What's the worst country you've ever spent any significant amount of time in?
- Thread starter ThamesHawk
- Start date
Sounds good to me.. We stayed at the (Grand Bahia Principe) in Runaway Bay twice ... And (Iberostar) right outside of Montego Bay once.. both seem to decline employee wise and trespassing vendor wise over a five year stretch .. But I'm now open to Negril with what you've posted.
Also Rick's Cafe in Negril was a blast. We had a private room/booth rented in that little structure in the upper right corner by the pool. It was super crowed like in the middle picture so that was nice. My son and his cousins had a blast cliff jumping. The crazy older cousin wanted to do the super high jump but they wouldn't let anyone do it.
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I forgot the obvious one: China. But my 15 days there were amazing and I loved it all. It's just the other stuff..
Brazil was very poor, but we were rolling deep so I never felt any danger. The most danger I felt was on the 20 hour drive across Brazil. Terrible roads and worse drivers.
Paraguay was also a very poor country, but we weren't there very long. When our houseboat came into port it was sobering to see women filling up 2 liter bottles from the river for drinking water.
Jamaica was also very poor, but we didn't venture too far off the resort. Did see some toppless women washing clothes in a river.
Paraguay was also a very poor country, but we weren't there very long. When our houseboat came into port it was sobering to see women filling up 2 liter bottles from the river for drinking water.
Jamaica was also very poor, but we didn't venture too far off the resort. Did see some toppless women washing clothes in a river.
I would say there are some that simply don't like to travel and not due to any reasons you stated. If they are interested in different culture or what have you, they read books about it. There are others that suffer from the fear of flying. Is that some kind of superiority complex? Does it mean they lack interest? Your comments were very short sighted.
Different strokes but traveling makes for very interesting experiences. Just reading about it in books conjures up images of the Pritchard Scale in Dead Poets Society on understanding poetry and knowing how to measure the worth of literature. I would rather write my own verse and have the memories.
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First visit to Mexico 1984 - first time I saw machine gun toting cops in front of banks, and the "drinkable" pitcher of water in the hotel with a layer of scum at the top
Probably India. I didn’t experience anything poorly except the weather when I had to go in July, but I could see it. The caste system is alive and well.
Perfect, feel free its your right to do so. But calling out people that don't care for those things is silly and stupid.
Yeah, I figured there would be a person or two that feels the way you do.
You may be right. Or I may be. I doubt we'll ever find out.
If what I said offended you, I apologize though. It wasn't intended to be a personal comment...much more of a generalization that I've found to be true in my life. But certainly not peer-reviewed research, I grant you.
For others in this thread curious what this stuff looks like, this is where we flew in:
This is Burrow's, the grocery store near our rental:
On the flip side, this was our rental house:
Here's a pic from behind our rental.. When the sun hit the water it was awesome... The house was just ok but the beach was killer.
We were driving from Austin to San Diego after graduating college for a road trip. Stopped in El Paso so one of our friends could visit his Aunt. Friends and I all drank a bunch in our hotel room and decided lets go to Mexico. We were there for about 10 minutes and saw a man getting chased by a man with a knife and decided that's enough and went back to our hotel. It's amazing I didn't die in my early 20's.
Well I never made a transaction to get the full lay of the land on his goods, but he probably had it all...
That's why all I said was "in your opinion". I'm not offended at all, you are entitled to your opinion; but you did ask if I would "argue" your points. Peace
Nice!
Here's a pic from behind our rental.. When the sun hit the water it was awesome... The house was just on but the beach was killer.
Somewhat neither here nor there, but you mentioned fear of flying as a reason not to travel...
For what it's worth, I take a pill (Lorazepam, aka Ativan) and drink a beer or Scotch, preferably one of each, one hour before I get on a plane, every time.
On long trips across the Atlantic, I take another pill 1/2 way through the flight and I drink pretty much the whole time to numb the anxiety...b/c my fear of flying is so strong.
Without that regimen, I'm fully convinced, especially at takeoff, that the plane is going to crash. I can't overcome these thoughts. I get progressively less anxious as we hit cruising altitude, but then every minor bit of turbulence thereafter makes me grip my armrests so strong I nearly pull them out and my feet press so strong against the floor that I could nearly go through it. The pills and the drinking help to numb the negative thoughts and the visceral reactions to them, but the fear never goes away entirely.
Obviously this is a very personal example and I don't expect anyone to do the same. Travel is worth it to me at the end of the day though.
TBW and I were staying in Monte Carlo and hadn't been to Italy before so hopped a train to San Remo and Ventimiglia. This was in 2016 so maybe it's changed now but the place was a mess. It was full of African immigrants trying to get into France and there were some real shady characters all over the place. Reminded me of TJ a little except not as many families, more young men that didn't seem very happy about their current situation and were ready to rob or kill anyone looking at them funny.
The places I’d list are both good and bad for certain things, so it is very tough to narrow down to just one answer. I don’t think I can answer this very easily in fact. Some of it has to do with my EXPECTATIONS before getting there.
I can completely understand some answers I’ve seen in this thread such as India, China, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico. All have significant (but yet different) issues. Then again each country has some incredibly interesting and worthwhile attributes as well.
I absolutely disagree with those that said Korea, unless they’re 85 years old and fought there? Otherwise I find Korea to be really quite nice, almost on par with Japan these days.
I can completely understand some answers I’ve seen in this thread such as India, China, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico. All have significant (but yet different) issues. Then again each country has some incredibly interesting and worthwhile attributes as well.
I absolutely disagree with those that said Korea, unless they’re 85 years old and fought there? Otherwise I find Korea to be really quite nice, almost on par with Japan these days.
I used to get really nervous when we had to fly somewhere. I now take a motion sickness pill and Alprazolam. It is a generic for Xanax. I am asleep by the time the plane levels off. We went to Italy last summer. I slept for 8 hours on the flight over. Italy was beautiful but I thought Rome was filthy. It smelled and there were beggars everywhere.
Same here. Freeport may be worse than Nassau, but it was a long time ago that I was there. I doubt it has gotten any better, especially since the hurricane last year.
Toss up between Qatar and South Korea. I've logged 522 days in Qatar and about 35 in South Korea, so I probably despise the former a titch more. lol
I was there in 1996 as an exchange student. You’re crazy. Canada was great. Spain was too. So, I guess parts of the USA, like Detroit in the early 1990s, St. Louis, and particularly Busch Stadium. They let 9 bums just loiter on the field.
He is an extreme racist and very crass. He also is lacking culture and the desire to learn know things.
Mexico because I was there in an industrial town for work. The resorts are nice, but central Mexico was not.
Just look at the reactions I got for daring to say that there are other countries in the world that might be better places to travel to or live in than the USA. It says a lot about those folks who suggested that I move there, but I will say regardless of their intent, that I would have zero problem moving to and living in Canada or Switzerland for the long haul.
I spent quite a bit of time in China for work up until about eight years ago. I absolutely loved the meal experiences and culture. The living conditions, traffic and pollution would be unbearable for me if I had to live there.
hawkeyetraveler
HB Heisman
I feel your pain. Same situation...got food poisoning from a high end hotel restaurant. Only found out about 30 minutes into the United flight from Mumbai to Newark. Worst flight of my life. Guessing it sucked for the passengers near that lavatory too.
Bad food. Extremely dirty streets, parks. Constant heightened tension in the air as if a bomb could explode any minute.
My thoughts as well, you beat me to it. It's been a long time since I've been. Nassau, Bahamas was extremely poor. Every time I turned around their was some sleazy pimp trying to sell me suspect drugs and a prostitute. Good way to catch the Aids right there. The tropical climate was beautiful but didn't make up for it.
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I.N.D.I.A. stands for I’ll Never Do It Again. Unfortunately, I had to go back numerous times.
Indonesia would be a close 2nd.
Indonesia would be a close 2nd.
I must have gotten lucky because the air was very clear when I was there, but normally yeah that would drive me crazy. Traffic sucked in the big cities, but so does LA traffic. I loved the visit but won't be living there.
I'd have to say the OP's mom. It was the stankiest and nastiest hole by far. I'm sorry, you asked for the "worst country". In that case, I'd say the DR.
