Anthony Bourdain was one of the culinary world's most notorious bad boys, earning that reputation with his profanity, crude humor, mosaic of tattoos, and strongly held opinions. Throughout his life, Bourdain traveled the globe showcasing different countries and their cultures through their cuisine. Bourdain did everything from sharing drunken nights with a group of former Viet Cong soldiers to dining with some of the most famous chefs in the world, like Ferran Adrià at his now-closed but still legendary elBulli.



Anthony Bourdain’s 9 Most Dangerous Destinations Gallery



But Bourdain's exploration of global cuisine and culture led him to some of the world’s political hotspots, war-torn countries, and regions damaged by natural disasters — places considered some of the most dangerous destinations in the world.

While filming his series Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Bourdain found himself on lockdown in his hotel as war broke out in Beirut, an episode that later went on to be nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Information Programming in 2007.

Bourdain said that leaving the Travel Channel and launching his series with CNN opened windows and doors for him to delve into and explore places he’s long dreamed of visiting.

"With CNN, I get to go to all the places that I never would have been able to go really with any other network," Bourdain said in an interview. "Places like Congo, Libya, Myanmar, would have been very, very tricky to do elsewhere. I’m able to go places I never would have been able to go and look at these cultures in either a bigger picture or a more narrow focus as I choose."

From No Reservations to Parts Unknown, here are nine of the most dangerous destinations Bourdain traveled to in order to tell a good story.

Alexandra E. Petri contributed to this story.



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