Is there any country you would not go to even if you were paid to go there?

17-06-2021 11:18am

My friend working in Nigeria had a very scary experience when his armed convoy got mobbed. They got away but yeah, you aren't going around that country alone. Boko Haram operating there as well.

ILoveYourVibes · 17-06-2021 11:40am

How much am I being paid?

ILoveYourVibes · 17-06-2021 11:46am

Deleted User wrote: »

I think one of the problems with Dubai is that it attracts people who consider having money as being some kind of powerful status/class... and then, they encounter the locals who look down on them as being foreigners, so, all they have left is their money, as a status symbol within a culture that values money, but values the local ethnicity/culture more.

Dubai is a weird place, full of isms. Incredibly racist at so many levels. Elitist. While also having a huge underclass, who do little to support each other.

People go to Dubai to work without paying tax ...full stop. They stay a few years save live in crap places ..return home.

There is no property tax no inheritance tax and no income tax...they only recently brought in VAT because the govt went almost broke.

Its all oil money ..but even with that ..and free healthcare free education (only for UAR citizens though not foreigners) and no taxation ...they are ****ed.

Govt has had to be bailed out a number of times.

Funny though its actually a place i would like to visit though still.

But they have been bailed out like twice in the last ten years. A lot of govt companies have a lot erm secretive financial **** going on.

Still seems like an amazing place though. I would like to see it.

Hamsterchops · 17-06-2021 11:52am

Mad_maxx wrote: »

I really disliked Hungary , found the people incredibly surly

But they're surly for a reason, perpetual famine is mostly to blame, and because they're landlocked with no hope of ever seeing the sea.

17-06-2021 2:05pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Still seems like an amazing place though. I would like to see it.

It's worth seeing. I've friends there (locals and expats), and I've been hosted a few times. It's an interesting place which is very very different depending on who is with you. It's definitely better when you have a local to show you around, and help you network, even if you're only there for a short time.

However, I wouldn't want to live there for any kind of extended period. I'm used to the racism and ignorance that exists in Asia towards foreigners, but Dubai takes that to a whole new level..

Mister Vain · 17-06-2021 2:11pm

I'd like to see the Burj Khalifa and get some photos of myself standing next to exotic supercars. I'd say the dune buggies out in the desert would be good craic too.

Mantis Toboggan · 17-06-2021 2:15pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I know its not a country,but visiting dubai bears no appeal to me atal

Everything there from people i know worked there and pics seem just completly and utter consumption for sake of it,flashy and greed

Dubai is my favourite place in the world, its unbelievable

Tchaikovsky · 17-06-2021 2:15pm

20 years ago I would have said Georgia was a country I'd never go to as it seemed to be rife with kidnapping, crime and civil war.
The Rose Revolution brought in changes, some very bad, but it seemed to be effective at tackling crime. I worked there a few years ago and it's one of the most incredible countries on the planet, very safe too apart from the roads.

Homelander · 17-06-2021 2:49pm

Mister Vain wrote: »

I'd like to see the Burj Khalifa and get some photos of myself standing next to exotic supercars. I'd say the dune buggies out in the desert would be good craic too.

It's quite an experience. It's so tall it doesn't even seem real, the landscape feels like a playmat or something when you're looking down.

bradolf pittler · 17-06-2021 3:16pm

I visited Bangalore India a few years ago and though i had some idea of what to expect nothing prepared me for what it was like there.
The poverty,the crowds,noise,smells.....everything was an attack on the senses.
Horribly disabled and disfigured beggers outside high end shopping malls and Ferrari dealerships that were built beside shanty shacks.Truely a country of haves and have nots. I dont think i'd ever willingly go back even though the people were lovely and we were mostly shielded from the madness in the city.
We had a driver who looked after us for the 2 weeks,At the end of the trip we pooled whatever cash we had leftover for him(gonna guess around 100 euro in Rupees) and the poor guy broke down crying in the street.He still messages me on my birthday on Facebook

whisky_galore · 17-06-2021 3:46pm

Dubai, awful vulgar cultureless city built on the back of modern forced labour.
Be some craic when the oil runs out.

Mantis Toboggan · 17-06-2021 3:59pm

whisky_galore wrote: »

Dubai, awful vulgar cultureless city built on the back of modern forced labour.
Be some craic when the oil runs out.

Not much oil in Dubai, you're thinking of Abu Dhabi.

Hamachi · 17-06-2021 4:01pm

bradolf pittler wrote: »

I visited Bangalore India a few years ago and though i had some idea of what to expect nothing prepared me for what it was like there.
The poverty,the crowds,noise,smells.....everything was an attack on the senses.
Horribly disabled and disfigured beggers outside high end shopping malls and Ferrari dealerships that were built beside shanty shacks.Truely a country of haves and have nots. I dont think i'd ever willingly go back even though the people were lovely and we were mostly shielded from the madness in the city.
We had a driver who looked after us for the 2 weeks,At the end of the trip we pooled whatever cash we had leftover for him(gonna guess around 100 euro in Rupees) and the poor guy broke down crying in the street.He still messages me on my birthday on Facebook

Yep 100%. I had an almost identical experience in Bangalore, even down to our driver getting emotional when we left him a generous tip at the end of our stay. The poverty and levels of inequality are very distressing, to the extent that I have no desire to return to India if at all possible.

4Ad · 17-06-2021 4:04pm

Russia..

cdeb · 17-06-2021 4:05pm

4Ad wrote: »

Russia..

Obligi "Spent a couple of weeks travelling across the country a few years back and it was brilliant" post

Russia's a great country.

whisky_galore · 17-06-2021 4:07pm

Mantis Toboggan wrote: »

Not much oil in Dubai, you're thinking of Abu Dhabi.

No matter. Zero interest in visiting such a fake place.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 17-06-2021 5:00pm

4Ad wrote: »

Russia..

I wouldn't have much time for the current ruler, but I'd love to see Russia.

17-06-2021 5:37pm

cdeb wrote: »

Obligi "Spent a couple of weeks travelling across the country a few years back and it was brilliant" post

Russia's a great country.

Been there a few times. Not so much travelling across the country, more focused on Moscow, and St. Petersburg. Amazing cities. Very friendly people once you pass their natural reserve, and the Soviet era monuments/buildings are awe inspiring. Gorgeous/stylish women, and the night markets are a blast. Went to some of the WW2 memorial battlegrounds, and the statues/monuments were so cool. Thoroughly enjoyed the bar/nightclub scene in Moscow. Some nervous encounters with dodgy folk, but Irish people seem well regarded by most.

pawdee · 17-06-2021 5:43pm

Mantis Toboggan wrote: »

Not much oil in Dubai, you're thinking of Abu Dhabi.

People in Dubai don't watch the Flintstones but the people in Abu Dhabidoooo!

Das Reich · 17-06-2021 5:55pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I think one of the problems with Dubai is that it attracts people who consider having money as being some kind of powerful status/class... and then, they encounter the locals who look down on them as being foreigners, so, all they have left is their money, as a status symbol within a culture that values money, but values the local ethnicity/culture more.

Lol a Latvian man on youtube moved to Dubai for exactly this reason, to show his cars and watches around, thing that he couldn't do in Latvia with his Bentley. Last thing I would do if I had money was spending on things just to show status, would prefer spend it on women.

https://youtu.be/1l4k2E9LV6Q

ILoveYourVibes wrote:

There is no property tax no inheritance tax and no income tax

Only few countries have this non sense inheritance tax, basically you die and part of your money goes to someone else instead of your children.

Mister Vain · 17-06-2021 6:21pm

Russia looks amazing. It's definitely on my list. My only concern is that all the signs and menus look like this: Улыбаться имитированы :pac:

Yurt2 · 17-06-2021 6:27pm

Mister Vain wrote: »

Russia looks amazing. It's definitely on my list. My only concern is that all the signs and menus look like this: Улыбаться имитированы :pac:

With covid I downloaded an app to learn the Cyrillic alphabet for sh*ts and giggles. It's actually pretty easy.

I happened to be in one of those Eastern European supermarkets a few weeks back (a Latvian friend brought me) and was sounding out the words on the packaging out loud in one of the aisles slowly to practice.

One of the staff walked past me and I think she thought I was some sort of special needs case. She kind of gave me a "nice work little buddy" look.

Slightly embarrassing

:D:D

cdeb · 17-06-2021 6:31pm

Reading Russian is great fun. It's like unravelling a secret code. Well, on the odd occasion that you can understand the word.

Try PECTOPAH for example.

Then go into the PECTOPAH and read the menu and read KARTOФEЛ. Turns out spuds in Russian are the same word as in German.

Yurt2 · 17-06-2021 6:35pm

cdeb wrote: »

Reading Russian is great fun. It's like unravelling a secret code. Well, on the odd occasion that you can understand the word.

Try PECTOPAH for example.

Then go into the PECTOPAH and read the menu and read KARTOФEЛ. Turns out spuds in Russian are the same word as in German.

Yeah noticed a bit of that. библиотека and Bibliothek for instance. I'm guessing it's that Russian borrowed words from German rather than the other way round?

cdeb · 17-06-2021 6:37pm

Aптека for chemist as well.

Russia was a couple of hundred years later modernising (in terms of actually establishing things like chemists, restaurants, etc) than western Europe. So yeah, I'd say those words originated in Western Europe and moved to Russia rather than the other way around alright.

I think the Hanseatic traders would have brought the words in.

Yurt2 · 17-06-2021 6:44pm

cdeb wrote: »

Aптека for chemist as well.

Russia was a couple of hundred years later modernising (in terms of actually establishing things like chemists, restaurants, etc) than western Europe. So yeah, I'd say those words originated in Western Europe and moved to Russia rather than the other way around alright.

I think the Hanseatic traders would have brought the words in.

Bloody Hanseatic Leaguers, always sticking their nose in where it's not wanted

cdeb · 17-06-2021 6:47pm

MV5BZTg0YTQwMTUtMmFhMi00Y2U0LWI1ZTctMjUyMDgyZTc4NmVkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXRyYW5zY29kZS13b3JrZmxvdw@@._V1_.jpg

OK, that's not the Hanseatic League. But you have to say you weren't expecting it

jmreire · 17-06-2021 7:24pm

cdeb wrote: »

Reading Russian is great fun. It's like unravelling a secret code. Well, on the odd occasion that you can understand the word.

Try PECTOPAH for example.

Then go into the PECTOPAH and read the menu and read KARTOФEЛ. Turns out spuds in Russian are the same word as in German.

I lived there for awhile, and once you can substitute the english letter for the Cyrillic one, you will have a fair idea of what's on the menu...."Pectopah =Restoran" You will pick it up....but you will find that quite a lot of Russians speak english. Same goes for the Baltic states ( who also use the Cyrillic Alphabet ) and there are several Irish Pubs in Moscow, in case you get a bit homesick. They really like Irish Traditional Music. And as for sightseing...even the Metro is an experience... a lot of the art that Stalin removed from Germany finished up decorating the the metro because he believed that everyone had a right to see it,and not just the upper classes. The Kremlin, Novi and Stari Arbat, will take a lot of time to really experience them, but well worth the effort.

VG31 · 17-06-2021 9:13pm

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

I wouldn't have much time for the current ruler, but I'd love to see Russia.

I visited Moscow and St Petersburg in 2019. I had a great time, I didn't feel unsafe once. I would feel much more uneasy in parts of Dublin. The only minor negative experience was taxi drivers trying to rip you off at Domodedovo Airport* but that's common in lots of countries.

I only had a few basic words of Russian but I learned the alphabet which helped. Although you can survive easily without Russian in Moscow/St Petersburg.

"Bald and Bankrupt" on YouTube is great for seeing obscure parts of Russia and the former Soviet Union.

*Even the rip-off fares without haggling would still be cheaper than what you'd pay for a journey of the same length here!

There would be very few countries I wouldn't be willing to visit. I wouldn't be too bothered about their governments or how democratic they are. Apart from countries with wars or severe unrest like Yemen, Myanmar, Libya etc.
I have zero interest in travelling to Saudi Arabia or the Gulf states. I'd also be relucant to travel to much of Central America due to the level of crime. And anywhere you need armed security to travel around.

I would love to visit Georgia, Japan and Iran in particular.

Esho · 17-06-2021 11:27pm

Mister Vain wrote: »

Russia looks amazing. It's definitely on my list. My only concern is that all the signs and menus look like this: Улыбаться имитированы :pac:

'restaurant' looks something like 'pectobar', there - sorted!

Is there any country you would not go to even if you were paid to go there?

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