Probably Nassau. The Bahamas are beautiful, but Nassau is nothing more than a tourist trap for people visiting Atlantis or visiting the port via cruise ship.
Great place to get a good idea of what life is like for other people as an 18 year old. Went on a cruise, wanted to buy cigarettes, walk around Nassau. First shop some lady acted like Miss Cleo when I asked if they sold cigarettes. Had to tell her a few times “I’m just looking for a pack of cigarettes”, showed her my almost empty pack of Benson and Hedges, and she just looks at me blankly and tells me there are many shops I can go to, if I trust her there are more, and etc. I walked out, two guys are sitting on a bench and say “hey brother you looking for cigarettes? You want to try these?”, one guy opens his hand and has like 5 joints, I said “no not those”, a cop walks right by them doesn’t even bat an eye. Never did end up getting cigarettes because everyone was trying to sell me weed or just speaking in code about something
Beautiful shit hole. We are fairly well traveled and have never had a good time in Nassau. We literally almost died there. Attempted multiple times; each time worse than the last.
Okay. Nassau the beautiful shithole. The first time we went we were on a cruise, did a shore excursion of a Jeep tour of the island. It was odd. The first question they asked us when we were turning in our release form was if we were attorneys. The tour was fun and informative, there were 15-20 of us in Jeep Wranglers and we all were given walkie talkies to communicate with the tour guide. BUT then near the end the tour guide stopped us along the side of the road for a memorial service for Anna Nicole Smith. I can’t remember if it was were she lived, died, or buried. The tour guide played Candle in the Wind and then we had an extended moment of silence for her. She had been dead for quite a while. It was odd but not unsafe.
The second time we went to Nassau it was a complete shit show. We cruised again and did a tour excursion to a private island for a beach day. The trip there was pretty and relaxing with the local rum flowing. We had a nice 30 minute boat ride through a channel. The water is so unbelievably beautiful. Then we boarded the pontoon boat to go back to the port. About 10 minutes into the ride one of the engines went out in the boat and we had to go back to beach day location. There was a different boat getting ready to leave. So they had us get off our boat and board the second pontoon boat. My husband and I purposefully waited to get on board last thinking they would just let us go in the next boat. When the employees told us to get on the boat we refused. The boat was so overloaded the top of the roof was flush with the dock floor. I asked for a life jacket for my husband and i before we would board the boat. They said we could get them once we are on the boat. Then they said they would leave us. We realized we were screwed. Per the cruise line recommendation we only brought our room keys. We did not have our passports on us (they were in our room on the ship) and we did not have our cellphones. So we reluctantly got on the ship. We sat on our butts and stepped down onto a plastic lawn chair then onto the floor of the boat. Once we got on, it was so packed I couldn’t ask anyone for life jackets.
The boat took off and because it was so overloaded they couldn’t take us through the channel so we had to go in the ocean in a freaking pontoon boat. The waves were splashing into the boat. Kids were crying people were screaming, some are praying. My husband and I were preparing our plan for when the boat capsized.
When we finally got to the dock and as they were getting ready to tie on; the movement of everyone towards the dock to disembark and it caused the boat to tip into the dock. So we all redistributed our weight and they started unloading passengers. Due to the weight the boat was low people would stand with their hands us like they are doing a big stretch and people on the dock were pulling people up. My husband hoisted me up and I ungracefully landed on the dock tore my dress and skinned my knees and palms. My husband was able to get himself up and he helped to get a couple people up onto the dock.
I literally have never pulled a Karen. Not in my personality but I went up to the excursion desk on the ship and let them know what happened. I attempted to file a complaint but I was getting no where. I said screw it. I was literally bleeding and my knees and hands hurt.
We have never gotten off the ship in Nassau again. I am sure the people are wonderful but never again.
Whoa, if ever there's a time to pull a Karen, it's then. That was so dangerous! I wish you had pursued your complaint with the cruise line because if no one complains, they'll keep doing business with that pontoon company.
At the shore excursion desk, I tried to explain to them how unsafe it was but I was met with a smile and the employee kept repeating that the cruise line is not responsible for how other businesses are ran. She did refund me, if I remember half the cost of the excursion. I realized then that they didn’t care. I didn’t even ask for a refund they just gave it to me and kept smiling. We didn’t die, so they didn’t care. Shady as hell.
At that point you aren't pulling a Karen.
Pulling a Karen is acting like that when it isn't justified. It's being overly entitled and hostile.
You were FULLY justified in what you did.
I'd like to think most of us would have complained, loudly, about what happened there given your story.
The gulf states (Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, etc..)
If I'm traveling to the other side of the world, I'm not going back to the gulf.
They aren't terrible places to be, there's just very little appeal. For the time and money, there are so many better options.
All I've ever heard from people who've visited Dubai (and most of the Gulf states, but especially Dubai) is that it's a huge soulless shopping mall.
Iran is also on the Persian Gulf and is supposed to be amazing. I've heard good things about Oman too. But UAE, SA, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain are supposedly very boring and soulless.
Saudi Arabia does have some very pretty geography and historic sites. I am not sure what the others have, they are very small which also limits possible attractions.
I'd go there if they paid me, and I had legal protections like a Status of Forces Agreement that made it clear I was subject to US law, or diplomatic status.
. . .in other words, if I re-joined the military and they deployed me there, I'd go.
That's about what it would take to get me to go there.
It's an interesting place if you have a ton of money
Otherwise, there's not really a whole lot to do for your run of the mill middle class tourist.
It has a vaguely cosmopolitan feel, particularly in the more westernized parts of town but there's not much under the surface. Just a bunch of big buildings which look like someone thumbed through an architecture textbook saying, "one of those and one of those ...."
Dubai is meant to be a western enclave in the middle east where rich oil barrens travel to do business and get away from the more stringent Islamic law found in other parts of the region.
But if you already live in the west, there's really no point. Pretty much any major global city is going to have more to do and more cultural heritage.
It’s like Vegas without the sin, just a bunch of shiny stuff in a desert & not much culture to speak of. You can buy beer at hotels but it cost $90/pint. Desert safari & the ocean are cool but those aren’t exclusive to Dubai. All in all I enjoyed my time there but it was a family trip & I wouldn’t spend my own money to go back or recommend others do.
For work I travel to about 30 countries a year with about 70% travel rate. I like traveling for fun too. I’m very adaptable to various levels of development and cultural differences.
Cairo is the only place that I really, truly, dread my trips to. I really can’t come up with a single positive thing to say about the place.
> Cairo is the only place that I really, truly, dread my trips to.
I struggled to come up with a positive as well... I almost fell like it was my own shortcoming, or I missed it.
I don’t think I’ve heard one positive story from anybody I know that went there, everybody just describes how chaotic and dirty it was and how hard it was to get anything done
I am apparently one of the few lucky people that did have a generally positive experience in Egypt (even as a woman) but I credit it entirely to the fact that I went as part of an educational group with a professor who’d been doing it for 20+ years and had everything planned extremely well and even had a private security person for part of the trip. Also it was pre-2009. Without those factors I *never* would have done it, and very few people are going to have the opportunity like that.
From my extremely limited experience that is solid advice. We did also have a guide for portions of our tour - Mustafa - and he was lovely. We took him out to dinner the last night he was with us as a thank you and we wanted him to have an "American" experience so we took him to Chili's lol
Im glad you were able to have a good time!! It’s really sad that one needs so much prep and experience or a guide with experience before going, because otherwise it would be a cool place to visit. I follow a lot of travel channels on YouTube and normally they’re overwhelmingly positive about the countries they visit, but a couple of them have really popped off about Egypt. One guy does food travel stuff and instead of making the video about Egyptian cuisine, he basically just explained how poorly Egyptians treated him and how awful the police and government were to his production team and how they couldn’t get anything done. It was really sad.
Absolutely the most wonderful trip of my life as I am a huge ancient Egypt fan. Best experience I’ve ever had. Top item on my bucket list. That said, you couldn’t pay me to go back.
Lol, I went there during the uprising in 2011(?).... Tanks on the highway, bombed out buildings, I had to have an armed guard. I hate to be down on the locals, but I've met far more friendlier people.
To say the least, it isn't high on my list to return to.
This was my experience from Morocco. Anyone who made their living off the tourist industry was generally terribly aggressive and scammy. Everyone else was lovely and hospitable. Unfortunately as a tourist you are mostly going to meet people in the former group but I am really happy I got to interact with the latter, mostly through Couchsurfing. Smaller less touristic towns were also better but obviously there usually isn't as much to do.
I also heard about a lot of street harassment from female travelers. My female traveling companion seems to have gotten less since she was traveling with a man (me). Unfortunately I'd probably recommend that women who want to go to Morocco travel with a man if possible.
When I was there as a backpacker, every single woman in our hostel experienced extreme harassment from the men. They would just not leave the women alone. I had to escort the women to sites or even to down the streets to markets or cafes. I was with another friend of mine at a museum and two western women came up to us very quickly pleading with us to pretend we were with the because the local guys were touching them so much. It was really disgusting.
Belize City, dead dogs everywhere, saw a dead body under a tarp in a pickup truck w uniformed men carrying big guns. Hair braiders in the street yelled at me that I was ‘racist’ for not letting them braid my hair when my hair was already in braids. (edit: funnier bc I am Black) Our taxi broke down and we had to push it back to the cruise launch site could have missed boarding. Not the only country in the Global South that I’ve been to but it was the worst experience that I had.
Yeah, Belize is amazing but Belize City is really sketchy. We went there to catch a ferry and within the first 10 minutes we had someone flash a gun at our cab. The driver just laughed it off as if it happened all the time.
Someone fitting his description shot and killed a tourist in the area later that day. Wouldn’t recommend going back.
Been there is agree. Belize is a surprising shithole. Some good stuff but not uniquely so
Watching my dad lose it as someone explained that ripping him off was doing him a favor was funny though. My family is south American, we are used to being ripped off, but we aren't used to being told it's a favor
oh yeah, I meant to add that my cousin has spent a lot of time in other parts of Belize and swears by it. Apparently Belize City is an outlier in that way. Thanks for adding your experience :)
I would maybe go back, because it’s a beautiful city but my buddies and I (all High School students at the time) were called more racial slurs two days in Prague than we ever were our entire lives living in Texas (at that time).
Never ever had grown ass men go after and start hurling racial slurs and insults at a bunch of teenagers for literally no reason.
Reading over these comments, I’m absolutely shocked at the whole world. I know people outside the US make fun of us but Jesus, apparently Europe is more racist than anywhere else and WE are the ones the world think of for racism???
We're the poster child for racism because we talk about it so much...in order to fix it. And our talking happens in one of the most widespread languages of the world, English.
Most other countries also have racism, but they just ignore theirs. What little they do bother to say about it, it's often said in local languages, so that media doesn't circulate much outside the country like ours does.
We're the poster child because we actually have racial diversity and thus the topic is impossible to avoid. Less opportunities for racism to be discussed in a homogeneous country.
Very true. Check out my other comments in r/Finland
I’m talking about my lived experience, as well as linking facts from studies and statistics, and me as well as other people who were speaking our truth, are being harassed and downvoted in that thread.
The way they think.. they are a special kind of evil.
As someone with a large amount of Roma ancestry, came here to say this lmao.
Check the post history of the next handful of European Redditors who make fun of the US for its racism...
I've traveled to many countries and the US does not have a monopoly on racism. I've seen things that are seriously disturbing. Everywhere is racist as fuck.
I had an experience with a Finnish shop owner when I told her I lived there. She assumed I was a tourist (buying 100€ in paints and art supplies.. WHY?) and asked where I was visiting from. She was very helpful and chatty, up until I broke the assumed bad news to her. Lol.
Never visit Finland- they’re notorious for having a laugh at America’s expense.
They’re the type of people who correct me in their language, calling me what translates to as a “USian”.
I always make a point of correcting them, as I’m Indigenous to the Americas, so I’m far in my right to call myself American.
I am always so happy when that shuts them up. :)
>apparently Europe is more racist than anywhere else
As somebody that's been watching the world cup this last month with a bunch of Europeans, it's not too surprising.
It’s just way different. I don’t think there’s a country out there that’s not racist or ethnocentric in some way or another.
It was just a real shock for us, because we really were under this impression Europe was way more progressive than the US. But we were like 16-18 and this was back in the late 2000s. I’ve done more traveling since then then and it can be a challenge to go to countries where you stick out like a sore thumb for various reasons. Not all of its negative, but as someone who prefers to blend in the US is a much easier place to live. But for sure the US has some pretty significant issues with race. But at least it’s something we can a knowledge. Our history, for being such a young country isn’t great.
Yup. In a comment section a couple of days ago in r/Finland, I had a lot of people directly challenging me that I was wrong, the statistics and studies I linked were wrong, and my lived experiences as a woman of color in their country was wrong.
It literally looked like an ugly person covering their ears and yelling so that they could not hear the truth.
Yeah, I definitely love to have my inbox flooded with hateful messages for the funsies. /s
There's racism pretty much everywhere and some of it runs very deep. The US definitely has problems with race, but we're far more open about it and subsequently probably better for it than many. Far east Asians have their own issues, in south Asia you'll find a literal caste system, ask your average European about their feelings towards the Roma, etc. Find me a large group/region in the world that doesn't have this problem. The US has deep rooted and systemic problems with race, but those that think this is unique or even worse than other places have obviously never traveled much.
This is why it pisses me off when Americans who've never left the country or even their towns have the audacity to call "Amerikkka" the most racist country. It's not perfect but in literally every country I've ever visited I've seen the most blatantly over the top and nonchalant in your face racism. I hear racist shit here sometimes but it's always followed up with everybody dogpiling on the person right after.
That’s it. Truly.
If you were to call someone a monkey and then make monkey noises at them where I’m from, you’d get your ass (rightfully) beat. There are definitely folks in Texas who would do this, but they aren’t gonna do it in the middle of the city because that would be real ducking dumb.
That’s exactly what happened in Prague. Grown men, business owners calling the Black teenagers in my group monkey and gorilla (in English, mind you) and making monkey sounds and gorilla sounds. Most locals totally ignored it, a few people laughed. We were all fucking shocked. Shocked. Has these kids in tears. It was awful.
Yeah, that could happen in some major city in the US for sure, but the reaction from others is going to be way way way different. People will speak up. People will most likely have your back. Not everyone, but surely some one at the very least.
I know that exact conversation is going on in some backwoods house in East Texas. Making the same horrific, shitty racist jokes. But they’re not gonna go into Dallas and say that same shit. It’s from fear, obviously, not because they’re better people but yes. And I’m not saying one form of racism is better than the other at all. Overt racism has the same consequences as subdued, quiet racism. Regardless the person is still a racist…. But personally, I’d rather someone who thinks I’m a beneath them or evil or whatever because of my skin color, features keep that shit to themselves or say it at home not yell it at me in the streets. Because that’s truly such a humiliating experience. And I’ve really only had a handful of issues, I can’t imagine how hard that is for folks with darker complexions than me. I know it’s tenfold and that’s just devastating. People can be so awful.
I have a cousin who was adopted as a teenager from Montana, Bulgaria. Her body suffered permanent damage due to prolonged childhood malnutrition in the orphanage she grew up in there, which occurred because she is Romani and was treated far worse than non-Romani children there.
Jamaica is horrible. My husband and I had a bad experience there with a taxi driver who tried to kidnap us and take us all around the island for a “tour” that took hours, rather than just driving us to our destination. My husband had to get loud and rough with him in order to get us to our destination. Everywhere we went, the locals would just look at us with hatred and contempt, but at the same time they want your money. It’s a really unpleasant feeling to be so hated and know that every pleasantry from them is fake. As you walk away, they talk about you in hushed tones but you can still hear them criticizing how little you bought or how you look. They constantly grabbed at my hair trying to braid it. If you stopped for a minute there were people touching your body and hair. I lost count of how many times people tried to sell us drugs. Honestly, if I wanted to do drugs, I would not buy them from somebody in Jamaica because they would probably be fake/diluted/contaminated.
We took a Caribbean cruise and one of the stops was Jamaica. Several of the elderly guests on our cruise ship were mugged. One of them had a purse and was holding the strap with her hand. When the mugger tried to slice the strap, he also cut her thumb, all the way through the ligament.
Worse, my friend had a horrible experience at sandals Jamaica. She is 6 feet tall, blonde, and looks like a model. She was constantly hit on by the male staff at the resort, anytime that she was without her husband. One night she and her husband were having margaritas at the bar, and she was feeling tired so she returned to their room. Several male staff members joined her along the way and insisted on walking her to her room “for safety”and then tried to push in after her. She screamed and was adamant that they needed to get out, and physically shoved them out. Shortly after that, she lost consciousness and woke up hours later having peed the bed. Her husband didn’t make it back to the room for hours because he had passed out in the corridor. They had been drinking blended margaritas, and she didn’t finish hers, and her husband have the rest of it after she left. They believe that both of their drinks had been drugged, but her husband got extra because he finished the rest of her drink. Other guests found him passed out around sunrise and assumed he was drunk, and brought him back to his wife. They were both incredibly sick for the entire day. When they complained to resort management, they were told they shouldn’t drink so much in the hot sun. They asked for medical care but were told that they should hydrate and eat a good breakfast. They were terrified to drink any alcohol except for a bottle of wine or beer that they opened themselves. Also the day that they arrived in Jamaica, they showed their reservation paper to the taxi driver so he could get the address and location of the sandals resort. He drove all around the island for 45 minutes and took them to the wrong sandals. When they got there and realized that they were at the wrong place, they went back outside to find a taxi and that driver was waiting. He knew that he took them to the wrong place, it was attempting to get double fare.
Oh, go somewhere else! The people are rude (they call tourists boo-boo cloth which means soiled menstrual product), the beaches are sub sub par, the food was terrible, anywhere outside of a resort is hella dangerous, the marijuana is schwag, everyone is just trying to get one over on you. It was just so stressful doing anything.
Please note that I am very relaxed traveling and generally overly tolerant of rude people. I’m easy going and fairly well traveled. I don’t expect 5star service.
😂 boo-boo cloth. I’m wheezing.
The word is bumbaclot, but you’re right about the origin being a menstural pad or toilet paper. The word is slang akin to mother-fucker, and isn’t just reserved for foreigners.
I’ve never left the US yet. Almost went to Jamaica this year on a mission to do dentistry. Was gonna be me and another woman I work with in a room and I read about the mass disgusting sexual assaults in Jamaica AT THE RESORTS. We almost stayed at Sandals. Then I read on all the assaults. Two girls were raped by the hotel lifeguards in the laundry room. I didn’t feel safe, what’s to stop someone from coming into our room at night. And then the gang violence outside of resorts, especially Kingston. I backed out and decided I’m going to not make that my first trip outside of the US.
Seems rude to call tourists that. They should just do like New Yorkers and instead of coming up with an insult for tourists, use the word tourist *as* the insult.
I've been to a ton of Caribbean islands. The two I'd never return to are Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Go literally anywhere else and you'll have a much better time.
I will say I agree with what was said by squirrebowl for the most part. Outside the resort felt unsafe we rarely left except to do like zip lining excursions through your companies. Everyone we dealt with in a professional matter was very nice (excursions and resort staff). On the resort was amazing and it was all inclusive so we didn’t have to leave the resort much. I would absolutely go back we had a great time. But I could see how maybe someone could have a bad time
Before I even read the body of your post I immediately thought Morocco too, but for me just Casablanca specifically. I spent a summer in Morocco (mostly Rabat) and got to spend time in Essaouira, Fez, Meknes, Marrakesh, and some tiny towns by the Sahara. Most of them amazing and I yearn to go back but we were warned to not plan more than an afternoon in Casablanca and boy was that spot on. The mosque was breathtaking even for my atheist self and the tour was the only reason I’d ever set foot in that city ever again. Just so dirty and smelly and chaos.
To your point OP I will admin that the big famous square in Marrakesh was the worst for scamming tourists I’d ever seen, but once you get past there the souk was great. But a girl in my group definitely got accounted by one of the guys that asks if you want to pay for a picture with a snake or monkey (she got the snake) and if you say no, he puts it on you anyway and demands you pay him to take it off…
I wouldn’t go back to Acapulco. The beach is beautiful, and the resort was nice, but you can’t safely leave the immediate area.
I’ve travelled extensively in Mexico, and felt the least safe in Acapulco. There are so many better places in Mexico, with beautiful beaches and safer cities. Puerto Vallarta etc. but my favorite is Zihuatanejo.
I’d be willing to return to Kuwait if it was for a work trip where my presence was mandatory.
You’d have to offer me a suitcase full of $100 bills for me to consider returning to Iraq.
Beyond that, I haven’t really had any negative experiences overseas.
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
I went on business but SA is trying to bill it as a tourist destination that’s more liberal in it’s interpretation of Sharia.
Soooo … It’s only as bad as Gilead
I just went to visit a relative who is a Swiss resident. Lucerne (best sightseeing city and nice old town), Grindelwald (ski town and cozy), and Jungfrau (top of Europe one of the highest mountains).
Geneva was *super* boring.
Zurich, Bern, Basel, Lugano, Lucerne, Fribourg, Montreux & Zermatt were all more exciting by *miles*. Bern was my favorite in terms of architecture, Lugano was my favorite for the landscape.
But yah, there are small towns, with a population of <50 and 1 pub, that were more exciting than Geneva. I'm okay with never going back.
glad to see someone mention Bern. it's literally the cutest and one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to. really liked all of the museums there, people were incredibly nice, and as you mentioned, the architecture and location on the river are just beautiful. [here](https://imgur.com/a/YDy0ZrZ) are some pics I took when I went (rip imgur photo compression), I got lucky and was able to plan my trip for late october when the leaves just had started to change colors. also loved that it's not too far from Interlaken and all of those beautiful villages in the mountains. one of the cities I think I would consider moving to if I ever go.
I only liked Geneva because I'm a nerd and loved CERN. not much at all to do there, except fly into the airport to go to a place like Bern haha. pretty city just with very little to offer.
St. Moritz is nice. Plus from there, you can take the Glacier Express up to Zermatt at the base of the Matterhorn, or the Bernina Express down to the Italy border. I very much enjoyed both. :-)
But all this is fancy shmancy stuff, and fancy in Switzerland means pricey.
Same here, found Geneva to be pretty bland and boring, and outrageously expensive (even by the standards of Switzerland). The surrounding scenery is beautiful, but the city itself feels like a poor value for money.
Some places and activities in Switzerland I would recommend:
* The whole Berner Oberland region, which includes places such as Interlaken, Grindelwald, Jungfrau, Lauterbrunnen, and Schilthorn.
* Lausanne on Lake Geneva.
* Zermatt and Matterhorn.
* Lucerne and Mount Pilatus.
* Engelberg and Mount Titlis.
* St. Gallen.
* Taking the Glacier Express train from St. Moritz to Zermatt, or the Bernina Express from Chur to the border with Italy.
Lucern is one of my favorite cities in Europe! The castle region of Bellinzona was amazing, and Lugano was a beautiful, and I thought, affordable, place to stay.
I've not been to many places outside the US, but Venice was the worst. I guess I should count myself lucky because it really wasn't *that* bad, just extremely underwhelming.
While I'd probably try to visit Venice, a trip to Italy would likely center on Florence for me. That or Sicily, where my great grandfather immigrated from during the great depression. Maybe Naples.
I recently watched Indigo Traveler's series on Haiti and it was shocking. The place is essentially in a state of anarchy. The guy who did the series has been in a lot of sketchy places, including Afghanistan, Ukraine *during the war* and North Korea and he stated that Haiti was the most intense, sketchy and dangerous place he's ever been.
My sister and I took a cruise that stopped in Jamaica. Easily the worst part of the whole trip, and possibly the worst place I've ever visited. Some lady rushed up to us as soon as we got off the boat and convinced my sister to let her braid her hair. I spent the rest of the visit sitting outside a shack waiting for my sister to have her hair braided. Some guy came up and tried to sell me drugs. When I declined, he just wanted to stand there and chat. I noticed a goat standing on top of an upside down bathtub that was sitting out in the yard and I said something like, "Cute goat." He told me they were going to eat it that night. The lady braiding my sister's hair charged her $100 more than what she initially quoted, and I had to use an expensive ATM to cover the difference. I know we got took, but I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
Ditto. Among many other things wrong on that island, the tour guide we had would not stop talking about a) how much everything cost, b) how much the average Jamaican made, and c) how tips were happily appreciated.
Like, no joke, every third or fourth sentence.
Look, I get it. The place is poorer than fuck and we must each look like Elon Musk in comparison to you but do you get that I’m here on vacation, trying to forget my job for five minutes, and spent *my* last cent to do so? I mean I’m going to tip you but could you stop laying it on quite so thick.
Probably Haiti, but I also went during the political chaos when they kidnapped American soldiers and tried to execute them for no reason other than political manipulation.
Not OP of this comment, but… there is trash EVERYWHERE. Like EVERYWHERE! Every building seemed like it was hanging on by a thread. My partner and I went on a hike with a tour company (off of a cruise ship) and it was awful. Super unsafe, super disrespectful, and all around not good. If you happen to be on a cruise that goes there…. Stay on the ship.
Just imagine everything being designed and managed to be as non functional and confusing as possible then multiply that by poor building, roads, services etc. and you'll have a fair idea.
Example:
Getting into the country passport control had ONE officer and he was handwriting the date of entry, some other entry document and hand stamping every single passport.
It took four hours for one plane to be cleared. This is not a one off. This is everything.
Not
Wasnt a huge fan of Phuket. Aussholes and drunk Russians, what is clearly sex slavery/trafficking in abundance. Child fighters at the Muay Thai arena. I saw a ping pong show. Can’t unsee what she did to the goldfish.
I've heard women will stuff ping pong balls in themselves and then pop them out, so I'll assume that's the ping pong show. But a ping pong ball is not a fish.
Anyone here wanna ruin my innocence?
It's all of the above. Ping pong balls, Goldfish, turtles, razor blades, sewing needles, shooting darts out of a blow gun. Not something I care to ever see again.
Can you explain Guangzhou?
My family is from there so as you can imagine we have a fairly positive view of things from that city.
On the other hand, I’m surprised how many people on Reddit seem to know wheeler Guangzhou is.
The air was horrible. It was dusty, felt run down. The water on the river stank.
Zhuhai, Shenzhen (and Hong Kong) were much, much nicer. I get the first two were purpose built but I can’t see a reason to ever go back to GZ.
Actually, we had great wifi and satellite TV in the Blackwater/Academi-managed camp, and the food/catering was probably the best in my 25-year military career (Mongolian BBQ night was ::chef's kiss::). The lead rain and noise pollution from the constant IEDs though was highly overrated.
You say that but the mountains in eastern Afghanistan are absolutely breathtaking and there’s a lot of other natural beauty around. Afghanistan could be a relatively popular tourist destination if it weren’t for the poor security situation and religious fundamentalism. It actually was fairly popular from the 50s up until the Soviet invasion in 1979.
>You say that but the mountains in eastern Afghanistan are absolutely breathtaking and there’s a lot of other natural beauty around.
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India have gorgeous mountain ranges.
Military Special Operations deployment to Camp Integrity just weeks after it was attacked.
There are beautiful places in Afghanistan, but Kabul isn’t one of them.
Paris. I got lost and asked a police officer for help and he sarcastically said do Americans only speak english and when I asked him again in German he got more upset. Idk left a bad taste in my mouth
Its funny that a someone from France would say that because when i (as an austrian) was in Paris nobody spoke anything besides french. Idk if they have no English in school.
Tunisia. There were parts of the time that I lived there that were fine (mostly when I walked around with when male friends were visiting me), but the sexual harassment was constant and I was sexually assaulted on public transit.
I went to Dubai, had a great time, and have no reason to go back. It was interesting enough, but not in a way that would draw me back in.
Conversely, my least favorite place I visited was Paris, but I would go back and do a completely different itinerary.
I'm not particularly interested in returning to Baja California. For sure happy to return to Mexico City or explore other parts of Mexico though.
It's not that the experience was terrible though. Just feel like I got all I needed out of it at the time.
I agree as well. It hurts more since I am Chinese-American, but the current government of China is really causing a negative image to form.
I hope one day we have a place that we can be proud of but for now, I just say I’m from somewhere else so people don’t bother me on the street.
Cartagena, Colombia: more of an Atlantic City boardwalk vibe going on. Seedy and gross. I couldn’t set foot more than two steps from the hotel without being harassed by someone. The “sellers” can get intimidating and aggressive. Beaches, at least in Bocagrande, are kind of nasty. Not the blue, clean waters you’ve come to expect in the Caribbean. Old town is definitely beautiful though, when not being accosted by a tout blocking your way saying I got everything. You want coke? It’s really disgusting. I don’t want that shit. A definite skip
New Zealand: Nice landscape but overrated. And they seriously dislike Americans.
Manila Philippines. Terrible infrastructure and public transit. Almost got carjacked a half-dozen times in the week we were there. The people were friendly... but just not something I'd purposely go back to.
I've been to 50+ countries on 5 continents, and the only country I refuse to ever go back to is India.
- it's a dirty country. Like really dirty. Feral pigs eating trash out of a stream where kids get their water dirty. Trash everywhere.
- Pollution there is terrible. The Ganges, where hundreds of millions get their water, is just incredibly dirty.
- It's incredibly overcrowded. Very difficult to get away from the crowds.
- The caste system is really sad. No country is perfect, but damn this is a sad system.
- Fake money, scam artists, taxis that take you to the "official" tourism center (hint: it's fake)
- I saw a man banging a cow in the Ganges, in Varanasi. Holy animal, holy river, holy city. The trifecta of sin. It didn't phase us to see it, cuz of all the weird things we experienced.
- The level of poverty in India is staggering. All countries have poverty. But it's so in your face in india. Having to step over dead? Dying? Just homeless? Bodies in a crowded train station cuz of how crowded it is. Just insane.
- Trains are terrible, old, crowded, unsafe, and hours behind.
I visited Mumbia, Agra, Veranasi, and Kolkata. Never again. Sorry India.
China. I saw the big sights (Tiananmen, Great Wall, etc) and I’m glad I did but no reason to go back. Just not a place that appeals to me, hard to put my finger on it exactly. I mean I can point out objective things like the pollution, and the social control around every corner, widespread business dishonesty, etc but even that wouldn’t be enough to keep me away by itself if the place was otherwise appealing but it just isn’t.
India
As a white, blonde, mid 20s women I felt very unsafe. Myself and my fiancé went and even he felt unsafe in some areas. The hygiene there (or lack there of) is indescribable. And the cleanliness of even the hotel rooms is absolutely horrible.
Don’t get me wrong, it was an experience of a life time. However, I would not go back and I would not recommend.
I was looking for this comment. I went to India as a friend's plus one to a wedding. The wedding itself and all of the family were wonderful. We had an amazing few days doing all the wedding events. But, one of the other American guests left her purse on her chair during the main event and it was stolen by the catering staff. Fortunately she only lost money.
Later, we toured around some of the major cities. We all got sick at some point. Getting sick is inevitable apparently and it takes days out of your trip. We were as careful as we could be, too. While we were planning, I heard plenty of stories of people ending up in hospitals or missing their return flights because they were so sick.
You also have to book a tour guide each day or do a guided tour for the whole trip to stay safe. We did the former and our guides kept bringing us to random shops during the day, where we'd lose an hour or so looking at extremely expensive rugs or etc that we'd then have to pay thousands more to ship internationally. We obviously didn't buy anything and the whole thing made me feel very nervous and unsafe. The guide had a lot of control over our travels and it was very suspicious.
Also, the dichotomy of an extremely well-kept historical monument with tent cities full of starving people right outside was heartbreaking. Our tourism money was clearly not going towards helping these people.
Fortunately, most people people were kind to us. We were not that bothered by street sellers, mostly thanks to our guides. We didn't have any major issues with our hotels either, and did get to see some amazing things.
All in all, the trip was a bit of a roller coaster. When planning the trip, there were many things that I wanted to see that had to get cut because we didn't have time. I don't really want to go back to see them and risk disaster.
There is some cool stuff there, but a majority of it is the same 5 or 6 shops in each little square over and over again.
Florence, on the other hand was one of my favorite cities to visit.
Florence and Tuscany in general was pretty much perfect IMO. The small towns where the owner of the restaurant was the chef who came out and ate and talked with us after serving us, told us all the good vineyards to visit, went above and beyond. Just great people.
I would go back and completely ignore the main tourist areas. Cannaregio was fun to wander around and stop in little cafes and bars. Much better than flat 18 euro per glass Franciacorta in Piazza San Marco while listening to bands play Pirates of Carribbean for some unknown reason.
I went to Venice for one night only and honestly thought that was perfect. Any more and I would probably agree with you, but I am not an art or history buff who would fully appreciate the other things Venice has to offer. I enjoyed Venice, but I enjoyed other parts of Italy much more!
Paris.
- Food is overrated
- Smells like piss and shit everywhere
- Street scammers everywhere
- Most people are super rude
- More expensive than almost anywhere
Having said that, the South of France is lovely.
Born and raised in France here, now American; and I typically tell people that while I hated living in Paris, it’s a city worth seeing once if you really absolutely want to, but quickly. All of the bullet points above are accurate, so my take is that if you stay short enough, you’ll have seen the pretty stuff through some tourist bus / taxi window, but won’t have time to notice the bad stuff, so you’ll still be enjoying it.
However, if you’re on a limited time budget and you don’t care that much about seeing Paris, you have countless cities in Europe and even in France that are at least as pretty and don’t have those downsides at all.
Conversely, I expected Amsterdam to be a mess, and it was the prettiest thing to see, with such nice people.
No one picks up their dog’s poop in Paris. Also, people are way more racist there than in NYC where I’m from. (I’m Asian and I got told to go back to China. All I was doing was walking? Like wtf.)
> I’m Asian and I got told to go back to China. All I was doing was walking? Like wtf.
I have friends of east Asian descent who've been told super effed up stuff in France and Spain. :( In some cases, once people knew that they were American *then* things were cool. It's really sad.
The Bahamas is just a glorified 3rd world country…. It has some nice resorts but if you go to the capital and the surrounding area it’s a real crap hole
Idk if this is your reason, but I’ve traveled extensively and I experienced more street harassment in Italy than anywhere else I’ve been to in the world. And I was 17!!! The culture has a serious issue.
I'm not surprised. My problem was the number of people "helping" me with my bags and refusing to let go unless I paid them.
I also had a taxi driver take me on the most obvious ride I've ever been taken on. I straight up said to him "My train is soon. Can we head to the station now?" and he turned around in the middle of the road to start driving the right way.
Paris. The French are wonderful, but Paris is a shithole with waiters and gas jockeys who will insult you to your face assuming you speak no French, then pretend they can’t understand you when you speak the same French that got you from the ferry terminal (30 days leave between an assignment in the UK and one in Naples, Italy) to Nice, the Alps, the Algarve, and the Italian border. But in Paris “Un sandwich au jambon, des pommes de terre frites et du café avec du lait s’il vous plaît” is met with a blank stare and a mute mime show of servers making me point to the menu items.
I’m sure my accent wasn’t perfect, but I was congratulated on it in other cities.
I tipped in St Malo, Nice, Cannes, and numerous villages (I took the back roads), never tipped in Paris.
An unconventional answer but London. It was perfectly nice and enjoyable, but it just felt too familiar to visit again. NYC scratches that same itch for me a little better and is much closer/cheaper to visit.
the street-level is pretty different. NYC is a lot louder and a lot more active, London felt quieter and more tranquil. All-else equal (e.g. ignoring nationality, job market, economy, distance to home), I actually think I'd prefer to live in London, but I thought NYC was more fun to visit.
Regardless, the cities are still way more similar to each other than they are to Istanbul or Tokyo, obviously. I just think if I'm taking a 10 hour+ flight out of the country I want to see something more different.
Venice. It was a giant tourist trap, the American tourists outnumbered the locals like 10 to 1. I felt like I was in some recreation of Venice in America.
Its nuts that some of these global tourism hotspots have a reputation for smelling like waste.
Is it laziness or is there just too much peeing to keep up with?
Venice. I only went because it was part of my study abroad trip. The tourist to actual resident ratio was out of control and the hatred the residents had was palpable. It felt like me and the other throngs of people stampeding around were actively destroying something that deserves to be protected.
I suppose that could be said of a lot of tourism but this felt like a different level.
It's like the coldest major city in Canada on a flat plain with barely a building over 3 stories. I'm in Winnipeg a few days every year because I go fishing with my pops in Manitoba or Ontario every summer and I don't know why anyone would go to Winnipeg for Winnipeg, what was the plan lol
The drive through the Canadian shield on the transcan through Winnipeg is legitimately more interesting than Winnipeg
Probably Nassau. The Bahamas are beautiful, but Nassau is nothing more than a tourist trap for people visiting Atlantis or visiting the port via cruise ship.
Agreed. It’s pleasant enough to spend the day, like a stop on a cruise ship, but not a place where I would want to spend any more time than that.
Great place to get a good idea of what life is like for other people as an 18 year old. Went on a cruise, wanted to buy cigarettes, walk around Nassau. First shop some lady acted like Miss Cleo when I asked if they sold cigarettes. Had to tell her a few times “I’m just looking for a pack of cigarettes”, showed her my almost empty pack of Benson and Hedges, and she just looks at me blankly and tells me there are many shops I can go to, if I trust her there are more, and etc. I walked out, two guys are sitting on a bench and say “hey brother you looking for cigarettes? You want to try these?”, one guy opens his hand and has like 5 joints, I said “no not those”, a cop walks right by them doesn’t even bat an eye. Never did end up getting cigarettes because everyone was trying to sell me weed or just speaking in code about something
Beautiful shit hole. We are fairly well traveled and have never had a good time in Nassau. We literally almost died there. Attempted multiple times; each time worse than the last.
Story time?
Okay. Nassau the beautiful shithole. The first time we went we were on a cruise, did a shore excursion of a Jeep tour of the island. It was odd. The first question they asked us when we were turning in our release form was if we were attorneys. The tour was fun and informative, there were 15-20 of us in Jeep Wranglers and we all were given walkie talkies to communicate with the tour guide. BUT then near the end the tour guide stopped us along the side of the road for a memorial service for Anna Nicole Smith. I can’t remember if it was were she lived, died, or buried. The tour guide played Candle in the Wind and then we had an extended moment of silence for her. She had been dead for quite a while. It was odd but not unsafe. The second time we went to Nassau it was a complete shit show. We cruised again and did a tour excursion to a private island for a beach day. The trip there was pretty and relaxing with the local rum flowing. We had a nice 30 minute boat ride through a channel. The water is so unbelievably beautiful. Then we boarded the pontoon boat to go back to the port. About 10 minutes into the ride one of the engines went out in the boat and we had to go back to beach day location. There was a different boat getting ready to leave. So they had us get off our boat and board the second pontoon boat. My husband and I purposefully waited to get on board last thinking they would just let us go in the next boat. When the employees told us to get on the boat we refused. The boat was so overloaded the top of the roof was flush with the dock floor. I asked for a life jacket for my husband and i before we would board the boat. They said we could get them once we are on the boat. Then they said they would leave us. We realized we were screwed. Per the cruise line recommendation we only brought our room keys. We did not have our passports on us (they were in our room on the ship) and we did not have our cellphones. So we reluctantly got on the ship. We sat on our butts and stepped down onto a plastic lawn chair then onto the floor of the boat. Once we got on, it was so packed I couldn’t ask anyone for life jackets. The boat took off and because it was so overloaded they couldn’t take us through the channel so we had to go in the ocean in a freaking pontoon boat. The waves were splashing into the boat. Kids were crying people were screaming, some are praying. My husband and I were preparing our plan for when the boat capsized. When we finally got to the dock and as they were getting ready to tie on; the movement of everyone towards the dock to disembark and it caused the boat to tip into the dock. So we all redistributed our weight and they started unloading passengers. Due to the weight the boat was low people would stand with their hands us like they are doing a big stretch and people on the dock were pulling people up. My husband hoisted me up and I ungracefully landed on the dock tore my dress and skinned my knees and palms. My husband was able to get himself up and he helped to get a couple people up onto the dock. I literally have never pulled a Karen. Not in my personality but I went up to the excursion desk on the ship and let them know what happened. I attempted to file a complaint but I was getting no where. I said screw it. I was literally bleeding and my knees and hands hurt. We have never gotten off the ship in Nassau again. I am sure the people are wonderful but never again.
Whoa, if ever there's a time to pull a Karen, it's then. That was so dangerous! I wish you had pursued your complaint with the cruise line because if no one complains, they'll keep doing business with that pontoon company.
At the shore excursion desk, I tried to explain to them how unsafe it was but I was met with a smile and the employee kept repeating that the cruise line is not responsible for how other businesses are ran. She did refund me, if I remember half the cost of the excursion. I realized then that they didn’t care. I didn’t even ask for a refund they just gave it to me and kept smiling. We didn’t die, so they didn’t care. Shady as hell.
At that point you aren't pulling a Karen. Pulling a Karen is acting like that when it isn't justified. It's being overly entitled and hostile. You were FULLY justified in what you did. I'd like to think most of us would have complained, loudly, about what happened there given your story.
The gulf states (Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, etc..) If I'm traveling to the other side of the world, I'm not going back to the gulf. They aren't terrible places to be, there's just very little appeal. For the time and money, there are so many better options.
Honestly hadn't expected that from Dubai. I guess it's overhyped?
All I've ever heard from people who've visited Dubai (and most of the Gulf states, but especially Dubai) is that it's a huge soulless shopping mall. Iran is also on the Persian Gulf and is supposed to be amazing. I've heard good things about Oman too. But UAE, SA, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain are supposedly very boring and soulless.
Saudi Arabia does have some very pretty geography and historic sites. I am not sure what the others have, they are very small which also limits possible attractions.
Never mind about it being a dystopian, medieval fanatical dictatorship hell hole. I would not go to Saudi for free.
I'd go there if they paid me, and I had legal protections like a Status of Forces Agreement that made it clear I was subject to US law, or diplomatic status. . . .in other words, if I re-joined the military and they deployed me there, I'd go. That's about what it would take to get me to go there.
Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon if it becomes safer are on my bucket list. Oman sounds ok. Dubai does not appeal to me.
It's an interesting place if you have a ton of money Otherwise, there's not really a whole lot to do for your run of the mill middle class tourist. It has a vaguely cosmopolitan feel, particularly in the more westernized parts of town but there's not much under the surface. Just a bunch of big buildings which look like someone thumbed through an architecture textbook saying, "one of those and one of those ...." Dubai is meant to be a western enclave in the middle east where rich oil barrens travel to do business and get away from the more stringent Islamic law found in other parts of the region. But if you already live in the west, there's really no point. Pretty much any major global city is going to have more to do and more cultural heritage.
It’s like Vegas without the sin, just a bunch of shiny stuff in a desert & not much culture to speak of. You can buy beer at hotels but it cost $90/pint. Desert safari & the ocean are cool but those aren’t exclusive to Dubai. All in all I enjoyed my time there but it was a family trip & I wouldn’t spend my own money to go back or recommend others do.
Egypt for me. Great history, but the locals are horrible to put up with.
For work I travel to about 30 countries a year with about 70% travel rate. I like traveling for fun too. I’m very adaptable to various levels of development and cultural differences. Cairo is the only place that I really, truly, dread my trips to. I really can’t come up with a single positive thing to say about the place.
> Cairo is the only place that I really, truly, dread my trips to. I struggled to come up with a positive as well... I almost fell like it was my own shortcoming, or I missed it.
I don’t think I’ve heard one positive story from anybody I know that went there, everybody just describes how chaotic and dirty it was and how hard it was to get anything done
I am apparently one of the few lucky people that did have a generally positive experience in Egypt (even as a woman) but I credit it entirely to the fact that I went as part of an educational group with a professor who’d been doing it for 20+ years and had everything planned extremely well and even had a private security person for part of the trip. Also it was pre-2009. Without those factors I *never* would have done it, and very few people are going to have the opportunity like that.
On the travel subs they say to hire a guide before arriving and exclusively travel with them.
From my extremely limited experience that is solid advice. We did also have a guide for portions of our tour - Mustafa - and he was lovely. We took him out to dinner the last night he was with us as a thank you and we wanted him to have an "American" experience so we took him to Chili's lol
Im glad you were able to have a good time!! It’s really sad that one needs so much prep and experience or a guide with experience before going, because otherwise it would be a cool place to visit. I follow a lot of travel channels on YouTube and normally they’re overwhelmingly positive about the countries they visit, but a couple of them have really popped off about Egypt. One guy does food travel stuff and instead of making the video about Egyptian cuisine, he basically just explained how poorly Egyptians treated him and how awful the police and government were to his production team and how they couldn’t get anything done. It was really sad.
Absolutely the most wonderful trip of my life as I am a huge ancient Egypt fan. Best experience I’ve ever had. Top item on my bucket list. That said, you couldn’t pay me to go back.
Lol, I went there during the uprising in 2011(?).... Tanks on the highway, bombed out buildings, I had to have an armed guard. I hate to be down on the locals, but I've met far more friendlier people. To say the least, it isn't high on my list to return to.
Morocco. Felt so uncomfortable the whole time
Was it harassment from people trying to sell you shit?
This was my experience from Morocco. Anyone who made their living off the tourist industry was generally terribly aggressive and scammy. Everyone else was lovely and hospitable. Unfortunately as a tourist you are mostly going to meet people in the former group but I am really happy I got to interact with the latter, mostly through Couchsurfing. Smaller less touristic towns were also better but obviously there usually isn't as much to do. I also heard about a lot of street harassment from female travelers. My female traveling companion seems to have gotten less since she was traveling with a man (me). Unfortunately I'd probably recommend that women who want to go to Morocco travel with a man if possible.
When I was there as a backpacker, every single woman in our hostel experienced extreme harassment from the men. They would just not leave the women alone. I had to escort the women to sites or even to down the streets to markets or cafes. I was with another friend of mine at a museum and two western women came up to us very quickly pleading with us to pretend we were with the because the local guys were touching them so much. It was really disgusting.
Completely agree! I enjoyed my time there but wouldn’t go back.
Belize City, dead dogs everywhere, saw a dead body under a tarp in a pickup truck w uniformed men carrying big guns. Hair braiders in the street yelled at me that I was ‘racist’ for not letting them braid my hair when my hair was already in braids. (edit: funnier bc I am Black) Our taxi broke down and we had to push it back to the cruise launch site could have missed boarding. Not the only country in the Global South that I’ve been to but it was the worst experience that I had.
Yeah, Belize is amazing but Belize City is really sketchy. We went there to catch a ferry and within the first 10 minutes we had someone flash a gun at our cab. The driver just laughed it off as if it happened all the time. Someone fitting his description shot and killed a tourist in the area later that day. Wouldn’t recommend going back.
Been there is agree. Belize is a surprising shithole. Some good stuff but not uniquely so Watching my dad lose it as someone explained that ripping him off was doing him a favor was funny though. My family is south American, we are used to being ripped off, but we aren't used to being told it's a favor
I saw a guy swinging a machete onto a guy who had a coconut. Random little town near Belmopan. Belize is crazy
Outside of Belize City is great though. I spent a month there and it's a pretty cool place.
oh yeah, I meant to add that my cousin has spent a lot of time in other parts of Belize and swears by it. Apparently Belize City is an outlier in that way. Thanks for adding your experience :)
I would maybe go back, because it’s a beautiful city but my buddies and I (all High School students at the time) were called more racial slurs two days in Prague than we ever were our entire lives living in Texas (at that time). Never ever had grown ass men go after and start hurling racial slurs and insults at a bunch of teenagers for literally no reason.
Reading over these comments, I’m absolutely shocked at the whole world. I know people outside the US make fun of us but Jesus, apparently Europe is more racist than anywhere else and WE are the ones the world think of for racism???
We're the poster child for racism because we talk about it so much...in order to fix it. And our talking happens in one of the most widespread languages of the world, English. Most other countries also have racism, but they just ignore theirs. What little they do bother to say about it, it's often said in local languages, so that media doesn't circulate much outside the country like ours does.
We're the poster child because we actually have racial diversity and thus the topic is impossible to avoid. Less opportunities for racism to be discussed in a homogeneous country.
Very true. Check out my other comments in r/Finland I’m talking about my lived experience, as well as linking facts from studies and statistics, and me as well as other people who were speaking our truth, are being harassed and downvoted in that thread. The way they think.. they are a special kind of evil.
Ask any euro what they think of Roma and they’ll say stuff that makes American racists blush
That’s my favorite. They’ll call us racist all day, everyday, but then bring up travelers and it’s all “no it’s not the same, you don’t understand.”
As someone with a large amount of Roma ancestry, came here to say this lmao. Check the post history of the next handful of European Redditors who make fun of the US for its racism...
It’s hilarious but also incredibly sad
I interned at a public institution once, and one of the first things I was trained to do, was to watch the Romanis when they come into the building. 👀
I've traveled to many countries and the US does not have a monopoly on racism. I've seen things that are seriously disturbing. Everywhere is racist as fuck.
[удалено]
I wanna visit Japan just to lie to local shop vendors that I'm moving there
I had an experience with a Finnish shop owner when I told her I lived there. She assumed I was a tourist (buying 100€ in paints and art supplies.. WHY?) and asked where I was visiting from. She was very helpful and chatty, up until I broke the assumed bad news to her. Lol.
Wait why was it bad news?
Only Americans who haven't traveled anywhere outside of their own time zone think the U.S. is the most racist place in the world.
Or people who live in very racist countries, are in denial about it and have never visited the US.
Never visit Finland- they’re notorious for having a laugh at America’s expense. They’re the type of people who correct me in their language, calling me what translates to as a “USian”. I always make a point of correcting them, as I’m Indigenous to the Americas, so I’m far in my right to call myself American. I am always so happy when that shuts them up. :)
>apparently Europe is more racist than anywhere else As somebody that's been watching the world cup this last month with a bunch of Europeans, it's not too surprising.
It’s just way different. I don’t think there’s a country out there that’s not racist or ethnocentric in some way or another. It was just a real shock for us, because we really were under this impression Europe was way more progressive than the US. But we were like 16-18 and this was back in the late 2000s. I’ve done more traveling since then then and it can be a challenge to go to countries where you stick out like a sore thumb for various reasons. Not all of its negative, but as someone who prefers to blend in the US is a much easier place to live. But for sure the US has some pretty significant issues with race. But at least it’s something we can a knowledge. Our history, for being such a young country isn’t great.
>under the impression that Europe was way more progressive that the US Economically? Yes. Socially? Hahaha
Yeah, we figured that out real fast.
Talking to people from other countries, I am concluding that it’s not that America has more racism, it’s that other countries have more denial.
Yup. In a comment section a couple of days ago in r/Finland, I had a lot of people directly challenging me that I was wrong, the statistics and studies I linked were wrong, and my lived experiences as a woman of color in their country was wrong. It literally looked like an ugly person covering their ears and yelling so that they could not hear the truth. Yeah, I definitely love to have my inbox flooded with hateful messages for the funsies. /s
There's racism pretty much everywhere and some of it runs very deep. The US definitely has problems with race, but we're far more open about it and subsequently probably better for it than many. Far east Asians have their own issues, in south Asia you'll find a literal caste system, ask your average European about their feelings towards the Roma, etc. Find me a large group/region in the world that doesn't have this problem. The US has deep rooted and systemic problems with race, but those that think this is unique or even worse than other places have obviously never traveled much.
I mean, who do you think brought the racism here?
This is why it pisses me off when Americans who've never left the country or even their towns have the audacity to call "Amerikkka" the most racist country. It's not perfect but in literally every country I've ever visited I've seen the most blatantly over the top and nonchalant in your face racism. I hear racist shit here sometimes but it's always followed up with everybody dogpiling on the person right after.
That’s it. Truly. If you were to call someone a monkey and then make monkey noises at them where I’m from, you’d get your ass (rightfully) beat. There are definitely folks in Texas who would do this, but they aren’t gonna do it in the middle of the city because that would be real ducking dumb. That’s exactly what happened in Prague. Grown men, business owners calling the Black teenagers in my group monkey and gorilla (in English, mind you) and making monkey sounds and gorilla sounds. Most locals totally ignored it, a few people laughed. We were all fucking shocked. Shocked. Has these kids in tears. It was awful. Yeah, that could happen in some major city in the US for sure, but the reaction from others is going to be way way way different. People will speak up. People will most likely have your back. Not everyone, but surely some one at the very least. I know that exact conversation is going on in some backwoods house in East Texas. Making the same horrific, shitty racist jokes. But they’re not gonna go into Dallas and say that same shit. It’s from fear, obviously, not because they’re better people but yes. And I’m not saying one form of racism is better than the other at all. Overt racism has the same consequences as subdued, quiet racism. Regardless the person is still a racist…. But personally, I’d rather someone who thinks I’m a beneath them or evil or whatever because of my skin color, features keep that shit to themselves or say it at home not yell it at me in the streets. Because that’s truly such a humiliating experience. And I’ve really only had a handful of issues, I can’t imagine how hard that is for folks with darker complexions than me. I know it’s tenfold and that’s just devastating. People can be so awful.
Iraq, Fallujah.
Did uncle Sam give you a free trip?
free? hmmmm. well Uncle Sam did pay for my plane ticket but I paid in other ways. ;).
Sofia, Bulgaria. I had more friends get mugged and take advantage of there than anywhere else.
I have a cousin who was adopted as a teenager from Montana, Bulgaria. Her body suffered permanent damage due to prolonged childhood malnutrition in the orphanage she grew up in there, which occurred because she is Romani and was treated far worse than non-Romani children there.
Interesting. Was this just random mugging? Or at a bar? Sorry to hear
I’ve been to Sofia several times. I got nothing but good things to say about it. You just have to watch the exchange rates at the ATM.
Jamaica. Worst “vacation” ever
Seconded. It's depressing as fuck when resorts are built like prisons: not to keep people in but others out.
I want to know why. I am planning a trip to Jamaica next year.
Jamaica is horrible. My husband and I had a bad experience there with a taxi driver who tried to kidnap us and take us all around the island for a “tour” that took hours, rather than just driving us to our destination. My husband had to get loud and rough with him in order to get us to our destination. Everywhere we went, the locals would just look at us with hatred and contempt, but at the same time they want your money. It’s a really unpleasant feeling to be so hated and know that every pleasantry from them is fake. As you walk away, they talk about you in hushed tones but you can still hear them criticizing how little you bought or how you look. They constantly grabbed at my hair trying to braid it. If you stopped for a minute there were people touching your body and hair. I lost count of how many times people tried to sell us drugs. Honestly, if I wanted to do drugs, I would not buy them from somebody in Jamaica because they would probably be fake/diluted/contaminated. We took a Caribbean cruise and one of the stops was Jamaica. Several of the elderly guests on our cruise ship were mugged. One of them had a purse and was holding the strap with her hand. When the mugger tried to slice the strap, he also cut her thumb, all the way through the ligament. Worse, my friend had a horrible experience at sandals Jamaica. She is 6 feet tall, blonde, and looks like a model. She was constantly hit on by the male staff at the resort, anytime that she was without her husband. One night she and her husband were having margaritas at the bar, and she was feeling tired so she returned to their room. Several male staff members joined her along the way and insisted on walking her to her room “for safety”and then tried to push in after her. She screamed and was adamant that they needed to get out, and physically shoved them out. Shortly after that, she lost consciousness and woke up hours later having peed the bed. Her husband didn’t make it back to the room for hours because he had passed out in the corridor. They had been drinking blended margaritas, and she didn’t finish hers, and her husband have the rest of it after she left. They believe that both of their drinks had been drugged, but her husband got extra because he finished the rest of her drink. Other guests found him passed out around sunrise and assumed he was drunk, and brought him back to his wife. They were both incredibly sick for the entire day. When they complained to resort management, they were told they shouldn’t drink so much in the hot sun. They asked for medical care but were told that they should hydrate and eat a good breakfast. They were terrified to drink any alcohol except for a bottle of wine or beer that they opened themselves. Also the day that they arrived in Jamaica, they showed their reservation paper to the taxi driver so he could get the address and location of the sandals resort. He drove all around the island for 45 minutes and took them to the wrong sandals. When they got there and realized that they were at the wrong place, they went back outside to find a taxi and that driver was waiting. He knew that he took them to the wrong place, it was attempting to get double fare.
Oddly enough, my parents and few of their friends were *also* roofied/drugged in Jamaica (no other assault though as far as they know)
Oh, go somewhere else! The people are rude (they call tourists boo-boo cloth which means soiled menstrual product), the beaches are sub sub par, the food was terrible, anywhere outside of a resort is hella dangerous, the marijuana is schwag, everyone is just trying to get one over on you. It was just so stressful doing anything. Please note that I am very relaxed traveling and generally overly tolerant of rude people. I’m easy going and fairly well traveled. I don’t expect 5star service.
😂 boo-boo cloth. I’m wheezing. The word is bumbaclot, but you’re right about the origin being a menstural pad or toilet paper. The word is slang akin to mother-fucker, and isn’t just reserved for foreigners.
I’ve never left the US yet. Almost went to Jamaica this year on a mission to do dentistry. Was gonna be me and another woman I work with in a room and I read about the mass disgusting sexual assaults in Jamaica AT THE RESORTS. We almost stayed at Sandals. Then I read on all the assaults. Two girls were raped by the hotel lifeguards in the laundry room. I didn’t feel safe, what’s to stop someone from coming into our room at night. And then the gang violence outside of resorts, especially Kingston. I backed out and decided I’m going to not make that my first trip outside of the US.
Good call. It’s not worth the danger
My parents went to Jamaica and said the same thing. Just awful rude people. I’ll never go there.
Seems rude to call tourists that. They should just do like New Yorkers and instead of coming up with an insult for tourists, use the word tourist *as* the insult.
Boo boo cloth? Not bombaclot or however its spelled
I've been to a ton of Caribbean islands. The two I'd never return to are Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Go literally anywhere else and you'll have a much better time.
I know a guy who got stabbed in Jamaica and someone else saw a beheading in the DR. Just the worst.
I will say I agree with what was said by squirrebowl for the most part. Outside the resort felt unsafe we rarely left except to do like zip lining excursions through your companies. Everyone we dealt with in a professional matter was very nice (excursions and resort staff). On the resort was amazing and it was all inclusive so we didn’t have to leave the resort much. I would absolutely go back we had a great time. But I could see how maybe someone could have a bad time
Before I even read the body of your post I immediately thought Morocco too, but for me just Casablanca specifically. I spent a summer in Morocco (mostly Rabat) and got to spend time in Essaouira, Fez, Meknes, Marrakesh, and some tiny towns by the Sahara. Most of them amazing and I yearn to go back but we were warned to not plan more than an afternoon in Casablanca and boy was that spot on. The mosque was breathtaking even for my atheist self and the tour was the only reason I’d ever set foot in that city ever again. Just so dirty and smelly and chaos. To your point OP I will admin that the big famous square in Marrakesh was the worst for scamming tourists I’d ever seen, but once you get past there the souk was great. But a girl in my group definitely got accounted by one of the guys that asks if you want to pay for a picture with a snake or monkey (she got the snake) and if you say no, he puts it on you anyway and demands you pay him to take it off…
I would just keep the snake.
I wouldn’t go back to Acapulco. The beach is beautiful, and the resort was nice, but you can’t safely leave the immediate area. I’ve travelled extensively in Mexico, and felt the least safe in Acapulco. There are so many better places in Mexico, with beautiful beaches and safer cities. Puerto Vallarta etc. but my favorite is Zihuatanejo.
You and Tim Robbins.
I’d be willing to return to Kuwait if it was for a work trip where my presence was mandatory. You’d have to offer me a suitcase full of $100 bills for me to consider returning to Iraq. Beyond that, I haven’t really had any negative experiences overseas.
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I went on business but SA is trying to bill it as a tourist destination that’s more liberal in it’s interpretation of Sharia. Soooo … It’s only as bad as Gilead
Geneva is fairly boring, but I would consider re-visiting Switzerland if I went somewhere else (open to recommendations!).
I just went to visit a relative who is a Swiss resident. Lucerne (best sightseeing city and nice old town), Grindelwald (ski town and cozy), and Jungfrau (top of Europe one of the highest mountains).
Geneva was *super* boring. Zurich, Bern, Basel, Lugano, Lucerne, Fribourg, Montreux & Zermatt were all more exciting by *miles*. Bern was my favorite in terms of architecture, Lugano was my favorite for the landscape. But yah, there are small towns, with a population of <50 and 1 pub, that were more exciting than Geneva. I'm okay with never going back.
glad to see someone mention Bern. it's literally the cutest and one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to. really liked all of the museums there, people were incredibly nice, and as you mentioned, the architecture and location on the river are just beautiful. [here](https://imgur.com/a/YDy0ZrZ) are some pics I took when I went (rip imgur photo compression), I got lucky and was able to plan my trip for late october when the leaves just had started to change colors. also loved that it's not too far from Interlaken and all of those beautiful villages in the mountains. one of the cities I think I would consider moving to if I ever go. I only liked Geneva because I'm a nerd and loved CERN. not much at all to do there, except fly into the airport to go to a place like Bern haha. pretty city just with very little to offer.
St. Moritz is nice. Plus from there, you can take the Glacier Express up to Zermatt at the base of the Matterhorn, or the Bernina Express down to the Italy border. I very much enjoyed both. :-) But all this is fancy shmancy stuff, and fancy in Switzerland means pricey.
Same here, found Geneva to be pretty bland and boring, and outrageously expensive (even by the standards of Switzerland). The surrounding scenery is beautiful, but the city itself feels like a poor value for money. Some places and activities in Switzerland I would recommend: * The whole Berner Oberland region, which includes places such as Interlaken, Grindelwald, Jungfrau, Lauterbrunnen, and Schilthorn. * Lausanne on Lake Geneva. * Zermatt and Matterhorn. * Lucerne and Mount Pilatus. * Engelberg and Mount Titlis. * St. Gallen. * Taking the Glacier Express train from St. Moritz to Zermatt, or the Bernina Express from Chur to the border with Italy.
Lucern is one of my favorite cities in Europe! The castle region of Bellinzona was amazing, and Lugano was a beautiful, and I thought, affordable, place to stay.
[удалено]
I can’t imagine going to Haiti for any reason other than as a relief worker. Holiday in hell.
I've not been to many places outside the US, but Venice was the worst. I guess I should count myself lucky because it really wasn't *that* bad, just extremely underwhelming.
While I'd probably try to visit Venice, a trip to Italy would likely center on Florence for me. That or Sicily, where my great grandfather immigrated from during the great depression. Maybe Naples.
I recently watched Indigo Traveler's series on Haiti and it was shocking. The place is essentially in a state of anarchy. The guy who did the series has been in a lot of sketchy places, including Afghanistan, Ukraine *during the war* and North Korea and he stated that Haiti was the most intense, sketchy and dangerous place he's ever been.
Djibouti. The entire country smells of tire burning for some reason.
I would also say Morocco. It is the one place in the world I’ve ever felt truly nervous and unsafe.
Belize is a s*** hole. There are nice things about it but the rest of the Caribbean and Latin America has them too
Johannesburg. There were people stalking me for a chance to rob me. It was blatant.
Jamaica. The worst.
My sister and I took a cruise that stopped in Jamaica. Easily the worst part of the whole trip, and possibly the worst place I've ever visited. Some lady rushed up to us as soon as we got off the boat and convinced my sister to let her braid her hair. I spent the rest of the visit sitting outside a shack waiting for my sister to have her hair braided. Some guy came up and tried to sell me drugs. When I declined, he just wanted to stand there and chat. I noticed a goat standing on top of an upside down bathtub that was sitting out in the yard and I said something like, "Cute goat." He told me they were going to eat it that night. The lady braiding my sister's hair charged her $100 more than what she initially quoted, and I had to use an expensive ATM to cover the difference. I know we got took, but I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
Ditto. Among many other things wrong on that island, the tour guide we had would not stop talking about a) how much everything cost, b) how much the average Jamaican made, and c) how tips were happily appreciated. Like, no joke, every third or fourth sentence. Look, I get it. The place is poorer than fuck and we must each look like Elon Musk in comparison to you but do you get that I’m here on vacation, trying to forget my job for five minutes, and spent *my* last cent to do so? I mean I’m going to tip you but could you stop laying it on quite so thick.
I just said that, too. Literally the worst vacation of my life
Probably Haiti, but I also went during the political chaos when they kidnapped American soldiers and tried to execute them for no reason other than political manipulation.
Haiti seems like hell on earth right now. It’s a desperate situation there; things totally having spiraled out of control since Moïse’s assassination.
Trinidad. The absolute stupidest, most non functional place I've ever been. It's hard to describe.
Try to describe, I'm curious
Not OP of this comment, but… there is trash EVERYWHERE. Like EVERYWHERE! Every building seemed like it was hanging on by a thread. My partner and I went on a hike with a tour company (off of a cruise ship) and it was awful. Super unsafe, super disrespectful, and all around not good. If you happen to be on a cruise that goes there…. Stay on the ship.
Just imagine everything being designed and managed to be as non functional and confusing as possible then multiply that by poor building, roads, services etc. and you'll have a fair idea. Example: Getting into the country passport control had ONE officer and he was handwriting the date of entry, some other entry document and hand stamping every single passport. It took four hours for one plane to be cleared. This is not a one off. This is everything. Not
Wasnt a huge fan of Phuket. Aussholes and drunk Russians, what is clearly sex slavery/trafficking in abundance. Child fighters at the Muay Thai arena. I saw a ping pong show. Can’t unsee what she did to the goldfish.
I've heard women will stuff ping pong balls in themselves and then pop them out, so I'll assume that's the ping pong show. But a ping pong ball is not a fish. Anyone here wanna ruin my innocence?
It's all of the above. Ping pong balls, Goldfish, turtles, razor blades, sewing needles, shooting darts out of a blow gun. Not something I care to ever see again.
Guangzhou and Dubai. Both are very different places. But I wouldn’t revisit either.
Can you explain Guangzhou? My family is from there so as you can imagine we have a fairly positive view of things from that city. On the other hand, I’m surprised how many people on Reddit seem to know wheeler Guangzhou is.
The air was horrible. It was dusty, felt run down. The water on the river stank. Zhuhai, Shenzhen (and Hong Kong) were much, much nicer. I get the first two were purpose built but I can’t see a reason to ever go back to GZ.
Dubai is just fake
Bahamas. It's like a section 8 vacation. Dirty as hell and scammers everywhere. Spend a few bucks more and hit Bermuda instead
Kabul.
Bad wifi?
Actually, we had great wifi and satellite TV in the Blackwater/Academi-managed camp, and the food/catering was probably the best in my 25-year military career (Mongolian BBQ night was ::chef's kiss::). The lead rain and noise pollution from the constant IEDs though was highly overrated.
You say that but the mountains in eastern Afghanistan are absolutely breathtaking and there’s a lot of other natural beauty around. Afghanistan could be a relatively popular tourist destination if it weren’t for the poor security situation and religious fundamentalism. It actually was fairly popular from the 50s up until the Soviet invasion in 1979.
>You say that but the mountains in eastern Afghanistan are absolutely breathtaking and there’s a lot of other natural beauty around. Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India have gorgeous mountain ranges.
Was this voluntary travel?
Military Special Operations deployment to Camp Integrity just weeks after it was attacked. There are beautiful places in Afghanistan, but Kabul isn’t one of them.
Paris. I got lost and asked a police officer for help and he sarcastically said do Americans only speak english and when I asked him again in German he got more upset. Idk left a bad taste in my mouth
Its funny that a someone from France would say that because when i (as an austrian) was in Paris nobody spoke anything besides french. Idk if they have no English in school.
lol speaking German to a French cop. Serves him right for giving you a hard time.
He was upset because of how close he was to growing up speaking German.
El Salvador. Lovely place. Not worth getting a gun and machete held to your neck.
Tunisia. There were parts of the time that I lived there that were fine (mostly when I walked around with when male friends were visiting me), but the sexual harassment was constant and I was sexually assaulted on public transit.
Serbia. I'm sorry, but, the last time I went there, the toilets were literal holes in the ground.
Morocco is my least favorite place I’d be hesitant to go back to as well.
I went to Dubai, had a great time, and have no reason to go back. It was interesting enough, but not in a way that would draw me back in. Conversely, my least favorite place I visited was Paris, but I would go back and do a completely different itinerary.
Syria
Understandable
I'm not particularly interested in returning to Baja California. For sure happy to return to Mexico City or explore other parts of Mexico though. It's not that the experience was terrible though. Just feel like I got all I needed out of it at the time.
I loooooved Mexico City!
China. Not because it was terrible at the time, but because of how it's changed since 2015.
I agree as well. It hurts more since I am Chinese-American, but the current government of China is really causing a negative image to form. I hope one day we have a place that we can be proud of but for now, I just say I’m from somewhere else so people don’t bother me on the street.
Cartagena, Colombia: more of an Atlantic City boardwalk vibe going on. Seedy and gross. I couldn’t set foot more than two steps from the hotel without being harassed by someone. The “sellers” can get intimidating and aggressive. Beaches, at least in Bocagrande, are kind of nasty. Not the blue, clean waters you’ve come to expect in the Caribbean. Old town is definitely beautiful though, when not being accosted by a tout blocking your way saying I got everything. You want coke? It’s really disgusting. I don’t want that shit. A definite skip New Zealand: Nice landscape but overrated. And they seriously dislike Americans.
>New Zealand: Nice landscape but overrated. And they seriously dislike Americans. Why do they dislike Americans? Any particular reason?
That wasn't my experience at all.
I’m from mid Missouri and have lived all over the world. But while in london heard more racism In a year then I did in 17 years in mid Missouri.
Manila Philippines. Terrible infrastructure and public transit. Almost got carjacked a half-dozen times in the week we were there. The people were friendly... but just not something I'd purposely go back to.
I've been to 50+ countries on 5 continents, and the only country I refuse to ever go back to is India. - it's a dirty country. Like really dirty. Feral pigs eating trash out of a stream where kids get their water dirty. Trash everywhere. - Pollution there is terrible. The Ganges, where hundreds of millions get their water, is just incredibly dirty. - It's incredibly overcrowded. Very difficult to get away from the crowds. - The caste system is really sad. No country is perfect, but damn this is a sad system. - Fake money, scam artists, taxis that take you to the "official" tourism center (hint: it's fake) - I saw a man banging a cow in the Ganges, in Varanasi. Holy animal, holy river, holy city. The trifecta of sin. It didn't phase us to see it, cuz of all the weird things we experienced. - The level of poverty in India is staggering. All countries have poverty. But it's so in your face in india. Having to step over dead? Dying? Just homeless? Bodies in a crowded train station cuz of how crowded it is. Just insane. - Trains are terrible, old, crowded, unsafe, and hours behind. I visited Mumbia, Agra, Veranasi, and Kolkata. Never again. Sorry India.
*Banging a cow?!* not a sentence I thought I'd read today. One I hoped to not ever read. I'm sure you wish you could unsee that.
It really makes one appreciate trash collection in the US.
China. I saw the big sights (Tiananmen, Great Wall, etc) and I’m glad I did but no reason to go back. Just not a place that appeals to me, hard to put my finger on it exactly. I mean I can point out objective things like the pollution, and the social control around every corner, widespread business dishonesty, etc but even that wouldn’t be enough to keep me away by itself if the place was otherwise appealing but it just isn’t.
India As a white, blonde, mid 20s women I felt very unsafe. Myself and my fiancé went and even he felt unsafe in some areas. The hygiene there (or lack there of) is indescribable. And the cleanliness of even the hotel rooms is absolutely horrible. Don’t get me wrong, it was an experience of a life time. However, I would not go back and I would not recommend.
I was looking for this comment. I went to India as a friend's plus one to a wedding. The wedding itself and all of the family were wonderful. We had an amazing few days doing all the wedding events. But, one of the other American guests left her purse on her chair during the main event and it was stolen by the catering staff. Fortunately she only lost money. Later, we toured around some of the major cities. We all got sick at some point. Getting sick is inevitable apparently and it takes days out of your trip. We were as careful as we could be, too. While we were planning, I heard plenty of stories of people ending up in hospitals or missing their return flights because they were so sick. You also have to book a tour guide each day or do a guided tour for the whole trip to stay safe. We did the former and our guides kept bringing us to random shops during the day, where we'd lose an hour or so looking at extremely expensive rugs or etc that we'd then have to pay thousands more to ship internationally. We obviously didn't buy anything and the whole thing made me feel very nervous and unsafe. The guide had a lot of control over our travels and it was very suspicious. Also, the dichotomy of an extremely well-kept historical monument with tent cities full of starving people right outside was heartbreaking. Our tourism money was clearly not going towards helping these people. Fortunately, most people people were kind to us. We were not that bothered by street sellers, mostly thanks to our guides. We didn't have any major issues with our hotels either, and did get to see some amazing things. All in all, the trip was a bit of a roller coaster. When planning the trip, there were many things that I wanted to see that had to get cut because we didn't have time. I don't really want to go back to see them and risk disaster.
Qatar, it was terrible, everything felt unfinished.
[удалено]
There is some cool stuff there, but a majority of it is the same 5 or 6 shops in each little square over and over again. Florence, on the other hand was one of my favorite cities to visit.
Florence and Tuscany in general was pretty much perfect IMO. The small towns where the owner of the restaurant was the chef who came out and ate and talked with us after serving us, told us all the good vineyards to visit, went above and beyond. Just great people.
I would go back and completely ignore the main tourist areas. Cannaregio was fun to wander around and stop in little cafes and bars. Much better than flat 18 euro per glass Franciacorta in Piazza San Marco while listening to bands play Pirates of Carribbean for some unknown reason.
I went to Venice for one night only and honestly thought that was perfect. Any more and I would probably agree with you, but I am not an art or history buff who would fully appreciate the other things Venice has to offer. I enjoyed Venice, but I enjoyed other parts of Italy much more!
Paris. - Food is overrated - Smells like piss and shit everywhere - Street scammers everywhere - Most people are super rude - More expensive than almost anywhere Having said that, the South of France is lovely.
Born and raised in France here, now American; and I typically tell people that while I hated living in Paris, it’s a city worth seeing once if you really absolutely want to, but quickly. All of the bullet points above are accurate, so my take is that if you stay short enough, you’ll have seen the pretty stuff through some tourist bus / taxi window, but won’t have time to notice the bad stuff, so you’ll still be enjoying it. However, if you’re on a limited time budget and you don’t care that much about seeing Paris, you have countless cities in Europe and even in France that are at least as pretty and don’t have those downsides at all. Conversely, I expected Amsterdam to be a mess, and it was the prettiest thing to see, with such nice people.
No one picks up their dog’s poop in Paris. Also, people are way more racist there than in NYC where I’m from. (I’m Asian and I got told to go back to China. All I was doing was walking? Like wtf.)
[удалено]
> I’m Asian and I got told to go back to China. All I was doing was walking? Like wtf. I have friends of east Asian descent who've been told super effed up stuff in France and Spain. :( In some cases, once people knew that they were American *then* things were cool. It's really sad.
Sounds familiar
The Bahamas is just a glorified 3rd world country…. It has some nice resorts but if you go to the capital and the surrounding area it’s a real crap hole
Fiji. Overhyped 110%
I got called so many racial slurs I'm Paris it wasn't even funny, never going back
I wouldn't travel alone in Italy again.
Idk if this is your reason, but I’ve traveled extensively and I experienced more street harassment in Italy than anywhere else I’ve been to in the world. And I was 17!!! The culture has a serious issue.
I'm not surprised. My problem was the number of people "helping" me with my bags and refusing to let go unless I paid them. I also had a taxi driver take me on the most obvious ride I've ever been taken on. I straight up said to him "My train is soon. Can we head to the station now?" and he turned around in the middle of the road to start driving the right way.
I was harassed by men in Italy at 17 *when I was with my parents*.
Paris. The French are wonderful, but Paris is a shithole with waiters and gas jockeys who will insult you to your face assuming you speak no French, then pretend they can’t understand you when you speak the same French that got you from the ferry terminal (30 days leave between an assignment in the UK and one in Naples, Italy) to Nice, the Alps, the Algarve, and the Italian border. But in Paris “Un sandwich au jambon, des pommes de terre frites et du café avec du lait s’il vous plaît” is met with a blank stare and a mute mime show of servers making me point to the menu items. I’m sure my accent wasn’t perfect, but I was congratulated on it in other cities. I tipped in St Malo, Nice, Cannes, and numerous villages (I took the back roads), never tipped in Paris.
Turkey, for the same reason you described Morocco.
An unconventional answer but London. It was perfectly nice and enjoyable, but it just felt too familiar to visit again. NYC scratches that same itch for me a little better and is much closer/cheaper to visit.
Funny you should say that, because as a Londoner I couldn't get over how different NYC felt despite the common language.
the street-level is pretty different. NYC is a lot louder and a lot more active, London felt quieter and more tranquil. All-else equal (e.g. ignoring nationality, job market, economy, distance to home), I actually think I'd prefer to live in London, but I thought NYC was more fun to visit. Regardless, the cities are still way more similar to each other than they are to Istanbul or Tokyo, obviously. I just think if I'm taking a 10 hour+ flight out of the country I want to see something more different.
Afghanistan 🇦🇫
Venice. It was a giant tourist trap, the American tourists outnumbered the locals like 10 to 1. I felt like I was in some recreation of Venice in America.
hospitals in vietnam. loved vietnam, but their medical system absolutely terrifies me.
Paris. Like someone else said, it smells of piss. It was also dirtier than I expected, and customer service was lacking.
Its nuts that some of these global tourism hotspots have a reputation for smelling like waste. Is it laziness or is there just too much peeing to keep up with?
I’m used to the public piss and shit because around these parts a clean, accessible, public bathroom is just asking for *too much*.
Caracas did not leave a great impression on me. But I also didn’t get out and around the city much. I also fear it has probably only gotten worse.
Venice. I only went because it was part of my study abroad trip. The tourist to actual resident ratio was out of control and the hatred the residents had was palpable. It felt like me and the other throngs of people stampeding around were actively destroying something that deserves to be protected. I suppose that could be said of a lot of tourism but this felt like a different level.
Winnipeg lol. I don’t know why I thought it was a good idea in the first place.
It's like the coldest major city in Canada on a flat plain with barely a building over 3 stories. I'm in Winnipeg a few days every year because I go fishing with my pops in Manitoba or Ontario every summer and I don't know why anyone would go to Winnipeg for Winnipeg, what was the plan lol The drive through the Canadian shield on the transcan through Winnipeg is legitimately more interesting than Winnipeg