Popular Places You Have No Desire to See (photos, trips, old)
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I would say any place that is what society deems is a great vacation spot or caters to the bread and circus crowd that needs phony cheap thrills with flashing lights, "comped" drinks, buffets and other worthless fluff.
Las Vegas, Cancun, Manhattan, Paris, Jamaica or any other tourist haven island.
Those places can be so much more than bread and circuses.
You don't have to stay in an all-inclusive in Jamaica, and you can skip the Eiffel Tower in Paris--but I digress. As TJlover says, just because a city is a turn-off, it doesn't mean the entire region should be shunned. IMHO, of course.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrEarth
I like to travel, and visit countries that are considered developing. The dollar goes farther, and I enjoy the places...good and bad.
However, the last places on my list to visit (which is very long) are the UK, France, and Germany. Don't really have the desire to go there.
There are several places I've been to that I will not return to if I can help it. Disneyland and Disney World come to mind.
I dunno, it is difficult to rule out a place, I keep coming up with ideas (Tehran? Monrovia? Mogadishu?) but I keep thinking: Never say never.
ETA:
I can't think of a time I chose a destination based on stretching my dollar.
I already know how to do that.
Last edited by BlueWillowPlate; 09-29-2010 at 04:38 AM..
Beach and Holiday resorts - Anywhere. I prefer places which are not overdeveloped and suited to "all inclusive" tourists. When I go abroad I prefer to actually visit a country not simply lie on a beach surrounded by the same people I have back at home, eating food which has been designed to be "acceptable" to the mass tourism palate.
Small eco-resorts maybe. Just maybe depending on each individual case.
Those monstrosities which blight the Mexican coasts , Hawaii,Thailand, the Carribean Islands, Jamaica etc... however are not for me.
They have ruined what would once have been beautiful and interesting and turned those places into sterile "anywhere-ville". I loathe them. Anywhere owned by huge soul-less chains of hotels or cruise ship companies. I would rather camp.
In terms of places I am open to any country , as I love travelling and anywhere I have been to has had its charms and peculiar points of interest. Apart from my least favourite place of all time : Las Vegas closely followed by Reno which I could seen no redeeming features in.
In terms of physical geography I find countries with flat landscapes no way near as interesting and attractive apart from a couple of exceptions. Holland and Belgium have lovely architecture but their geology does nothing for me for example. I find the countryside dull as ditch-water.
I prefer countries with defined seasons ( I like rain and snow unlike a lot of people) .
I have no interest in seeing Las Vegas. The only reason I'd fly there would be to rent a car and drive out of town very very quickly to get somewhere else. Otherwise I can't think of a single country I wouldn't want to visit.
I really don't like these kind of threads because they always...and already has....turned into people having to insult destinations just to justify why.
That being said...I wouldn't turn down a chance to visit anywhere at least once.
In the past, I too had written off some of the popular places and went along anyway. Boy would I have missed out on some interesting things.
NYC, while it being at the top of the "no desire" list, does have things I would be interested in seeing....Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, SOHO, Times Square and Empire State Building. But that's about it. Cities just aren't for me.
So...I would have to say I have some places on the top of my bucket list and some on the bottom.
In my example, I stated France, Germany, and the UK are the last on my list. It does not mean I would not visit there, it means there are over 100 other places I would go first (for me).
I would be thrilled to go to those countries tomorrow if it was paid for. But realistically, unless I win the lottery, which I don't play, there is a very good chance I will never see those countries.
Sooo, not to say I have no desire, but it is at the bottom of my list.
This is a really good thread, and has got me thinking.
I don’t want to visit anywhere that the entertainment is based on getting drunk, or getting food poisoning.
I don’t want tropical diseases.
I don’t want to be pestered by beggars or become a victim of crime.
I am interested in architecture, but don’t like cities, ( yes, I know that I have problems with that one ).
Also, I don’t want to lay on a beach and get sunburned, I can get sunburned at a tanning salon, but I don’t.
The nature of an area is of greater value to me than the manmade clutter, but it is good to have a comfortable and safe place to sleep.
I can’t take places that are too hot.
I am not a gambler.
Oh, and it’s good if the primary language of the place is English.
I think I have just ruled out almost everywhere.
Maybe I will stay at home.
I have never understood people's interest in Paris. It's just another big city.
Places I have no desire to see: Paris, New York City, all of sub-saharan Africa, any of the -stans (Packi, Afgani, tajiki, Uzbecki, etc.).
Interesting thread and points of view. I had never really thought of a popular place I don't want to go...except maybe a woman's bathroom has no interest to me, even though some of them have couches. Seriously though, as I read everyone's places they don't want to go I was thinking about reasons that I would go there, just to experience it, understand the history better, and learn something. I suppose I don't want to be in current war zones, so I probably rule out Baghdad right now, and probably large parts of Afghanistan and Somalia wouldn't be too great for me right now.
Vegas-Not much of a gambler, but have learned enough Blackjack to be able to sit with my friends for hours reminising and telling jokes at the cheaper tables. The mountains out there also offer good hiking. Also, while WAAY over the top and you plainly see how low humanity descends, there is something interesting in casinos and how they try to use a theme and try to understand a vision.
Cancun - Never been there, but want to go to see Mayan history
Hawaii - is amazingly beautiful, with awesome hiking, beaches and generally relaxed
Disney - my kids go crazy for this, so I will go again
Any major metro area - get a glimpse of other's lives and how it may differ from mine. Every metro area has some redeeming quality or experience.
I'm going to interpret the question to mean "Where would you not want to spend a week?" I can spend a day anywhere. I've even spent a whole day in an airport, which might be worse than in jail, but I haven't yet had that honor. But it takes a week to get a sense that you've wasted part of your life there.
I would put any small Caribbean island on my "least want to spend a week" list, because of how strictly limited would be my opportunity to go and find an interesting place, and because the culture (in its modern guise---music, etc.) does not appeal to me.
In terms of personal safety issues, I would be most hesitant to go to South Africa and maybe Zimbabwe, and maybe Kenya, but anywhere else in Africa would be fine. From what I've heard, Papua New Guinea would also be on the scary list. I'd feel safer in wandering around in Juarez, than in Capetown.
There is no country I'd avoid for political reasons. North Korea, Somalia, Myanmar, Iran, bring 'em on. In fact, Iran and Myanmar (both of which I've visited) would be near the top of my list of countries that I'd accept exile to.
As exotic and fascinating as the central Asian ex-Soviet republics sound, I've heard that they are dreadful places to visit. Devoid of scenery, cities made entirely of concrete, heavily bureaucratic and brutal hospitality. But I'd still never turn down a chance to go and see for myself.
I'm going to interpret the question to mean "Where would you not want to spend a week?" I can spend a day anywhere. I've even spent a whole day in an airport, which might be worse than in jail, but I haven't yet had that honor. But it takes a week to get a sense that you've wasted part of your life there.
I would put any small Caribbean island on my "least want to spend a week" list, because of how strictly limited would be my opportunity to go and find an interesting place, and because the culture (in its modern guise---music, etc.) does not appeal to me.
In terms of personal safety issues, I would be most hesitant to go to South Africa and maybe Zimbabwe, and maybe Kenya, but anywhere else in Africa would be fine. From what I've heard, Papua New Guinea would also be on the scary list. I'd feel safer in wandering around in Juarez, than in Capetown.
That's interesting. My mother and a friend went on a trip touring around S Africa last year and really had no problems at all. Another friend of mine is actually from there (lived here 20+ years) and goes back to visit her family every couple of years. She's from Durban which she says is comparatively quiet and safe altho Jo'burg does have issues. I don't know enough about Cape Town to comment.
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