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

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

What is a reef fish?

[Anonymous]

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

Monkeys are your enemy. Proceed accordingly.

+1!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have to pay for all those little appetizers they bring you in Portugal, so if you don't want them, say "Não, obrigado" quickly and wave then away before you get stuck.

That used to also be true in Russia but the table was set with them before you were seated, and if you ate them you were charged. Rather gross to think about what they did with the ones you didn’t eat. no one should go to Russia now anyway!

[Anonymous]

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.

Why? Curious as I have had grouper many times, but in Florida.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:-Amsterdam: you need to have your physical passport on you to rent a car, at least where we went.

-Don’t shave before going in the Dead Sea

-No clothing or shoes will fit you in Japan if you are bigger than a size small so make sure you pack what you need.

I honeymooned in thailand, arguably my tiniest most gorgeous self after working hard for the wedding, and trying to shop was horrifying. "Sorry, no plus size" and I was like a size 6

Wow that’s awful!

That’s most of Asia. I am a size 6 and I bought large in Malaysia. I didn’t even bother trying on the cute clothes in Korea.

What do the old ladies wear? Every Korean grandma I know is fairly stout. Do they have special old lady stores?

[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.

This is a good one.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a big shopper and haven't needed to do this yet, but my friend told me you can get back the VAT (tax) you pay for purchases in some parts of Europe, definitely London I think.

The trick with VAt is that you have to go over a certain dollar amount at one store. So if you’re buying something expensive see if there’s anything else you want at that store. I got a leather jacket in Italy and added on a wallet and belt because I knew I could get the vat back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rental cars with automatic transmissions aren’t a given and usually come with a hefty upcharge if available.

This is one of the reasons I want my kids to learn how to drive a stick. DH thinks I’m being crazy.

It’s getting easier and easier to find automatic everywhere you go. No real need to know stick.

[Anonymous]

On the kids falling off ledges theme….we went to a Mayan temple in Belize and I thought it was waaaay more dangerous than the Grand Canyon. The ledges are very narrow and kind of crumbling and there is a sharp drop down with basically nothing to hold onto. I was having a heart attack about our preschooler and my husband was basically daring her to race him. So I would say 10 and up in good shoes only for those pyramids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rental cars with automatic transmissions aren’t a given and usually come with a hefty upcharge if available.

This is one of the reasons I want my kids to learn how to drive a stick. DH thinks I’m being crazy.

I taught myself how to drive a stick at 16, it's easy to learn.

Pp here. Yeah, but you don’t want to teach yourself on a rental car in Europe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a big shopper and haven't needed to do this yet, but my friend told me you can get back the VAT (tax) you pay for purchases in some parts of Europe, definitely London I think.

The trick with VAt is that you have to go over a certain dollar amount at one store. So if you’re buying something expensive see if there’s anything else you want at that store. I got a leather jacket in Italy and added on a wallet and belt because I knew I could get the vat back.

Also, you must tell the clerk at the point of purchase that you are applying for the VAT refund so they can fill out the forms (which you usually turn in at the airport, before security -- save time for this), and you MUST have your passport with you at the store.

You can get the VAT refund throughout the EU. It is a great place to buy leather goods, perfume, crystal stemware, etc.

[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.

Thank you. I'm the one who asked the question and this is what I was picturing. I guess this brings up the questions of what activities are or aren't worth it to do there at all. We're probably more the type of family that just wants to see the highlights, but also we don't have any really young kids if we did want to hike. So we will figure that out if we ever plan a trip there.

[Anonymous]

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.

Why? Curious as I have had grouper many times, but in Florida.

Because reef fish eat flora in reefs, which often consist of organisms that feed on things like dinoflagellates that contain ciguatoxins. Or reef fish feed on other fish that do, thereby bioaccumulating. You have played Russian roulette and won for now, but ciguatox poisoning is very common and lead to upwards of 20 years of suffering some people since the toxin can have a very long half life consisting of years. Neurotoxins are something you don't want to mess with.