Where did you absolutely hate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree most of CR not crazy beautiful if you get away from scenery but man does their food make up for it! And they have fresh streams everywhere. A very natural place. I'm a pp who talked about hating India. So there's a difference that I loved CR even though not fancy or truly lux or beautiful yet I hated India where I thought everything was just trashy and the dirt was on another level. I found CR on the other hand charming - I don't know exactly why but I did.

I have never heard anybody say anything positive about the food in Costa Rica besides the fruit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not Indian , but if you do 5 star hotels and private transportations, India has lots to offer in terms of sightseeing (Taj Mahal, Jaipur etc and food.

Nobody disagrees with this. There is a luxurious way to do India. But it doesn't sit well with a lot of people and they don't. want. to. go. back. if they don't have to (family). What don't you understand about that?

Oh we understand. Now you try and understand - the luxurious way to do India is inexpensive compared to anywhere else in the world. However, people from rich (western) countries want to do shoestring budget travel in India, making use of infrastructure that is heavily subsidized by the Indian govt for the poorest of its people. Then they complain. Well, why did you go to India in the first place? The domestic market of tourism is so huge that India is not hurting for foreign travelers.

Still don't understand it? It is like some foreigner comes to DC, goes and eats at the homeless shelter soup kitchen and then complains that the restaurant scene in US is pathetic. That soup kitchen is not for tourists.

Who is doing shoestring tours of India? Nobody on here has done that. You are projecting that that is why the bad experience. Every single person on here has mentioned that they have done it the luxurious way and they don't want to go back. No way in hell would I take a train in India. No way in hell.

I took a train in India and no photoshopped white men fell off the roof. It was a fine enough experience. I’ve had more stressful train experiences in Germany tbh with packed out trains, no room to move, standing room only, and then some chump with a BIKE trying to get on the train. And I’m a PP who said India was fascinating and I’d go back. I think the main issue with India is it is so NOT like the US, but it’s not pretty and familiar like Europe or clean and glamorous the way many of the Eastern Asian countries are, and a lot of American really just can’t cope with it. Like they just do not know how to process everything going on there at all times.

Agree with all of this. I'm the poster way back who lived in India as an expat for a few years. I never EVER saw trains like this and I was looking -- because from the media, I assumed they would all be like this and they're absolutely not. India was my first time out of North America, believe it or not, and I loved it. But I also prepared myself with lots of research before we moved there. Do I want to go back? ABSOLUTELY. There was so much I didn't get to see! I never got treated poorly -- sure people tried to scam me, but you learn their game pretty fast -- and I solo traveled around the country as a blonde white woman.

That's so funny. I'm another longtime expat (and like yourself, am a blonde white woman), and I've been on those packed German trains quite often because we also did three years in Dusseldorf. The difference for me was that none of the Germans packed around me tried to grope me or stare at me, I knew nobody was going to have their hands in my bag, and everything was super clean, with nary a fly, roach, or rat in sight, and the air did not smell of garbage (which it does even in the expat areas in the Indian cities where I was). In India, I was groped several times, was stared at wherever I went (and those men do not look away when you catch their gaze, nor are they ashamed to gawk at your chest area or body without looking away, even if you are covered). I experienced the creepy stares and groping in several cities. This treatment of women is super common in India: the term they use for this widespread sexual harassment of women in public is "eve teasing" (look it up). Sure, you can stay within the limited confines of luxury hotels and luxury expat neighborhoods, but that doesn't change the fact that you are in a gilded cage surrounded by squalor and a culture in which women are second-class citizens, and sexual harassment is widespread. Is it really a "magical place" if you have to stay in carefully curated, limited spaces in order to stay safe and comfortable? I hated India. And I have spent 16 years living in foreign countries, so not an inexperienced traveler. South Asia is my least favorite place on the planet, and to put that in perspective, I have been to the Congo and Ghana. India was the worst.

Thank you. And disgusting. But people will get on here gaslighting you because it didn't happen to THEM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Legoland in California. It’s so run down and all the displays are sun bleached and you can see the glue. It felt like the run down amusement park from the simpsons.

Wisconsin dells.

We go to Legoland maybe every other year or so for the past 10 years. A few years ago it was definitely looking sad and run down. But on our last visit things seemed to have turned around and some of the faded displays have been replaced. It’s most obvious on the cruise but things are looking better these days and some new attractions have been added.

[Anonymous]

Coco Cay.
It's owned by Royal Caribbean so you can't get there unless you are on a cruse but it can be hard to avoid on one of their cruises too.

It's crowded and hot and very little shade. Competition for chairs is rough. Food is OK but not fun to try and get. I really think these fake islands are just awful and I'm probably skipping it to stay on the ship next time.

We love to snorkel but sometimes the water is too cloudy. Not Royal Caribbean's faut but just contributes to issues on that island

[Anonymous]

Malta

[Anonymous]

Tulum! We were there for a wedding, I felt scared and very vulnerable. It's a tiny dusty town plopped down in the middle of a jungle that happens to have lots of cartels around them.

Felt on guard the entire time. Paid about 1500 per night for a hotel to be told " they don't have an advanced sewer system" so no toilet paper in the toilet!!!!! EWHHHH. Never again. Could not wait to leave (the wedding was beautiful but it was about 93 degrees with humid near 100% so almost unbearable) Home never looked so good

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Malta

+1. Stuck there on business travel for 10 days.
Restaurant dishes all try to feed you rabbit
All of them.
I found a lone Burger King after 5 days and as gross as that was, better than rabbit again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not Indian , but if you do 5 star hotels and private transportations, India has lots to offer in terms of sightseeing (Taj Mahal, Jaipur etc and food.

Nobody disagrees with this. There is a luxurious way to do India. But it doesn't sit well with a lot of people and they don't. want. to. go. back. if they don't have to (family). What don't you understand about that?

Oh we understand. Now you try and understand - the luxurious way to do India is inexpensive compared to anywhere else in the world. However, people from rich (western) countries want to do shoestring budget travel in India, making use of infrastructure that is heavily subsidized by the Indian govt for the poorest of its people. Then they complain. Well, why did you go to India in the first place? The domestic market of tourism is so huge that India is not hurting for foreign travelers.

Still don't understand it? It is like some foreigner comes to DC, goes and eats at the homeless shelter soup kitchen and then complains that the restaurant scene in US is pathetic. That soup kitchen is not for tourists.

Who is doing shoestring tours of India? Nobody on here has done that. You are projecting that that is why the bad experience. Every single person on here has mentioned that they have done it the luxurious way and they don't want to go back. No way in hell would I take a train in India. No way in hell.

I took a train in India and no photoshopped white men fell off the roof. It was a fine enough experience. I’ve had more stressful train experiences in Germany tbh with packed out trains, no room to move, standing room only, and then some chump with a BIKE trying to get on the train. And I’m a PP who said India was fascinating and I’d go back. I think the main issue with India is it is so NOT like the US, but it’s not pretty and familiar like Europe or clean and glamorous the way many of the Eastern Asian countries are, and a lot of American really just can’t cope with it. Like they just do not know how to process everything going on there at all times.

Agree with all of this. I'm the poster way back who lived in India as an expat for a few years. I never EVER saw trains like this and I was looking -- because from the media, I assumed they would all be like this and they're absolutely not. India was my first time out of North America, believe it or not, and I loved it. But I also prepared myself with lots of research before we moved there. Do I want to go back? ABSOLUTELY. There was so much I didn't get to see! I never got treated poorly -- sure people tried to scam me, but you learn their game pretty fast -- and I solo traveled around the country as a blonde white woman.

That's so funny. I'm another longtime expat (and like yourself, am a blonde white woman), and I've been on those packed German trains quite often because we also did three years in Dusseldorf. The difference for me was that none of the Germans packed around me tried to grope me or stare at me, I knew nobody was going to have their hands in my bag, and everything was super clean, with nary a fly, roach, or rat in sight, and the air did not smell of garbage (which it does even in the expat areas in the Indian cities where I was). In India, I was groped several times, was stared at wherever I went (and those men do not look away when you catch their gaze, nor are they ashamed to gawk at your chest area or body without looking away, even if you are covered). I experienced the creepy stares and groping in several cities. This treatment of women is super common in India: the term they use for this widespread sexual harassment of women in public is "eve teasing" (look it up). Sure, you can stay within the limited confines of luxury hotels and luxury expat neighborhoods, but that doesn't change the fact that you are in a gilded cage surrounded by squalor and a culture in which women are second-class citizens, and sexual harassment is widespread. Is it really a "magical place" if you have to stay in carefully curated, limited spaces in order to stay safe and comfortable? I hated India. And I have spent 16 years living in foreign countries, so not an inexperienced traveler. South Asia is my least favorite place on the planet, and to put that in perspective, I have been to the Congo and Ghana. India was the worst.

Can you right hook the people groping you? I simply can't imagine this. Is this a cultural thing?

DP here. The stares and glares in India truly made me feel uncomfortable and unsafe. I wasn’t sure if they would rape me or rob me. I was used to being looked at and asked out but in India, it felt gross and unflattering.

I also stayed at the luxury resort right in front of the Taj Mahal. I think it was called the Oberoi. Even this top hotel had an old pool with mold and our room smelled like incense/perfume that was nauseating.

I really hated my India trip. All of it. We had a stopover in Dubai on our way back and it felt magnificent compared to our time in India.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"I think the main issue with India is it is so NOT like the US, but it’s not pretty and familiar like Europe or clean and glamorous the way many of the Eastern Asian countries are, and a lot of American really just can’t cope with it. Like they just do not know how to process everything going on there at all times."

Maybe part of the problem is wherever the pretty parts are are hard to get to then? I mean obviously the Taj Mahal was beautiful - but just outside and around it was the same run-down, extremely poor environments that seemed everywhere. And yes I stayed at a fancy hotel while there (which was lovely) and ate at some expensive restaurants. But the main reasons I disliked it was that everything just was kind of ugly and trash-filled or barren looking everywhere I was. Now, I imagine the whole country is NOT like that but I have no idea where the scenic parts are and maybe it's just hard to get to them vs. other countries' scenic parts?

Also, I don't love going spots where I don't feel safe walking around. I did not think I'd be safe just walking around myself in daytime while there.

Maybe. I only stayed in a “luxurious” hotel in Delhi. I rode buses to Rishikesh and stayed in a very basic but perfectly serviceable hotel. Rode more buses and jeeps to the Himalaya and trekked , seeing many smaller towns and villages and some breathtaking views. I’m not sure the “only do India in luxury” opinion that’s popular on this thread is accurate- you do miss a lot of the country that way.

I posted a few pages ago, my parents are Indian immigrants. I grew up going every year as a kid and have been back a few times as an adult. I’m not typically a luxury traveler and often stay in basic no-frills hotels, use public transportation, etc., when I go abroad. I do generally agree with the idea that when you see a destination in only an extremely luxurious way, staying at fancy places and eating fancy food and having private transport everywhere, you lose some of the real flavor of a place.

But the type of travel you’re describing (specifically in India) is basically adventure travel for Western tourists. The basic level of infrastructure, cleanliness, amenities, etc., that an American tourist would expect isn’t really there consistently outside of luxury hotels, and without a local advising you there’s really no good way to pick out the gems.

Then you run into other stuff, like the highways aren’t the safest for long-distance car travel. Vehicles (like buses, etc.) aren’t particularly clean or comfortable. Hygiene practices at restaurants catering to middle-class locals are questionable and could very likely cause food poisoning. There are just so many issues that your typical UMC American tourist (the DCUM demographic) traveling to India wouldn’t really be equipped or want to deal with on a vacation that’s supposed to be fun and relaxing. I totally get that, and I don’t either. So I always recommend luxury hotels/restaurants/activities to friends considering India.

There are countries where traveling like a local is worth it, but I don’t think India is one of them (at least, for the majority of tourists).

[Anonymous]

Myrtle Beach: Trashy as hell.

Minneapolis: Like Kansas City, but with trees.

Toronto: Dull.

Puerto Rico: We stayed at the El Conquistidor, which felt rundown and isolated ... and getting there was harrowing. The person renting us our car said not to stop at stop lights. So that was reassuring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Coco Cay.
It's owned by Royal Caribbean so you can't get there unless you are on a cruse but it can be hard to avoid on one of their cruises too.

It's crowded and hot and very little shade. Competition for chairs is rough. Food is OK but not fun to try and get. I really think these fake islands are just awful and I'm probably skipping it to stay on the ship next time.

We love to snorkel but sometimes the water is too cloudy. Not Royal Caribbean's faut but just contributes to issues on that island

+1 Cococay is almost as bad as the cruise itself! I tried to enjoy the cruise experience but I still just don't get it. Felt like I was stuck in a casino in Atlantic City.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tulum! We were there for a wedding, I felt scared and very vulnerable. It's a tiny dusty town plopped down in the middle of a jungle that happens to have lots of cartels around them.

Felt on guard the entire time. Paid about 1500 per night for a hotel to be told " they don't have an advanced sewer system" so no toilet paper in the toilet!!!!! EWHHHH. Never again. Could not wait to leave (the wedding was beautiful but it was about 93 degrees with humid near 100% so almost unbearable) Home never looked so good

Tulum was great 20 years ago. Now it’s an influencer party spot. Yuck.

Many better places to visit in that region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not Indian , but if you do 5 star hotels and private transportations, India has lots to offer in terms of sightseeing (Taj Mahal, Jaipur etc and food.

Nobody disagrees with this. There is a luxurious way to do India. But it doesn't sit well with a lot of people and they don't. want. to. go. back. if they don't have to (family). What don't you understand about that?

Oh we understand. Now you try and understand - the luxurious way to do India is inexpensive compared to anywhere else in the world. However, people from rich (western) countries want to do shoestring budget travel in India, making use of infrastructure that is heavily subsidized by the Indian govt for the poorest of its people. Then they complain. Well, why did you go to India in the first place? The domestic market of tourism is so huge that India is not hurting for foreign travelers.

Still don't understand it? It is like some foreigner comes to DC, goes and eats at the homeless shelter soup kitchen and then complains that the restaurant scene in US is pathetic. That soup kitchen is not for tourists.

Who is doing shoestring tours of India? Nobody on here has done that. You are projecting that that is why the bad experience. Every single person on here has mentioned that they have done it the luxurious way and they don't want to go back. No way in hell would I take a train in India. No way in hell.

I took a train in India and no photoshopped white men fell off the roof. It was a fine enough experience. I’ve had more stressful train experiences in Germany tbh with packed out trains, no room to move, standing room only, and then some chump with a BIKE trying to get on the train. And I’m a PP who said India was fascinating and I’d go back. I think the main issue with India is it is so NOT like the US, but it’s not pretty and familiar like Europe or clean and glamorous the way many of the Eastern Asian countries are, and a lot of American really just can’t cope with it. Like they just do not know how to process everything going on there at all times.

Agree with all of this. I'm the poster way back who lived in India as an expat for a few years. I never EVER saw trains like this and I was looking -- because from the media, I assumed they would all be like this and they're absolutely not. India was my first time out of North America, believe it or not, and I loved it. But I also prepared myself with lots of research before we moved there. Do I want to go back? ABSOLUTELY. There was so much I didn't get to see! I never got treated poorly -- sure people tried to scam me, but you learn their game pretty fast -- and I solo traveled around the country as a blonde white woman.

That's so funny. I'm another longtime expat (and like yourself, am a blonde white woman), and I've been on those packed German trains quite often because we also did three years in Dusseldorf. The difference for me was that none of the Germans packed around me tried to grope me or stare at me, I knew nobody was going to have their hands in my bag, and everything was super clean, with nary a fly, roach, or rat in sight, and the air did not smell of garbage (which it does even in the expat areas in the Indian cities where I was). In India, I was groped several times, was stared at wherever I went (and those men do not look away when you catch their gaze, nor are they ashamed to gawk at your chest area or body without looking away, even if you are covered). I experienced the creepy stares and groping in several cities. This treatment of women is super common in India: the term they use for this widespread sexual harassment of women in public is "eve teasing" (look it up). Sure, you can stay within the limited confines of luxury hotels and luxury expat neighborhoods, but that doesn't change the fact that you are in a gilded cage surrounded by squalor and a culture in which women are second-class citizens, and sexual harassment is widespread. Is it really a "magical place" if you have to stay in carefully curated, limited spaces in order to stay safe and comfortable? I hated India. And I have spent 16 years living in foreign countries, so not an inexperienced traveler. South Asia is my least favorite place on the planet, and to put that in perspective, I have been to the Congo and Ghana. India was the worst.

Can you right hook the people groping you? I simply can't imagine this. Is this a cultural thing?

I’m not that poster but I’m the poster that was assaulted by a man in a crowded market in Uzbekistan. I screamed and yand might have pushed him away — I can’t even remember really. But it was very clear that the entire market was looking at me like it was my fault and that I had zero support from the many women there. I felt like I if I had done something like punch him, he would have punched me back and probably kicked me while I was down. I think that’s what made it so different for me — if some awful guy in an American market did rhat, I feel confident that people around me would help. Same with basically all Europe. I definitely did not feel that way in Uzhbekhstan and it has made me reconsider every trip, asking whether I’m confident that if something happened, there would be people that would support me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree most of CR not crazy beautiful if you get away from scenery but man does their food make up for it! And they have fresh streams everywhere. A very natural place. I'm a pp who talked about hating India. So there's a difference that I loved CR even though not fancy or truly lux or beautiful yet I hated India where I thought everything was just trashy and the dirt was on another level. I found CR on the other hand charming - I don't know exactly why but I did.

I have never heard anybody say anything positive about the food in Costa Rica besides the fruit.

Yeah, I really like CR and have been twice, but the food is not good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree most of CR not crazy beautiful if you get away from scenery but man does their food make up for it! And they have fresh streams everywhere. A very natural place. I'm a pp who talked about hating India. So there's a difference that I loved CR even though not fancy or truly lux or beautiful yet I hated India where I thought everything was just trashy and the dirt was on another level. I found CR on the other hand charming - I don't know exactly why but I did.

I have never heard anybody say anything positive about the food in Costa Rica besides the fruit.

Yeah, I really like CR and have been twice, but the food is not good.

I had the best pina coladas ever in CR -- they were using fresh coconut and pineapple. And the second place we stayed had a small farm, so they had homemade yogurt from the cows and homemade fresh granola that was really good. I think I also had good ceviche. I don't think the food is the main draw there, but everywhere we went had food that was fresh and pretty good, with the menus looking pretty similar to a standard US restaurant.