Hi all

In the same vein (but opposite) to another post of mine I wonder what your recommendation would be about the worst city that you have visited (not necessarily the worst in the world but the worst you have visited).

At first glance I'd is tempted to say Los Angeles [THAT SMOG] but outer Los Angeles is redeemed by Disneyland and Universal Studios.

Of the cities I have visited I think the answer would have to be...

Sydney!

Yes the blue mountains are nearby and it has a big coathanger bridge but frankly the atmosphere of the town is very depressing. I really can't find a lot of good to say about it.

I'm sure my fellow Melbournites will agree with me about Sydney.

cheers peter



[This message has been edited by ffhound (edited 07-23-2000).]

Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

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BTW, Los Angeles is no longer the smog capital of the U.S. Houston now has that honor. Los Angeles' air quality has improved enormously over the last ten years, and continues to get better due to stringent vehicle emission standards.

Denver is quickly heading toward passing LA for #2.

[*]city = people[*]people = always worth visiting (some)[*]a 'classification' of worst places/cities might offend people living there.[*]I pass on this.

Hands down, the worst for me is - Taipei.

I agree with Rudi that it is fascinating to meet people in every kind of city, and that in every place there is something to learn. But the most difficult city for me to do this, and the hardest to like, is Saigon. There are traces of its one-time beauty, and its people retain a dry sense of humor. But it is an oppressive city where procedure and policy weigh down on people, and create a bleak environment.

Sao Paulo in Brasil.

The people are fantastic as all Brasilieros are.....but it's just toooo big, toooo dirty, toooo smoggy, it also lacks the physical beauty of other cities and it's very unsafe in relative terms. I prefer Rio de Janeiro....which in my opinion is the most beautiful city in the world.

I totally agree with Rudi.

And I had a great time in Taipei! I was with some good people who knew the city's hidden charms.

As for LA, I used to say that Chicago had everything going for it but the weather, and LA had nothing going for it but the weather...I'm still trying to find something else nice about it and I live in LA County!

Oh well, you can't beat the weather...And you can't beat the Lakers.

In an attempt to put a halt to all the typical LA-bashing, let me just say that I've found that people from Pacific Rim cultures tend to prefer LA over just about any other major US city. (Asian and Central American cuisines in LA are generally better than in any other place in North America) However, people who prefer to live in a more Eurocentric city might prefer to live elsewhere.

Different places
Different people
Different values
Different climates
Different cultures...

This is the way of travel.
This is the adventure of travel.

Different.

What to say to someone who dislikes one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Or is this just some special rivalry .....?

Lima Peru gets my vote. Smog, bad food, traffic, broken concrete...just get 30 miles out of the city - Peru is a beautiful country!

Mexico City is not a nice city. Great sights and food, but onerous air pollution, gargage, poverity, dirt etc make it somewhat undesirable.

may be more helpful, and directed to us the travellers and/or tourists would be some tips infors about the worst habits we (tourists/trvellers) bring into other countries/continents/cultures and how to avoid it.

Let me start: Please don't dress in shorts on the Streets in Bangkok/Thailand (you hardly will find a single Tahi in shorts, as poor as he may be). A Thai will just judge you (but never say so, still laugh at you) as not-knowing/not-caring.

In addition to what Rudi and CalCenCoast have said, I would like to say that I've never "hated" any city that I've visited. I might have less than pleasant experiences, but I certainly don't hold it against the city. By keeping an open mind and accentuating the positives I'm never dissappointed with what I find.

[This message has been edited by sheetz (edited 07-23-2000).]

I never hated any location, either.

It does seem to me that El Paso, Texas is a place to avoid, though. The only redeeming aspect of El Paso was the generally excellent quality of the Mexican food.