Places to avoid,places to see.

[Archphoto]

I just wish internet page designers could put all of the information on one page rather than those infernal slide shows.

I agree, and it can be done - I visited a site just yesterday that had one of those slideshows to accompany the story, but it also had the ability to give all the info on just one page, minus the extra images (just the first image at the top of the page.)

Also saves time and reduces the amount of allowance you use.

 

[vetrade]

I can relate to so much in this thread having visited so many of the places mentioned (although some were over 20 years ago). It seems that the more hyped or over-commercialised a place is, the more likely it is to disappoint. What you see in real life on your travels is often so, so, different to the brochures!

Whilst neither my wife nor I are cultural cretins we agreed after our last European trip that we would avoid any but the absolute top 1 % of museums, art galleries and churches/catherdrals in future - they are so numerous as to have become utterly repetitive and boring. Who wants to look at another hundred or so similar marble statues or another full wall sized painting of some pompous-looking prince or king in uniform on a horse (must have had big egos in those days) or exchange elbow digs with a heaving crowd just to get within 5 metres of the underwhelming Mona Lisa ?

Lots of places generate better memories if they don't involve queueing up for long periods, sharing transport with locals who have way too much body hair and eat way too much garlic, gypsies and beggars ....and hookers propositioning you - worse still when you're with your wife ! Thankfully those types of places are plentiful - and we've found they are often best explored on foot with just ourselves for company.

 

[JohnK]

What happened to all the Germans?

A lot of them are not so bad. There are a number of them that play golf in the golf society where I play.

 

[amaroo]

I'm glad I've only done 6 out of the 10.....otherwise, I'd obviously be a real loser!

Only a few places I've been where I would like the time back.....

Pisa, Itlay - Could easily be spelt pits
Youghai, Ireland - Place that time forgot
Malacca, Malaysia - The bus ride from KL killed any enjoyment we might have had

 

[Scarlett]

I drove through there on a old rainy winters day and I reckon i cold have been on another planet.

Agree thoroughly depressing place totally unlike the road out through the Tarkine.

It was 36 degrees in Queenstown when I was there last week!
And if you really want to see the best of the town - play the golf course there...

 

[UP4014]

It was 36 degrees in Queenstown when I was there last week!
And if you really want to see the best of the town - play the golf course there...

The train ride is good, plus of the oval with its compacted dirt field because the grass just turns to mud after 5 mins of studded shoes.

 

[samh004]

It was 36 degrees in Queenstown when I was there last week!
And if you really want to see the best of the town - play the golf course there...

The train ride is good, plus of the oval with its compacted dirt field because the grass just turns to mud after 5 mins of studded shoes.

Good to know.

You do learn interesting things here!

 

[Tortuga]

I can now add Monrovia, Liberia to places to avoid. Great that the country is not at war any more, however things are still looking very poor.

 

[Katie]

What happened to all the Germans?

A heap of them were in Ko Samui last week ... along with a heap if Russians. We even saw some of them smile (the Russians - when I went to Moscow my colleagues told me I didn't look like a local as I smiled too much). Mr Katie did not enjoy struggling with other, mainly Russian, tourists at the luggage carousel on arrival at Samui.

 

[kamchatsky]

I like to avoid any place that is frequented by

a) Australian bogans and/or
b) loud and arrogant Russian and Chinese tourists

For b that takes out most of Australia, Europe, Asia, North America etc, and ALL LV shops.

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

Avoid China

If you really must go then do an organised tour and interact with the locals as little as possible.

i still shudder from the behaviour of the locals in Beijing. Shanghai was marginally better, though the increase in pollution negated this for me.

Such wonderful history to see their, let down by a people with little to no western civilities about them

Tip: NEVER pass by someone on their left side as you have a good chance of being spat upon, especially in the early morning.

 

[samh004]

Tip: NEVER pass by someone on their left side as you have a good chance of being spat upon, especially in the early morning.

I'm not sure where you were, but I've never had a problem there.

Are you sure you weren't unintentionally wearing something offensive?

 

[drron]

I'm not sure where you were, but I've never had a problem there.

Are you sure you weren't unintentionally wearing something offensive?

I've seen it to Sam.In Shanghai,Beijing,Xian and Guangzhou.
You must have been in much more upmarket places than us.

 

[The Rok]

If somebody spat on me in the street I would probably go gangham style banging their head into the pavement!

 

[samh004]

I've seen it to Sam.In Shanghai,Beijing,Xian and Guangzhou.
You must have been in much more upmarket places than us.

The Bund isn't that upmarket

I've seen spitting before, but not intentionally on other people.

 

[drron]

Mrsdrron came up with another list of places to see in 2013-
The 46 Places to Go in 2013 - NYTimes.com

Though I am not sure of the author's credentials as they have Accra,Ghana at number 4.We have a day there in April and the research for what to do is not very encouraging.Though we can get our vows renewed by a local though we have to bring Schnapps or a live chicken as part of the price.

 

[anat0l]

Such wonderful history to see their, let down by a people with little to no western civilities about them

I thought "civilities" was sufficient by itself; why should it have to / need to be qualified by "Western"? Granted that China is quite different and lacking as such, but as if the Western world is completely virtuous?


FWIW my parents have been to both Beijing and Shanghai (amongst a couple of other places). They were on a guided tour (one of those run by China tour groups, where 60 - 80% of the tour is being taken to shops or factories which pay a cut to the tour guide); as far as I know they were never spat on, and I doubt they knew of the "convention" (I'm sure they would've witnessed spitting in the street, but they never told us about it).

They gave an expectedly mixed response - the attractions / history is great, but the chaos and pollution, especially in Beijing, doesn't make it a great place in that respect to stay in. (The food provided on tour was also rather substandard, though "they got what they paid for" in a way). The fact they were on tour sheltered them quite a bit in a way; I've been told from talking with a few other native Chinese that Beijing is quite unforgiving (to put it nicely, not to mention that the Beijing Chinese accent is unique and difficult to communicate with, as I personally found out), whereas Shanghai is much, much better and, relatively, more welcoming and attractive.

That all said, I'm not in any hurry to go to mainland China per se, but I have sketched on my list somewhere Shanghai and Harbin.

 

[samh004]

Mrsdrron came up with another list of places to see in 2013-
The 46 Places to Go in 2013 - NYTimes.com

That's an awesome list.

Nicaragua, Bhutan, Mongolia, The Kimberley, Changbaishan (when they've expanded their terrain a little more), The Jeseniky and Republic of Congo are now all in my mind... that said, I've always wanted to visit the Falkland Islands might have to make a move on them first!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Personally I think the whole article (and at least a few of these posts) are rubbish. It's not not up to others to dictate what people may or may not like. Trip reports are great, but biased dictitorial bleatings are unhelpful. Now, visit Stonehenge or sit in my lounge chair watching a re-run of MASH, I'll choose Stonehenge thanks. A trip to an art gallery in Amsterdam when I was 23 first stated my appreciation of art, but the author would probably say that was "touristy rubbish". A trip to a Thai hilltribe aboard an elephant when I was 25 was an experience I still cherish, but perhaps I was that Aussie bogan so dispised. Climbing the stairway to nowhere in Raffles Hotel whilst wearing an umbrella hat and having trishaw races in the lobby after too many Singapore slings when I was 23 still brings a chuckle (definitely Aussie bogan there). Strolling about Zaanse Schans' windmills must surely be a tourist trap, but for me to see real windmills was a genuine treat and let's not forget the infamous red light district. Hard to imagine anything more touristy, but a real hoot for a young guy from country Qld where Playboy was still a banned magazine!

Will I take any of those mentioned places of my list because some writer doesn't like them......not likely. BTW - not all of them would be on my list anyway but in all honesty, anywhere that any of us may wish to visit for real must surely be a tourist rip-off to someone else in the world. In Cairns last week, the wharf was packed full of tourists (in summer)! Is that a tourist rip-off or people fulfilling their dreams to snorkle or dive one of the planets wonders?

What works for one, may totally grind someone else. By all means have an opinion with reasons as to why you like/dislike, but please don't belittle a place just because it's been successful in luring tourists. Just my opinion YMMV.

 

[anat0l]

What works for one, may totally grind someone else. By all means have an opinion with reasons as to why you like/dislike, but please don't belittle a place just because it's been successful in luring tourists. Just my opinion YMMV.

That's a great point swanning_it.

Though as I said, most places you can go to in passing, since they don't need much time. Mannekin Pis in Brussels is a great example. It's a fountain in the corner of a street, and you can't get close to the statue at all because of the fence and fountain. You take a picture then move on. It's not a picture or a memorial, so you don't leave flowers or say a prayer, unlike say the Atomic Memorial Cenotaph in Hiroshima. Some would remark that it's just an arch (and if you're hardened from WWII, you may find no point in visiting it), but I spent a few pensive moments there reminding myself why that memorial was built.

Some attractions I agree somewhat are "traps" because making a dedicated trip there doesn't seem to make sense when it doesn't speak volumes of the identity of that destination. Madame Tussauds is a great example. It's a wax museum, it's a remarkable technique, and there's a few of them around the world. I'm sure that each Madame Tussauds is slightly different to one another, but it doesn't speak volumes about the identity of a place IMO. If you want to go, fine, but it's certainly not on the top of my list. I'm rather surprised this 'attraction' didn't make it on the author's list.