Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
(sigh)...This would be funny if it wasn't just so tiresome. Please see below, my response to another individual who also makes erroneous assumptions and uses broad and inaccurate stereotypes:
Nope, sorry to disappoint you, but I do not watch Fox News, nor do I watch CNN or MSNBC or any other cable news network on a regular basis. I simply rely on reports of current events in all forms of media, and pretty much every major story to come out of France in recent years has involved random terrorist attacks that killed scores of innocent victims.
I never said that it happens every day, or even every year, but it is often enough that it has cast a bit of a pall over tourism to these destinations, not just for me but also for others:
It is truly a shame that these beautiful, timeless cities are bearing the burden of this sad trend, but it does make one think before shelling out thousands of dollars for a vacation. If it was just me you might have a point, but clearly it is not.
Curiously, I notice you had nothing to say to the people who are afraid to travel to places like Brazil, South Africa, and Israel for safety reasons.
Fair enough, but I still think you're being paranoid. I acknowledge that Israel could be dangerous and I think South Africa and Brazil are fine as long as you keep your wits about you. I use the State Department website and similar entities in other countries like the UK and Canada to gauge whether a place seems safe or not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeyyc
From first hand experience, I can tell you that there are plenty of conventional "sitting" toilets everywhere in Egypt that timid white people tread. ESPECIALLY Giza. I'm not knocking you. There's a zero point zero chance that I'm taking a squatty potty. But I have an advantage, where I'm a guy, and the world is my urinal. For everything else there is immodium that will give me a day to find a proper porcelain altar.
Good to know. If I went to Egypt I would be in the more touristy spots. What about Israel or Jordan? Have you been to those? That does alleviate one concern but I'd still watch it like a hawk for the stability factor. Who knows. Maybe I'll go, maybe I won't.
Fair enough, but I still think you're being paranoid. I acknowledge that Israel could be dangerous and I think South Africa and Brazil are fine as long as you keep your wits about you. I use the State Department website and similar entities in other countries like the UK and Canada to gauge whether a place seems safe or not.
Good to know. If I went to Egypt I would be in the more touristy spots. What about Israel or Jordan? Have you been to those? That does alleviate one concern but I'd still watch it like a hawk for the stability factor. Who knows. Maybe I'll go, maybe I won't.
Well to make your trip easier, you can go to Egypt and Jordan, or Jordan and Egypt, but you cant go to either AND Israel directly. You also may not get into the Arab countries with an Israeli stamp in your passport, and vice versa. You'd have to request a second US passport.
I'd recommend Egypt. Your have to see Giza, and go, breathtaking pyramids, wow crowds, crazy touts, and hey neat, the Sphinx, timeless guardian of the desert stares across a parking lot at a Pizza Hut and KFC. Then get a cab and go spend some time at the Red pyramid, about 15 miles down the road. When I was there in 2004, I was literally the only person inside the pyramid for half an hour. Then it got crazy, two other people showed up. If you like crazy shopping, the Khan el Khalili is second only to the Grand Bazaar on my list.
(sigh)...This would be funny if it wasn't just so tiresome. Please see below, my response to another individual who also makes erroneous assumptions and uses broad and inaccurate stereotypes:
Nope, sorry to disappoint you, but I do not watch Fox News, nor do I watch CNN or MSNBC or any other cable news network on a regular basis. I simply rely on reports of current events in all forms of media, and pretty much every major story to come out of France in recent years has involved random terrorist attacks that killed scores of innocent victims.
I never said that it happens every day, or even every year, but it is often enough that it has cast a bit of a pall over tourism to these destinations, not just for me but also for others:
It is truly a shame that these beautiful, timeless cities are bearing the burden of this sad trend, but it does make one think before shelling out thousands of dollars for a vacation. If it was just me you might have a point, but clearly it is not.
Curiously, I notice you had nothing to say to the people who are afraid to travel to places like Brazil, South Africa, and Israel for safety reasons.
I for one crossed the US off my wish list >>>>the daily shoot outs and race riots , ghettos and urban blight everywhere, swarms of meth addicts in the rural areas, millions of uninsured people dieing in the streets and planes flying into skyscrapers
....see how it works?
Quote:
Originally Posted by NDak15
Fair enough, but I still think you're being paranoid..
Yep, if France and the UK aren't safe enough she'd better barricade herself at home....whats really hilarious is she lives in the Detroit-Toledo area ....a safe touristy hive if there ever was one
Israel, but it just comes across as too risky to me now
Israel is infinitely safer than most of America. I won't try to change anyone's mind on this forum, but feel free to message me if you ever plan your trip. I'm Israeli.
Well to make your trip easier, you can go to Egypt and Jordan, or Jordan and Egypt, but you cant go to either AND Israel directly. You also may not get into the Arab countries with an Israeli stamp in your passport, and vice versa. You'd have to request a second US passport.
I'd recommend Egypt. Your have to see Giza, and go, breathtaking pyramids, wow crowds, crazy touts, and hey neat, the Sphinx, timeless guardian of the desert stares across a parking lot at a Pizza Hut and KFC. Then get a cab and go spend some time at the Red pyramid, about 15 miles down the road. When I was there in 2004, I was literally the only person inside the pyramid for half an hour. Then it got crazy, two other people showed up. If you like crazy shopping, the Khan el Khalili is second only to the Grand Bazaar on my list.
I wouldn't do all three at once, but I have seen tours that include Israel and Jordan on the same trip. Not sure what the passport requirements are though. Thanks for the tidbit, should I decide to go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonsereed
I for one crossed the US off my wish list >>>>the daily shoot outs and race riots , ghettos and urban blight everywhere, swarms of meth addicts in the rural areas, millions of uninsured people dieing in the streets and planes flying into skyscrapers
....see how it works?
Yep, if France and the UK aren't safe enough she'd better barricade herself at home....whats really hilarious is she lives in the Detroit-Toledo area ....a safe touristy hive if there ever was one
It's funny that I have visited a friend in Detroit twice. I only felt unsafe leaving the baseball stadium late at night.
Bora bora - and similar long distance beach island places including the Caribbean. After visiting a few similar places, they started to look and feel the same. With so many choices to visit on earth, if I'm going to spend all day on the plane to get there, it better offers me a lot more than some beaches and overpriced mediocre food.
It's funny that I have visited a friend in Detroit twice. I only felt unsafe leaving the baseball stadium late at night.
Yes, you are right, there are many parts of the city that feel perfectly safe such as downtown, midtown, and Corktown, not to mention that Detroit has many lovely, upscale, and extremely safe suburbs. But it's always easier for people to make simple assumptions, it requires little work or thought.
I find it a little unsettling that the PP has apparently C-D stalked me to pinpoint exactly where I live, apparently this person has plenty of empty time on his/her hands. However, since I live in a lovely small town where crime is negligible, the kind of place where you can literally leave your doors unlocked overnight, his point is completely moot anyway. And I still stand by what I said, even if it doesn't happen every day or even every year, the recent terrorist attacks in certain European cities have definitely cast a pall over tourism in those places, deserved or not, and the links that I posted prove that point.
It is one thing to avoid areas of questionable repute in your own state or city where it doesn't cost you anything to be, but to pay thousands of dollars to visit a place with a known issue just doesn't make a lot of sense to many people, myself included. I am probably being overly cautious, but better safe than sorry, and I had no imminent international travel plans and likely would have never visited those places anyway, as I thoroughly enjoy all of the great places that the U.S. has to offer and haven't even seen everything that I hope to see in this great country.
Isn't it nice that we are all blessed enough to have such first world problems?
Most of us have a running bucket list of places you want to visit. Have you crossed any off your list but never visited?
Quite a few, sadly.
I used to want to go to Egypt, see the pyramids, etc. Now, the political climate and anti-US sentiment is just too high. Several places in eastern Europe all don't make the cut anymore for that reason.
I also would consider Australia off the list... I just don't see it happening, for a beach vacation, there's fantastic beaches much closer, and it's not as exotic as say, Bora Bora or some other far flung destination, so I really can't find a reason why I'd ever go.
I went to St. Petersburg briefly and used to think I'd like to spend more time in Russia (Moscow, Kazan, maybe a big Eastern city), but I don't think I'll do it anymore. Russians (particularly the men) are too often drunks, bigots, idlers, and haters who haven't learned a thing from history.
I also don't care if I never get to a number of celebrated American cities I've yet to see.
I have been to India and there are a lot of places in India that I stillwant to see but I wont be back, at least for a while.
The pollution, trash, unsanitary condition as well as the men.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
