandbankrupt

bald and bankrupt