Things you wish people explained to you before you went to (insert vacation destination)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe so many of you travel to hellholes where you can’t open your mouth in the shower or drink anything with ice cubes or you’ll suffer great bodily harm. Good grief, go enjoy the Florida Keys or Santa Barbara, California or Newport or Maine in the summer.

Not saying those places aren’t stunningly gorgeous places you’ll remember the rest of your life, but you’re missing out on a lot of culture, history, and natural beauty just because you can’t close your mouth in the shower.

Which countries have water that will most likely make someone sick?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish someone said the Grand Canyon is not kid friendly and pretty dangerous and it’s not that impressive in my opinion. I loved the arches at Utah but something about our Grabd Canyon trip was a bust.

Dangerous, how so? Thanks!

NP- A misstep on a trail and you are dead. You sit on a ledge and lose balance? You could be dead. It is a very dangerous place for small kids, you could not let a 2yo out of your sight for 2 seconds without them being at risk near the rim. I have vertigo so stayed on the paved biked trail and went viewpoint to viewpoint that way. I disagree about it not being impressive though, it is breathtaking, but the hiking is inherently dangerous.

There’s a whole book about people who have died at the Grand Canyon broken into chapters like heat exhaustion, falling, jumping, animal bites, etc. I don’t think any of them are kids though—it’s mostly adults who don’t take nature seriously. I would not take toddlers or preschoolers down the trials into the canyon—they are narrow and can have a sharp drop. I hiked bright angel trail basically by myself at 14 and was fine (was with a school group hiking down but they left us by ourselves to make our way back up). I’ve taken kids as young as 10. I think a responsible 6 year old would be fine. I don’t really see how you could fall in from the rim. There are nice stone walls pretty much everywhere. If you let your kid dance on top of the wall, I guess maybe, but don’t do that.

I was shocked that there weren’t guard rails nor stone walls. The rim went right over the edge. It was particularly jarring spending the night on the rim when it is pitch black! It’s no wonder people plummet to their death there. It’s not a place for young kids and even adults need to pay attention.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Don't use your left hand to greet people in Asia.

Learn how to use a squat toilet and carry toilet paper or wipes with you everywhere in case for Asia.

Really don't brush your teeth or rinse mouth with tap water in certain countries or have ice or raw vegetables even if they claim they use bottled water....my family learned this the hard way.

Have cash on hand to tip the porter, etc.

Humidity in parts of Asia is awful and wear very light clothing with breathable fabrics and a hat.

Don't get too close to monkeys that appear friendly at the animal sanctuary, they bite and cause you to need a rabies shot and avoid swimming for your whole trip.

Asia is a large continent. All the toilets I used in Korea flushed and had tp.

Korea is an exception, try almost everywhere else in Asia....

Japan? So, now there are two exceptions.

https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-toilets-benefits-bidet-clean-heated-seats-2023-11

https://www.japan.travel/en/blog/beyond-the-bidet-japanese-toilets-at-the-forefront-of-hygiene-and-style/

Also, most of the hotels in Korea had bidets, and we did not stay in high end hotels, and not just Seoul. We have them at home, but DS refused to use it. He was sold on it during our Korea trip.

Japan and Korea are two of the most American-influenced countries in Asia - and you probably only were in major cities. Try China, India, Indonesia outside of Bali, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand....

Even in Japan there are places where I've used hole in the floor toilets! Japan has the most advanced toilets I've ever encountered - and some of the worst. I feel like you just need to be prepared everywhere that the toilets might be weird, and there might not be anyplace to really wash your hands. In India, I started carrying tiny soaps with me everywhere and leaving them places in a passive aggressive hope that other people would use them, too. (That said I never got sick eating in India, and I ate all kinds of places - I LOVED the food in India. As a vegetarian, it was a top of the world experience getting to eat so many delicious things, so many places.)

Really? I don't believe this. Where in Japan was this?

Some people call them squat toilets. I lived in Japan and remember being confused when I first got there. They are in a lot of public restrooms but I guess they are being phased out for western ones.

https://www.nippon.com/en/features/h00360/

In Singapore at most malls there is at least one stall with a squat toilet. Some people prefer them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe so many of you travel to hellholes where you can’t open your mouth in the shower or drink anything with ice cubes or you’ll suffer great bodily harm. Good grief, go enjoy the Florida Keys or Santa Barbara, California or Newport or Maine in the summer.

Not saying those places aren’t stunningly gorgeous places you’ll remember the rest of your life, but you’re missing out on a lot of culture, history, and natural beauty just because you can’t close your mouth in the shower.

Which countries have water that will most likely make someone sick?

The issue is often that it is just not water you will be used to. For example, in Kenya every Kenyan could drink the water just fine, but it would have made me sick as a foreigner. In some other places, cities I visited in China for example, even the locals drank purified water. Other than Europe, and only after I’d gradually acclimated to it over a few weeks, did I ever just drink tap water. I can’t say I felt the level of dire threat from water others are reporting. I forgot and brushed my teeth with tap water in Central America and Asia, many times, and I survived. Just a little diarrhea. The fact that people think we should not travel to see the most amazing places on earth because we might have to drink bottled water is the saddest thing ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe so many of you travel to hellholes where you can’t open your mouth in the shower or drink anything with ice cubes or you’ll suffer great bodily harm. Good grief, go enjoy the Florida Keys or Santa Barbara, California or Newport or Maine in the summer.

Not saying those places aren’t stunningly gorgeous places you’ll remember the rest of your life, but you’re missing out on a lot of culture, history, and natural beauty just because you can’t close your mouth in the shower.

Which countries have water that will most likely make someone sick?

I am one of the PPs: Guatemala and Egypt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beware of street food in Thailand. Yes, it is the street food capital of the world, but you can get violently ill since it is so dirty and westerners simply don't have as strong of an immune system as Thais.

The secret is actually going to the malls in Thailand and pretty much all of Asia. Malls have insanely good and delicious eats on the cheaper end. They're much cleaner too.

This. I lived in Thailand for 8 years and am very wary of street food. Generally anything that is cooked right in front of you is fine, but avoid cut fruit or anything that looks like it may have been sitting for a while. I’ve never had a problem but DH definitely did on one our trips.

We just got back from Thailand. DH and DD ate street food from a little market in Rawai and amazingly, neither of them got sick from it. We did avoid ice and brushed our teeth with bottled water, and we all managed to avoid intestinal issues while we were there. I'm very glad that DH had heard about 7-11 toasties before we went, because those were our staple when we just had to find some "safe" food fast while we were out and about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Monkeys are never, ever cute, from Gibraltar to India to China to South Africa.

Monkeys are your enemy. Proceed accordingly.

So true! Gibraltar monkeys were so bold! Ain’t nothing cute about having one land in your head! All I could think of was a diseased little nail scratching my skin.

We witnessed a monkey in Gibraltar attack a Polish tourist who had just walked out of the snack bar with an open snack. It was scary. We saw him later along a trail and he was covered in bandaids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't use your left hand to greet people in Asia.

Learn how to use a squat toilet and carry toilet paper or wipes with you everywhere in case for Asia.

Really don't brush your teeth or rinse mouth with tap water in certain countries or have ice or raw vegetables even if they claim they use bottled water....my family learned this the hard way.

Have cash on hand to tip the porter, etc.

Humidity in parts of Asia is awful and wear very light clothing with breathable fabrics and a hat.

Don't get too close to monkeys that appear friendly at the animal sanctuary, they bite and cause you to need a rabies shot and avoid swimming for your whole trip.

Asia is a large continent. All the toilets I used in Korea flushed and had tp.

Korea is an exception, try almost everywhere else in Asia....

Japan? So, now there are two exceptions.

https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-toilets-benefits-bidet-clean-heated-seats-2023-11

https://www.japan.travel/en/blog/beyond-the-bidet-japanese-toilets-at-the-forefront-of-hygiene-and-style/

Also, most of the hotels in Korea had bidets, and we did not stay in high end hotels, and not just Seoul. We have them at home, but DS refused to use it. He was sold on it during our Korea trip.

Japan and Korea are two of the most American-influenced countries in Asia - and you probably only were in major cities. Try China, India, Indonesia outside of Bali, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand....

Even in Japan there are places where I've used hole in the floor toilets! Japan has the most advanced toilets I've ever encountered - and some of the worst. I feel like you just need to be prepared everywhere that the toilets might be weird, and there might not be anyplace to really wash your hands. In India, I started carrying tiny soaps with me everywhere and leaving them places in a passive aggressive hope that other people would use them, too. (That said I never got sick eating in India, and I ate all kinds of places - I LOVED the food in India. As a vegetarian, it was a top of the world experience getting to eat so many delicious things, so many places.)

Really? I don't believe this. Where in Japan was this?

The airport for starters.

[Anonymous]

That a lot of toilets in Vietnam are a hole in the ground and if you don't have strong let muscles it's going to be a bit of a nightmare for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish someone said the Grand Canyon is not kid friendly and pretty dangerous and it’s not that impressive in my opinion. I loved the arches at Utah but something about our Grabd Canyon trip was a bust.

What is wrong with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If something in your heart is pulling you towards an object for sale, especially if handcrafted, just buy it! In the states if you have regret, you can go online and purchase later. There are many purchases I wish I had just splurged on in while I was there because I can’t get them again. Better buyer’s remorse than regretting not buying something you can’t find again.

Good advice. I regret not buying more pearls in Vietnam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU EVER EAT REEF FISH IN THE CARIBBEAN.

This could save you many, maaaaany years of pain and suffering.

How about shellfish like lobster and crab?

Fine


Reef fish are landmines because they feed on reef Flora that build up toxins. You eat the fish and get the toxins that attack your nervous system. It causes decades of pain and suffering....all from a simple dinner meal. Lobster and crab don't feed on reef organisms.

Well, this is terrifying. Won't be eating any fish in the caribbean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This worked out due to luck but could have been a PITA. Had a very early morning flight out of Venice on a Sunday morning and didn’t think through the logistics of getting to the airport. Venice has very few street lights and the ones they do have are pretty dim. A water taxi that the hotel called was our only transport option at that hour. We were lucky that our hotel was on the same block as a water taxi dock. Dragging our luggage in the dark to some other pick up location would have been a PITA.

This is a benefit of a hotel on a canal with a dock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Skiing out west is much much tougher than skiing in the east. Until a few years ago, I’d only skied in New England and New York. I’m an intermediate skier. All I ever heard was, oh you would love skiing out west, the powder is fantastic and so much easier and more fun to ski than the ice in the east, etc etc. So I planned a trip to Utah.

Turns out, the trails are so much harder out there, much steeper and bumpier, not nearly as much grooming - a blue out there is definitely equivalent to a black on the east coast, and frankly, probably harder than a lot of black trails in the east. The resorts are huge and the trails go on forever (a good thing, yes!) but you have to pay close attention to trail signs (trails wind here there and everywhere, cross cross with other trails, it can get very confusing) because you can easily end up at the top of a trail that’s above your ability level with no alternative way down (and you know why I know that). Also it’s hard to ski powder if you don’t have experience! Several years into ski trips out west and I’m now much more comfortable out there but it was not at all the slam dunk at the beginning I’d been led to believe it would be.

If in Colorado you’ve got the altitude to contend with. It alone is no joke.

Very true. I got pretty sick in Aspen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Skiing out west is much much tougher than skiing in the east. Until a few years ago, I’d only skied in New England and New York. I’m an intermediate skier. All I ever heard was, oh you would love skiing out west, the powder is fantastic and so much easier and more fun to ski than the ice in the east, etc etc. So I planned a trip to Utah.

Turns out, the trails are so much harder out there, much steeper and bumpier, not nearly as much grooming - a blue out there is definitely equivalent to a black on the east coast, and frankly, probably harder than a lot of black trails in the east. The resorts are huge and the trails go on forever (a good thing, yes!) but you have to pay close attention to trail signs (trails wind here there and everywhere, cross cross with other trails, it can get very confusing) because you can easily end up at the top of a trail that’s above your ability level with no alternative way down (and you know why I know that). Also it’s hard to ski powder if you don’t have experience! Several years into ski trips out west and I’m now much more comfortable out there but it was not at all the slam dunk at the beginning I’d been led to believe it would be.

If in Colorado you’ve got the altitude to contend with. It alone is no joke.

Very true. I got pretty sick in Aspen.

I had this issue in Colorado as well. Wasn't able.yo go to Pikes peak because I just didn't have time to acclimate and was so sick.