celle

+100

I'm so glad I've been to Egypt, because now I never need go there again!

mattkorey

[QUOTE=lili;18762395]Well, for a start there isn't much else to see in Brussels ....

Well, everyone has their own taste I guess. I love Brussels. The Grand Place is the single most beautitful square in all of Europe I think.
And if you do a little research there is plenty to do there.
The weather on the other hand, you have to just get lucky.

ryandelmundo

Wow really? I absolutely think they're World Top Ten. They were the tallest things built in the world EVER until we build the first skyscraper in the 1900's.

And just a $3 taxi ride from downtown Cairo.

Next time you're there, go ahead and sneak in. Start at the KFC (take the cab there) and walk north I think (if walking out of the KFC you'd turn right). Once you pass all the tourist crap you'll hit a little neighborhood. Just walk west thru there, and it'll end all of a sudden, and you'll see a huge sand dune. Go over the dune, and poof! You're in Pyramidland! Some dude will come up and ask for your ticket but he's just a tout. Say your girlfriend has it. Then he'll say something like, "ahh, yes. You know pyramids....very old...." Then he'll stick his hand out and say, "baksheesh?!"

The dirty worn down thing is extremely common among the touristy sites, sadly. Big entrance fee and it goes straight into someone's pocket. Then UNESCO has to come along and pay to fix it.

You can still climb the pyramids. Just hang out nearby till dark. How much does it cost? Well, bring your negotiating skills. And remember the first bribe is just the beginning...the higher you go...the more guards you'll have to grease palms with. Just like Indiana Jones! Enjoy!

acunningham

Not quite:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...s_in_the_world

sonofzeus

The White House Tour is free. This should be free too.

Hvr

Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Seemed like it was just another tourist trap with lots of junky type shops.

1stClassFamily

+1! And the crab there was the worst I ever tasted anywhere in the world.

Go to the Ferry Building market to get some really California experience.

ryandelmundo

You are absolutely correct!

"The earliest structures now known to be the tallest in the world were the Egyptian pyramids, with the Great Pyramid of Giza, at an original height of 146.5 metres (481 ft), being the tallest man–made structure in the world for over 3,800 years, until the construction of Lincoln Cathedral in 1300."

Although it wasn't until 1900 that something became 20% taller than the Pyramids (145m), the Philadelphia City Hall (167m) in 1901. Amazing the Egyptians could do something like that 5000 years ago.

Check out the chart on that link, look how mu

Maluku_Flyer

Galapagos hasn't been mentioned yet.

So I'll nominate it - at least for divers. Just spent a week on a liveaboard there. The number of sharks was disappointing. The sea lions were fun, so were the fishing flightless cormorants at 60+ feet - divers don't usually see a lot of birds underwater, except for penguins, which we saw as well. No iguanas underwater unfortunately. I was really hoping to see those (being harassed by the sea lions).

Overall take: no plan to repeat.

Caveat: Did only one land tour to see the cousins of the late George. Which was kinda dull. I'm sure there are more interesting land tours. But I'll watch the DVD, thank you very much.

cockpitvisit

Prater, Vienna - just another amusement park.

The Imperial Palace, Tokyo - because you don't get to see (and even less visit) the palace. You can only have a look at the moat and fortifications surrounding the site.

Odaiba, Tokyo - not sure why this reclaimed land is often listed as a tourist attraction. A mix of shopping malls, offices, construction sites and empty land.

BuildingMyBento

Except for two days a year, you wouldn't be able to visit the actual Imperial Palace; did advertisements lead you to believe you'd be taking a peek? The gardens are ho-hum, IMO, but I don't ever recall hearing that one could just stop on by (with/without advanced notice) and welcome themselves in.

Odaiba, ehh, seems like more of a destination for those who like public transit. You can walk on the Rainbow Bridge, take a monorail, another subway, something else...more shopping too, yes, and there's even a mall specifically for women, VenusFort. I went there for five minutes, but that was more because I just took a day to see the area. This isn't a pro-Odaiba blurb, but at least there are different photo opportunities of Tokyo, and a bunch of food options (if that's your thing).

cockpitvisit

I knew I couldn't enter the palace grounds. However, I expected to see something special when looking across the moat, but it was no different to any other castle in Japan (except that there was no castle in this case).

enda1

[QUOTE=mattkorey;19173240]Well I lived there for 4 years and confirm it is not worth visiting.
For those with a particular interest in paying into poor museums, knock yourselves out, but for any sane person, skip it.

enda1

I'm going to throw out quite a controversial one here I think, and nominate Japan as a country as being very underwhelming. Maybe you need to be an asianphile or something, but its not so interesting a place. the most shocking thing to me was the Gad-awful architecture and ugly streetscapes.

RTW1

You must really have been to the wrong places.... the architecture in Japan ranges from historical to very modern, so there's just about something for anyone.
And it's one of the countries that's still quite different from most western countries while still being regarded as a 1st world country, also something very hard to find these days.

And don't forget the food if you like that....

But it all depends on what you like and where you go.