An abandoned motorboat is seen on the bank of a bay near Krabozavodskoye settlement on the Island of Shikotan, one of four islands known as the Southern Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, December 19, 2016. (Photo by Yuri Maltsev/Reuters)

North Korea has closed its borders in fear of the spread of the Ebola virus. But at a time when the secretive state was still welcoming tourists, former aid worker Andrew Macleod made the journey to the repressive nation. Andrew's holiday snaps and camera footage provide a unique insight into the reclusive country, where he came across deserted motorways, metro stations plastered with propaganda and attractive border guards. Here: a female traffic police officer in the snow in February 2013, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo by Andrew Macleod/Barcroft Media)

In this July 23, 2013 photo, sand fills an abandoned house in Kolmanskop, Namibia. Kolmanskop, was a diamond mining town south of Namibia, build in 1908 and deserted in 1956. SInce then, the desert slowly reclaims its territory, with sand invading the buildings where 350 German colonists and more than 800 local workers lived during its hay-days of the 1920s. (Photo by Jerome Delay/AP Photo)

Police officers introduce a litter of golden retriever puppies to be trained as police dogs during a ceremony at the National Police Academy in La Paz, Bolivia, Monday, August 16, 2021, the date of the feast day for Saint Roch, considered the patron saint of dogs, among other things. (Photo by Juan Karita/AP Photo)

A cat looks on near the Victory Pillar at the ruins of the Serapeum of Alexandria, an ancient Greek temple dating to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods (246 BC – 391 AD) dedicated to the city's protector deity Serapis, in Egypt's northern coastal city of Alexandria on November 24, 2023. The giant Corinthian column, commonly misidentified as “Pompey's Pillar”, is a Roman triumphal column set up in honour of the Roman emperor Diocletian (298–302 AD), and originally supported a colossal porphyry statue of the emperor in armour. (Photo by Amir Makar/AFP Photo)

A knight parades in the street during the traditional carnival parade in Cologne, western Germany, Monday, February 16, 2015. (Photo by Martin Meissner/AP Photo)

Content Creator Tina Lee poses for pictures during a media preview of Summit at One Vanderbilt in New York, October 1, 2021. The Summit viewing deck is spread across the top four floors on One Vanderbilt in Manhattan, the fourth tallest building in the city. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)

On Guard, Indonesia, by Riksa Dewantara. The explosive eruption and loud rumbling of the Mount Bromo volcano in Bromo Semeru Tengger national park scared the horse causing it to rear up onto its hind legs. Second place, Journeys and Adventures category. (Photo by Riksa Dewantara/SIPA Contest)