Cities you'd never return to

force eleven wrote: »

Cairo. Dusty, hot & overcrowded, with suicidal drivers.

All very true. Id never live there. BUT

Nearly everywhere ive been id be happy to go back to but probably wont as id prefer to see somewhere new. Having spent about two weeks in Cairo nearly 15 years ago I know that when the kids are raised it is one city I will definitely go back to.

Im not sure ive ever been somewhere that just felt so foreign. Everything was so different. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the culture. Loved it.

More sights then New york, more history then Rome and as cheap as chips.

El Siglo wrote: »

Kolkata (Calcutta).

Dirty, hot, lots of poverty, no craic whatsoever. I haven't been to any other Indian cities but it's pretty bad.

I actually really enjoyed Kolkata. I had been living in a much smaller town in India for the guts of a year and Kolkata was like a dream come true; proper shops, ice cream, a nice park to walk in, I could even order beef in a restaurant! However if you'd never been to a ****ty town in India before then I could see how Kolkata would drive you demented. The heat and traffic alone are maddening.

Prague, complete and utter dodgy sh1thole with scammers and illegal taxis all over the place

Warsaw, concrete fake looking boring

Limerick, I don't care if there are nice people there, i'd prefer to drive through it rather than stop in it.

Sligo, people with major drinking / gambling problems in that place

Glasgow - Rough ... just plain rough

Venlo, the only positive thing with Venlo is the train station to get out of the place

Rotterdam - pretty much the same deal as Warsaw.

Moscow, once was more than enough. Unless I have the misfortune to be sent there for work again, I'll be avoiding.

1stimpressions wrote: »

I did that exact same trip there for the same reason this year. If you feel like venturing outside the hotel, turn right and walk a kilometre or two and there is a very friendly monk who speaks English at his temple. The town itself is a complete right off and closes down early too.

You give directions ,without knowing what hotel I stay at .lol. Anyway another problem here is that some of the street dogs are very aggressive. When I was walking to the Thai Consulate this morning I came across a pack of 4 dogs who were going to attack even though I got a 2 by 4 piece of wood in hand .Only for the owner calling them back I would have been attacked .I never came across such aggressive street dogs in Thailand .(they are just laid back and sleepy there for the most part).

I can't really think of anywhere I would never return to. Some rough experiences but nowhere I would write off.

Helsinki was a little lifeless but it was a short impression.

San Fran is more dangerous than people realise, so many homeless and there are areas like something out of the Walking Dead with meth-heads. Had a man nearly crash his car telling me to gtfo of a particular street because I "shouldn't be here" and a tourist was shot dead about 3 minutes from our accommodation but I loved the city itself. People were friendly and had a sense of humour to them. It's a kind of weird city so I obviously fit right in.

Tijuana was seedy and there were guns and drugs everywhere. One of the girls I was with found a partially-dissolved pill floating in her drink and one of the guys was drugged, had to be carried back over the border to San Diego. He didn't stop screaming and flailing for hours.

Las Vegas was full of panhandlers in cahoots with the police so they could get away with murder in open view of the cops. The casinos are grim if you're not a gambler. No windows, no clocks on the walls so you lose your concept of time and spend longer in there. Downtown gave off the impression of a once-functioning area that had slowly succumbed to the strip but I hear it's experiencing a real revival in terms of new business.

Downtown LA was probably the most depressing place I've ever been. There were entire streets where every single building was derelict and everyone on the street besides you was off their heads on meth and heroin. These people were just shells. I had so many junkies try to listlessly mug me that it got to the point where it didn't even register anymore, I would just walk off. (They're not hard to outpace).

Then you turn a corner and you meet people who are shells of a different kind. Hollywood.They'll be super nice to you, all the while looking over your shoulder for someone richer/better looking/better connected to arrive. They look down on the meth addicts around the corner but they're on cocaine just to function.There's a hollowness to any social nicety to the point where you wonder if anyone is genuine or if they're just after tips or a leg-up you might be able to give them in the future. I think I would go insane if I had to live there. People talk about there being a simmering mania under Glasgow. No. It's enveloping LA.

Havana. Similar to Prague for me in that the locals really ruin the experience. Plus I have a problem with any country that has a 'special' currency specifically to fleece tourists.

Love Barcelona - just stay away from las ramblas.

Deleted User wrote: »

I love these threads.

People from some godawful bog in Offaly or wherever telling the world they think Paris, Barcelona, Copenhagen(!?!), Venice, Amsterdam, Prague, San Francisco etc are 'kips'

I know it's all about opinions but all you are showing is your own ignorance.

Have any of those calling Glasgow a kip spent a sunny afternoon in the West End? Did people who don't like Amsterdam get out of the centre and spend time around the canals? three blocks west of the city centre I think Amsterdam is possibly the most beautiful city on the planet! Hamburg - boring? You are doing it wrong. Paris? LOL. Paris is a vast city. Its attractions are pretty much limitless and I've never found the people there particularly rude. Barcelona is an amazing city and fantastic fun if you don't spend all day walking up and down las ramblas.

Agree about Birmingham though.

To be fair, its people giving their opinion, based on their experience, of a city they did not like and will not be returning to.....

Venturing off the beaten track a little......mmmm, that's an idea. I am sure most would not have thought of that;)

Seriously though, a lot of the opinions may be based on a 2-3 day weekend, in which case, most veer towards the tourist traps, unless you have been before. If you have more time, you will probably find some redeeming feature in a lot of places (maybe not Birmingham :eek:)

By the by, I enjoyed Las Ramblas.....................

Naples.

Kusadasi! Dirty, run down, horrible sleazy men. Went there on a lads holiday which is always gonna be manic, but this place was just crap. Bad nightlife and generally just crap!