Your most exotic places and any plans to visit others ?

MT62

I fancied India, until my friend & her husband went for two weeks.
They said it was hell on earth.
Really filthy & smelly.
Both picked up viruses.
They haven’t touched a curry since.

I loved India* and in fact felt very much at home there. We had spent many years in Middle Eastern countries where so much of the general workforce was Indian. Most of my colleagues when I worked at the airport were Indian, if they weren’t Brits or the odd American.

we did stay generally at least 4 hotels, though. I have been extremely ill with gyppy tummy abroad (in Greece!) and would not care to do India on the cheap, though I have to say both dds have done so and have been fine.

Hey did stay at a really good hotel witzend.
She said it was more the fact public transportation was mobbed.
One train had a hole in floor to use as a toilet.
Also, she couldn’t believe some people just went to the loo on the side of the pavement, including doing a number two 😳 just wouldn’t be a holiday for us

The most exotic place I have been to - and it no longer exists was a beach in Kuantan on the eastern coast of Malaysia.

We were an army family and were stationed in Malaya (now Malaysia). A new road had just been built from east to west across the penninsula from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan - and we went on holiday.

Kuantan today is a busy tourist resort, but when we went there, it had no hotels, just a government rest house, and beyond it the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, a sweeping curve about a mile long, fringed with palm leaves. The beach was entirely empty the whole time we were there, except for us. We went there three times over three days and saw no one, just the wind in the palms, the sound of the sea, and silence.

As I said, Kuantan is now a holiday destination and there are people and noise and. The past is another country.

I’ve not been further than Europe and not even much of that. I loved the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland. I avoid the sun which rules out many places. I’d like to see the Norwegian fjords, more of eastern Europe, and Canada has always been on my wish list. But I don’t think I’ll be leaving the UK now. I’m not flying and I don’t think I have the stamina for long coach or train journeys.

I too am obsessed with Venice and have visited 5 times.

Places I would love to visit again but never will due to safety/mobility issues

Isfahan (Iran)
Damascus
Afghanistan
Hong Kong
Malaysia
Bali
Singapore
Siena
Las Vegas (lived there for a year)

The once place I would love to visit is the Galapagos Islands

"FWIW it's been illegal in India for trains to have holes in the floor as toilets since 2022 and if you book the right class of seat you have a guaranteed seat, just don't go "general unreserved" as you get what you pay for, which is very little except an interesting experience."

The above is courtesy of a young friend who has travelled widely in India (and most other countries!)

Bahrain, Sri Lankha
Jordan,
Cape Town
Zambia. All very beautiful and so happy was able to visit.
Nothing more exotic for me though. Haven't seen all I want to see on our wonderful Islands.