The greatest disappointment

Replies: 229 - Last Post: 28-Sep-2009 06:32 Last Post By: lbarelier

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sdavi3680

31-Oct-2005 01:00
Posts: 183

The greatest disappointment

In all of your travels have you ever came accross a place that has just not lived up to your expectations? It must be terribly disappointing to go to a place you have dreamed about only to find you dont like it for whatever reasons.

Where have you been disapointed with and why?

Yag

31-Oct-2005 05:13
Posts: 47

Egypt's ancient temples (other than Abu Simbel) sort of dissapointed me. Plus street hawkers were atrocious on tourists.

-Hector-
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Amyboo

31-Oct-2005 08:10
Posts: 224

Firenze was beautiful, but it did not live up to my expectations & was really crowded with tourists. However, probably the main reason I didn't like it was because some guy tried to steal my backpack & then sexually molest me.

MapGuy

31-Oct-2005 08:11
Posts: 25

Sadly, Petra in Jordan. I didn't exactly expect to have it to myself, but I also didn't expect (1) to have to smell donkey/camel shit for the entire walk through the Siq to the Treasury, I didn't expect (2) to see some Bedouin trinket stall in front (literally) or even inside every ruin, I didn't expect (3) to have quite so many people tugging at my arm to buy something, and I didn't expect (4) to see quite so much garbage in some of the "backcountry" locales we sought out to get away from (1), (2), and (3). I did expect the voluminous vomit of package tourists, though, so I can't really complain about that.

Glad I saw it; wish I'd stayed a day or two less than I did. Sort of a classic example of what is wrong with mass tourism if you ask me.

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RoadWarrior

31-Oct-2005 08:50
Posts: 5,324

Chefchouan, Morocco: The Euro stoner tourist vibe was so heavy that it was almost oppressive, leaving a noticeably heavy tourist imprint on what would likely otherwise be a nice town. Like Disneyland for the hash crowd, I have no need to go back.

Prague: Similarly, the weight of tourist money has pushed the locals out of the city center, turning what's left into a Eurourban theme park. A beautiful city, to be sure, but now best left to postcards and a quick visit.

bsmart

31-Oct-2005 13:00
Posts: 451

bolivia

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Asiz22

31-Oct-2005 13:28
Posts: 24

it is a hard lesson learned. I try not to build things up in my mind just because of it.

Red Fort, India.

Baz_Faz

31-Oct-2005 14:15
Posts: 1,417

The pyramids, Cairo.

Texan

31-Oct-2005 14:46
Posts: 1,383

RW - yeah, I didn't like the stoners in Chefchouan but still loved the town. We spent five days there when we got into Morocco and five right before we left. Lovely walks, great food, relaxed (compared to cities in Morocco), etc... and I didn't smoke a bit. (side note - nothing wrong with smoking kif but, for many, this is the only reason they went to this town/Morocco).

I went to Prague in '96 and loved it but the city center now (went back in '04) is like a Medieval Disney but with t-shirt shops instead of Micky. The neighborhoods north of the river (we stayed up there last year) were pretty cool. Most working class and, well, "real".

I've never been really disappointed by anything in a drastic way. But, I have gotten to a point in Asia and Europe where it was like, "oh great, another castle/temple/cathedral". The "ABCs" if you will - "another bloody castle/cathedral".

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darthmilmo

31-Oct-2005 21:25
Posts: 17

Palau Nias, Indonesia.... the guidebooks made it sound like a surfer's paradise... when I got there, I felt like all I was to the locals was an ATM... they just wanted your cash! Really bad attitude if you ask me :(.

saludos,
Fernando

Click here to go to Darthmilmo's Crazy Adventure :)

sataraman

31-Oct-2005 22:55
Posts: 200

Many people (and guide books) had built Croatia up to be some sort of absolute paradise and overall it was OK (I loved Plitvice park) but it definitely didn't live up to my expectations. Nice country but not amazing - more expensive than I expected (groceries surprisingly so) and finding sobes (rooms for rent) was a major pain in the ass sometimes. Give me Greece any day over Croatia. OP, very interesting question, it'll be fun to see more responses to your post. I know many people will totally disagree with my comment. I agree whole-heartedly with Asiz - I try not to build something up in my mind too much. I did though with Venice and Paris and I was happy to find that I completely adored both cities.

Dimitri2

01-Nov-2005 00:05
Posts: 20

The pyramids, Cairo for me also.

Dimitri
a Medium Budget Independent Traveler

mago

01-Nov-2005 03:11
Posts: 243

Pompeii,
too many tour groups and rather than find it interesting I found it thoroughly boring.

I really enjoyed Machu Picchu but did make the mistake of building it up too much. My high expectations left me slightly underwhelmed.

The other dissapointment is when you get to the point in an extended trip when you become blasé about visiting amazing places.

| m y . . b e s t . . t r a v e l . . p h o t o s (See the world through my eyes) |

mago

01-Nov-2005 03:14
Posts: 243

By the way, this is one of the more interesting topics I have seen in a while.
So don't just read, post a response.

| m y . . b e s t . . t r a v e l . . p h o t o s (See the world through my eyes) |

aTallMan

01-Nov-2005 03:30
Posts: 2,349

Ah, there are no Pyramids in Cairo. Maybe that's is why you are dissapointed.

Doesn't anyone see the irony in a tourist/traveller complaining about the "place was full of tourist"?

I feel sorry for people that are not amazed by the Pyramids or Petra. They are breath taking and mysterious.

This is a turely sad topic I must say.

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