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Old 12-09-2017, 08:47 AM
 
10,839 posts, read 14,677,694 times
Reputation: 7872

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Quote:
Originally Posted by DTL3000 View Post
Oh come on, I see other people have let you have it for this but I can't resist letting you have it again.

Asia is by far the largest continent with the broadest diversity of countries and cultures of any continent. You have everything from Japan to Bangladesh to Turkmenistan.

I just want to address your "list."

1. Virtually zero interest in seeing any of it So you are boring? I don't think I have "zero" interest in anything. Sorry, I just can't relate to incurious people.
2. The flight to get there is enormously long This is a valid point. But how many hours a week do you sit at a desk or in front of a tv?
3. The climate Asia offers every climate on Earth.
4. I can't speak the languages so I'm useless there ... which I'm really ok with. Do you speak any other European languages besides English?
5. The food. I am absolutely terrified and phobic about germs / getting sick / food poisoning. The only thing worse than vomiting ... is vomiting in Asia (street food sitting out for hours, flies) You know, they have restaurants and hygiene pretty much all over the world now, don't you?
6. Dengue fever, malaria, cholera, parasites, dysentery Vaccines are readily available.
7. Crowding Sure, Bangladesh, Indian, and parts of China are crowded. Is most of Europe, which is much smaller geographically, crowded as well compared to the U.S.? Have you heard about Mongolia?
8. Traffic Traffic in the US is much more oppressive in my experience. Hire the right taxi, tuk tuk, rickshaw driver and traffic becomes a non-issue. Besides, why would you rent a car in places like that?
9. Smells Visit New York City in certain parts and then tell me Asia has weird smells.
10. The bathrooms (in China I heard about holes in floor, no privacy, no water to wash hands, no TP provided) They have modern bathrooms all over the world now, not that it might instantly kill you to do it the way humans have been doing for thousands of years up until the last century.

Lastly:

I also never want to go to Russia, mostly because it simply doesn't interest me. So the country with arguably one of the most fascinating histories of any country on the planet, along with some of the world's greatest and most influential contributions to world culture doesn't interest you in the slightest?
LOL. One can stop reading his/her post after seeing "the climate" -- does Asia the huge continent offer ONE climate? That's beyond ... whatever (I don't want to be banned for using derogatory words).

And the food ... seriously? This person seems utterly boring and doesn't want to experience anything different from home whatsoever.

Crowding? humm, I don't know. Even in China there are plenty of sparsely populated regions. Nobody forces you to visit HK, Tokyo, Shanghai or New Delhi.

The only valid point is the bathroom issue. Outside a few rich Asian countries it is pretty annoying and sometimes disgusting if you are used to western kind of hygiene standards.

No wonder so many Americans don't even have a passport, because the rest of the world is just so SCARY, from food, to air, to the crowd to bathrooms!
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Old 12-10-2017, 07:23 AM
 
1,584 posts, read 975,620 times
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Not going to reproduce the long post in question, but have a couple thoughts.

Regarding the enormously long flight and comparing this to sitting at a desk, I don’t think these are comparable. I’ve done both, and the flight takes it out of me in a way sitting at a desk doesn’t. My guess is the sheer fact of traveling takes its toll independently of just sitting, though I can’t say why.

I get the bathroom complaint. The way to avoid it in developing countries is to stay at a Western style hotel and use your room’s bathroom exclusively.

Question: I’ve heard that in developing countries (in Asia as well as Africa) there are big problems with dishonest cabbies, aggressively persistent beggars, and sophisticated scam artists (fake tour guides, scamming merchants, etc.) that one doesn’t encounter as much in developed countries. If so, that could be an issue. How true is this?
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Old 12-10-2017, 07:45 AM
 
10,839 posts, read 14,677,694 times
Reputation: 7872
Quote:
Originally Posted by bachslunch View Post

Question: I’ve heard that in developing countries (in Asia as well as Africa) there are big problems with dishonest cabbies, aggressively persistent beggars, and sophisticated scam artists (fake tour guides, scamming merchants, etc.) that one doesn’t encounter as much in developed countries. If so, that could be an issue. How true is this?
It is very true (example: China, Thailand, Moroco, Egypt etc).

One helpful suggestion: ignore any random strangers who approach you voluntarily. If they do, it is safe to assume they want your money. It doesn't apply 100% but more so than not.

Just try not to be that kind, friendly, chatty person you are used to in the developed world. You stick to your plan and keep the contact with random local strangers to a minimum. If you have to, then you pick the person you interact with based on your own judgment and don't trust those who start conversations with you (likely scammers) - men, women, young, old, children, handicapped, all of them.

Being too nice and trusting is what get many westerners into trouble in poorer countries. You can't even trust a 80 year old woman with a baby in her arm.
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Old 12-10-2017, 07:57 AM
 
997 posts, read 707,343 times
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I am a seasoned traveler and have been to all continents except Australia. I watch a lot of travel TV shows.
Places I never want to visit are:
1. Iceland--I heard it smells like sulphur, is expensive, I know would be bored from what I have read and seen on TV
2. Several West African countries--I've seen the pictures of dirty water, dirty cities, markets with hustlers, corruption--I would not feel safe and eating and drinking would be difficult.

Yes I've seen dirty situations in countries where you wouldn't expect, like Bali. But since you asked the above 2 areas simply I have no desire to visit.
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Old 12-10-2017, 09:10 AM
 
Location: Honolulu/DMV Area/NYC
30,562 posts, read 18,061,935 times
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I have no desire to visit most of western Europe; just view it as too similar to what I'm used to having grown up in NYC/USA. I also have no desire to travel to Antarctica as I absolutely hate the cold.
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Old 12-10-2017, 10:39 AM
 
3,565 posts, read 1,912,843 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BabyJuly View Post
I am a seasoned traveler and have been to all continents except Australia. I watch a lot of travel TV shows.
Places I never want to visit are:
1. Iceland--I heard it smells like sulphur, is expensive, I know would be bored from what I have read and seen on TV
Iceland is one of the most amazing of the 40+ countries that I've visited

To each their own.


Quote:
Originally Posted by DTL3000 View Post
1. Virtually zero interest in seeing any of it So you are boring? I don't think I have "zero" interest in anything. Sorry, I just can't relate to incurious people.
Lastly:

I also never want to go to Russia, mostly because it simply doesn't interest me. So the country with arguably one of the most fascinating histories of any country on the planet, along with some of the world's greatest and most influential contributions to world culture doesn't interest you in the slightest?



Quote:
Originally Posted by prospectheightsresident View Post
I have no desire to visit most of western Europe; just view it as too similar to what I'm used to having grown up in NYC/USA. I also have no desire to travel to Antarctica as I absolutely hate the cold.
I'm similar.
West Europe is at the bottom of my list for that reason.
I likewise hate the cold, but I think it'd be pretty damn amazing to step foot on Antarctica.
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Old 12-11-2017, 02:48 PM
 
2,274 posts, read 1,333,595 times
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Alabama, Mississippi, etc. pretty much any of the US southern states have zero appeal for me.
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Old 12-11-2017, 03:54 PM
 
Location: Hougary, Texberta
9,019 posts, read 14,246,248 times
Reputation: 11030
There is genuinely nowhere that is on a "never" list. Preferences? Sure. Not again? Absolutely, but never? Nary a one.


Besides travel disasters/adventures make the best stories. No one cares when everything goes well.
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Old 12-11-2017, 03:54 PM
 
4,861 posts, read 9,282,613 times
Reputation: 7761
I also have no desire to visit Asia, basically because I can't speak any Asian language, the cultures don't really interest me too much, and I hate Asian food, or at least what passes for Asian food in the U.S.

I also have no interest in Russia or the Middle East except for possibly Israel to see the Holy Land. That would be cool.

I have heard that Paris is pretty dirty but still...it is so iconic that I don't think I would cross it off my list.

Australia would probably be a fun place to visit but I have no desire to go just because of the length of the plane ride. More than about four hours on a plane and I get claustrophobic and anxious, so Australia is out.

Alaska doesn't interest me. I know people who have gone on Alaskan cruises and loved it but it just wouldn't be a good fit for me because I don't enjoy that kind of climate or scenery.

The Pacific Northwest also doesn't interest me. It just seems expensive, gloomy, and not my cup of tea.
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Old 12-11-2017, 04:22 PM
 
6,772 posts, read 4,470,751 times
Reputation: 6087
In the U.S.: Las Vegas and New Orleans. I like New Orleans's history and architecture, but the rest of it I don't like at all. Las Vegas, no interest in that type of tourism.

Internationally: Anywhere in the Middle East except Israel. Just too dangerous. Scandinavian countries. I would love to visit, but they're excruciatingly expensive.
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