Planning your next trip can be a tough decision. Do you take the easy way out and settle on a beach location or going to see the Coliseum in Rome?

Do you set yourself apart and find a hidden gem that will impress your friends? If it’s the latter, there’s a chance you’ll end up at one of these places.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, these are the fastest growing destinations for personal getaways.

Egypt

An increase in violence plummeted Egypt’s tourism numbers after years of popularity. Now that the violence has decreased, Egypt is experiencing a growth of 51% in tourism.

The Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, and the Valley of the Kings are calling your name.

Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands sit northeast of Guam and have become a new center for tourism. Thanks to stunning beach views and a handful of casinos, tourists cannot wait to see this palm tree paradise.

Malta

Even though its biggest attraction, the Azure Window, fell into the sea, Malta still saw a 23 percent increase in tourism. Malta is a popular location for movie filming. You can visit the set locations of films such as Gladiatior and Captain Phillips.

Seychelles

Located off the coast of Africa, Seychelles is the smallest sovereign country in Africa. When it was first discovered, people thought it was the Garden of Eden. Now, its a tourist spot on the rise.

Armenia

Armenia has never been short of conflict in its 3,000-year history, but recent stability has brought a rise of visitors.  As the world’s first Christian country, there are plenty of ancient monasteries to check out.

Japan

With the Olympics only a few years out, Japan has seen a recent increase in tourism. Not only are visitors coming to Tokyo but also enjoying their time in Kyoto and Osaka.

Whether you are new to flying or someone who has traveled all over, we are sure that you are aware of flight etiquette. Everyone knows of the strict guidelines and rules that one must follow while flying. That however does not guarantee that people never violate said rules. Take a look at some of the weirdest things TSA agents have had to confiscate at the airport over the past few years.

Ever heard of the saying, “let the cat out of the bag?” For the TSA agents at the airport of Pennsylvania, this became quite literal. It all happened on New Years’ Eve of 2018. A couple from Florida had decided that the best way to travel with pets and not pay any extra fees was to just stash the cat inside their luggage.

However, they failed to consider the matter of getting past baggage checks. Aside from the fact that this was obviously illegal, the couple also endangered their pet.

If you are someone who is afraid of heights as well as snakes, this next one would probably be your worst nightmare. A traveler on her way to Barbados tried to smuggle a whole python by stuffing it inside an external hard drive packed in her checked bag. Thankfully, the TSA agents at the airport decided to have a look.

They ended up contacting the US Wildlife Services. Unfortunately, this python dressed in nylons ended up missing the flight.

Do you ever wonder what goes on through the minds of some people, while they make certain decisions? These firecrackers were packed into the checked bag of a traveler at the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport (OWB).

What sounds like a horror flick with a low budget is actually the name of the firecrackers. Now here is a reminder, in case any of you needed it. Firecrackers are not allowed on the airplane.

This passenger took Finding Nemo to a whole new level. Can you imagine trying to sneak in not one but one hundred and sixty-three different types of marine tropical fishes on an airplane?

We will never know if he wanted to sell them for profit or not. Maybe he just wanted to have an aquarium full of beautiful fish. If only he had planned things out and not tried to sneak in fish buddies illegally.

Imagine standing in an airport, and you see the person next to you standing with a low-cost Mjolnir made of wood? This is what happened when a passenger with a very big wooden mallet came through the safety check.

Just months after the release of the second Thor movie, Thor: The Dark World, in theaters in the US at the end of 2013, TSA agents most likely thought that this was some kind of joke.

People have really gotten creative, haven’t they? On June 2, 2011, a Thai customs officer confiscated turtles during a news conference at the Thai Customs Department in Bangkok. 451 turtles worth 1 million baht ($33,000) stashed in suitcases offloaded from a passenger flight from Bangladesh have been found by Thai customs.

Turtles of varying sizes were discovered in small bags packed into cases on Thursday after authorities received a tip-off that a known trafficker was on his way to Thailand.

The early 2010s sure was wild. Back in August of 2011, during a pat-down that was being conducted due to bulky clothing at Los Angeles International Airport, two birds were discovered.

They were covered in socks and taped to a woman’s leg and chest who was traveling to China. The woman was then arrested by USFWS officers on suspicion of smuggling and exporting an endangered species from the United States.

Mumbai airport has been a known den for smugglers. Even then, finding bars of solid gold worth more than one million is not everyday news. This bizarre event happened back in the year 2019. A huge amount of gold was discovered during the airplane cleaning on a daily flight from Mumbai to Bangkok.

We have often forgotten our phones on the airplane. If you are particularly forgetful you might even forget a few dollars. Bars of gold, however, is an entirely new level.

This modern-day Aladdin decided to seek out a whole new world but left his magic carpet behind, He did however bring along his trusty magic lamp. Now we do not know if the genie did live inside, we do however know that it was full of fuel.

This was reported back in 2017 at San Diego International Airport. It was discovered in the carry-on luggage of a passenger and seized by the TSA.

A bag of eels. Yes, you read that right, Not one, not two. Not even a dozen eels.

This incident occurred back in January 2015 at an airport in Miami. As a flyer tried to smuggle them through security in a checked bag, the TSA seized the eels along with 163 tropical fish and 22 invertebrates. All the animals were surrendered to the US Fish and Wildlife Service by the passenger.

So many aspiring ninjas have tried and failed to stealth their way into an airplane. Now you would be surprised with how often people try to sneak in ninja stars. This begs us to ask the question, what do these ninjas think before making such drastically crazy decisions?

For those of you at the back who are still confused, let us clarify. Even though ninjas are welcome onboard all flights, their equipment is most certainly not.

What is it with snakes on planes? People seem to be going to some very extreme yet creative lengths to bring snakes on board.

Seven small snakes, stuffed in nylon stockings, were found in a traveler’s pants in August 2011 at Miami International Airport. He also had three small turtles. Using TSA’s Advanced Imaging Technology, the snakes and turtles were found. USFWS officers arrived at the scene and took the reptiles into custody. The passenger was arrested for violating the Lacey Act and charged with it.

Now we all know about the importance of vitamins. They are crucial for our health. Some people in the far east, however, claim that taking pills with human skin inside is believed to increase their resilience and energy.

Thousands of these pills loaded with human skin that was brought in from China were found by South Korean customs officers. No, we do not know what was done with those pills, but we are glad they have been duly disposed of.

At Gatwick Airport in England, a 22-year-old guy tried to sneak 207 pounds of dried caterpillars through customs. The man believed he was going to use them for “food” and “personal consumption.”

Airplane food has had a reputation of being bland and distasteful. Which, does not mean you should take matters into your own hands and find other ways of sustenance. While we do believe desperate times call for desperate measures, this should not be one of them.

Please do not do this to your beloved pet pug. We request you. We get that you hate leaving your pets behind while traveling but surely there are other ways to do it.

A woman flying from London’s Heathrow Airport to Marbella, Spain, was found to have a little pug named Ruby tucked asleep in her check-in bag for a girls’ holiday. We do not know what happened to Ruby. All we can do is hope that she is doing okay.

Why! Oh why, do you need to sneak in an actual urn? Such are the questions that keep us up at night, after learning about these situations. Some things are not meant to be on planes. This urn is one of those things.

The urn in question was found at an airport in France by customs officers. While not explicitly banned from checking in baggage, questions about its content were asked. Fortunately, she was allowed to travel.

Yes, you read that right. A beard! As a matter of fact, multiple ones. The strange thing about this story is that at the time he wasn’t sporting any of the beards.

One man was noticed at Dublin airport for St Paddies day in 2019 to have a complete sack of real beards apparently for a costume party, questions were asked, but eventually, he was left through. Witnesses said that the man smelled very questionable.

This is not a Home Alone situation, we are afraid. Okay, maybe the opposite of that movie. Back in the year 2015, an eight-year-old Ivorian boy was smuggled from Morocco into Spain in a suitcase. Living in the Canary Islands, the boy’s father had hoped to be reunited with his son.

We sympathize with the dire circumstances that let such a drastic action to take place, however, we do not support it. In hindsight, we think this one clearly takes the cake on the most ridiculous incident.

The first rule of becoming a ninja – Be stealthy as the night and dangerous as the dawn. Now we are not sure how he came up in the second part of this rule, but he sure did fail to be stealthy.

Back in the year 2015, an aspiring ninja failed to hide these Ninja Climbing Claws properly. They were found at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport in a carry-on bag.

For future reference, if you want to take your beloved pets with you on a vacation, please just book a ticket for them in the pet carrier. Strapping your pair of pigeons to your ankles is not the right way to go about it.

A passenger on the way to board a plane was stopped at Melbourne Airport on a flight from Dubai with a pigeon in each of his socks.

For the love of your pets, please double check your suitcases before locking them in. You never know when your favorite pet might just sneak in. This is exactly what happened to this lady in 2015.

An officer was surprised while solving a checked luggage alarm when he found a dog in the bag! Apparently, as its owner was packaging her suitcase, the dog climbed in. In order to find the owner, TSA collaborated with the airline, and the two were happily reunited.

This next one is so ridiculous; it may as well be a scene straight out of a movie. In April 2013, TSA agents of the Fort Lauderdale International Airport found human skull fragments hidden inside clay pots.

The fragments were not a security threat, but since the screening area became a crime scene, they slowed the screening process down. The passengers had just bought the clay pots and had no idea that there were skull fragments inside.

Why! Oh why, do people keep bringing their pet snakes to the plane? On top of that, why do these people keep leaving their pet snakes behind for the others to find?

This albeit harmless 15-inch, ring-necked snake was left at a checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport. A little girl found a snake on the floor of the Terminal C checkpoint. She told an officer who secured the snake with a bin and moved the travelers in that line to another one.

Have you ever thought that you would have to share a flight with moose nuggets? This stinky scenario was almost about to be the reality until the TSA agents decided to have a look.

A passenger at Juneau International Airport (JNU) had on board with him a huge sack full of moose nuggets. In other words, dried waste of the animal that he presumably collected during his travels. Now, we don’t judge tourists based on the souvenirs they choose to keep, but we do agree that this does seem very ridiculous.

Do movies take inspiration from real life? Or is real-life finding inspiration from the most bizarre events happening in the movies.

Either way, this next item is completely ridiculous. In 2012, German customs agents allegedly found money launderers who had rolled up bills and hidden them in pastries at Berlin Schönefeld Airport. While we do commend the creativity of these people, we do not condone such behavior at all.