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Did you actually visit there? Because Myanmar has the same kind of reputation, and it was one of the best places Ive ever visited, contrary to the impression of it that the government and the media wants us to have.
You must have visited just Midtown: outside that area NYC is neither overcrowded nor claustrophobic.
Next time you're in NYC have a look at TriBeCa, SoHo, Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Gramercy, as well as Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Dumbo, Kew Gardens, Forest Hills: no skyscrapers and a small-town feel.
Also, polluted?
Have you ever been in Milan or any China city?
Rude and unfriendly?
I strongly disagree.
P.S. I agree about the noise: NYC is a noisy city
I was scratching my head with this one, too.
I found the people there very charming and helpful. It's just that they're not sugar-coaters and few of them chat for the sake of chatting. But whenever I stuck up a conversation or asked for help, I found all of them very responsive and helpful. (Except, perhaps, the mass-transit drivers, but they're surley everywhere.)
Don't know if I'd refer to it as a "pretty" city but there is SO MUCH to see and do and learn there.
I'll go along with density, though. One of the things that still blows my mind today is to think back to the city traffic and dozens of taxis that travel in wolf-packs. And watching the masses of pedestrians dominate over the drivers' rights at the traffic lights was something to marvel at, too. It may not be a destination for most people who hate crowds.
I found the people there very charming and helpful. It's just that they're not sugar-coaters and few of them chat for the sake of chatting. But whenever I stuck up a conversation or asked for help, I found all of them very responsive and helpful. (Except, perhaps, the mass-transit drivers, but they're surley everywhere.)
Don't know if I'd refer to it as a "pretty" city but there is SO MUCH to see and do and learn there.
I'll go along with density, though. One of the things that still blows my mind today is to think back to the city traffic and dozens of taxis that travel in wolf-packs. And watching the masses of pedestrians dominate over the drivers' rights at the traffic lights was something to marvel at, too. It may not be a destination for most people who hate crowds.
But the over-crowded areas are Midtown West and Times Square: I usually avoid such places, even though they are getting better. Anyway, there are several nabes that aren't hustle and bustle.
I have been to most of the US, Canada, 4 countries in South America, and 7 countries in Europe. I can honestly say I really liked every country I've been to a lot, with the exception of the UK which was too drab for me.
So, the worst place for me would be a particular city and that city is Naples, Italy. It's dirty, corrupt, doesn't have much to see in the city proper, and the whole mentality of its people is imbued with the "art of the scam." Vaffan****, Napoli!
I have been to most of the US, Canada, 4 countries in South America, and 7 countries in Europe. I can honestly say I really liked every country I've been to a lot, with the exception of the UK which was too drab for me.
So, the worst place for me would be a particular city and that city is Naples, Italy. It's dirty, corrupt, doesn't have much to see in the city proper, and the whole mentality of its people is imbued with the "art of the scam." Vaffan****, Napoli!
Are you kiddin? Naples "doesn't have much to see in the city proper"??? But what the hell are you saying??? Its historical city centre is bigger than Florence's one!
From Wikipedia: "Naples' historic city centre is the largest in Europe, covering 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres), and is listed by UNESCOas aWorld Heritage Site. Over the course of its long history, Naples has been the capital of duchies, kingdoms, and one Empire, and has consistently been a major cultural centre with a global sphere of influence, particularly during the Renaissance and Enlightment eras".
I agree that the city is NOT in good shape (it is really shabby and rundown) but I have also to point that your beloved Sicily is NOT absolutely better in fact: Palermo, Messina, Agrigento, Enna, Catania are as dirty, blighted and corrupt as Naples... Palermo looks like bombed-out and Messina is Italy's ugliest city.
Last edited by italianuser; 08-19-2012 at 12:28 AM..
Are you kiddin? Naples "doesn't have much to see in the city proper"??? But what the hell are you saying??? Its historical city centre is bigger than Florence's one!
From Wikipedia: "Naples' historic city centre is the largest in Europe, covering 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres), and is listed by UNESCOas aWorld Heritage Site. Over the course of its long history, Naples has been the capital of duchies, kingdoms, and one Empire, and has consistently been a major cultural centre with a global sphere of influence, particularly during the Renaissance and Enlightment eras".
I agree that the city is NOT in good shape (it is really shabby and rundown) but I have also to point that your beloved Sicily is NOT absolutely better in fact: Palermo, Messina, Agrigento, Enna, Catania are as dirty, blighted and corrupt as Naples... Palermo looks like bombed-out and Messina is Italy's ugliest city.
Not quite. I don't think that a tourist is as likely to get hit with petty crime anywhere in Sicily as they would in Naples. So many stories about Rolexes disappearing from unsuspecting tourists on the ferries to Capri, Ischia, etc. as if a magician took them. When I was a kid and we were boarding a ship at the Stazione Marittima di Napoli, with all the passengers' luggage in the hotel lobby, some slimy local tried to walk off with one of our suitcases which I spotted and alerted my Dad, and my Dad had to tell the Napolitano "ma che c***o fai?"
Messina is Italy's ugliest city? How so? It's all laid out lengthwise on all these hills with views of the Strait and the Italian mainland beyond. The views coming out of some of the tunnels on the autostrada above the city are spectacular, but too bad there are no turnouts where one can take a picture.
Oh, yeah, the last time I was in Naples with my cousin and the Centro Direzzionale (their WTC equivalent, but a sorry excuse) was deserted during the weekend, there was a ripped, mustard colored leather couch just laying there at one of the tower entrances. My cousin, who lives in Naples, thought it was insane and worthy of a picture, but I had no camera on hand. He thinks Naples is crazy and he's a resident. He says "Well, we all live with this mountain behind us that can go off at any time and do us in, so we live for the moment and don't care." Translation: let me $crew you over while I can.
Not quite. I don't think that a tourist is as likely to get hit with petty crime anywhere in Sicily as they would in Naples. So many stories about Rolexes disappearing from unsuspecting tourists on the ferries to Capri, Ischia, etc. as if a magician took them. When I was a kid and we were boarding a ship at the Stazione Marittima di Napoli, with all the passengers' luggage in the hotel lobby, some slimy local tried to walk off with one of our suitcases which I spotted and alerted my Dad, and my Dad had to tell the Napolitano "ma che c***o fai?"
Messina is Italy's ugliest city? How so? It's all laid out lengthwise on all these hills with views of the Strait and the Italian mainland beyond. The views coming out of some of the tunnels on the autostrada above the city are spectacular, but too bad there are no turnouts where one can take a picture.
Oh, yeah, the last time I was in Naples with my cousin and the Centro Direzzionale (their WTC equivalent, but a sorry excuse) was deserted during the weekend, there was a ripped, mustard colored leather couch just laying there at one of the tower entrances. My cousin, who lives in Naples, thought it was insane and worthy of a picture, but I had no camera on hand. He thinks Naples is crazy and he's a resident. He says "Well, we all live with this mountain behind us that can go off at any time and do us in, so we live for the moment and don't care." Translation: let me $crew you over while I can.
Messina may have a nice natural scenery, but the city itself is HORRIBLE: just a sprawl of shabby commieblocks and run-down housing projects with few historical buildings. Deal with it.
Anyway, you saw just the Centro Direzionale and call Naples uninteresting
I visited Rome, Naples and Pompeii. I stayed in Rome for 10 days and I took the train to other areas. It's funny while visiting Pompeii I saw graffiti that was over five hundred years old!! Italy is extremely overrated.
To an illiterate person, the most beautiful poem looks like a gibberish of undecipherable signs. Its quite possible that you're culturally illiterate, like many tourists with more money than culture.
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