nathansaurus

In terms of liking it, rather than what your preconceived notions were?

Last year, I went to Morocco, not expecting much, and because I wanted to see the plazas de soberanía (the Spanish enclaves in Morocco) and I fell in love with the country and its culture.

What are some of yours?

Turnboss

Went to thailand as stopover. Loved the country so much that I am planning to retire there. Since than I have visited 12-13 times already. Loved there culture food and nightlife.

mikew99

Ironically, I first went to Thailand back in 2002, but I had to stopover in Hong Kong, so I spent a few days there, too. I ended up loving Hong Kong, making friends there, and returning several times since. Despite several visits to Thailand, I never warmed up to it, made no friends there, and I have no desire to ever return.

For me, Malaysia is my Thailand. I first went there in 2007 and remember being anxious about visiting a Muslim country as an American. (Yes, it's silly now, but that's what I feared at the time.) I ended up falling in love with Malaysia's food, culture, and people. On average, I have visited Malaysia twice each year (last year I went three times), and I can honestly say I enjoy life there much more than I do here in the U.S. I do hope to retire there when the time comes, as the standard of living is high and the costs are low.

A second country that caught me off guard is New Zealand. I hate driving and prefer to stay in big cities and walk everywhere, but New Zealand totally flipped the script for me. New Zealand was the first foreign country (other than Canada) in which I have driven -- on the other side of the road, no less -- and still the only one where I look forward to long, scenic drives in remote places. New Zealand is such a naturally beautiful country that any anxiety or frustration I feel about driving melts away among miles of uncrowded two-lane roads snaking along seacliffs, though mountains, and along glaciers.

Eastbay1K

Chile

I went on a whim for a long weekend in late 2001, liked it so much I went back for a 10 day trip a month later, and have ended every year in Chile since then. I've been 20-some times.

BuildingMyBento

Most recently, it was El Salvador.

I had no idea what a pupusa was before visiting, nor did I know that Mister Donut had locations scattered around the capital. That may sound underwhelming, however it did come in handy for trying local snacks - such as nuegado - that I couldn't find anywhere else.

Not to mention, Joya de Cerén, the "Pompeii of the Western Hemisphere" was an interesting excursion too.

However, after walking too far in Santa Ana, some cops gave me a ride back to my hotel because they believed that neighborhood was unsafe.

365RoadWarrior

Yemen. I was expecting - I don't know - maybe an "indifferent" reception. I certainly didn't expect any hostility, even though I'm an American and I suppose there might be some hostility (circa 2003). But it was like I was adopted into just about every family where I met a male child or father.

One man, who sold his own produce through a large closet (best description I can think of) facing the street brought his sons, then wife and daughter and eventually friends to meet me when I made my daily rounds for food. My last batch of produce - when I conveyed that I was leaving - was free. Quite a gesture from a man whose annual income I probably carried in my pocket.

Other people customized their traditional food to be vegetarian (not that big a leap for some Muslims, of course). Bottom line was that I never saw a buch of people more intent on making me happy - thankful that I'd come to visit - and asking nothing in return.

cruisr

Hope it's ok to to post here but Bali was awful. I thought it was going to be a paradise. So wrong. Beaches have garbage on them, rice paddy treks had garbage on them streets had garbage on them. Traffic everywhere. Yes the resorts at nusa dua are gorgeous but the beaches are not wonderful. I don't go to a place to just stay at a beach. Venturing out to other locations was a traffic jam nightmare, Ubud was a bit better but still lots of garbage around and it's very over developed. Lots and lots of shops and tour buses and day trippers from the beach. It had a faux vibe and has become very touristy.

So it caught me off guard but not in a good way.

piper28

Malta was pretty neat to me, and I hadn't really expected much of it before visiting. Was a one day stop on a cruise ship, and we did have the benefit of someone on the ship that had been part of our roll call actually grew up on Malta, so he'd been able to provide some advice. Sailing into the harbor in Valletta in the early morning was truly magnificent, and then we spent the day running around on their buses, which was something of a different experience. I was also impressed that the bus system had a rep standing at the bus stop near the cruise piers giving advice on how to get places. We'd had a pretty good idea already, but it was definitely reassuring to be able to confirm that we were doing things right. (Sadly, it looks like the bus system as we knew it back when I visited no longer exists. I think that'd definitely lose some of it's charm, although I would have appreciated the air conditioning given the temperatures we were having).

I'd love to go back sometime, there's a number of things that I think would be interesting to visit that we weren't able to do on our very brief trip.

Catusa

We loved Oman when we visited in 2005. Mountains, beaches and a "real" cultural experience. We stayed at Oman dive center on the beach, nothing fancy but we loved it. They were in the process of building a large resort next door so maybe things have changed since our visit.

mecabq

I had similar experiences in Syria (in two trips before the war). Aside from the overall fascinating sites and history, the people in the Damascus souqs were so friendly; they insisted that I try every item of food for free. Every shopkeeper and taxi driver, upon hearing I was American, said, oh, welcome, I love America, I have a cousin in Chicago (or wherever), please try this, etc. Unlike, say, Morocco or Turkey, the sellers in the bazaars are not aggressive at all. I was never approached with the ridiculous mini-scams that are so prevalent in other tourist centers.

Once I bought a snack (it would be called pide in Turkey; don't know what they call it), and I only had the Syrian pound equivalent of like a ten-dollar bill even though it was fifteen cents and they didn't have change. Another customer bought it for me. I protested vehemently -- I tried to make her take the whole ten-dollar bill -- but she refused while the cashier smiled in a friendly way.

I should also mention that the Four Seasons hotel was outstanding, certainly well above the standard that I expected even for Four Seasons. The dinner there was probably the best Arabic meal I have ever had.

(Yes, food is an important part of my travel experience. )

I never went to Aleppo, unfortunately, and now that place is destroyed. It's such a shame, as Syria should have so much to offer, it ought to be one of the great tourist destinations of the world but for what's happened over the past half-century. (Obviously I don't want to equate these tragedies with the fate of the Syrian people in the past three years).

I'd love to go to Sanaa, for the architecture and scenery alone, though I suppose now is not the best time.

MSPeconomist

I had a similar reaction to Bali. I expected to be charmed but I wasn't. Moreover, there has been an ongoing rabies epidemic on Bali, so that the stray dogs everywhere scare me, as do the monkeys, etc.

On a positive note, South Korea. It's exotic but clean, efficient, and easy. [For instance, highway rest stops have clean toilets with heated seats.] I've always had a lot of fun in Korea too.

jcwoman

Berlin blew me away; I guess I had a mental image of an extremely poor war-ravaged city. Standing on Checkpoint Charlie, I couldn't really tell much difference between east and west. The whole city was so clean and I saw the municipal garbage collectors working on Sunday! Very interesting how they've rebuilt since the war and since the felling of the wall. I love the way they turned the remnant of the wall into a public art exhibit. It was very clear that the people take pride in their city. It made me happy for them.

England, specifically London was amazing. Friendly people and the food was much better than I expected. I came away from a week holiday there feeling sure that it was a place that deserves an extended 6 month holiday to really do it justice.

Spain is just gorgeous in terms of geography and landscape. Love the food, especially the little green chiles they serve on most things. Despite my language barrier, the locals were gracious to me both times I was there.

wrp96

For me it was Colombia. I knew I would like it based on the people I knew from there, but I fell instantly in love when I arrived. Food, people, scenery, just a beautiful country.

SaraJH

Not a country but Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi absolutely blew me away. A few years ago my husband and I (both Westerners) spent an afternoon wandering around the area and all the side lanes and streets. It's so foreign. I didn't see any other Westerners that afternoon. I was mesmerised by what I was experiencing, the friendly smiles, the amazing smells of spice and of course the chaos and mayhem (in my eyes of course, to the locals this is normal!) of the traffic, people and animals!
I'd have spent days there if I could and if I ever get back to Delhi then Chandni Chowk will be my first port of call.

India is currently my number one foreign destination, there is so much to see. I have ticked a few items off my India Bucket List but there is still so much to be seen.

nathansaurus

Fantastic replies! Many of them are countries that I'd love to visit.