China: Worth the Trip
I found this brief review of China pretty amusing:
> Pros
Lots to see, Beautiful historical buildings
> Cons
Run-down areas, Communism
> The Bottom Line
Definitely worth the trip!
No mention of the people… perhaps because the pros and cons of the people cancel each other out?
Cute. You don’t meet many people on those package tours, I’m afraid. I took one when my parents first came over. I don’t think our tour guide was a government spy, though.
Epinions is great, but the idea of assigning star ratings to a country is slightly absurd.
This is 7 years old and was inaccurate even then.
Most countries have run down areas, perhaps not Monaco, I don’t know – I’ve never been there.
Communism shouldn’t affect your trip, surely! (except for the cavity search when entering East Germany in the 80’s).
One has to assume that everywhere you go in life, some people are nice, some are not. Be that the local shops, China, or a gay bar. Go to lots of different places THEN they’ll cancel each other out. Maybe. 🙂
Add “Relatives” to the ‘pros’.
John, as you know, China is a great adventure! I truly enjoy all of Asia and the secrets and wonders that I discover on every visit. To any traveler, you benefit from learning, seeing and experiencing the sights, the culture, the tastes, the philosophy, the transportation, the mind set of the society, the shopping, the people and much more. China (as well as all of Asia) is one of my favorite places to visit. (Possibly following in your footsteps… or maybe just seeking adventure & happiness) I am sure that I will be spending the most if not the rest of my life living somewhere in Asia.
I liked all their comments about communism being a con…it seems they were pretty paranoid. I guess even though they said they were given other occupations to cover up the fact they were military pilots, that most people would be able to see through that – a bunch of short haired fit Americans all coming from an island in Japan? What else would they be apart from military?
Greg: I remember when I was young and naive and thought very much the same things!
If only giving countries a rating system would improve their service. Imagine when exiting customs from a country there were “How was our country?” cards you could fill out so that they could make it better. Now that would be cool.
zhwj,
The whole thing is absurd. That’s the point: entertainment!
Mike,
Ha ha, yeah… I think pretty much every country loves being told by foreigners what’s wrong with the country. 🙂
It’s pretty hard to see how Communism affects one’s travel experience, unless it acts as an excuse for poor service, bland architecture, etc.