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In the past year in my travels, I'd say my most pleasant surprise was the Black Hills of South Dakota. South Dakota in general I thought was pretty cool. Tons of beautiful scenery and everyone is friendly. Some of the Black Hills towns are a little touristy and tacky but it's not a huge mess of it.
Montana was another place I never expected much from, but I have loved both times I have been there and it is definitely a place I will be exploring more in the future.
New Hampshire and Vermont, while I figured they would be good, certainly made their mark and I hope to spend more time there soon.
Sunshineleith, I live in St.John's Newfoundland and I too think its awesome here!! And yip we do know how to party on George Street. Glad to hear you got"screeched" in here . Its all about having a good time and taking it easy here !
The world knows the Irish are friendly. It's great to have my own story showing it.
I was traveling from SC to NY to Dublin. I was supposed to meet up with family at JFK but storms in NC caused me to miss my connection in NY. I ended up flying to Limerick then on to Dublin. By the time I made it to Dublin, I was dog tired. I knew where we were staying so I hopped on a city bus and headed to Killiney. I made it to Dun Laoghaire for another bus connection. An elderly lady on this bus could see that I was tired and stressed. By the time I got on that bus, I had been up for about 34 hours with no sleep. After telling her my story, she got me to get off at her stop and she took me home. While piling a huge plate of food in front of me and insisting that I eat it all, she phoned the place I was staying and got my family on the phone to let them know I was ok and headed their way. She then called her friend with a car, loaded me and my luggage and took me to Killiney. to Irish hospitality
1. Jekyll Island, Georgia. This is totally the opposite of what I had expected it to be. One has no sense whatsoever, while visiting, that this is a 'touristy' place. There is very little tourist infrastructure, all beaches are free access, it is never crowded, you can go there and spend a peaceful, quiet day, and spend nothing. In fact, I even stayed overnight free in my camper, in the boat dock parking lot. It is not pretentious, the residential area is like a typical Georgia town. There are wilderness areas where you can enjoy wildlife viewing. There is a daily limit on the number of cars allowed on the causeway, so it can never be crowded.
2. China. I had expected China to be a crowded, difficult place to travel, with constant restrictions and language barriers. In fact, the rural countryside and towns off the beaten track are welcoming and hospitable, and the scenery is indescribably beautiful and undisturbed. The food is amazingly good, there is no real poverty, and people literally drop what they are doing to take travelers by the hand and see that they don't get lost. We're birdwatchers and we felt free to walk anywhere in the countryside, and the people we met acted like we passed by there every day, just nodding casual greetings to us, and even showing us around and sharing their food with us. I found out later that off the beaten track, the Chinese have no concept of "foreigner". People traveling unescorted who look or dress or behave oddly are thought to be Chinese from some far-flung part of the country, and are afforded all the privileges---and the Chinese are very nice to each other. It is a nation of great civility and dignity.
3. Paraguay. Most South America travelers give Paraguay the miss, expecting it to be a featureless country, with nothing to see or do. Well, that part of it is true, but nevertheless, the people are wonderfully laid back and egalitarian. There is almost no urban poverty in Paraguay, and Asuncion is perhaps the only large city in Latin American without a sprawling ring of destitute barrios around it. Asuncion is quiet and relaxed, almost like it is still in another century, without the loud bustle of a national capital. The risk of crime is very low, I didn't give a second thought to wandering the streets at any hour. Small towns in Paraguay have a general look of prosperity, and are kept tidy and well-ordered.
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Dee1, while Newfoundland did not "surprise" me, it is the end of the universe in terms of being an absolutely wonderful place. I lived there for 10 years, and married a Newfoundlander, and loved a lot more of them, and there is no place on earth that can come anywhere near Newfoundland as the warmest, most charming place imaginable. The world has only two parts. Newfoundland, and all the rest. If Heaven is on Earth, it's on that island.
Did I say warmest? A typical winter day in Newfoundland is quite nice. The only problem is there are 300 of them.
I had made a commitment to be in Jordan, and had bought a car in Paris for the trip. But in the interim, the 1973 war broke out, and there was no way to get there except through Syria, which was being bombed by the Israelis. In Istanbul, the Syrian consul said to request our visa at the Syrian border. There, it was required that the immigration get our application approved in the capital. This took three days, while we waited all day at the border, and returned to Antakya, Turkey each night. The Syrian border officials were wonderful, always polite and civil, and offering us snacks while we waited. Finally,on the third day, our visas were ready, and the fact that my wife was Canadian probably helped.
With all the trips back and forth, I had less than a half tank of gas, and it was mid afternoon before we got into Syria. We drove as far as Hama, and were told that there was no gas, and the city was under strict curfew. But the authorities were wonderful hosts. They escorted us to a pleasant but affordable hotel, told us we could not go out until morning, and they had someone bring us a beautiful, lavish meal of mouth-watering Syrian cuisine, which I don't think we were charged for. In the morning, the local official in charge of rationing, came to our hotel and escorted us to a gas station, looked at my fuel gauge, and authorized the purchase of enough gas to reach the Jordanian border. Literally everyone treated us like family. Even though I was, in their eyes, the enemy against whom a war had just ended hours ago.
Along the road, we could see smoke from the smoldering ruins of facilities that had been bombed. In Jordan, I was told by the US consul that I was the first American to see Syria since the war, and he interviewed me (voluntarily) about everything I had seen there. So, I guess, in a sense, I can add "international spy" to my resume.
In Jordan, we had to go to the border every 6 months to renew our car entry permit, and even though it was only a couple of hours drive, we always made it a point to spend a night or two in Syria, and it was just as delightful with every visit.
Scotland. My mum and I went on a roadtrip a few years ago and we were a bit concerned about encountering the stereotypical "dour Scot" and almost everyone was really nice! Especially in the smaller towns and villages that we visited and stayed in. (It was the receptionists in our hotels in Glasgow and Edinburgh who were the least helpful and totally uninterested in any questions or problems we might have had.)
I would have to agree with you on Scotland. I got VERY sick when I was there. A 24 hour flu type thing that I could not get out of bed. The hotel staff took care of not only a pretty unconsious me, but my 4 year old daughter at the same time! They went far above and beyond in their concern for me. I was amazed!
They brought in 3 room service meals for me and my daughter, although I didn't move much at all that day let alone eat. They stayed in the room with us so that my daughter had someone "Watching" her while I slept. And they took the plates away and cleaned everything, while I lay in bed oblivious to what or who was in my room. And they didn't charge me a dime for any of it!!!
They would peek in on us every hour or so, and they staff would go and spend their own money to run and get coloring books and toys for my daughter and medicine for me. They were awesome! Try getting that in America.
I would have to agree with you on Scotland. I got VERY sick when I was there. A 24 hour flu type thing that I could not get out of bed. The hotel staff took care of not only a pretty unconsious me, but my 4 year old daughter at the same time! They went far above and beyond in their concern for me. I was amazed!
They brought in 3 room service meals for me and my daughter, although I didn't move much at all that day let alone eat. They stayed in the room with us so that my daughter had someone "Watching" her while I slept. And they took the plates away and cleaned everything, while I lay in bed oblivious to what or who was in my room. And they didn't charge me a dime for any of it!!!
They would peek in on us every hour or so, and they staff would go and spend their own money to run and get coloring books and toys for my daughter and medicine for me. They were awesome! Try getting that in America.
Scots are the best!!
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to Irish hospitality
