Countries were rated on: the overall experience, food, quality & cost of hotels, quality & cost of transport, people, costs, safety and sites.
ThE Top 20:
1. Viet Nam 55 (points out of a possible 60)
2. Indonesia 51
3. Turkey 48
4. Syria 48
5. Greece 47
6. Thailand 47
7. Argentina 46
8. Italy 46
9. Poland 46
10. Malaysia 26
11. Israel 46
12. Hungary 43
13. New Zealand 43
14. France 43
15. Belgium 43
16. Chile 43
17. Holland 42
18. Croatia 42
19. Morocco 41
20. Singapore 40
The Bottom 10:
1. Montenegro
2. Belarus
3. Transnistria
4. Honduras
5. The Philippines
6. Bangladesh
7. The Ukraine
8. Nicaragua
9. New Caledonia
10. Belize
NB: I actually quite enjoyed some of the Bottom 10 destinations, and am by no means not recommending them - they are simply places that scored poorly on areas like the friendliness of people, quality of food, safety or costs. Some, like Belarus, scored low in all of those 3 categories, but is still a fascinating country in it's own right.
And before anyone says it - this isn't intended to be scientific OR objective. If I met friendly people in Poland, I gave Poland points. That doesn't mean the guy arriving the next day might not have met awful people.
My top ten according to your criteria is :
1-USA
2-UK
3-Netherlands
4-Spain
5-Italy
6-Thailand
7-Hungary
8-Finland
9-Ireland
10-Portugal
My bottom 5 are.
1-Germany
2-Iran
3-Serbia
4-Austria
5-Belarus
I am undecided about Morocco,Israel,Greece and Mexico where I had equally good and bad experiences and I can not categorize those 4 as being either in my top or bottom list . The intense racism(especially anti-Turkish feelings) of Austria and Germany made me to categorize them in my bottom list but I suppose if you are not Turkish both Austria and Germany can be in the top list of someone else.
We should swap countries, GTI - you have Finland in your top 10, and I have Turkey in mine!
The US and UK are great countries to travel in, for sure, but for me the relative cost of travel there cost them a few points. And for me, the sites in France and Italy were more impressive than those in the UK.
Surprised to see Iran at the bottom, though - I've not been but only heard good things.
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<hr>Surprised to see Iran at the bottom, though - I've not been but only heard good things. <hr></blockquote>
If he's gay and Turkish, I can see how he might come up with a different perspective on Iran.
BTW did you mean to give Malaysia 46 rather than 26?
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<hr>BTW did you mean to give Malaysia 46 rather than 26?<hr></blockquote>
Yes, I did! Typing has never been my strong point.
I know some people find Malaysia a bit sterile, but I think it has a lot to offer. I love the Perhentian Islands, and although Penang has lost the appeal it had 20 years ago, in the smaller towns on the east coast you can still find the old traditions, smells and tastes. And KL has the worlds most intriguing mosque.
With my limited experience, I would rate as follows:
The good: Malaysia and Guatemala -- just a relaxed and friendly vibe. The atmosphere there invited appreciation and enjoyment of their respective country.
The bad: Nicaragua, Honduras, and Cambodia -- Harsh, unfriendly, and in Cambodia's respect, unconscionably and blatantly dishonest.
The ugly: Thailand. Hated it so much. For me, a hellish atmosphere devoid of almost any decency or endearing human qualities. Beat a fast path to "get the hell out." Can't say I blame them though what all with the hoards of invader tourists into their land.
The indifferent: Mexico and El Salvador. Just dependa. But that's just true of any place, isn't it? It's all relative to one's individual experience(s).
SODA
Can you explain your scoring system please? You appear to have a top score of 60 yet eight categories? I am interested in the overall experience mark especially, as I would expect this to be the total score of the other questions. The highest scorers should in theory give you the overall experience mark.
I must have chosen wisely.
Been to the top 20 but am 4 short of the bottom 10 and am I glad I went from Odessa to Chisinau without going thru Transdniestr as originally planned! Heard plenty of stories.
Willow -
Yeah, some of the lesser categories like hotels and transport were only 5 points. The other cateogires were all 10, from memory.
Scott -
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<hr>Transdniestr as originally planned! Heard plenty of stories. <hr></blockquote>
Well, it's an experience. I knew what I was getting into, and am happy to have been, but it's not for everyone, for sure.
Here's some of the countries I've visited rated out of 52 in terms of quality of toilet, attractiveness of the locals, availability of cakes, prevalence of annoying backpackers who were going to a paaaaaarrrrty and number of times I had to scream, "Please, take my money, just don't hurt the face!"
Wales - 100 out of 52. Cymru am Byth.
Sweden - 51 out of 52. Nice place but 50p to take a slash? Come on people! Do you want that last point or not?!
Australia - 40 out of 52. Hey, pretty much every animal they have was out to kill me.
Bolivia - 20 out of 52. I got bitten on the arse by a really big tick. I called him El Gordo. He left me with a welt and some kind of brain eating fungus.
Hungary - 3 out of 52. No matter how slowly and loudly I spoke to them in English, they just didn't understand me.
Come on people, you can't rate countries. That's like comparing pigs to humans. Pigs are very good at being pigs - far better at it than we are at being pigs in fact. If I were to rate countries I visited in order of preference it would go a little something like this:
1. Sweden
2. Wales
3. Australia
4. Denmark
5. Finland
6. Norway
7. Iceland
8. Chile
9. Argentina
10. France
I'd put England on there, but having my own country feels a little bit too much like cheating. Besides, our trains are rubbish and the people are often very rude. Makes one proud to be English!
DD
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