It's wholly devoid of any interesting wildlife, you can't pee in it because the salt will sting your naughty parts, and it's teeming with nothing but wealthy American Jewish kids on their "Birthright" trips. Gee, sounds like a real party. Where do I sign up? The big selling point for The Dead Sea is that it's really salty, which means you can float in it. Whoopee. Floating in water. How unique. I can't wait to try it. Oh wait, I can try it. I can try it in ANY BODY OF WATER ON EARTH.
A school of tourists (Touristae Obnoxium) swims by
The Dead Sea is on the border between Israel and Jordan, which puts it smack dab in the center of a whimsical playground I like to call "The Middle East." What a fun place. Come for the fanatical religion, stay for the oppression and beheadings. I'm so bored of this region. Either get over your shit and have peace, or sack up and go to war. Just pick one and let's get on with it.
Middlebrow Answer: The East Siberian Sea
I'll give you one guess what country this one is next to (No, "Siberia" is not a country, jackass). The East Siberian Sea is known for its arctic temperatures, shallow waters, and frequent fogs. Its shores have also been used as a place for reindeer husbandry by a number of native tribes. So. To summarize. It's quiet. It's pretty. It's clean. And you can watch reindeer humping. I'm in.
Can you spot all six polar bears? (Hint: No, you can't)
In the 1930's, the areas along the edges of The East Siberian Sea were used as internment camps for prisoners of the oppressive Gulag System. The Gulag System, for all you philistines out there, was a method by which enemies of the Soviet state were worked to death in a series of remote labor facilities. "The Gulag System" is also potentially the greatest name ever conceived for a Brooklyn hipster band.
Highbrow Answer: The Salton Sea
Totally remote, post-apocalyptic landscape? Check. Piles of fish corpses? Check. Grimy, pollutant-laden sludge water? Check. This place has everything. I think I might take my honeymoon here. Nothing says romance like sludge water and piles of fish corpses. Although I'll have to be careful. If there were ever going to be a place where I'd get attacked by some kind of mutant lagoon monster with a taste for human meat, this would be it.
For Sale: Two bedroom, one bath. Fixer-Upper.
The Salton Sea was a bustling resort area back in the 1920's when it had, well, water in it. But a changing environment combined with a shifting flow of agricultural runoff has left it dry and abandoned. The only people left in the region are local hillbillies and social misfits. Awesome. I've been looking for a bleak place where I can lose all my teeth and sit in a rocking chair shouting incoherently at the sun.
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