travel to unusual places

[fizzysci]

What is the most unusual place you have been to? The kind of place that people are surprised you've been too.

Mine was Svalbard - most people haven't got a clue where it is.

I've been to Uganda, which isn't on most people's holiday destination list.

They've not read the dark materials trilogy then.

I'd forgotten that it was partly set there, it's been too long since I read it.

It’s not travel snobbery. It’s people with different preferences in travel.

You see it with the ‘recommend me a 5* AI in Europe threads’ - lots of people like holidays like that, lots hate the idea, lots suggest villa holidays instead. This is a thread for people who like traveling somewhere different.

The majority of people would hate many of the places on this thread. I get that. Most people think I’m bizarre for not wanting to sit on a beach for a week. I just have a very deep interest in former Soviet countries (not a clue why or where that started), so I visit them. Not because I think I’m better than people who want to have a beach break, just because I have different opinions on how I want to spend my annual leave.

And yey for this thread - giving me more ideas and have been googling and seeing how easy it would be to get to some of the places mentioned

Kazakhstan - scenery is amazing
Syria - 2 weeks before the troubles started
Beirut
Nepal - does that count?

serenawren

Kazakhstan - scenery is amazing
My friend and I have talked about going there next year. God you go independently or as part of a tour?
I love this thread
I tend to go to East and South Europe these days but like hearing about places other people go to.

I think this thread is remarkable free form travel snobbery. I wish that the people who mentioned Denmark and Israel hadn't been mocked, but for a thread of 156 posts on long haul/exotic travel, it's been remarkably unshow-offy.

Travel snobbery is about putting other people's holidays down, and no-one's done that. Most of my friends and colleagues like to go on nice relaxing beach holidays (or rowdy ones, or all-inclusive ones). Good luck to them. We all want different things from our holidays. Some want to chill and do nothing, some want to dance the night away, some want to experience something unlike their normal life. They're all good.

I like to do both! I love going to places I've never been before, that is not overrun by tourists but I also love lazing on a beach doing sod all !

Another one of mine that I would sooo recommend, in fact I want to go back, it's Réunion Island, in the Pacific Ocean between Madagascar and Mauritus. . French owned, uses the Euro, has the longest domestic flight in the world - 11 hours from Paris. Weird to go all that way and speak French.

If you had superpowers and wanted to design a magical island, this would be it! Volcanic, fantastic lush rainforest, coral reefs, literally waterfalls round every corner, it is beautiful.

I went to Syria and Libya before the Arab spring. Both were remarkable and fascinating (if you’re into archeology). Damascus was a jewel. I wonder what they are like now (well, I can guess but it’s awful to think about) and how they will recover.

Guyana.

I have a friend whose family are from Bequia!! @Youngandfree

I don't think I have been anywhere really unusual. Borneo is probably the most unusual. I would love to go to Tristan da Cunha, Easter Island, mountains of moon in Uganda and the stans. Honestly though, I am a bit nervous of going on my own to some of these. Do you travel solo or on organised groups?

Guyana was an absolutely amazing country.
Been to Chiloe in Chile, but not as far as Patagonia.
Travelled through Venezuela before it all went devastatingly wrong, living on stringy mangos and black coffee as i had run out of money myself.

Weeping I dont travel on my own, organised groups yes.

I live in Denmark was born and raised in Luxembourg.
Most unusual is probably Chernobyl and north Korea. Always wanted to see NK - bc is so "special" compared to Denmark...

Crimea, many years ago. We travelled along the whole coast, it was amazing. I drank amazing local wines, ate fabulous local food, it was an incredible holiday.
Also, Curonian Split in Lithuania. Baltic Sea, so not that exotic but somehow completely different.

Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania
Mongolia-my guide let me drive in the national park whilst he had a nap in the back (I was beyond excited!) I have never experienced silence like being in the desert there
Serbia to the Guca festival (August and yes it's brilliant, google it for the website and go, it's family friendly).
Siberia-every bit as depressing as I imagined. It was just a really big lake.
Ljubljana-I went because it sounded cool, turned into my favourite city along with Brno in Czechia.

Kerguelen Islandso

Ignore the ‘o’

Wow itshigh I never even knew those islands existed! I had to google

I spent 3 years of my youth living in Papua New Guinea. Not so unusual for Australians but definitely raises an eyebrow when I mention it to friends of mine in the UK. Mostly because people don't know where it is, and that it's the closest country to Australia