WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE COUNTRY?
The question most asked is 'what is your favorite country'? After you've been to more than a half dozen, there is no clear answer. Since the luster of tourist sites wears off after a couple of days, I've divided it into four categories - food, price, talk and wifi.
Each of these can be a positive, neutral or negative depending on the quality. If it's not listed, it's neutral. If all four factors are neutral or unknown, the country is listed at the end.
A note on each:
The restaurant food in most countries is shockingly bland and lacks creativity; this food is rated as 'neutral'. I've not rated the home cooking - it is a rare treat when someone cooks for me. The price is rated against the severely limited money I have. Talk includes factors such as the friendliness of the natives and how many of them I am able to actually communicate with in my limited repertoire of languages. If the people are unfriendly or I can't find many I can understand easily, I rank this as a negative. The general scenery is indicated by wander - is it interesting to just walk around the city? Most places are only for a few days and wander can be a negative if I deem it a bit dangerous. I don't go by what a lot of other people say as dangerous because they seem to think nearly everywhere I go is dangerous. Wifi is important to me as it represents one of my primary sources of entertainment.
Disclaimer: Some are marked as 'friends there'. These are places I want to visit again however 'talk' may or may not be marked on them. There are some places which have many good things going for them but I will not be visiting soon due to remoteness, current human rights violations (ie Logan doesn't want to get killed or imprisoned there) etc.
Bulgaria
Positives: food, talk, wifi
Cambodia
Positives: price
Negatives: wander, wifi
Costa Rica
Negatives: talk, wander
Czech Republic
Positives: wander
Negatives: price
Egypt
Positives: food, price, wander
Georgia
Positives: food, talk (friends there), wander
Germany
Positives: food, wander, wifi
Negatives: price
Greece
Negatives: price
Guatemala
Negatives: talk, wander
Honduras
Negatives: talk, wander
Hungary
Positives: wander
Negatives: price
India
Positives: price, wander
Negatives: talk, wander (interesting and horrible all at the same time)
Indonesia
Positives: talk, wander
Israel
Negatives: price
Italy
Negatives: price
Latvia
Positives: talk, wander
Negatives: price
Laos
Negatives: food, talk, wander
Lithuania
Positives: talk, wander
Negatives: price
Macedonia
Positives: talk (friends there), wander, wifi
Malaysia
Negatives: price
Morocco
Positives: wander
Negatives: food, price, talk
Moldova
Negatives: food, talk, wander
Netherlands
Positives: talk, wander
Negatives: price
Nicaragua
Negatives: talk, wander
Panama
Negatives: talk, wander
Poland (yes, was there really briefly, want to go back to visit lots of friends)
Negatives: price
Romania
Positives: talk (friends there)
Serbia
Negatives: price
Spain
Positives: food, wander
Negatives: price
Thailand
Positives: food, price, wander
Tunisia
Positives: price
Turkey
Positives: food
Negatives: talk
Ukraine
Positives: talk (friends there)
Negatives: food
United Kingdom
Positives: food, wander, wifi
Negatives: price
United States
Positive: food, talk, wifi
Negatives: price
Vietnam
Negatives: food, talk, wander
Countries which I don't remember or didn't spend enough time in to find out anything about or am completely neutral on include:
Albania
Bosnia
Dominican Republic
Jordan
Slovakia
For those wondering 'why hasn't Logan done more in western Europe?' Quite simply, I can't afford it. You are pretty much looking at a minimum of $100 a day there. For that, you are going to be eating a meal and staying in either a hostel with a bunch of other people (usually ones who don't know hostel etiquette) and going to a minimum of interesting places. You won't be staying in a 'quaint little B&B that is just adorable'. That kind of stuff is usually frequented by old people intent on trying to blow their kids inheritance before they die, people who have 'daddies credit card' or people who have worked for a few years to get a couple weeks worth of vacation time. Double (or more) the amount of money. It's not cheap because everyone wants to go there and the prices reflect that. It also doesn't help that the dollar is weaker than a bad knock knock joke.
TRAVELER'S TIP
Horde clear bags. Use them to store anything you don't want to leak or have something else leaked upon. Clear means you don't have to open a bunch of bags to find what you want. Use opaque bags to bag up your trash or choke the life out of those who try to shame you for using plastic bags.
The question most asked is 'what is your favorite country'? After you've been to more than a half dozen, there is no clear answer. Since the luster of tourist sites wears off after a couple of days, I've divided it into four categories - food, price, talk and wifi.
Each of these can be a positive, neutral or negative depending on the quality. If it's not listed, it's neutral. If all four factors are neutral or unknown, the country is listed at the end.
A note on each:
The restaurant food in most countries is shockingly bland and lacks creativity; this food is rated as 'neutral'. I've not rated the home cooking - it is a rare treat when someone cooks for me. The price is rated against the severely limited money I have. Talk includes factors such as the friendliness of the natives and how many of them I am able to actually communicate with in my limited repertoire of languages. If the people are unfriendly or I can't find many I can understand easily, I rank this as a negative. The general scenery is indicated by wander - is it interesting to just walk around the city? Most places are only for a few days and wander can be a negative if I deem it a bit dangerous. I don't go by what a lot of other people say as dangerous because they seem to think nearly everywhere I go is dangerous. Wifi is important to me as it represents one of my primary sources of entertainment.
Disclaimer: Some are marked as 'friends there'. These are places I want to visit again however 'talk' may or may not be marked on them. There are some places which have many good things going for them but I will not be visiting soon due to remoteness, current human rights violations (ie Logan doesn't want to get killed or imprisoned there) etc.
So wait - criticizing your government and or religion was a bad idea?
Bulgaria
Positives: food, talk, wifi
Cambodia
Positives: price
Negatives: wander, wifi
Costa Rica
Negatives: talk, wander
Czech Republic
Positives: wander
Negatives: price
Egypt
Positives: food, price, wander
Er, maybe later...
Georgia
Positives: food, talk (friends there), wander
Germany
Positives: food, wander, wifi
Negatives: price
Greece
Negatives: price
Guatemala
Negatives: talk, wander
Honduras
Negatives: talk, wander
I completely didn't find out why people liked living there. At all.
Hungary
Positives: wander
Negatives: price
India
Positives: price, wander
Negatives: talk, wander (interesting and horrible all at the same time)
Indonesia
Positives: talk, wander
Israel
Negatives: price
Italy
Negatives: price
Latvia
Positives: talk, wander
Negatives: price
Laos
Negatives: food, talk, wander
Laos - the big tourist attraction is 'drunken white people on inner tubes. That's about it. Oh - and prostitutes that come to your room without being asked.
Lithuania
Positives: talk, wander
Negatives: price
Macedonia
Positives: talk (friends there), wander, wifi
Malaysia
Negatives: price
Morocco
Positives: wander
Negatives: food, price, talk
Moldova
Negatives: food, talk, wander
Netherlands
Positives: talk, wander
Negatives: price
Nicaragua
Negatives: talk, wander
Panama
Negatives: talk, wander
This is actually a picture of the bankers that tried to rob me there. No muggers, just really criminal banks. Yes, I'm still pissed at Central America.
Poland (yes, was there really briefly, want to go back to visit lots of friends)
Negatives: price
Romania
Positives: talk (friends there)
Serbia
Negatives: price
Spain
Positives: food, wander
Negatives: price
Thailand
Positives: food, price, wander
Tunisia
Positives: price
Turkey
Positives: food
Negatives: talk
No, the country.
Ukraine
Positives: talk (friends there)
Negatives: food
United Kingdom
Positives: food, wander, wifi
Negatives: price
United States
Positive: food, talk, wifi
Negatives: price
Vietnam
Negatives: food, talk, wander
Countries which I don't remember or didn't spend enough time in to find out anything about or am completely neutral on include:
Albania
Bosnia
Dominican Republic
Jordan
Slovakia
Logan's brain
For those wondering 'why hasn't Logan done more in western Europe?' Quite simply, I can't afford it. You are pretty much looking at a minimum of $100 a day there. For that, you are going to be eating a meal and staying in either a hostel with a bunch of other people (usually ones who don't know hostel etiquette) and going to a minimum of interesting places. You won't be staying in a 'quaint little B&B that is just adorable'. That kind of stuff is usually frequented by old people intent on trying to blow their kids inheritance before they die, people who have 'daddies credit card' or people who have worked for a few years to get a couple weeks worth of vacation time. Double (or more) the amount of money. It's not cheap because everyone wants to go there and the prices reflect that. It also doesn't help that the dollar is weaker than a bad knock knock joke.
The price of getting to see this won't make you say 'ooh la la'...
TRAVELER'S TIP
Horde clear bags. Use them to store anything you don't want to leak or have something else leaked upon. Clear means you don't have to open a bunch of bags to find what you want. Use opaque bags to bag up your trash or choke the life out of those who try to shame you for using plastic bags.
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