To think tropical location holidays just arent worth it

[jdoe8]

There's a constant worry about getting something nasty (malaria, rabies, dengue fever). The transport / roads often aren't very safe as they are usually in developing countries with very bad air quality in built up areas. In SE asia RTA are the biggest cause of deaths of western tourists. The bugs are annoying and you either have to use lots of pesticides / insecticides that aren't very good for you or something organic that is ineffective. You get hassled a lot and haggling is often essential and sometimes you just cant be bothered as it hot and humid.

Am I just getting old? I've done the whole a year in SE asia when I was younger and as much fun as it was, I don't partially want to go again.

I'm sure loads of people will disagree with you but I feel the same. Like you its been more of a recent thing, as a teen I loved the idea of travel to far flung places. Now I'm happy with a couple of weeks in Torbay, no travelling, no jabs, no extreme weather and not likely to die! I am aware this makes me completely boring but I don't care!

I think you've been going to the wrong places!!

Have you ever tried the Caribbean or Mexico? Stunningly beautiful places with wonderful beaches and great people.

I can think of loads of places that hasn't applied for me: Mexico, Fiji, the Phillippines, Rarotonga...

You're right about the RTA though - I remember going to Thailand and being told that a tourist has a moped accident every three minutes. No idea if that's true but the number of people I've met who've had a moped accident in Thailand is staggeringly high!

YABU. I love them! And I don't mind a bit of grunge.

Bugs and Diseases- fair point but there are lots of non-malarial and non-dengue areas in SE Asia and a bit of DEET wont kill you for a few weeks

RTA and hassle - depends where you go. Singapore, Koh Samui, Koh Samet are pretty mellow, even some parts of Phuket. I've been to Kep in Cambodia and that was very low key. Bali is hassle/ hawker central and the traffic is terrible

I live in Asia, and I must confess (this is v unmumsnet) that when I go for a "hot" holiday I rent a catered villa (ideally remote) and pretty much stay there for 5 days reading, swimming and drinking gin, then come home. Zero interest in markets, ruins etc.

Lots of places have no appeal to me: Bali, Thailand etc. are all very popular with Australians. I see them as dirty, stench-ridden places where corruption is rife, as are crimes against tourists, and there's no respect for animals (elephant riding, tiger killings etc). Wouldn't go there if you paid me.

Actually, the only Asian country I have any interest in visiting is Japan.

But I don't like tropical holidays in general. Boring. I'd rather be at work than lying on a beach bored shitless for a week.

They are not for me. Warmth and sunshine can be found closer to home, and in countries where one of us can speak the local language.

I've lived and worked all over the world. I spent a good few years around SE Asia. Fancier places like SG and Hk as well as The Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam. I love exotic holidays so made the most of time off to travel.

Of course there are dangers but many can be mitigated. Deet. Brief reading about the local culture before you visit. Staying in nicer places.

Am I just getting old?

I don't think that has anything to do with it. I haven't lost my wunderlust. My tastes and budget for accommodation have gone up but I still love seeing the world. It's a big place and my, my husband's and children's lives are all the richer for seeing some of it.

SuperBeagle

You're just being offensive and showing your ignorance. Some SE Asian countries are less corrupt than Australia / The UK / The US. I'm yet to be a victim of a crime outside of the UK.

I'd rather be at work than lying on a beach bored shitless for a week.

You realise a holiday doesn't have to be about sitting on a beach? Surely you have a little more imagination than that! My favourite was a road trip the length of Vietnam.

YANBU
I basically feel the same way as that about being abroad in general. Here's some things that always happen to me when I go abroad:

I get lost in a bus station
A police man shouts at me, terrifyingly, in a foreign language
I almost, but not quite, succeed in making a friend, due to language barrier and feel horribly lonely
I get too heat stroke and have to lie down in a dark room all afternoon
Something happens that makes me realise how extrodinarily wealthy I am compared to everyone around me and I feel awkward and guilty
I experiance the odd sensation that my very identity is slipping away from me because it was somehow tied to familier objects and situations that are no longer present.

I just go to Haven now.

Living in Singapore at the moment, and we've had wonderful tropical holidays, with and without our children to Thailand, Bali and Vietnam. Beautiful beaches, lovely local food, stay local to area we are staying in so don't need to use public transport, always had a wonderful time.
My DC have benefitted enormously from these trips

Obviously you just don't like them! I do. I even bought a small island in the Pacific ( now sold) because I like that tropical climate, rain, sun etc so much. Last month I was off somewhere else similarly hot and tropical for a week on my own walking about 4 hours a day barefoot on beaches on massive walks entirely alone.

I have not been to Thailand. Mexico was fine - I was in a fairly isolated part - try to avoid big resorts with lots of people. Panama lovely. Caribbean I like particularly. I put deet on every day last month on the trip and was not bitten by insects but I agree they can be a nuisance in some places. We had none in 2 weeks in Bermuda last summer though... although probably people wouldnt' class Bermuda as tropics although it met my requirements - miles of walking down isolated beaches barefoot with no one on them with chance of some rain (I need a bit of rain and heat and sun) and no litter.

I don't like cultures where bribery is endemic and people hassle you so I tend to pick isolated spots.

It sounds like you know what you like so that's great. My parents apart from about 5 foreign holidays mostly had holidays at home and we would pick all kinds of local outings - beach, countryside walks, country houses and it was fine (although I liked the abroad holidays best). later they never went abroad at all - their last trip was when I was 15 and they never went abroad again in their lives and I think didn't even stay away on holiday other than the odd night for the last 20 - 25 years of their lives.

Having worked regularly in tropical locations for the last 14 years I'd say your opinions are very broad and your knowledge very narrow. The Caribbean, all of Central America and much of South America, most of Africa, half of India, northern Australia, and of course the whole of Malaysia, Indonesia and countries nearby such as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc are all located within the tropics. It covers two fifths of the planet. The diversity of climates, habitats and wildlife between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer are greater than the diversity found outside of the tropics. To say it is all disease-riddled, filled with poverty, crime and road crashes, and above all that is boring, is astonishingly ignorant.

Totally agree! Not the same thing, as it was AI and we could have been anywhere once we were in the resort, but even Dominican Republic wasn't worth it for us! Had to have Zika tests when we got back (I'd reserached, but incorrecty apparently!), and it rained the whole time we were there. 2x 8-10 hr flight with 18 month old was fine though!! I really want to only do europe/UK holidays but DH wants further afield so we're alternating.

I love the different smell you get in the tropics and the constant sound of animals in the night and the different food.

Also love the sound of crickets in the med, the smell of pines and herbs and the endless views and different light. And the food...

For me I like to go somewhere that's not familiar,I love the difference.

Holiday in the uk a lot too though....

We've been to a few of these crime ridden, dangerous places and managed to survive intact.

Malaysian part of Borneo - absolutely stunning, very friendly people, don't remember getting bitten by bugs, clean and roads were pretty good too.

Mexico (twice) - roads in the main tourist areas are excellent, kids most impressed by the police checkpoints on the dual carriageways. A wee bit of people trying to sell you stuff but no hassle, they just call to you from a seated position at the side of the road, they don't chase you along. Again, very clean and the ruins are amazing.

As for traffic, the very worst I've seen was in Rome. You truly are taking your life in your hands when you try to cross the road.

YABU. In my opinion travelling and experiencing world cultures and lifestyles is what life is all about. When we went to Thailand I think we spent around one hour (out of a two week stretch) laying on the beach. The rest of the holiday was spent visiting temples, kayaking, snorkelling, Muay Thai and generally exploring.

Yes we could all just go to good old Spain for our holiday - no corruption, RTAs or tourist traps there .

A week in Majorca - yay, how exciting [yawn]

I've probably visited every country in SE Asia as I have lived here for 9 years. Of course, some of what you say is true - malaria, dengue and bugs (although flies in Australia are worse imo) and roads can be poor quality in developing countries. However, you can't really put Singapore (excellent infrastructure) in the same category as rural Cambodia - they are completely different destinations and the holiday you experience will also be completely different. It's naive to lump all of SE Asia or all the tropics together.
With regard to traffic accidents, I wonder how many are caused by tourists not taking the same precautions they would normally adopt at home. I see plenty of tourists not wearing helmets on mopeds which is just stupid.
I have never been a victim of crime in any of the areas I have visited - again, it's partly about being sensible in an area you are unfamiliar with.

Yeah lets all just stick to skeggy and spain

Ooh, Vietnam ... I'd love to go! But you haven't mentioned the rainy season, OP! Where shall I go in July?

SansComic Which is fine, but it doesn't mean that they have to appeal to me. Think of it this way: if I don't go, it's one less tourist you have to navigate around.

Bali, Thailand etc. are all very popular with Australians. I see them as dirty, stench-ridden places where corruption is rife, as are crimes against tourists, and there's no respect for animals (elephant riding, tiger killings etc). Wouldn't go there if you paid me.

I'm not saying you should feel like you have to go there and in fact, not running into people with opinions like yours is fantastic. I just think your explanation was ignorant and offensive.

I'm not saying you should feel like you have to go there and in fact, not running into people with opinions like yours is fantastic. I just think your explanation was ignorant and offensive.

Being Australian, we hear about how much of a corrupt hellhole Bali is often. Obviously a lot of people like it because it's hot and cheap and has a lot of kid-friendly resorts, but that doesn't appeal to me.

I don't live to not offend people on the internet when expressing an opinion about a group of countries that are known to have particular issues. Soz.

If you've mainly just done done the student/backpacker/tourist trail you've probably got a rather skewed impression of what these sort of destination holidays can be like when done well.

OP and other posters seem to be lumping all the SE Asia countries into the same category which shows a level of narrow-mindedness. I find them all very different personally.

OP - YANBU. I feel exactly the same way, the world is overrated.

I'd much rather go to the Lake District or Cornwall quite frankly - and having travelled a lot in my younger days I have yet to find beach in any other country I've been to that are as beautiful as the ones in Cornwall. The UK has such a lot to offer, and less horrible bitey insects (shudder).

I've been to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. I loved them all. Beautiful beaches, vibrant (and yes, sometimes stinky and grimy) cities, light and heat, amazing people.

Worth it for tasting like DEET for three weeks.