Which country, when you actually visited, was very different from what you expected?
Feb 7, 2006, 3:18 pm
#31
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Originally Posted by stefan_sip
I was quite surprised with Panama City. Most/all central American capitals/cities I have been to are very poorly developed. PC had skyscrappers that would compete with many tier 1 cities in NA. Upon closer inspection of the "inner city", one would recognized that it is still a 3rd world country.
I was walking around, looking at the skyscrapers, the HSBC logos and the Quizno's subs with traffic loaded with SUVs and BMWs piling up on the streets and was astonished.. I couldn't believe that the US actually invaded just 12 years prior.
Place looked like any other tropical American city like MIA or HNL.
Has cable modems, Popeye's Chicken.. I could seriously live there.
Feb 7, 2006, 6:52 pm
#32
Join Date: May 2002
Location: US
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Central America both surprised me and dissapointed.
Visiting El Salvador and Guatemala was a great surprise. I had doom and gloom in my head after reading all of the horrible crime info from the State Department. While not quite the metropolis of Panama City, both are fantasatic and I look forward to going there every time now.
In a negative way Costa Rica surprised me. After seeing the rest of Central America I had high hopes for this, the most developed and wealthy country with tons of western travelers. It was dirty, full of crime and full of hatred and prejudice for their 'lower class' neighbors.
Oman was another fantastic surprise. In all my travels this one was the biggest surprise in fact. I first went there around 9/11/02 and was fairly scared for what would be my first trip to the region. It was clean, safe and unique and I felt perfectly at ease.
Visiting El Salvador and Guatemala was a great surprise. I had doom and gloom in my head after reading all of the horrible crime info from the State Department. While not quite the metropolis of Panama City, both are fantasatic and I look forward to going there every time now.
In a negative way Costa Rica surprised me. After seeing the rest of Central America I had high hopes for this, the most developed and wealthy country with tons of western travelers. It was dirty, full of crime and full of hatred and prejudice for their 'lower class' neighbors.
Oman was another fantastic surprise. In all my travels this one was the biggest surprise in fact. I first went there around 9/11/02 and was fairly scared for what would be my first trip to the region. It was clean, safe and unique and I felt perfectly at ease.
Feb 7, 2006, 9:12 pm
#33
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Originally Posted by cmhua777
Central America both surprised me and dissapointed.
Oman was another fantastic surprise. In all my travels this one was the biggest surprise in fact. I first went there around 9/11/02 and was fairly scared for what would be my first trip to the region. It was clean, safe and unique and I felt perfectly at ease.
Oman was another fantastic surprise. In all my travels this one was the biggest surprise in fact. I first went there around 9/11/02 and was fairly scared for what would be my first trip to the region. It was clean, safe and unique and I felt perfectly at ease.
I havent explored much part of the Oman, but I've driven to the northern
part of Oman from UAE once.
Overall from the personal safety point. I think the Middle East have been
the safest. Love the food, the people and the places to be. Oman has an
authentic middle-eastern charm.
Dubai is also a nice surprise. Its more like a western city than a
middle-eastern, but a great place to visit... amazing food, shopping
and night life. I've never felt scared or uncomfortable there.
Feb 8, 2006, 8:33 pm
#34
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I for one find it pretty incredulous that the OP could possibly be anyone else than "Greenery", same topics some with a strange pretext/questions which I will not catagorize ( though I did once before) and the same exact phraseology.
Very very strange.
mike
Very very strange.
mike
Feb 8, 2006, 8:56 pm
#35
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Pre-9/11 America
Posts: 5,115
Originally Posted by auher
Boise, Idaho in the USA. From all the jokes the places gets, I expected nothing good at all. I've now concluded that the only reason for the jokes is because not many people have been there
Feb 9, 2006, 5:33 am
#36
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: dublin, ireland
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I was very surprised with Uruguay. Didnt know what to expect as it is not such a popular country to go to, but I just loved it. Nice beaches, nice countryside, nice people, and the waterfront in Montevideo is one of the loveliest waterfronts a capital city can have.
Biggest disappointment: BANGKOK. Hope I never go back again. Didnt see the rest of Thailand though.
Biggest disappointment: BANGKOK. Hope I never go back again. Didnt see the rest of Thailand though.
Feb 9, 2006, 11:07 am
#37
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Mechanicsburg, PA, USA
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Japan. I had so many images in my mind (think Kyoto, temples, torii shrines, kimonos etc) and was so surprised by what I did see. I was unprepared for the rocky cliffs (yokohama) and how very very tight everything was. I was also surprised how yokohama and yokosuka were more tropical than I had envisioned. Very green (I arrived in late May) and bright. The pollution shocked me as I tought Japan was very eco conscious.
I loved the years I spent there.
I loved the years I spent there.
Feb 9, 2006, 11:18 am
#38
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Lafayette, CO, USA
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Originally Posted by tmorse6570
Jamaica. From the ads it looks fabulous, but being there is a different story. I thought the all inclusive hotels surrounded with 10 foot wire fences and armed guards seemed creepy. I'll never go back.
I'm sure that I'll end up there again sometime. Your thoughts are right on, but some places are better than others. Bad scuba diving there; too overfished.
My own addition to the thread: Utah. (It almost qualifies as its own country.) I was not looking forward to a business assignment to Utah in 1998, but it's now my favorite ski destination. Have been there about six years since for skiing.
Last edited by sc flier; Feb 9, 2006 at 11:20 am
Feb 9, 2006, 2:49 pm
#39
Join Date: Jun 2004
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Originally Posted by dankyone
Netherlands. I had the typical American stereotype of the place and thought the entire country would be like one big red light district...nothing could be further from the truth!
For me...
South Africa: how developed and modern it is, but how fantastically stratified
Uganda: how safe and easy a country it was to live in, despite warnings
Cuba: how multicultural and different the people are, and how friendly towards Americans and open to discussion, in contradiction to my impression of a "communist" county with everyone marching around in grey Mao suits to their Soviet-style apartment blocks drinking and eating from a single, bland socialist brand, all while decrying American imperialism, identifying class enemies and reciting verses from Karl Marx.
Botswana: how I could find beauty in the otherwise flat and barren landscape
One thing that continues to amaze me to this day: the spectacular and grand vistas of the US everywhere I go, especially the PNW and West Coast. I hope we remain good stewards of much priceless beauty.