Where did you absolutely hate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't hate it, but wouldn't return to Paraguay.

I liked it more than I expected. People were very friendly. Food -- very meh though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:India. Hands down.

Agree with India - yuck (the dirt and abject poverty was very disturbing). I did not enjoy China very much either (for different reasons).

[Anonymous]

Smith Island, Tangier Island, Assateague Island (trails) in August. The black head flies are carnivorous.
The jelly fish are also bad around Smith Island and Tangier Island in August.

If you go in the winter it is not bad. Avoid August visits.

[Anonymous]

Agree with Brussels (just kind of lacking soul) and Venice (super touristy, plus saw the aftermath of a robbery). Would add Toronto (traffic).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Puerto Rico. It's like the Taco Bell of Latin America.

Huh? This makes no sense. I never thought that about PR and have lived in numerous LATAM countries and speak Spanish.

I do think this about Puerto Rico, have lived in Spain, and speak Spanish. PR is awful.

I hope everyone realizes that this country - any country - doesn't exist for your enjoyment. Puerto Rico, like all places, has history and culture that have nothing to do with *you*. Who cares what you think?

Um, that's what this thread is about. 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Smith Island, Tangier Island, Assateague Island (trails) in August. The black head flies are carnivorous.
The jelly fish are also bad around Smith Island and Tangier Island in August.

If you go in the winter it is not bad. Avoid August visits.

Mosquitoes at Cape Hatteras sting like you disturbed a wasp nest this time of year.
That painful.

[Anonymous]

Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Tarantula in our bedroom and shower. I hate the tropics. I would include Florida in that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not go back to India. Hard in many ways.

Only, if you are traveling like the poorest of the poor.

I only luxury travel to and in India. I fly business class in middle eastern airlines (Emirates or Etihad), stop over at Abu Dhabi or Dubai, go in luxury and comfort and minimize the impact of jet lag, Then, I either stay with my family/friends who have extra room, AC, well established homes and servants - or I stay in expensive 5 star hotels. I hire the best and most expensive touring vehicles available and drivers that are known to the family or have great reviews. And I travel mainly with family or friends. I also shop a lot and get all my bulky stuff couriered to US.

India is not a place to do on shoe-string budget travel. If you do that then you have to be inconvenienced sometimes. However, India is still incredibly cheaper than US or Europe so it boggles my mind that westerners want to travel in the way the poorest of the poor are travelling there. If you spend a fraction of your money that you spend in a Western country and stay in good hotels and take taxis from proper registered taxi service, you will have an experience of comfort and luxury.

Nothing beats the food in India. Not one country I have visited has better food than India (ok, Thailand is amazing food too).

Sorry but no. We traveled richest of the rich. You still see things out the windows of your "best and most expensive touring vehicle". The poverty is appalling and the way Indians treat their most vulnerable is appalling. But I'm glad you go back and do all your shopping and can't relate to your countrymen. Just intent on getting the shopping done and the food shoveled in, huh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Tarantula in our bedroom and shower. I hate the tropics. I would include Florida in that.

Caribbean side of any of C America - CR, Panama, etc. is more run down than Pacific. It has historically been neglected due to foreign investments on the P coast and due to racial factors (e.g., Afro culture on Carib side much stronger so white folks stayed away). It's really an unjust history as to how that panned out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not go back to India. Hard in many ways.

Only, if you are traveling like the poorest of the poor.

I only luxury travel to and in India. I fly business class in middle eastern airlines (Emirates or Etihad), stop over at Abu Dhabi or Dubai, go in luxury and comfort and minimize the impact of jet lag, Then, I either stay with my family/friends who have extra room, AC, well established homes and servants - or I stay in expensive 5 star hotels. I hire the best and most expensive touring vehicles available and drivers that are known to the family or have great reviews. And I travel mainly with family or friends. I also shop a lot and get all my bulky stuff couriered to US.

India is not a place to do on shoe-string budget travel. If you do that then you have to be inconvenienced sometimes. However, India is still incredibly cheaper than US or Europe so it boggles my mind that westerners want to travel in the way the poorest of the poor are travelling there. If you spend a fraction of your money that you spend in a Western country and stay in good hotels and take taxis from proper registered taxi service, you will have an experience of comfort and luxury.

Nothing beats the food in India. Not one country I have visited has better food than India (ok, Thailand is amazing food too).

Sorry but no. We traveled richest of the rich. You still see things out the windows of your "best and most expensive touring vehicle". The poverty is appalling and the way Indians treat their most vulnerable is appalling. But I'm glad you go back and do all your shopping and can't relate to your countrymen. Just intent on getting the shopping done and the food shoveled in, huh?

What a weird thing to say. For many of us India is our country of origin. We go back to see family, and yes we travel business class, stay in nice hotels, shop and eat while we’re there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Geneva
Brussels

I love big cities but Geneva was so dull and everyone seemed to be annoyed that I existed. Brussels looked interesting on paper but maybe it’s one of those places that is better if you stay for a couple of months and immerse yourself. It wasn’t great for a short visit.

No. You are correct on both fronts.

[Anonymous]

Wow I’ve spent 3 weeks in India and feel like I didn’t even scratch the surface of the place. Hate it?? That’s crazy. It does have vast poverty but it’s unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been- a truly fascinating place. And I was in cities (Delhi, Rishikesh, Agra) as well as the remotest mountain villages up near the Tibet border on the way to Nanda Devi. Can’t imagine anyone saying they hated it and wouldn’t go back despite its challenges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not go back to India. Hard in many ways.

Only, if you are traveling like the poorest of the poor.

I only luxury travel to and in India. I fly business class in middle eastern airlines (Emirates or Etihad), stop over at Abu Dhabi or Dubai, go in luxury and comfort and minimize the impact of jet lag, Then, I either stay with my family/friends who have extra room, AC, well established homes and servants - or I stay in expensive 5 star hotels. I hire the best and most expensive touring vehicles available and drivers that are known to the family or have great reviews. And I travel mainly with family or friends. I also shop a lot and get all my bulky stuff couriered to US.

India is not a place to do on shoe-string budget travel. If you do that then you have to be inconvenienced sometimes. However, India is still incredibly cheaper than US or Europe so it boggles my mind that westerners want to travel in the way the poorest of the poor are travelling there. If you spend a fraction of your money that you spend in a Western country and stay in good hotels and take taxis from proper registered taxi service, you will have an experience of comfort and luxury.

Nothing beats the food in India. Not one country I have visited has better food than India (ok, Thailand is amazing food too).

As someone who lived in India as an American expat for 3 years, hard agree on all of this. I traveled all over India and I loved it but this is a place where you want the 5 star hotels (and they're not that expensive either compared to western prices -- and they're nicer!). You want to hire a private driver and all that. We were required to stay in specific hotels as expats when traveling around India for work -- all 5 star hotels. We took domestic flights on specific airlines through India vs riding the trains and buses. I did this in my personal travel throughout India as well. I absolutely loved India, but I'd sure feel differently if I were taking an overnight bus crammed with people or staying at a cheap hotel.

My parents are well-off Indian immigrants from fairly wealthy families in India. We traveled this way to India yearly when I was a kid, and the few times I’ve been back as an adult, I also did it this way - staying at friends’/family’s luxurious private homes with AC and domestic help or at fancy 5-star hotels, hiring private drivers, and doing domestic travel by plane. I agree this can be done fairly cheaply if you’re calculating in USD, and the hotels are really among the most luxurious in the world, but there’s a very Marie Antoinette feeling to it given the obscene poverty just out of the window (or even inside the house, where even well-paid housekeepers and maids are earning the equivalent of $200/month) IMO.

I get that tourists spending $$ is helpful to the economy, provides employment, etc., but the insane disparities made me uncomfortable even as a kid. They still do as an adult, and it’s one of the main reasons I find India such a tough place to visit.

I am sure it must feel tough.

I actually have no problem in going to India. It has improved and progressed over the last 20 years significantly, so I feel pretty happy when I see how things are changing. Do I feel bad about spreading the wealth around? Not at all. My dollars fund the Indian businesses and I also tip extremely well. We have started a foundation to educate children in our native village, we even pay for their school fees and college fees, and I fund organizations that revive lakes and plant forests in India. The fact that Indian expats send the highest amount of foreign exchange in India has allowed India's economy and build Indian Foreign Exchange reserves.

We have insane disparity in the US also but you are not living through it. As an Indian-American, you probably are not too worried about paying for a college education, a wedding, owning a house, having kids etc. These are genuine concerns of most young Americans and you are insulated from it.

[Anonymous]

Rome. 👎🏻

Loved other parts of Italy though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow I’ve spent 3 weeks in India and feel like I didn’t even scratch the surface of the place. Hate it?? That’s crazy. It does have vast poverty but it’s unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been- a truly fascinating place. And I was in cities (Delhi, Rishikesh, Agra) as well as the remotest mountain villages up near the Tibet border on the way to Nanda Devi. Can’t imagine anyone saying they hated it and wouldn’t go back despite its challenges.

I used to dream of going to India. I love the food and have many Indian friends. But I’ve decided I would probably hate it. I think the combination of the heat and noise and crowds and worrying about all that would just make it stressful for me. I feel the same way about travel in certain parts of the U.S.—just hate noisy crowded places. It’s okay for people to have different travel preferences — I hate green beans even though I don’t think they are objectively bad—they just aren’t for me.