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08-13-2010, 09:56 AM
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#141
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Seatlle
Posts: 185
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Quote:
Originally Posted by meridiver
However, the one time that I was completely disappointed was when we went to Bali. We were there for a liveaboard dive trip to Komodo. The dive trip was unbelievable, amazing, off the charts. Bali itself - not so much. We went right after the nightclub bombings in 2002 that killed a bunch of tourists. The tourist trade had practically dried up and the locals were pretty desperate. We were hounded and chased constantly by vendors. We could not get them to stop grabbing at us trying to sell us stuff. In addition, everyone wanted you to bargain for everything. They set prices ridiculously high, then expected you to bargain them down, but I hate bargaining and when I was hungry the last thing on earth that I wanted to do was bargain for the price of my meal. The island was spectacularly beautiful, but unbelievably dirty - mounds of trash piled everywhere. I'm sure others have had better experiences there, but it was one of my least favorite places ever.
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ITA!! We had such great expectations for Bali, but were mauled, harrassed & abused by the locals. We were there in 2008 on a "pass thru" visit to Wakatobi Dive Resort, Sulawesi, Indonesia (which was AMAZING!). On the pass thru back we stayed at a 4 star hotel in the Nusa Dusa area...much less public harrassment but artificially mellowed for tourists IMO. Like staying under a Bell Jar for Tourists. Loved the Balinese dancing, ruins, temples....too bad they treat tourists like sh*t!
Love the locals in Fiji, just a short hop away. They are incredibly beautiful and friendly people.
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08-13-2010, 03:13 PM
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#142
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,015
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08-13-2010, 03:16 PM
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#143
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Emeritus
Dullest big European city was Brussels.
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And I can't stand their sprouts, either.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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08-13-2010, 04:04 PM
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#144
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Palma de Mallorca
Posts: 1,419
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Emeritus
Dullest big European city was Brussels.
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Yep, DW lived there 25 years ago when we got together and then, as now, Antwerp was a much cooler place.
I alsothink that Bruges/Brugge is massively overrated. On a recent vacation we were in St Malo, France and sat at lunch next to a US couple who were on a cruise from Barcelona to Amsterdam. They were sooo looking forward to Bruges, but we couldn't get excited for them. That could be because, unlike some who have posted here, we love Venice... we love getting lost there. We went out to Murano, found a square with a local restaurant, and ate among working people for peanuts.
Here's another tip for Venice: it can be hard to find a clean public toilet. One way to "go" is to use your vaporetto pass (Do Not Do Venice Without A Vaporetto Pass) to go out to San Michele island, which is always described as "Venice's cemetery", and use the facilities there. But we found the cleanest place was in the very little-known cemetery of Murano itself. No tourists, and some interesting graves (including some super headstones on the resting places of local glass blowers).
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08-13-2010, 06:13 PM
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#145
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 886
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigNick
we love Venice... we love getting lost there. We went out to Murano, found a square with a local restaurant, and ate among working people for peanuts.
Here's another tip for Venice: it can be hard to find a clean public toilet. One way to "go" is to use your vaporetto pass (Do Not Do Venice Without A Vaporetto Pass) to go out to San Michele island, which is always described as "Venice's cemetery", and use the facilities there. But we found the cleanest place was in the very little-known cemetery of Murano itself. No tourists, and some interesting graves (including some super headstones on the resting places of local glass blowers).
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We love Venice.
Best cheap hotel is the LUX ( for the tolerant)
In the last year they have installed very clean very expensive (one Euro) public toilets right at the vaporetto stop san Marco
We go to Rome in October
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08-13-2010, 06:24 PM
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#146
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,391
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Quote:
Here's another tip for Venice: it can be hard to find a clean public toilet.
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Isn't that what the canals are for ?
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08-13-2010, 08:53 PM
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#147
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 996
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Quote:
Originally Posted by meridiver
However, the one time that I was completely disappointed was when we went to Bali. We were there for a liveaboard dive trip to Komodo. The dive trip was unbelievable, amazing, off the charts.
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DW and I are looking forward to diving all those places once we get our kids situated. And can both take off 3-4 weeks minimum at the same time.
__________________
Wherever you go, there you are.
(In other words, no whining!)
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08-13-2010, 09:16 PM
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#148
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 481
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I don't know if I would ever say I was "disappointed" in a destination, although maybe surprised at what I found when I got there. But to me, that is part of the trip. I dont think there is any place I have been that I regretted. But I am not hard to please, as long as I am traveling and not working.....
For some of the previous places mentioned, I would say: - Niagra Falls - the falls are amazing, the area is now (sadly) over-commercialized
- Disney - if you don't go with a child's mindset, you are wasting your money.
- Venice - I thought it was neat. I mean....there are no roads. Watching a police chase or an ambulance rushing to its' destination by boat is sort of different....
- Rome - I love old architecture. The city itself was crowded and scary - but I thought the sites were great
- Mt Rushmore - again, I was impressed. All I could kept thinking was "Damn that's big". Wouldn't make it a 2 week trip, but worth seeing if you are anywhere in the area.
- Grand Canyon - another place I kept staring at in awe saying "Damn, that's big"
- I also loved just about any "old" smaller city in Europe (Salzburg, Maastricht).
Other places not mentioned that I think are noteworthy are Mesa Verde (Colorado), Alaska (esp. Denali), and the trip up to Eagle's Nest (Hitler's retreat in Germany). I found each of these to be very memorable experiences.
The one thing I will say surprised me was the Eiffel Tower. We saw the from the distance the night before (all lit up) and it was beautiful. Should have stopped there. The next day when we went to see it up close. It looked like a rusted erector set to me. I was sort of surprised how unattractive I thought it was.
Oh, and the Mona Lisa. It struck me as much smaller than I expected. Of course, I have no idea why I was thinking what I was in the first place.....
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08-13-2010, 10:03 PM
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#149
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Dryer sheet aficionado
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 39
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Recently cruised Royal Carribean transatlantic. Six of the sixteen day cruise were spent at sea. Enjoyable excursions at port in 5 countries once we arrived. Pros and cons but will likely fly across Atlantic in future. Very loonnnggg six days. Spent too much at the art auction - captive audience.
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08-15-2010, 01:10 PM
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#150
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Pacific latitude 20/49
Posts: 7,677
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Bridgetown Barbados was a disappointment for me. Freeport Bahamas was also not great. Montego Bay suffered from bad ocean. Loved St Lucia and St Martin.
I liked Brussels but then only spent 2 days and 2 nights there.
Bern in Switzerland is pretty bad.
__________________
For the fun of it...Keith
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08-20-2010, 10:12 PM
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#151
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,032
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I have several
1. Jamaica - Like others have said, my hotel felt like a prison. Security told us not to leave the property for our safety. Did a couple times anyway only to be hounded to buy beads, drugs, etc. Why go there when places like Grand Cayman exist?
2. Honolulu - I hate to say it because I do love Hawaii, but it's like Miami beach with nicer water. I wan't exactly miserable there don't get me wrong, and the food was better than the other islands
For something positive, how about places better than you ever expected? - My vote is Alaska!
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08-21-2010, 08:57 AM
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#152
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 348
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Quote:
Originally Posted by saluki9
I have several
1. Jamaica - Like others have said, my hotel felt like a prison. Security told us not to leave the property for our safety. Did a couple times anyway only to be hounded to buy beads, drugs, etc. Why go there when places like Grand Cayman exist?
2. Honolulu - I hate to say it because I do love Hawaii, but it's like Miami beach with nicer water. I wan't exactly miserable there don't get me wrong, and the food was better than the other islands
For something positive, how about places better than you ever expected? - My vote is Alaska!
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+1 on both Jamaica and Hinolulu - the two most disappointing
better than I ever expected? Hands down - New Zealand and Antarctica
__________________
I am FIRE'd... :)
contract on the house, bought an RV and now traveling across America
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08-21-2010, 09:00 AM
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#153
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,440
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Better than expected?
Venice, Italy! I had heard all kinds of horror stories, so had very low expectations. But I thought it was wonderful!
I love art, architecture and history and Venice brought the three together in such an amazing way.
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08-21-2010, 04:15 PM
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#154
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
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Better than expected:
Guadalajara, Mexico. Very rich colonial culture and architecture. Close to Tequila, which was well worth a visit.
Chile (all of). Didn't know what to expect, and was very pleasantly surprised. Beautiful country, lovely people, very diverse, modern.
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08-22-2010, 10:22 AM
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#155
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Pacific latitude 20/49
Posts: 7,677
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+ Dubrovnik - Complete surprise. Loved the architecture and its location on the Adriatic.
+ Ville Franche - Wonderful quaint little seaport yet a short train ride to both Monaco and Nice.
__________________
For the fun of it...Keith
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08-22-2010, 11:49 AM
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#156
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 93
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Biggest disappointment--Afghanistan. Who knew that it would be hot, dusty and decidedly third world? I know that I was shocked...
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08-22-2010, 03:28 PM
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#157
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 5,105
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I had to think about this one for awhile.
Biggest disappointment - the pyramids at Giza - You walk around them and you can not help thinking 'all they did was pile rocks on top of each other.' After that I didn't really care about how they did it or why. The Valley of the Kings was interesting.
Better than expected - Nepal - this was 25 years ago, so I'm guessing it changed some.
__________________
Sometimes death is not as tragic as not knowing how to live. This man knew how to live--and how to make others glad they were living. - Jack Benny at Nat King Cole's funeral
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08-24-2010, 10:05 PM
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#158
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 886
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Denali Today
Here is what Denali looked like today. The vertical rise you see is about 18,000 feet. Amazing
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09-12-2010, 08:45 AM
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#159
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Alberta/Ontario/ Arizona
Posts: 3,393
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Emeritus
Here is what Denali looked like today. The vertical rise you see is about 18,000 feet. Amazing
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Beautiful! And we live in the Rockies.
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09-12-2010, 08:56 AM
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#160
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 5,072
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Vegas.... I am not a gambler.
I am glad I went just to see it. We enjoyed some of the shows... but if we ever return, it would only be for a day or two... passing through.
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