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Matagalpa, Nicaragua. It's not that exotic, but I didn't see any non local people my first day, and the few travellers I met in a dorm were only there to work on schools and a university thesis. They said they were surprised I was there just for the fun of it.
It's up in the mountains and when it rains it really does feel like you've wandered out in to some very strange land.
Zambia, in 1987. The only food we could buy to take out in the field to eat for lunch while doing our research was peanuts (local) and crackers (flown in from South Africa.) I'm 5'8 and after spending 3 months between there and Kenya, I came home weighing 107 pounds - and I'd never gotten ill the whole time.
We have traveled a lot through the years but I don't know we have been anywhere I would call really exotic. I guess the closest might be Majorca (spelling) followed by Hong Kong.
Like stepping back in time once you leave the cities, it's how I imagined Central Asia to be like in the 19th century with a few modern doo hickeys thrown in. It was a eye opening experience to say the least, maybe I'll go back if things ever calm down, it is quite beautiful especially in the eastern provinces.
For me, I think it was Tibet. I was in some villages and towns where they never saw a foreigner before and I was quite an object of curiosity. However, in Lhasa (the capital) it is such a big tourist destination with so many hotels, restaurants, night clubs, cafes, gift shops, etc. the people were very jaded.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bakeneko
Thailand...
When we were in Bangkok, I went to the hotel spa for a pedicure. The girl doing my nails asked where I was from and I said that I was living in Japan at the time but before that we lived in San Diego...
She sighed and said "ohh California...so exotic!"
Exotic is what seems less familiar to us.
Interesting you mentioned about Brits finding the US exotic. I found more culture shocks than I expected in the US.
I would say rural China, since it was where I felt most 'alien', along with rural Vietnam, but since I'm somewhat with Chinese culture it wasn't that mysterious. Cambodia strikes me as mysterious for some reason, though. Nepal, Tibetan, Central Asia, Africa, Central America are places I think of as exotic.
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