Looking For Adventure? Don’t Search For It In These 5 Places

Chosen from a list of 50+ countries I have been to

Most of us like to have a travel bucket list since life’s too short. And I am sure, if not a bucket list, you would have a few destinations in mind for your next travel.

Personally, I always find travel to be therapeutic. It is my route to self-discovery, love, and cultural lessons. A few years ago, my biggest goal was to travel the world with the love of my life. We have been to over 50 countries together.

The intent behind sharing this isn’t to make you envious, but to say I understand what an adventure travel is!

The thrill of exploring a magnificent, out-of-the-world location, trying to fit in as many exciting things to do as you can, and the beautiful memories you capture and cherish forever.

Because travel is so important, you want to make the most of every experience. It’s worthwhile to want to know about destinations that may not be the best use of your hobby and resources for an international trip. If you’re with me, then read on.

These are from the point of view of an Indian-born millennial who has mostly spent her personal savings on travel. In hindsight, I would probably avoid visiting these 5 places or include some other attractions with my trip, if I needed to go there for an unavoidable reason.

A Friendly Caveat : Your opinions may differ from mine, so please take it with a pinch of salt.

Guangzhou, China

The first-ever international trip is always special. For me, it was special in another way.

I landed in Guangzhou, the 3rd largest Chinese city at 10 pm, one night on a business trip. I realized after landing that the travel agent booked me a hotel in another city, Zhongshan, which was about 3 hours away from Guangzhou.

I struggled to explain to the cab drivers how much I wanted to go to the Marriott, the only hotel name I could think of after a 10+ hour flight. None of them spoke English or even said Marriott the way it’s said in English. I heard them saying “Maia” or “Mia” and it didn’t convince me if they were referring to the same hotel or something else.

Finally, after a couple of hours of no luck, I took my chance and got into a cab. I reached Marriott and thanked my stars. When I reached inside the hotel, I discovered the city was hosting an international trade fair for the next 3 days and all hotels in the city were fully booked.

Past midnight, no taxi, no language, no hotel, no one I knew. I couldn’t stop cursing the travel agent.

Thankfully, Marriott people helped me book a room for three times the usual price in a hotel right next to them. I thanked my stars, wondering if my office may have an issue paying for it, but I knew my safety was foremost. I took the room, anyway.

The rest of the trip went in a daze, working and returning to the hotel and ordering Indian food from the one Indian restaurant someone at work had told me about.

Guangzhou is a very well-developed city. Maybe it had a lot to do with if you understood the language or had some company. I didn’t have a great experience here. That’s why I focused on planning for a nice Hong Kong and Macau trip over the weekend, which was 2 hours away by train. Hong Kong was a blast!

Raciborz, Poland

This was a business trip to see a coal manufacturing plant. Not much fun, in all honesty!

I hadn’t seen a European city like this one. It was unassuming.

The city centre was ordinary compared to most European cities I had seen, even the developing ones. People are nice and they speak English. Hotels are basic.

Katowice is the nearest city, about an hour’s drive. I didn’t get to explore it much.

The entire trip was quite dull. I don't remember being wowed, but only going through the motions.

Even though its simplicity and cleanliness may impress you, I don’t think this Polish city needs to be your trip choice for international travel. If you pass by, try to explore Katowice more.

Bratislava, Slovakia

If you want to remember one tip from this article, know this. Never visit a European city on the 26th of December, the day after Christmas when Christmas markets wrap up.

This is the day my husband, and I took a 1-hour train from Vienna to see Bratislava over lunchtime. Even though we came in the mood for a day trip, we left within a couple of hours.

The entire city seemed lonely like joy was being packed up with the Christmas spirit.

It seemed to have poorer infrastructure compared to its neighboring cities of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague. This made me feel sorry about it.

I wouldn’t know how Bratislava would look like with the festive glory! I hardly saw any tourists, though it could have been seasonal.

If you’re going this way, you can give it a miss or hop on a train for an hour from Vienna and see for yourself. You would have lots to do in Vienna, anyway.

New York City, USA

This one would surprise most people to have made my list.

I went to New York in Oct 2019, a few months before the pandemic. In my mind, I was comparing it to the other mega-cities I had seen, like Paris, London and Rome. Unfortunately, what I saw didn’t please my eyes much.

I just didn’t get what all the fuss was about. Maybe Americans are the best marketers who tricked the world into thinking New York is the most magical city in the world.

What had attracted me to the city was the description of 19th-century New York in Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel, ‘City of Girls’. What I saw instead was a sea of people running like headless chickens and filth everywhere. This was a shock even to someone who lived in Mumbai once. I could do anything to escape the New York crowds and the subway.

I tried but couldn’t see the New York City of the 90s show, Friends I wanted to see.

We enjoyed nothing much except the view from one hotel around Times Square. There is immense planning required to go anywhere, even though we were in Downtown Manhattan. We didn’t have it in us to try hard for something ordinary. Even our ‘Statue of Liberty’ tour started 6 hours late, ruining the day and the experience.

I’ll have to think hard about going to New York again. If you want to struggle to see a city, go there. Else, you may be better off giving it a pass.

Niagara Falls, Canada

Last but not the least, I want to share that Niagara Falls isn’t worth it if you are coming from another continent.

I saw Niagara for the first time when I came to Toronto.

Toronto is a casual, friendly city with a lovely downtown. What I didn’t know back then was it would become my home.

I didn’t enjoy Niagara much though. When I saw it, it was like- ah okay that’s it, what next?

There’s not much to do around either except go to a casino or go to a winery for bad wine you 100% won’t enjoy if you’re coming from Europe.

If you come to this part of the world, don’t have any expectations as you may have from your other travel destinations. Maybe then you won’t be disappointed.

In Conclusion

Each country in the world has something unique to offer in terms of culturally rich experiences and natural attractions.

Sometimes, you may not be in the best frame of mind to enjoy it, or expect something different from the experience.

If you don’t like a book you’re reading, what will you do? You’ll stop, most likely. I wish the same was true for travel, but it isn’t.

Therefore, it’s worth it to be clear in defining what you want from the travel experience and check if the experience truly offers it. Then invest your time and energy accordingly in deciding the right locations for yourself.

There’s an entire world out there waiting to be explored. But sometimes, we learn the truth the hard way. Not every experience is meant for us.