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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t realize how many of the bathrooms in London would not have a mirror, paper towels or a trash can. That took some getting used to.

There could be far worse. Did someone really need to warn you of this? Protecting you from?

FFS, shut up. That is a perfectly good post for this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That monkeys at Siam Reap are not cute and need to be avoided.

That the heat and humidity in Vietnam is so much worse than DC. Wear lightweight clothes.

That umbrellas don't work in Scotland. Bring a hooded rain jacket.

If you are traveling in a country where you can't drink the water, keep your mouth closed in the shower too.

+1 to the umbrellas in Scotland!

First time I experienced sideways rain was in the UK. Umbrella was useless.

New Orleans can have sideways rain.

Can it? I lived there for three years and don't remember this. Torrential rain, yes. Pretty much every afternoon in summer. But umbrellas worked just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That monkeys at Siam Reap are not cute and need to be avoided.

That the heat and humidity in Vietnam is so much worse than DC. Wear lightweight clothes.

That umbrellas don't work in Scotland. Bring a hooded rain jacket.

If you are traveling in a country where you can't drink the water, keep your mouth closed in the shower too.

+1 to the umbrellas in Scotland!

First time I experienced sideways rain was in the UK. Umbrella was useless.

New Orleans can have sideways rain.

Can it? I lived there for three years and don't remember this. Torrential rain, yes. Pretty much every afternoon in summer. But umbrellas worked just fine.

To some people the rain looked sideways. YOu weren't one of the lucky ones.

[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?

They are everywhere. We used one in a department store in Tokyo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Which airport in Japan?

[Anonymous]

When riding public trams in Warsaw and Krakow, there were occasionally panhandlers who got on, likely gypsies, who were horribly burned or disfigured. They would stand uncomfortably close and flaunt their burns right in your face to compel you to give them money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you fly to Hong Kong and then cross the border into China, make sure you get Chinese money beforehand. Banks in China will not do a currency exchange for a non-account holder and ATMs won’t let you make a withdrawal from a US bank account and get yuan.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that you can’t use US credit cards or ATMs with vendors either.

Alipay is the solution for this in China.

https://www.reddit.com/r/chinalife/s/3rZtSYqGu2

And for ATMs that work with US debit cards, Bank of China or ICBC ATMs will work

Or WeChat Pay. We were able to put our US credit cards into WeChat Pay and then we could make electronic payments with WeChat Pay.

We also stopped in the airport when we got there and took out several hundred dollars of cash in RMB. First, the exchange rate is pretty good (about 7:1) and second, the prices are much smaller, so like $400 and you will be flush with cash for a week visit paying for everything with cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That monkeys at Siam Reap are not cute and need to be avoided.

That the heat and humidity in Vietnam is so much worse than DC. Wear lightweight clothes.

That umbrellas don't work in Scotland. Bring a hooded rain jacket.

If you are traveling in a country where you can't drink the water, keep your mouth closed in the shower too.

+1 to the umbrellas in Scotland!

First time I experienced sideways rain was in the UK. Umbrella was useless.

Just came back from Scotland and the problem is that 'sideways rain makes even most rain jackets nearly useless. You need a full-on poncho and/or rain pants or otherwise your nice REI raincoat is keeping like 1 sq. ft of your chest dry not much else.

I have never been more wet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That monkeys at Siam Reap are not cute and need to be avoided.

That the heat and humidity in Vietnam is so much worse than DC. Wear lightweight clothes.

That umbrellas don't work in Scotland. Bring a hooded rain jacket.

If you are traveling in a country where you can't drink the water, keep your mouth closed in the shower too.

+1 to the umbrellas in Scotland!

First time I experienced sideways rain was in the UK. Umbrella was useless.

Just came back from Scotland and the problem is that 'sideways rain makes even most rain jackets nearly useless. You need a full-on poncho and/or rain pants or otherwise your nice REI raincoat is keeping like 1 sq. ft of your chest dry not much else.

I have never been more wet.

Scottish accents and kilts! You can just use ellipses PP - keep it mysterious:

Just came back from Scotland ...I have never been more wet.

[Anonymous]

The "private" sky clubs are an overcrowded joke; full of misers and gross food.

[Anonymous]

That the Caribbean is pretty awful - service and food-wise. Everything has to be flown in, basically; the fruit served at our hotel was literally bananas, apples, oranges - nothing tropical like you would get in Central America. I'm sure in a high-end resort things would be different, but I will never go back to Barbados or the Bahamas based on my experiences. Just awful service.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That the Caribbean is pretty awful - service and food-wise. Everything has to be flown in, basically; the fruit served at our hotel was literally bananas, apples, oranges - nothing tropical like you would get in Central America. I'm sure in a high-end resort things would be different, but I will never go back to Barbados or the Bahamas based on my experiences. Just awful service.

I agree. Some of the nastiest people I encountered were in the Bahamas and Jamaica. I did love the beaches though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That monkeys at Siam Reap are not cute and need to be avoided.

That the heat and humidity in Vietnam is so much worse than DC. Wear lightweight clothes.

That umbrellas don't work in Scotland. Bring a hooded rain jacket.

If you are traveling in a country where you can't drink the water, keep your mouth closed in the shower too.

Agree with all of these. Also, in a country where you can’t drink the tap water, you also shouldn’t brush your teeth with the tap water (because you’re lazy/thinking “oh it’s not that much water!”) Same with washing fruit. Do not ask me how I know.

+1 and also ice in your drinks.

I get this advice all the time and wonder what water you think restaurants use to wash their fruits and vegetables.

I had no issues in rural Mexico over several trips or El Salvador (many parts of the country, rural and urban) where I ate street food, little hole in the walls, or people’s homes, and have only gotten ill in Costa Rica where supposedly you can drink the water (I didn’t anyway) and we only ate at nice restaurants and hotels. You can get sick anywhere, always travel with Imodium because it may not be readily available.

One thing I wasn’t prepared for in Central America is just how insanely humid it is. We stayed in climate controlled hotels and NOTHING ever dried. Our swimsuits and hiking clothes came home smelling pretty funky despite hanging everything to dry as soon as possible. Took a while to clear that odor from our stuff. I also wasn’t prepared for the size of some of the pests (spiders and scorpions) we found in our (again, nice!) hotel rooms. I also really wanted and needed ice in London and our hotel seemed to find it such an odd request and couldn’t fulfill it. I needed ice for an injury/strain and wouldn’t have minded some cold water! We lucked out with big rooms in the UK all three cities I’ve visited so I guess that’s unusual.

[Anonymous]

Nashville, don't try to do Broadway and all the other attractions downtown in only one or even two days. Spread it out over a week or five days. Spend more time relaxing in the ABnB.

Maybe I should be on a different thread for unadventurous travelers on a budget?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That monkeys at Siam Reap are not cute and need to be avoided.

That the heat and humidity in Vietnam is so much worse than DC. Wear lightweight clothes.

That umbrellas don't work in Scotland. Bring a hooded rain jacket.

If you are traveling in a country where you can't drink the water, keep your mouth closed in the shower too.

Agree with all of these. Also, in a country where you can’t drink the tap water, you also shouldn’t brush your teeth with the tap water (because you’re lazy/thinking “oh it’s not that much water!”) Same with washing fruit. Do not ask me how I know.

+1 and also ice in your drinks.

I get this advice all the time and wonder what water you think restaurants use to wash their fruits and vegetables.

I had no issues in rural Mexico over several trips or El Salvador (many parts of the country, rural and urban) where I ate street food, little hole in the walls, or people’s homes, and have only gotten ill in Costa Rica where supposedly you can drink the water (I didn’t anyway) and we only ate at nice restaurants and hotels. You can get sick anywhere, always travel with Imodium because it may not be readily available.

One thing I wasn’t prepared for in Central America is just how insanely humid it is. We stayed in climate controlled hotels and NOTHING ever dried. Our swimsuits and hiking clothes came home smelling pretty funky despite hanging everything to dry as soon as possible. Took a while to clear that odor from our stuff. I also wasn’t prepared for the size of some of the pests (spiders and scorpions) we found in our (again, nice!) hotel rooms. I also really wanted and needed ice in London and our hotel seemed to find it such an odd request and couldn’t fulfill it. I needed ice for an injury/strain and wouldn’t have minded some cold water! We lucked out with big rooms in the UK all three cities I’ve visited so I guess that’s unusual.

The conventional wisdom is to only eat fruit and veggies that are peeled or cooked.