India. Hands down.

Well I'm a PP who hated India but went years ago in my 20s with a friends for 3+ weeks. We did stay at pretty decent hotels actually. I think OP is right in that in India you MUST go first class all the way - no public transportation only 5 star hotels, 6 stars even LOL BUT I will also say that India is poor and dirty. That's all there is to it. So if you go to Agra to see the Taj, leave as soon as you are done so you do not see the hellhole that is the town of Agra. I mean you really cannot get away from the poverty and filth unless you just stay inside clean places so I kinda think that it defeats the purpose. As for food, I guess if you like Indian food of course you will enjoy food there but there's a lot of countries offering good food Again, I get that India is the center for spiritual retreats or used to be anyway but I'm just saying, manage your expectations if you go. It sounds adventurous and exotic but the reality is it's a hard trip in many ways.

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).

Are you Indian? Because in my experience Indian Americans need to throw around terms like servants and Emirates business class so we all know they aren’t “that kind of Indian” (ie, a poor one). It’s a bizarre insecurity.

I’m not Indian but I feel for them. They can never win and their country is constantly maligned. I take it as defensive rather than insecure. I’d probably feel the same way they do if my country came up again and again as the worst.

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).

Are you Indian? Because in my experience Indian Americans need to throw around terms like servants and Emirates business class so we all know they aren’t “that kind of Indian” (ie, a poor one). It’s a bizarre insecurity.

No insecurity. Just reality. Yes, I am Indian. Frugal and probably 3%er. Not apologizing for doing well in US and did not come here through "Dunky".

I would not take a business class to India in any Western or US airline because you do not get the service that you get in Middle Eastern Airlines. Period. I would definitely splurge on business class to India because it is a horribly long journey and I cannot endure it now in my middle age. I would not take Air India business class even for the 15 hour non-stop trip because of the horrible condition of their planes.

And I would absolutely stay at places where you get RO water, have ac, have servants, have your own room, have your own bathroom, and have protection from bugs, heat and dust. DUH! And I can do that because I am Indian with family that is living in metropolitan cities and have comfortable home. Or stay in good expensive hotels.

I see a lot of westerners doing budget travel in India and then cribbing about the dirt, poverty, lack of safety and lack of hygiene, when it is an emerging economy. Why? How poor are you that you cannot travel like a mid-budget American traveller? You get great service in India for what you pay in a mid range hotel in US. But, if you want to go to a third world poor country and pay what poor people in that country pay and then crib about it being uncomfortable then it is on you.

Interesting thread...

It's subjective but interesting to read comments about why someone likes/dislikes a place. I agree with PP on where you stay. That is everything - it's what you are going to primarily see and experience, likely.

There are definitely places that I agree is what it is - either really small or really large tows. I guess I would also manage expectations. Not sure what people are actually expecting from Cancun? It is a beach front hotel town. That's what it is. Find your favorite resort and enjoy. If you go to Vegas, they do gambling and shows there 24/7. Unless you go off strip, that's the vibe. There are actually certain locations whose reputation truly are well deserved

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

It's just super boring. I lived in LA for 10 years and have either lived in or traveled to almost every country and Paraguay is definitely bottom 10%. Not that it's a tourist destination or anything, but for good reason.

Sure you have. Please, tell me more about your time in the DRC? How did you like Syria? Any rec's for Afghanistan?

Well, I have been to the DRC - I loved Virunga and climbing and sleeping on top of Mount Nyiragongo. Virunga is apparently one of Ben Affleck's favorite places to visit. Syria used to be lovely but now, not so much. Don't recommend - although in Jordan, make sure to go camel riding in Wadi Rum and do Petra Kitchen in Petra (learn how to cook like a Bedouin!). Finally, Afghanistan. I loved Bamiyan and Mazar e Sharif. You can fly (used to be able to?) to Badakhshan - which is the craziest flight I have ever taken - zigzagging through mountains. But stay at the Bam e Dunya in the spring and watch the river raging ... it is truly magical.

LOL. What government agency do you work for??

Probably doesn’t work at a government agency. More likely one of the country counter types. Based on their descriptions of Syria and Afghanistan, I’d say they are older, more first wave and male.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I've hated anywhere, but I wouldn't return to Bali.

I also found Bali to be hit or miss. There are nice parts but they are harder to find.

Other observations:

Romans are exceptionally rude; Parisians friendlier than expected.

Egypt is a mess and horrible for tourists, a result of dealing with tourist hordes for millennia.

Don’t travel solo as a woman in India and you will be fine, with the exception of Varanasi, I’m still creeped out thinking about it nearly a decade after visiting.

what happened in Varanasi?

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).

Are you Indian? Because in my experience Indian Americans need to throw around terms like servants and Emirates business class so we all know they aren’t “that kind of Indian” (ie, a poor one). It’s a bizarre insecurity.

So a lot of your experiences depend on where you stay I think also times have changed for a lot of countries.

There was a time I loved PR. I agree that it's gone so downhill. I love CR because of where we stay - Tulemar has it's own beach and is near such wonderful little places to dine walking distance out of resort - I didn't care for other places in CR but loved MA as a result. There was a time I hated S Beach and I actually don't mind it for a quick getaway - you have walking distance to the beach and pretty tasty food on Ocean Dr and that's all I'm really looking for. A bit of shopping maybe and enough places for body work. That's all I'm expecting - I would pass on the city of Miami.

I used to love New Orleans and hate it much more now though ironically they have more activities for families beyond just Fr Qtr. I used to love Vienna and Venice more but both downhill. I used to love Xi'an before they built it up and don't like it much anymore, but I love Beijing more than I used to. Ditto Taipei. I used to like Sedona more than I now do - too many people.

Things change, places change.

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).

Austin, Texas. Terrible traffic, ugly architecture, lots of drugged out and homeless ppl hanging on that one main bar street . . . . the LBJ museum on the campus was super cool, though!

Martha’s Vineyard. Crowded, overpriced, snooty. Maybe it is nice if you own a mansion with a private beach. Would never go back

Anonymous wrote:I went to Kuala Lumpur 15 years ago and hated it and vowed to never go again. I went last year because of a complicated itinerary that made sense to take us through there. I fell in love with the city and especially the people of Malaysia.

Since then I’ve decided to never write a place off even if I recognize that it wasn’t the place for me at some point in time. For that reason I’d like to return to Anchorage and Memphis- I couldn’t figure out either city but would like to try again.

Ha! This is me! I hated KL the first time I went about a decade ago. We gave it a second try and I'm so glad I did! Helped that a friend of a friend was a local, and showed us around a bit past the touristy parts. I would consider moving there long term.

I don't care to return to: Santorini, Singapore, Munich. But I'm also like PP in that I could probably find something to enjoy in any city.

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Anonymous wrote:I hated Tokyo but loved the less crowded parts of Japan.

I haven't been and want to. I would take your experience into account when planning. So land in Tokyo and try to get somewhere else?

Tokyo is one of my favorite cities in the world. Truly. There's SO much there because it's a big place. Asakusa is totally different scene from Akasaka. It is more on the outskirts of Tokyo but you can stay in the city and still make it up to Asakusa. It's TOTALLY different vibe and we loved it. Shibuya is a totally different vibe than Aoyama - the latter is very high end. What I love about Tokyo is you can find everything - from food, shopping, and let me tell you I think the Japanese have the closest relationship with all animals than any other country, weird and crazy costume play, kitchy stuff, horror/amusement parks, TeamLabs, Tokyo has everything, I kid you not. NYC has nothing on Tokyo. Beijing/Shanghai are kind of like that but the Japanese are a LOT OF FUN. We would simply never see anything like what you see here in the US or in many other countries - they bring a sense of humor to stuff but they are also the nicest people ever. They have a lot of rules (eating without shoes at restaurants, trying clothes out without shoes, etc) culturally but Tokyo is a unique city among cities.