BootsnAll Travel Community

Re the McDonalds thing. It totally depends on if I like and/or can afford the local food. I have never even considered eating there in Thailand, Brasil, Germany, England, Holland, Philippines, or Singapore. In Korea I had to indulge every couple of days to avoid the sweet red chili sauce they seem to use in most every dish, the meat always marinaded in sugar, and sitting on the floor to eat. In Hong Kong it was only because it was cheap. (I found the only tasty local food there was usually very expensive)
In Japan, cost again. I could only do the 7/11 type lunch meals/ramen joints so much, just as I could not do 7/11 hotdogs every day here, so McDs for lunch every few days there.
I've gotta hunch I'd avoid western food in most of the rest of SEA too, but haven't been there yet.

Well I really enjoyed my Contiki tour of New Zealand, and I am best friends still with some people I met there. Thankfully it wasn't totally full of mindless boozers though (I lucked out)
And I have been to Burger King in Bangkok a few times (sometimes you get really tired of rice and noodles after 3 years...) Can't bring myself to do McDonalds tho...
I have little desire to go to Europe (well if someone gave me thousands of Euros I might change my mind...)
And even though I am an Aussie i haven't been to Uluru (Ayers Rock).

I can count on one hand the times I've traveled where I didn't book a hotel in advance.

quote:

Originally posted by braslvr:
In Japan, cost again. I could only do the 7/11 type lunch meals/ramen joints so much, just as I could not do 7/11 hotdogs every day here, so McDs for lunch every few days there.
I've gotta hunch I'd avoid western food in most of the rest of SEA too, but haven't been there yet.

In Japan, I found myself eating at McDonald’s a lot. Not necessarily because I craved Western food (though sometimes that was the case), but because fast food joints are one of the best options when you need to kill time in Japan. And I was often out in town needing to kill 2 or 3 hours in a nice air conditioned (or heated) environment.

You can’t very well sit in a ramen shop for two hours and work. But you can grab a seat in McDonald’s – or any other fast food joint – and sit unmolested for as long as you’d like. And you know what, when I looked around most of these Mickey D’s, there were tons of Japanese doing it too!

i try to eat mcdonalds in every country i go to...so far i think i have except vatican, monaco and liectenstein...its bad for you, i don't care...i enjoy western food every once and while, helps balance out the stomach and is much cheaper than in america and generally comparable to a square meal wherever i am

We sought out the pizza hut in Amman. Needed some western food. We did the same in Cairo, also a McDonald's, and the Hilton, but that was more for convenience than anything else. Those were the worst infractions, though we did eat at McD's frequently in Budapest...that had more to do with price though...most Budapest restaurants are expensive.

I can't think of any other real travel sins that we've committed.

I've heard McDonalds is quite the hang out for locals in China. Can't say that's true though, just read it in an article.

I personally don't see a problem with eating in a McDonalds overseas. It's a restaurant, it has edible food, it's cheap. As long as you don't eat there 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, there's nothing travel-sinful about it. What I really find annoying is people that avoid them at all possible costs, complain vehemently about having to eat in one, and look disapprovingly down upon any traveler who orders a big mac. Get over yourselves.

ok - couple of confessions here.

1. I have never seen Ayres Rock (Uluru for all you hoity-toities) - which is a pretty major thing to see in my own country.

2. Have never had an interest in going to North America (redempting factor... except when you were preparing for the big BnA meetup in SF last Jan).

3. I lived in Vienna for 2 and half years but
... never once once went to an art Museum (only saw the Natural History Museum and even then it was when I was playing tourist because my Mother was visiting me)
... spent almost every weekend in one Irish pub or another
... never went to Salzburg and...
... never went to UK (despite the fact that I have citizenship! - partial redemption... I went there on my way back to Oz for a grand total of 6 days and that is all the time I have ever spent in the UK!)

And... that's all I can think of right now.

In my travels I have never seen Rocky, The Godfather or E.T.

I went to McDonalds in Morocco.

For me, a clean sit down toilet is the best reason for going to McDonalds...especially in China! And anyway, if you put a meat patty on a plate, some mashed potatoes and a salad with dressing and a roll on the side you basically have a hamburger. I've wanted to say that for a long time. McDonalds gets a bum rap.

July in Delhi...spent two days in my air/con room and didn't come out once. I do that often. I need down time on a regular basis. When you think of it when you are at home you don't go out roaming around all day every day.

And I don't care if I ever see a museum or famous building again. Didn't even go to the Taj Mahal because I just couldn't deal with any more touts. Speaking of touts, the best way to avoid them is to pay one of them to walk around with you all day.

I started travelling in developing countries in the pre-guide book era. Ah, yes. Real exploration, where you got tips on where to go and stay from travellers coming the other way. Confession: I love Lonely Planet, despite the irritating nannyish tone. Even at 35 euros a pop I gladly buy them. I make back the money on what I save on the first night's hotel room. The city maps are good for outwitting taxi drivers taking you the wrong way too.

Travelling is about people, right? What better way than to meet the locals than on long bus and train trips. Forget it. Confession two: I'd rather skimp on the hotel room and rent a car to do at least some of the longer distances. I'll meet the locals in the bar of an nice hotel or in a nice restaurant.

Best tour I ever took was a 6-day jeepney tour through Burma (now Myanmar) in the late 80s. The Junta would only give tourists 7-day visas, and the quickest way to cram in all you could see was to hire 4 guys in a Toyota truck outfitted with benches and enough room inbetween for 1 person to sleep. Found 5 other travellers on the streets of Rangoon and we each ponied up US$50. Have to admit it was less than comfortable, but great fun!

The onigiri at 7-11 in Japan are AWESOME!

I bought a Lonely Planet guide to my own country. And guess what? There was loads of stuff in there I didn't know about.

- I lived in Switzerland most of my life and never went to the Matterhorn.
- I will look for McDonald's for clean toilets.
- I do pick countries and regions to visit solely based on the fact that few people go there. (snob)
- If you forget your shampoo and and shower gel in the communal shower...it's now mine (the least I do is shower with it and fill my own bottles).
- If I hear travelers speak Swiss German, I'll listen in but will avoid showing that I'm Swiss. (snob).
- I amuse myself when other people get motion sickness. (Comoooon, as long as you don't puke on me, I think it's hilarious.)

CONFESSION: I find myself avoiding certain countries based on the people I have met elsewhere in my travels who happen to come from those countries. Or, at least, I put those places last on my list of where to go next.

Gah. I'm writing off entire nations based on anecdotal JackAssery abroad! That blows big time.

quote:

Originally posted by elAdi:
- I lived in Switzerland most of my life and never went to the Matterhorn.

Ooooh, I worked in a Pension one summer in the Saas Tal -the valley right next to the Matter Tal where the Matterhorn is - and could not be bothered to take the bus around to see Matterhorn.

For most people coming from out of Europe the first place they come to visit in Europe is the UK and France.
I, living in Europe, had visited more than 50 countries on all the continents, before I set my foot for the first time in the UK and France. Still haven't been to Paris.

- I think Europe is boring and overpriced.
- Whilst in Krabi I locked myslef in a 4* hotel for 2 days to watch cable tv and eat.
- In Marrakech I had no money so had to sleep on the roof of the 2* hotel but would walk in to all the 5* hotels pretending to be client and using their pools.
- I spent a year in Mexico and the only place I saw was Puerto Vallarta.
- I spent 3 years in USA and the only place I saw was Chicago.