Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:47
Subject: Re:Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone who goes to Bali for the beaches will be disappointed. But how can you go to Ubud and the Ayung River Valley and not love the culture and natural beauty? The palaces, gamelan, dances, food, local Buddhist/animist customs. You won’t experience the true beauty of Bali if you stay at a beach resort.
Hmm...mmm.... I spent two weeks on Bali and it was more disappointing than not. Good food, yes, some nice scenery, yes. But crowded, traffic jams everywhere, Ubud was overbuilt and definitely more touristy than local. The water at the beaches was lovely even if most beaches were rocky. But on the whole I found Bali overrun with Australian rednecks and tattooed Europeans looking for cheap parties.
The advantage of Bali is that compared to the rest of Indonesia, the infrastructure is much better. After having travelled in more pastoral parts of Indonesia you can appreciate the upsides to Bali, but that was having good coffee, Starbucks, and diet coke and more reliable food. Not "local culture" which seemed to be gimmicky for the tourists.
By the way, Bali is a predominately Hindu island, not Buddhist and especially not animist. Maybe that was what some local person's spiel in order to get tourist dollars out of your misplaced sympathies.
Ok, I misremembered when I wrote that (I went many years ago), but I wasn’t totally wrong: Balinese Hinduism is very influenced by Buddhism and animism.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balinese_Hinduism
Anyway their particular brand of Hinduism is unique to Bali and interesting to see in practice, such as the little offerings of flowers and rice in banana leaf boxes they place everywhere.
Agree that Ubud had way more traffic the second time we went, but the surrounding areas were still beautiful and peaceful.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy Bali. Not everyone has the chance to travel all over Indonesia — wish I had the time — but for those who can visit only one place and need some tourist infrastructure, Bali can still be a great destination.
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:46
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote:AMALFI COAST HANDS DOWN. ONE AND DONE.
Um no, spent three days in Ravello and was one of the best place we’ve been to. Itching to go back soon.
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:46
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Dubai. Just all the essential slaves everywhere and the staring.
Las Vegas.
Maybe I just hate fake desert cities!
Palm Springs too.
Love Muscat and Tucson, though.
Loved Dubai - awesome sightseeing and awesome food.
Loved Vegas too.
So you’re a tacky person I take it?
I also love Dubai and Las Vegas. If that makes me a “tacky person” so be it!
It does.
No problem. I’m a tacky person who has lived on 4 different continents and has travelled all over Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, South America, Central America, all over the Caribbean, etc… I rather like being tacky!
Tacky people usually do.
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:40
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Dubai. Just all the essential slaves everywhere and the staring.
Las Vegas.
Maybe I just hate fake desert cities!
Palm Springs too.
Love Muscat and Tucson, though.
Loved Dubai - awesome sightseeing and awesome food.
Loved Vegas too.
So you’re a tacky person I take it?
I also love Dubai and Las Vegas. If that makes me a “tacky person” so be it!
It does.
No problem. I’m a tacky person who has lived on 4 different continents and has travelled all over Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, South America, Central America, all over the Caribbean, etc… I rather like being tacky!
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:38
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote:Agree with those saying Costa Rica. We stayed 2 weeks, in 5 different locations, and they all felt way overpriced for what they were. I'd rather go to Hawaii any day. Better beaches, better food, same adventure opportunities but safer/cleaner.
Everyone was nice, but I definitely have no desire to return. The rainforest/jungles in Peru were way better IMO, and the beaches are better just about everywhere in the US.
Costa Rica is much cheaper than Hawaii, though, and a much quicker/cheaper flight from the East Coast. Of course Costa Rica is rougher around the edges. That's like saying Paris is better than Montreal or that Bali is better than the Florida Keys. Duh.
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:36
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote:My DD just spent a year in Marseilles love love loved it. So much easier than Paris and beautiful coast beaches.
I had one one of the best meals of my life in Marseille.
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:34
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Dubai. Just all the essential slaves everywhere and the staring.
Las Vegas.
Maybe I just hate fake desert cities!
Palm Springs too.
Love Muscat and Tucson, though.
Loved Dubai - awesome sightseeing and awesome food.
Loved Vegas too.
So you’re a tacky person I take it?
I also love Dubai and Las Vegas. If that makes me a “tacky person” so be it!
It does.
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:33
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote:Someone said the capital cities are frequently not so great. A good example of that is Athens. It’s had only one mention here—not because it’s not blah, but because so few people have high enough expectations of it for it to be overrated.
I loved Athens! The historical sights, the ancient ruins, the old markets, the great food, the coffee (I’m not a coffee drinker but the coffee there was amazing!), the super friendly people, etc…
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:33
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote: All my life I dreamt of Bali- boy, was that a disappointment!
Ok the beach was a total disappointment nut thats what Bali is “famous” for.
However the rice fields, mountains, sceneries were very beautiful!
Maldives - gorgeous water beach….but cant go in water at the beach, too dangerous - another teaser.
Might as well stick to Caribbean.
We spent a week on bali and stayed at 4 different places on each corner of the island and it was amazing. Diving beaches, hotels everything not sure where you all stayed but I would disagree
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:33
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Do the people who say they went to places in France, Italy, Spain and other countries generally very well known for good food, but then say that the “food sucked” ever think that maybe they just… went to the wrong restaurants?
Or previously reliable eats are now going downhill fast. We are seeing it everywhere.
The fact that you refer to food in France as “eats” tells me all I need to know.
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:30
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
London. So expensive. And busy. Preferred Bath.
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:30
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
My DD just spent a year in Marseilles love love loved it. So much easier than Paris and beautiful coast beaches.
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:30
Subject: Re:Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote:I was about to say that all places have some value, but then I saw Dubai. Yep, I think that fits well in the overrated category.
Disagree. We had so much fun there. Visiting the old city and taking the small boats along Dubai Creek to visit the old Souks was great. Not to mention the great food and hospitality.
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:21
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The thread is a joke. The idea that people living in DC of all places are qualified to pass judgment on their superiors around the globe is hilarious.
We’re the oldest and greatest country on the earth, we have the highest standard of living, and we’ve never lost a war, we can judge whoever we want!
What?? No part of this is correct.
USA is younger than a looong list of countries, China, England, France.
Highest standard of living?? People regularly declare bankruptcy over medical debt, no paid sick leave, higher infant mortality than almost every country in Europe.
Lost wars = Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq.
France formed its government after we did; China in the 1940s; the UK is a bit more difficult to pin down. I do think the PP was being sarcastic but I would categorically agree that our standard of living is higher than anywhere else. FYI - you would need to adjust the IMR by demographics AND realize that we aggressively try to save preemies, which Europe doesn’t (and therefore doesn’t count.) Comparison is a little more difficult than a HuffPo article.
Anonymous
07/16/2023 09:16
Subject: Most overrated international destination?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Dubai. Just all the essential slaves everywhere and the staring.
Las Vegas.
Maybe I just hate fake desert cities!
Palm Springs too.
Love Muscat and Tucson, though.
Loved Dubai - awesome sightseeing and awesome food.
Loved Vegas too.
So you’re a tacky person I take it?
I also love Dubai and Las Vegas. If that makes me a “tacky person” so be it!