Countries one doesn’t consider but should

[Anonymous]

Lebanon
Romania
Sweden
Yemen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brazil. There is Rio, which is unique and interesting city. But there is a lot more to visit. In the northeast, you have beautiful beaches. Maragogi, Jericoacoara, Lençois Maranhences, etc. The resorts are much cheaper than ones in the Caribbean. There is also Chapada Diamantina National Park. Fernando de Noronha is wonderful but difficult to get to/limits visitors. But there is a reason it's considered to have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. In the south, you have beautiful cities, beaches, and interesting towns with German, Italian influences. Blumenau and Gramado are really cute. I'm pretty sure Blumenau has one of the biggest Oktoberfests in the world. But even if you can only manage Rio, you can visit towns somewhat near by like Buzios, Ilha Grande, and Paraty.

Great suggestion. I'd love to visit Salvador and Manaus. I heard Porto Alegre is nice too but I wonder how it has recovered since the devastating floods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brazil. There is Rio, which is unique and interesting city. But there is a lot more to visit. In the northeast, you have beautiful beaches. Maragogi, Jericoacoara, Lençois Maranhences, etc. The resorts are much cheaper than ones in the Caribbean. There is also Chapada Diamantina National Park. Fernando de Noronha is wonderful but difficult to get to/limits visitors. But there is a reason it's considered to have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. In the south, you have beautiful cities, beaches, and interesting towns with German, Italian influences. Blumenau and Gramado are really cute. I'm pretty sure Blumenau has one of the biggest Oktoberfests in the world. But even if you can only manage Rio, you can visit towns somewhat near by like Buzios, Ilha Grande, and Paraty.

Great suggestion. I'd love to visit Salvador and Manaus. I heard Porto Alegre is nice too but I wonder how it has recovered since the devastating floods.

I stayed in an Amazon eco-lodge like 18 years ago. You fly into Manaus and then go from there. It was a gorgeous area in the middle of the jungle. You could go and dip your toes in one of the Amazon River tributaries, taking a boat to the Amazon itself. I still remember seeing the pink Amazon River dolphins. You could also hire guides to take you out to camp in the jungle, further afield. We built shelters out of palm leaves, including an area to cook meat the guides had brought along. We slept in hammocks attached to trees. It was unforgettable hearing all the jungle sounds at night! I don’t remember the exact name of the ecolodge, but it might have been Amazon Ecopark Jungle Lodge, which appears to be still operating today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brazil. There is Rio, which is unique and interesting city. But there is a lot more to visit. In the northeast, you have beautiful beaches. Maragogi, Jericoacoara, Lençois Maranhences, etc. The resorts are much cheaper than ones in the Caribbean. There is also Chapada Diamantina National Park. Fernando de Noronha is wonderful but difficult to get to/limits visitors. But there is a reason it's considered to have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. In the south, you have beautiful cities, beaches, and interesting towns with German, Italian influences. Blumenau and Gramado are really cute. I'm pretty sure Blumenau has one of the biggest Oktoberfests in the world. But even if you can only manage Rio, you can visit towns somewhat near by like Buzios, Ilha Grande, and Paraty.

Great suggestion. I'd love to visit Salvador and Manaus. I heard Porto Alegre is nice too but I wonder how it has recovered since the devastating floods.

When I think of Manaus I just think of how Ann Patchett described it in State of Wonder for a large portion of the book. It sounded awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took my first trip to Tbilisi Georgia and was amazed. Beautiful culture, that cheese bread thing - wow- their wine was nice and I really enjoyed interacting with the people. Of course they are no Italy or Spain but what a wonderful city. I went with a culturalExchange group and Georgia had the least people signing up. I would have never gone nor considered it. Now I’m wondering if I should broaden my horizons. Can you recommend other places where you were pleasantly surprised?

It’s called Khachapuri. Did you really go to Georgia and not learn that?!

Well, I knew exactly what PP was talking about when they said "cheese bread thing." I would not have know what they were talking about if they said Khachapuri. So I appreciated it.

Why the hostility?

No hostility, just incredulity that one could travel to Georgia and instead of reciting the proper name of one of the country’s most prevalent foods, instead refer to it as “that cheese bread thing.” Honestly, some people should just stay home.

I mean, this is a casual chat site, chill out. Maybe they didn't recall how to spell it and were just going with it. No one should expect precision here.

[Anonymous]

Namibia. Spectacular.

[Anonymous]

I was living in Kuwait years ago and we went to Oman for a long weekend. Gorgeous! Clean! The people were very welcoming.

[Anonymous]

I am obsessed with Khazakstan. The natural beauty is astounding and the mysteries of their geographies in many ways are so interesting. That is the undiscovered land. Mongolia is another place but seems like more people have unfortunately discovered it.

The only places really worth going to now are places where it's kinda hard to get to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lebanon
Romania
Sweden
Yemen

Yemen?