Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Los Angeles- nothing but urban sprawl with no soul.
New York - crowded, noisy, dirty, garbage piled along streets.
Nairobi - crime ridden so you can’t go anywhere in your own.
India - dirty and polluted.

I expected to hate LA and loved it so much I'd move there. I loved how every neighborhood has a different feel to it, all the historical homes, Koreatown, Downtown, Los Feliz, Griffith Park, the Broad, the Getty, the snowy mountains in the background... I feel like I'd need to go many more times to even see and absorb everything.

Anonymous wrote:Los Angeles- nothing but urban sprawl with no soul.
New York - crowded, noisy, dirty, garbage piled along streets.
Nairobi - crime ridden so you can’t go anywhere in your own.
India - dirty and polluted.

Anonymous wrote:

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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?

+1
Also the fact that you will happily use servants. Enough said.
I did India as luxurious as possible and paid a fortune (only place I’ve seen the different tiers of rates even for Indians living abroad) but wouldn’t do it again

What? Never heard of this?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:West Texas.

Yes

I had thought the same thing. Towns like Midland and Odessa are pretty bleak. Then on a driving trip up from Mexico, we crossed at Presidio, Texas and drove to Marfa. It was a stunning drive and Marfa is a quirky little place. Then we explored other small towns like Alpine, Davis, Marathon, Terlingua and the Big Bend area. It was amazing with incredible scenery galore. If you like wide open spaces, it’s really something to experience. Even if you don’t go for a full Mexico visit, definitely cross at Presidio into Ojinaga, Mexico to experience excellent food and a vibrant little town. My expectation were low but this is one of my favorite regions in the US now. And I’ve visited 49 of 50 states!

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read the whole thread yet, but New York City for me. It's a running joke in my circle how much I hate NYC, but it's rooted in reality. Overcrowded, dirty, loud, too many rats, Times Square is overly commercialized fakeness, Brooklyn is soulless now, other boroughs are dumps. The only redeeming quality to me is Broadway. Even the cuisine, while plentiful isn't anything overly special.

Too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter. I really hate that place

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t hate Costa Rica, but I have zero desire to ever return. I’d give it a 4/10. It felt like dirty Temu version Hawaii. I’d rather spend a little more or go for less time and do Hawaii on repeat.

Which part?
See we went to a luxury resort (Andaz/Four Seasons) and felt it was a closer, half the price nice alternative to Hawaii. Great for a long weekend and a lot of interesting excursions and day trips like Hawaii for an active trip! It felt luxurious, secluded and just nice at a fraction of the cost. That said, I love Hawaii but only certain areas.

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?

Anonymous wrote:Lisbon - not terrible but mediocre food and the sights are spread over hills that are tough to navigate.

Paris - maybe it’s more me than the city, but it’s always depressed me. Sort of like attending a huge, vibrant party where everyone is having fun, but you’re just a bystander. Probably great place to live but not that fun as a tourist

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I was there for two weeks in winter and never left Tokyo city limits (staying with sibling who lives there and we had too many kids in total to traipse all over the country). Still did something different and fun every single day.
I studied the language in college and Japanese people are some of the funniest people on earth. I was in tears laughing reading ads for plastic surgery on the subway, signs in the ladies' room asking about constipation, a stern warning against gargling with the onsen water, a poignant display at the zoo about the elderly elephant....I think I got ten times the enjoyment out of the trip over my husband and kids.
My parents really enjoy visiting Amish country in Indiana and that's truly something I never need to do again. I feel like they are very annoyed by our presence, even if we are spending money.