Countries you would never wish to visit?

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Dubai

Just seems wrong. Opulence on a ridiculous scale all built with slave labour.

 

[alfredmizen]

Cape Town is lovely. Johannesburg is unsafe, with awful traffic - good steaks and wine, which is just as well as if you're there you're not going to stray very far. Significant number of arrogant, old-school white locals who are openly hostile to blacks - horrible to witness (I had one serious incident in my team there a few years ago)

Mate, we get that you're a manager with several "teams" do you HAVE to keep mentioning it in every post ffs , anyone would think you're insecure.

 

[dazzer6666]

I used to love going to the US. After 9/11 the immigration became a nightmare,not just the bureaucracy but the rudeness of the officials. This also applies on internal flights where foreigners have the boarding passes marked so that they can be singled out for "random" checks when boarding. If you can get past all that aggravation it's a great place to visit, especially, in my opinion, San Diego, the Palm Springs area and Florida.

Went through immigration at JFK last night in less than 5 mins. Automatic machine for passport and fingerprint scan and customs declaration (no queue), pass by officer's desk where passport was stamped, politely asked me what I was doing there and how long I was staying, wished me a pleasant stay and I was in a cab 10 mins later (short queue). This despite the bombs found at the weekend and a very obvious tension about town this morning.

 

[dazzer6666]

Mate, we get that you're a manager with several "teams" do you HAVE to keep mentioning it in every post ffs , anyone would think you're insecure.

Maybe I am.

 

[alfredmizen]

Nigeria is largely Christian.

It isn't, it's nearly 50% Muslim.

 

[joeinbrighton]

Italy

Seeing as how I'm on holiday there at the moment, what's the motivation behind that selection?

 

[BobbySmith]

Have to agree with a lot on here, USA, well Florida actually, horrible place, full of people that just want your money and all so false. Must admit I did like New York though, but Florida has put me off the whole country. Never wanted to go Russia either.

 

[Wilko]

Never been,never will,as I said,any country where sitting in a tent in Calais whilst waiting to to get to Kent is a better option is not for Me,can't be that good if all the men of working/ fighting age are having it on their toes on a Lilo.

I do not need to say anything, you have already shown your ignorance.

 

[Wilko]

You lucky so and so! Have you been to Lalibela?


Ethiopia is second on my list of countries I'd most like to visit, with Colombia now being top of the list after finally going to Iceland last year.

Yes, I went in February this year. I was lucky as I was living in Nairobi at the time so it was only a 2 hour flight to Addis. Stunning landscapes, the old churches are incredible (even for an atheist like myself) and many of the women are simple beautiful. Enjoy, if you get the chance to go you will not regret it.

 

[Seagull58]

It isn't, it's nearly 50% Muslim.

So more than 50% i.e.largely, christian.

 

[Seagull58]

Went through immigration at JFK last night in less than 5 mins. Automatic machine for passport and fingerprint scan and customs declaration (no queue), pass by officer's desk where passport was stamped, politely asked me what I was doing there and how long I was staying, wished me a pleasant stay and I was in a cab 10 mins later (short queue). This despite the bombs found at the weekend and a very obvious tension about town this morning.

Good news and has clearly changed a lot in the 7 years since i last went.

 

[Seagull58]

Cape Town is lovely. Johannesburg is unsafe, with awful traffic - good steaks and wine, which is just as well as if you're there you're not going to stray very far. Significant number of arrogant, old-school white locals who are openly hostile to blacks - horrible to witness (I had one serious incident in my team there a few years ago)

Both Cape Town and Port Elizabeth have a higher murder rate per head of population than Joburg. There are some very dodgy areas in CT, as there are in Joburg. The old school afrikaaners are indeed a problem but then the number of blacks,particularly in the political arena, who class all whites as "white criminals" who stole their land is a greater current concern. Their espousal of Mugabe's policies in Zimbabwe is a recipe for disaster and you can see how badly the economy has been affected by the government policies in recent years. On the plus side, South Africa has been voted the most beautiful country in the world by a number of travel magazines' subscribers.I have had many nights out in Soweto with black friends and have never felt remotely unsafe. On a number of occasions I have been thanked by Soweto locals for taking the time to go there and mix with them and, on more than one occasion the pub landlord has made a point of thanking me for frequenting his place and has told me to let him know immediately if anyone gets out of line with me.

 

[Wilko]

Have to agree with a lot on here, USA, well Florida actually, horrible place, full of people that just want your money and all so false. Must admit I did like New York though, but Florida has put me off the whole country. Never wanted to go Russia either.

Good point, I too would judge every other state on that huge mass of land the same based on one place.

 

[goldstone]

A nation. Just like England.

And, in simple terms please, what exactly is the difference between a country and a nation? I bet the Scots and the Welsh would not be happy to be told that their countries were not in fact countries. I'm English and as far as I'm concerned England IS a bloody country.

 

[Triggaaar]

And, in simple terms please, what exactly is the difference between a country and a nation?

A country is the things I mentioned about government, sovereignty etc. A nation is a area with a group of people who have a shared culture / identity etc.

I bet the Scots and the Welsh would not be happy to be told that their countries were not in fact countries. I'm English and as far as I'm concerned England IS a bloody country.

Indeed, many people from England, Scotland and Wales like to think of their nation as a country, so that's what people pretend they are. Doesn't make it true though.

Personally I don't feel any worse for knowing that my country is the United Kingdom.

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

I used to love going to the US. After 9/11 the immigration became a nightmare,not just the bureaucracy but the rudeness of the officials. This also applies on internal flights where foreigners have the boarding passes marked so that they can be singled out for "random" checks when boarding. If you can get past all that aggravation it's a great place to visit, especially, in my opinion, San Diego, the Palm Springs area and Florida.

They have to strike a balance between being the first line of defence (especially after the recent bombings in NYC) and not deterring potential tourist dollars. I think they do a pretty good job.

 

[Seagull58]

They have to strike a balance between being the first line of defence (especially after the recent bombings in NYC) and not deterring potential tourist dollars. I think they do a pretty good job.

Maybe they have got better in recent years. Between 2001 and 2008 they were horrendous.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

Good point, I too would judge every other state on that huge mass of land the same based on one place.

In my opinion you can't even say Florida, its huge, now Disneyland, Orlando etc is not my cup of tea at all, but for a city i liked Miami, especially South Beach and as for the Florida Keys, how can you not like the Florida Keys, i have also heard that the gulf coast is really nice, honestly this thread is doing my head in.

 

[1066familyman]

See how this thread has turned mainly into a discussion about USA.

I turned on the radio this morning and the first item concerned the USA.

Every single day the country is in our news, it's culture is in our face and in our ears. It's inescapable!

I'm sick of it, and it's the reason why I have no desire to ever go there to get more of it.

Of course it's massively diverse, with many beautiful places and a wide cross section of lovely people. I'm not stupid enough to think it's one homogenous mass. But I'm absolutely fed up of having the country rammed down my throat every single day when I don't even live there. There's nearly 200 countries in our world today, and if I was lucky enough to work through each one to visit then yes, USA would definitely be last on my list.

 

[dazzer6666]

In my opinion you can't even say Florida, its huge, now Disneyland, Orlando etc is not my cup of tea at all, but for a city i liked Miami, especially South Beach and as for the Florida Keys, how can you not like the Florida Keys, i have also heard that the gulf coast is really nice, honestly this thread is doing my head in.

Good point.....South Floridians typically take the piss out of Orlando and don't see it as the 'real' Florida.