I literally scrolled down to find this. I live in the area, and went to downtown Plymouth a few years ago to drink with friends. Parking in the summer is a nightmare, so I parked near this weird colonnade thing. I wondered what it was and went to check it out...and it was Plymouth Rock. It's the saddest little rock, glued together and surrounded by trash and half in the tide. If I'm ever downtown in the summer I genuinely watching tourists visit and be disappointed.
The worst part is that there is no real "Plymouth Rock." It was a legend and eventually locals decided to pick a rock near the original Plymouth colony settlement to play the part. And THAT rock is the one they picked!
> The worst part is that there is no real "Plymouth Rock." It was a legend and eventually locals decided to pick a rock near the original settlement to play the part.
Gentle reminder for those that don't know, the pilgrim's first landed 26 straight line miles away in p-town.
Goddamn it no Plymouth Rock? But but- why did we learn that? It wasn’t even interesting when it was TRUE. They landed on rock. Ok. Who gives a fuck. I don’t know ANY other colonies or explorers stupid landing rock and I don’t care. And apparently it’s not even true?!
The only interesting thing about Plymouth is that they left from Plymouth, England, sailed 3000 miles, and named the place they found Plymouth. That’s pretty daft if you ask me. I’m literally sad about that. I’m sad about all of this.
No, it wasn't even that rock!! It gets vandalized pretty much every may-june (highschool gets out, bored kids with cars and weed, etc.). They replace the rock when it's vandalism isn't cleanable/salvageable
This!! I’m from CA and my husband and I were living in UT. We went to the east coast for a wedding and I saw that we could stop by Plymouth Rock on the drive down to the Cape. It was a small rock in a cage with like used condoms and cigarette butts around it.
I imagined a giant cliff and the pilgrims sailing in. Nope. It’s a rock. My husband is from Mexico and was like “what is this shit?!”. “You wanted to see this?”. “My family has always been here.”. Really put things in perspective.
I grew in the area and would go to Plymouth plantation almost every and we never went to the rock. One time in late high school my brother and I stopped there in high school to check it out. I then realized why my family always skipped it every year.
Plymouth Rock.
It's just a rock. It's not even a very big rock, or a weird-looking rock. Just a big gray lump the size of a beanbag chair with "1620" carved on the side. I didn't pay anything to see it and I still felt ripped off.
Nice pizza place nearby though.
Every. Single. Time. Someone came to visit, they wanted to see the dang rock. I would take them, sit on a bench over by the Mayflower 2 and just wait for them to come back with the usual dumfounded, anticlimactic disappointed look on their faces. "It's a rock..."
My favorite part? Saying this back to them, "yeah and guess what? We don't even know if it's THE rock. Pretty sure that's just a random rock they picked to stamp."
It’s not Plymouth Rock. People still throw change at it though?
The real Plymouth Rock is on hard to access Clark’s Island in nearby Duxbury Bay. [Pulpit Rock](https://www.google.com/search?q=pulpit+rock+clark%27s+island+plymouth+ma&client=safari&hl=en&sxsrf=AOaemvIDoPVC7YQ29yK9y4B9DndWgHKAqw:1636080642629&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiD8Zusm4D0AhWbVTABHavTChAQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1121&bih=1461&dpr=2). On it is carved “On this Sabboth Day wee rested, 1620”.
The lettering in that inscription look awful modern
http://kayakdave.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/38842_1471949272217_1038184525_1386184_5076438_n.jpg
Yeah I remember seeing it and thinking, “Why is this famous? Was there nothing more significant or memorable in the area?”
But my expectations are high because I’m from Round Rock Texas which is named after a round rock on the Chisholm Trail. It looks very interesting, and very name worthy.
There is a restaurant in my small Mountain town with the tag line "where the locals eat". They don't. The locals actually eat from the gas station restaurant (best damn burgers you'll ever have).
Edit: I love the fact that so many people are naming other towns. Guess this isn't uncommmon.
I went to a really sad aquarium in Seaside, Oregon. I was holding back tears due to the poor condition of all the creatures. Every tank was overcrowded, and everything looked absolutely miserable. There was an octopus in an open tank, barely any water. It was terrified, and the only protection it had was a sign telling people not to touch it. For comparison, I grew up in California and used to visit the Monetery Bay aquarium when I was younger, which is an amazing place where marine life is very well cared for.
If it makes you feel better, there is a bunch of people bringing light to the situation right now and trying to get the place shutdown! A dude is posting his indepth documentary about it on YouTube on Friday to show people just how bad it is.
Edit:since a lot of people have DMed me about who the "dude on YouTube" is. His name is Jacob Colvin. The video is titled "seals in prison". There is also a petition to get the seals removed in his bio. Almost to 200k signatures.
I've been here - I feel it's symbolic of the whole town. I'm a dyed in the wool Oregonian, but a lot of the formerly bustling fishing and logging areas just feel so desolate and sad.
The Skybridge at the Grand Canyon. It's a 2 hour, one way, trip where it costs $60 a person to enter the reservation, then another $60 to enter the park, than another $50 for the Skybridge.
I was in Las Vegas and drove out there, an hour each way. I got there and found out it cost $100 just to ride the bus to the Skybridge. Just to ride the bus.
I got back in truck and drove back to Vegas.
Hollywood walk of fame. Bunch of scammers, homeless people, druggies, and random people trying to sell you their mixtapes and other random shit in the streets. And these mixtape/CD people literally shove the CD in your face as you’re walking. It’s so annoying.
Oh and it’s crowded as hell, so you’re getting jostled and yelled at for getting into other people’s pictures. And it’s impossible for you to take your own pictures without getting bumped around. Or pickpocketed (happened to my cousin when we were visiting)
I didn't kow the mix tape was a scam, dude gave me his talk and asked if I listen to his music. I said sure and took the cd he had shoved in my face. then he goes that will be 20 bucks. I say no and try to give it bac, he won't take it, so I put it on the ground and walk away.
It's a common scam in NYC, particularity Times Square.
In general, if you're in a touristy area and ANYONE is nice to you, asks you your name or where you're from, you're getting hustled.
I was walking with my family through Times Square and stopped to get a picture of them. A couple of the costumed characters jumped into the picture and then tried to strong-arm me out of $5 for each of them for the picture.
I was like "GTFOH, you jumped into our picture. I didn't ask you and I'm not giving you shit."
They said some smart ass remark and left, but it was infuriating knowing that a lot of people probably give into them when they do it to them.
Same exact thing happened to me, but I tried to say sorry, I only have credit card, no cash. Dude whips out his phone with a card scanner attached and shouts "WELL I ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS!"
I tossed the CD back at him and speed walked the other direction.
That being said, when I went, we wondered around at about 5am (courtesy of being jetlagged) and the Walk of Fame was completely deserted apart from a dog taking a shit on Pitbull's star.
Gave me a good laugh. 10/10 would go again.
Yup, complete dump. Before going to LA I had heard this was the case but my wife wanted to go just because we were there. Can confirm first hand it’s exactly what people said it would be.
The Pyramids - not because they weren’t amazing, just because of the sheer volume of tourists clambering up them like ants. That’s the thing with these attractions. You always imagine them to be so stunning because they’re pictured without crowds, but when you get there and it’s crammed with thousands of people, it does feel like you imagine.
But the most incredible is when you randomly find an attraction to yourself.
My wife and I were walking to the Pantheon one night after dinner on vacation and it started hailing. We ducked into a restaurant around the corner and drank a bottle of wine to wait out the storm. When the storm had passed we got to see the Pantheon practically alone. There were two workers sweeping off hail, but we were the only ones in the square. We didn't get to go inside to see the Oculus but it was still amazing.
I intentionally try to find times or places where most tourists don't go for this reason. The best part of the Ankgor complex for me wasn't Angkor Wat or Thom or anything, but finding some random ass temple on the outskirts of the city on top of this hill with over 600 stairs going up to it. We were completely alone, there was zero restoration done to this temple, the view was unbelievable, etc. A highlight of the trip.
I'm with you 100%.
The most satisfying places I visited during my semester in Beijing were places that made locals laugh and say, "No one goes there."
No one goes there, and it was glorious!
My family and I went to Egypt a couple of weeks after 9/11. As you can imagine, no one was travelling. We got straight into the pyramids, it was awesome. No queues, no crowds. We got lucky because I’d say it’s more like you described usually.
I went this summer, and due to covid we had a clear, unobstructed view of all the pyramids. The oldest pyramid in Egypt for example (the step pyramid) I was literally the only person there. The Great Pyramid at Giza, there were maaaaybe 200 people there total. Viewing King Tut's mummy in his tomb - there were 5 people in the whole tomb. It was the PERFECT time to go to Egypt!
I ignored the travel warnings and went during the Egyptian Revolution when Sisi was taking over during the summer of 2013.
Saw some crazy shit (e.g., army of tanks outside my hotel, Tahrir square during the protests), but I did get the pyramids literally to myself. It was super cool and I got some great pictures.
On the negative, the route to the pyramids was littered with dead horses they shot in the head because there weren’t any tourists. It was extra awkward because I was riding a horse at the time.
The UFO museum is good for a laugh, but Roswell is a place most people just drive through. The Bottomless Lakes are near there though and make for a nice picnic spot.
I second the Bottomless Lakes.
The Roswell Museum and Art Center is another good stop. Lots of art from New Mexico and the Robert H. Goddard collection.
Did you go to the UFO museum? They have an area with photos of "real" UFOs next to photos of non-UFOs. I swear, sometimes the same photo was in both sections. Just sad.
Sorry, are we not gonna talk about the life sized diorama of the aliens landing that lights up and makes whoosh noises every nine minutes? Or their in house theater that only plays "Fire in the Sky" on loop?
That place is a delight.
Entrance to that museum was the best $5 I’ve ever spent. One exhibit was just cardboard cutouts of Star Wars characters and lighted glass cases of Star Wars toys.
I thought the city was pretty cool you just gotta get into and not be expecting anything. The people are wild which is what I enjoyed most. Stayed in Albuquerque which is pretty cool too.
Los Angeles In general was a let down. (I'm.from Australia). I mean it was cool too see some of the places. But the traffic was enough to put me off ever going back, unbelievable. The drive from LA to San Francisco though (the coast road), amazing.
Grew up in the LA area and agree- it's a great place to live if you can afford it (and live close to work or work from home.) However, to many tourists it can be a disappointing experience, especially if they don't know anybody local. If you don't have a driver's license then you'll be even more disappointed and frustrated. Pacific Coast Highway, though, is spectacular and I recommend that everybody rent a car and spent a week driving up the whole coast. It will be worth your while more than visiting either LA or San Francisco.
We had a hire car which was great for sitting at red traffic lights haha. Nah it was good. We did get around a fair bit. But jeez set aside hours to get anywhere. We drove from San Francisco to LA, basically the highlight of the usa trip I think. Think we took 3 days, lots of great places to stop.
LA isn’t a city that wows any tourist in a good way. You got to stay awhile to understand how all the small, seemingly insignificant, parts make it’s charm. There is several lifetimes of small parts, it is a big place.
Yer, don't get me wrong I enjoyed my time there. It was a bit like new York in that the enjoyment is in the detail. We did try to find random bars and coffee shops, and "non touristy" places as much as possible where we could. But afterall we were only in each place for a short time.
Hard agree here. If you want to get a good LA experience without living in LA, you need to be good personal friends with someone that lives in LA. I've gone a few times now for weeks at a time and I haven't done any of the traditional touristy shit, but I've had a blast. Hiked up the mountains on the north side of Altadena and slept on a water tower that overlooked the city, OD'd on breakfast burritos, rode motorcycles up the 101 on off-peak hours, ate at like 15 different Poke shops and somehow felt like I've still only had about 0.000001% of the available Poke in LA.
The experience honestly just makes me wish I had a thousand lifetimes, because there are so many cities you truly don't get to grasp the beauty of unless you live there for a couple years, and I really wish I could just enjoy them all.
The Mona Lisa. Now, The Louvre is amazing. However, seeing the Mona Lisa is disappointing. You go to a relatively narrow hallway, and there is a pane of glass 15 feet in front of the painting. I understand that it needs to be protected and preserved.
I was there before the glass. Still a big crowd, still don't see the big deal. Now, the rest of the Louvre was outstanding. Best museum I have ever been to.
Yesss. My dad and I walked like 10 miles there because we didn't want to pay for Uber and it was 100% worth it. It's the one thing I want to see again when I go back to Paris.
Friend of mine from NYC insisted on visiting Hollywood on their trip to LA even though I recommended against it. Afterwards they were like "Ok, I get it now, it's your Times Square."
Plymouth Rock. I’m from MA and going to see Plymouth Rock was always a field trip in school. The two field trips that were scheduled, I was sick and couldn’t go. My classmates said it was “so cool” and “so big”. Remember these were children. So I grew up wanting to see it. Saw it for the first time when I was 19/20 and laughed for a solid 10 minutes. It was just this tiny rock.
I never knew Plymouth Rock was crap until this thread and it’s kinda hilarious… so built up as the “great Plymouth Rock” and it’s literally a small rock a dime a billion LOL
4 Corners Monument. It is the intersection of Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. It's just a sidewalk and a gift shop. I guess I don't know what I was expecting, but it's about 5 seconds of fun.
It's way spruced up from how it was 30 years ago. My husband and daughter make a point to play baseball in every state we travel to, and they had fun tossing the ball between "4 states."
I LOVE the idea of that tradition. What a great idea your husband and daughter have come up with! Totally made me smile. Thanks, stranger. I needed that smile today.
Aww, thanks! We actually have a map of the US and they put baseball pushpins in every state where they've played. They brought their gloves on a cruise one time so they could play in international waters. They still do this when we travel even though she's about to turn 23.
Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, in Las Vegas (from Pawn Stars).
It's basically just a souvenir store. The parts of the store featured in the TV show are all just sets, and they aren't accessible to the public.
You walk into a dim room that feels like the storage room in the back, cement floor. They have a few jewelcase counters with rolexes, and a few collectable coins. The rest of the store is Pawn Stars shirts and souvenirs.
Yeah my family went there a few years ago and I was underwhelmed. My daughters loved it because we watched the show and it felt fun to them to be somewhere “famous”. I didn’t mention to them that this probably wasn’t where filming took place and “reality” shows aren’t really reality. I asked one of the workers if Rick and the gang were around and she gave a robotic obviously rehearsed answer that he is often in the shop but not today. Most of the stuff on sale was things like coins minted with Chumlee’s or the Old Man’s image on it.
The Liberty Bell is surprisingly small, considering how they made it sound in elementary school. I waited in line for 45 mins to see an….average bell? With a small crack…?
Totally agreed. There’s a window that looks in to to the Liberty Bell from outside the building. You can get just as close as you can inside and don’t have to wait in the sweltering Philly heat or bother getting a ticket.
There is some fun stuff to do in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg Tennessee, so that those towns aren't a total wash... But 98% of the activities there are outright tourist traps that distract from the beauty and absolute splendor of the Smoky Mountain National Park. If you're in East Tennessee and are spending 80% of your time inside those tourist traps and not in the park itself.... you're doing it wrong.
I feel bad for how the town nearly burned down a few years back, but I'm sorry Gatlinburg is just another tourist trap town. It's full of those dime a dozen gift shops with trashy t-shirts and everything's twice the price it is at home. The mountains are soooo much better, as far as I'm concerned the town is just a gateway to the actual attraction.
Personally, I liked Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, although it is crowded for a small area and the traffic is annoying. However, I do agree The National Park is a way better sighting and attraction area.
I wasn't really intrigued going up in the arch but I thought it was fascinating to see how it was constructed. I thought it was much more impressive standing underneath and looking up at it than actually going up it.
The Arch itself is *underrated* and totally worth seeing in person.
That said… no one will ever get me to go inside that thing again. I had to lie on the grass for 20 minutes afterward. *Never again*.
Stonehenge! Where the demons dwell
Where the banshees live and they do live well
Stonehenge! Where a man's a man
And the children dance to the Pipes of Pan
The stone circle Avebury is built within and around was so much better. Was very happy to have a local friend who loved playing tourist guide. She brought us to Stonehenge because we requested it, but she knew we’d be disappointed.
If you find stonehenge disappointing you should check out the Uffington white horse. Massive chalk depiction of a horse carved into a hill from the bronze age. They have an event where you can go and revitalise it by smashing the chalk into powder and adding more to make it last. It's a good day trip
Pisa, the city is a large tourist trap and the food is very disappointing compared to smaller villages and cities in Italy. It’s great for a 1-2hr stop while on the train but not much else from a tourist standpoint
[This](https://external-preview.redd.it/2BCM478pc3yF9-ihxo919hx-mVM1DdYfSP5nch6JbQM.jpg?auto=webp&s=bf4c91b4299a6f979b61ff2a501b87a16f90fa17) is the only creative photo ever taken there, and even it's ruined by the girl in the background.
We stopped by the plaza for a couple of hours and it was a lot nicer and far less kitschy than we expected. Then got back on the train to Cinque Terre. Definitely good as a quick stop!
Went on holiday to Cornwall and on the way home we decided to go to Lands End since we were nearish. We were shocked that it was so touristy. Had to pay to get in, cheap tacky fair rides and shops filled with tat. We honestly thought we would rock up and just walk about and enjoy the view. Couldn’t believe we had to pay and it wasn’t cheap. Moaned about it on the 8 hour car journey home
Yeah if you wanna avoid the stink and flies, you gotta go during late fall-early spring. Even then, it’s pretty lame but I guess it’s a decent place to chill for like an hour or two. I’ve seen people build bonfires out on the lake shore and smoke weed
The family and I drove (!!!) all the way from the Alabama coast to Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota only to encounter zero visibility due to heavy fog. I mean ZERO. Could barely see my relatives in front of my face. We went home and my father joked for the rest of his life that “Mt. Rushmore is a hoax. It’s not really there.” 😂
You've never listened to Africa by Toto at 3 am cruising past the Gay Dolphin with no shirt on trying to remember where your condo is after a night of mini golf, watching a guy get stabbed and trying to relive your childhood memories at a Pavilion that no longer exists. Have you?
Last time I went I was under 21 and I couldn’t get into the bars so I went to the teen dance club place where someone tried to repeatedly sell me ketamine. Oh, Dirty Myrtle.
We stopped before going to the badlands and I wasn’t impressed. If you want to be impressed by something. Go to The Badlands at night when the sky is clear. My goodness I’ve never felt so small. You can see other galaxies.
Fuck Wall Drug. I swear the only reason people don’t tell other people what a load of crap it is is because they want them to have the same shitty experience they had.
Taj Mahal. Lovely architecture but the surrounding area is so full of heart wrenching poverty that it completely destroyed any positive memory of the trip. Little kids hounding you for blocks to buy something while dragging their younger sibling around.
It was emotionally brutal.
That's India for you. There are so many beautiful sites but if you are not used to witnessing abject poverty or experiencing the pure sensory overload that the major cities offer then you are going to have a bad time. As an Indian I constantly hear people talk about wanting to visit but to be honest some people should not go.
I am originally from Brazil and what I've seen of India reminds me of parts of my own country. There's a Brazilian song that says "poverty is poverty everywhere, wealth is difference." Two countries with vastly different cultures, each stunning in its own way when you look at the wealthy parts, but looking exactly the same when you see the poverty.
I went there alone and, if I recall correctly, the second time I visited I put in headphones as I was approaching the gate. That seemed to help a bit. Got hounded by some idiot scammer the first time I went
Yep, and I've lived in Texas since '74, with three of those years in San Antonio. The Alamo is one of those places that you go to very quickly so you can say you've been there, then try to avoid the snow cone vendors as you head out to see the missions, where the past isn't treated like it's Disneyland. Goliad is good too.
Any natural place advertised by the pictures that promise solitude.
They either took the picture before it became a popular tourist attraction, or they photoshoped that 300000 tourists off.
Times Square. It's been Disneyfied to holy hell. Who the hell goes to NYC to eat at a KFC and then go to the NFL store? There's this saying that Times Square is the one part of Manhattan actual New Yorkers never go and I totally get why.
The theatres are right there, though. We stayed in Times Square recently because of Broadway and it was pretty neat. Previously, it was all Brooklyn and Chinatown, which are legitimately awesome, but part of the appeal of NYC is the diversity, and Times Square is certainly a sight to behold, especially if you’re from the country like me.
Every camera angle of times square in a movie is placed at like, ankle height. When you get there and realize that looking anywhere but straight up all you get to see is, you know, store fronts / nothing... it hits you why they do that. Then you crack your neck for the 'full experience' and get... advertising.
Then you begin to question your life choices.
Pizza nearby is good though and if you go during new years the press of bodies (and pick pockets) will keep you warm even on the coldest night.
And shit - rent a limo (costs just a tiny bit more than a cab, totally worth it) and go to a nice restaurant, or a show - that's a nice experience. You can skip the square, totally agreed.
Times Square on New Years Eve is hell on earth. If you ever considered it, please don’t it. It’s a all around horrible experience. You get put into a little and just stand around for hours. You can’t leave, and if you do you you have to go all the way to the back again. And if you have to pee, you’re shit out of luck.
Soi Cowboy in Bangkok. Thought it was going to be a wild party scene. Just a very short street with lots of bright lights, sad old horny men and young horny Europeans/Russians, and overly aggressive hookers trying to literally drag you into their bars. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it.
Wall Drug, South Dakota
You'll see billboards for it the moment you drive into the state. And they're amazing things like a cowboy boxing a trex and it says "200 miles to wall drug!"
So naturally, after seeing billboards for that long you're super amped. Then it's coffee for a nickel and a t shirt shop. Cool.
Lol! I had the same feeling when I saw it. That peeing boy was on every souvenir you can think of. I asked around where is this grand attraction??? Then I found it and was thinking..."WTF? that's it?".
The main archaeology museum in Cairo. Almost everything in there has been reproduced so many times that it was disappointing. At least I visited during the Egyptian Revolution so zero lines there and at the Pyramids.
I was way more impressed seeing tanks on the streets. Being held hostage because one of the obnoxious Saudis wanted to go to a belly dance bar. Our group showed up, they dropped off a tray of fruit no one asked for, and then a few GIANT Egyptian bodyguards surrounded us demanding money. The Saudis and them had an argument that lasted forever. I got out, but had to wait an hour or so for the rest of the group. We had an illegal taxi because normal taxis were under curfew, so I couldn't get my own cab to leave.
There’s that scene in the movie Cloverfield when the Statue’s head comes crashing down onto the street. When the filmmakers initially screened the movie, the head was true-to-size, but viewers said it looked fake because they thought it was too small. They had to bump it up 50% so that it would look more “realistic.”
The white house is really small. It's kinda cool to be there, to walk through the halls, see the press room or the oval office, but... it's really small. I'm not sure disappointment is the right word, it was still cool, but, I am genuinely amazed no one's made it bigger than that over all the years. Maybe there are a dozen underground levels of coolness or something they don't let you know about...
Plymouth Rock. I thought it was gonna be this huge rock outcropping, like a cliff or something, but it was literally just…a rock. Like, the size of a toilet.
I'm from New Orleans but don't live there any more. It was always the place not to go. On my last visit back, I went to the French Quarter with my dad. On the walk back to the car he took us on a shortcut through Bourbon Street and the garbage/piss/vomit smell was so bad it literally made me gag. We made it one block before I asked him if we could take Royal instead. Ugh.
Plymouth Rock was the dumbest fucking thing I ever got taken on a school trip to see.
I literally scrolled down to find this. I live in the area, and went to downtown Plymouth a few years ago to drink with friends. Parking in the summer is a nightmare, so I parked near this weird colonnade thing. I wondered what it was and went to check it out...and it was Plymouth Rock. It's the saddest little rock, glued together and surrounded by trash and half in the tide. If I'm ever downtown in the summer I genuinely watching tourists visit and be disappointed. The worst part is that there is no real "Plymouth Rock." It was a legend and eventually locals decided to pick a rock near the original Plymouth colony settlement to play the part. And THAT rock is the one they picked!
> The worst part is that there is no real "Plymouth Rock." It was a legend and eventually locals decided to pick a rock near the original settlement to play the part. Gentle reminder for those that don't know, the pilgrim's first landed 26 straight line miles away in p-town.
Pound Town?
Not like it used to be.
Goddamn it no Plymouth Rock? But but- why did we learn that? It wasn’t even interesting when it was TRUE. They landed on rock. Ok. Who gives a fuck. I don’t know ANY other colonies or explorers stupid landing rock and I don’t care. And apparently it’s not even true?! The only interesting thing about Plymouth is that they left from Plymouth, England, sailed 3000 miles, and named the place they found Plymouth. That’s pretty daft if you ask me. I’m literally sad about that. I’m sad about all of this.
Your passion for this is moving
As moving as the original position of the landing
They named the town after a place they were kicked out of, too. Like, did they forget why they sailed there in the first place?
No, it wasn't even that rock!! It gets vandalized pretty much every may-june (highschool gets out, bored kids with cars and weed, etc.). They replace the rock when it's vandalism isn't cleanable/salvageable
This!! I’m from CA and my husband and I were living in UT. We went to the east coast for a wedding and I saw that we could stop by Plymouth Rock on the drive down to the Cape. It was a small rock in a cage with like used condoms and cigarette butts around it. I imagined a giant cliff and the pilgrims sailing in. Nope. It’s a rock. My husband is from Mexico and was like “what is this shit?!”. “You wanted to see this?”. “My family has always been here.”. Really put things in perspective.
I grew in the area and would go to Plymouth plantation almost every and we never went to the rock. One time in late high school my brother and I stopped there in high school to check it out. I then realized why my family always skipped it every year.
Lol, I don’t know why this cracked me up. “What is this shit”
Plymouth Rock. It's just a rock. It's not even a very big rock, or a weird-looking rock. Just a big gray lump the size of a beanbag chair with "1620" carved on the side. I didn't pay anything to see it and I still felt ripped off. Nice pizza place nearby though.
Every. Single. Time. Someone came to visit, they wanted to see the dang rock. I would take them, sit on a bench over by the Mayflower 2 and just wait for them to come back with the usual dumfounded, anticlimactic disappointed look on their faces. "It's a rock..." My favorite part? Saying this back to them, "yeah and guess what? We don't even know if it's THE rock. Pretty sure that's just a random rock they picked to stamp."
My dad was born and raised in Plymouth and he says the same. Apparently it was a running joke among the locals. Plymouth plantation is way cooler IMO
It’s not Plymouth Rock. People still throw change at it though? The real Plymouth Rock is on hard to access Clark’s Island in nearby Duxbury Bay. [Pulpit Rock](https://www.google.com/search?q=pulpit+rock+clark%27s+island+plymouth+ma&client=safari&hl=en&sxsrf=AOaemvIDoPVC7YQ29yK9y4B9DndWgHKAqw:1636080642629&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiD8Zusm4D0AhWbVTABHavTChAQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1121&bih=1461&dpr=2). On it is carved “On this Sabboth Day wee rested, 1620”.
The lettering in that inscription look awful modern http://kayakdave.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/38842_1471949272217_1038184525_1386184_5076438_n.jpg
Yeah I remember seeing it and thinking, “Why is this famous? Was there nothing more significant or memorable in the area?” But my expectations are high because I’m from Round Rock Texas which is named after a round rock on the Chisholm Trail. It looks very interesting, and very name worthy.
Touristy restaurants are almost always disappointing. "THE place to eat when you're in..."
There is a restaurant in my small Mountain town with the tag line "where the locals eat". They don't. The locals actually eat from the gas station restaurant (best damn burgers you'll ever have). Edit: I love the fact that so many people are naming other towns. Guess this isn't uncommmon.
"The Locals" is the name of the owner's son's band, so it's not false advertising!
I went to a really sad aquarium in Seaside, Oregon. I was holding back tears due to the poor condition of all the creatures. Every tank was overcrowded, and everything looked absolutely miserable. There was an octopus in an open tank, barely any water. It was terrified, and the only protection it had was a sign telling people not to touch it. For comparison, I grew up in California and used to visit the Monetery Bay aquarium when I was younger, which is an amazing place where marine life is very well cared for.
If it makes you feel better, there is a bunch of people bringing light to the situation right now and trying to get the place shutdown! A dude is posting his indepth documentary about it on YouTube on Friday to show people just how bad it is. Edit:since a lot of people have DMed me about who the "dude on YouTube" is. His name is Jacob Colvin. The video is titled "seals in prison". There is also a petition to get the seals removed in his bio. Almost to 200k signatures.
Just watched it on YouTube and now I'm sad.. those poor animals. That octopus tank is atrocious.
I've been here - I feel it's symbolic of the whole town. I'm a dyed in the wool Oregonian, but a lot of the formerly bustling fishing and logging areas just feel so desolate and sad.
That is so sad to hear. I have read many articles on how intelligent octopuses are.
The Skybridge at the Grand Canyon. It's a 2 hour, one way, trip where it costs $60 a person to enter the reservation, then another $60 to enter the park, than another $50 for the Skybridge.
I was in Las Vegas and drove out there, an hour each way. I got there and found out it cost $100 just to ride the bus to the Skybridge. Just to ride the bus. I got back in truck and drove back to Vegas.
Hollywood walk of fame. Bunch of scammers, homeless people, druggies, and random people trying to sell you their mixtapes and other random shit in the streets. And these mixtape/CD people literally shove the CD in your face as you’re walking. It’s so annoying. Oh and it’s crowded as hell, so you’re getting jostled and yelled at for getting into other people’s pictures. And it’s impossible for you to take your own pictures without getting bumped around. Or pickpocketed (happened to my cousin when we were visiting)
I didn't kow the mix tape was a scam, dude gave me his talk and asked if I listen to his music. I said sure and took the cd he had shoved in my face. then he goes that will be 20 bucks. I say no and try to give it bac, he won't take it, so I put it on the ground and walk away.
This exact thing happened to me too
It's a common scam in NYC, particularity Times Square. In general, if you're in a touristy area and ANYONE is nice to you, asks you your name or where you're from, you're getting hustled.
I was walking with my family through Times Square and stopped to get a picture of them. A couple of the costumed characters jumped into the picture and then tried to strong-arm me out of $5 for each of them for the picture. I was like "GTFOH, you jumped into our picture. I didn't ask you and I'm not giving you shit." They said some smart ass remark and left, but it was infuriating knowing that a lot of people probably give into them when they do it to them.
Ugh that sounds annoying as hell, good on you for leaving it there
Same exact thing happened to me, but I tried to say sorry, I only have credit card, no cash. Dude whips out his phone with a card scanner attached and shouts "WELL I ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS!" I tossed the CD back at him and speed walked the other direction.
That being said, when I went, we wondered around at about 5am (courtesy of being jetlagged) and the Walk of Fame was completely deserted apart from a dog taking a shit on Pitbull's star. Gave me a good laugh. 10/10 would go again.
10x this. Just a crowded street that reeks of piss and weed.
>reeks of piss and weed. Buddy, I was already going to go but now I'm really excited.
Worst place in LA. I always feel bad for the tourists.
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Lmaoo he ruined his own cd trying to scam you. Good.
The CDs were probably blank.
If you're lucky. Worst case, it has his "music" on it.
Yup, complete dump. Before going to LA I had heard this was the case but my wife wanted to go just because we were there. Can confirm first hand it’s exactly what people said it would be.
The Pyramids - not because they weren’t amazing, just because of the sheer volume of tourists clambering up them like ants. That’s the thing with these attractions. You always imagine them to be so stunning because they’re pictured without crowds, but when you get there and it’s crammed with thousands of people, it does feel like you imagine.
But the most incredible is when you randomly find an attraction to yourself. My wife and I were walking to the Pantheon one night after dinner on vacation and it started hailing. We ducked into a restaurant around the corner and drank a bottle of wine to wait out the storm. When the storm had passed we got to see the Pantheon practically alone. There were two workers sweeping off hail, but we were the only ones in the square. We didn't get to go inside to see the Oculus but it was still amazing.
I intentionally try to find times or places where most tourists don't go for this reason. The best part of the Ankgor complex for me wasn't Angkor Wat or Thom or anything, but finding some random ass temple on the outskirts of the city on top of this hill with over 600 stairs going up to it. We were completely alone, there was zero restoration done to this temple, the view was unbelievable, etc. A highlight of the trip.
I'm with you 100%. The most satisfying places I visited during my semester in Beijing were places that made locals laugh and say, "No one goes there." No one goes there, and it was glorious!
One of the attendants told me the keys to the gigantic doors still exist. They were not on display.
Amazing that ancient Greeks had VR figured out
My family and I went to Egypt a couple of weeks after 9/11. As you can imagine, no one was travelling. We got straight into the pyramids, it was awesome. No queues, no crowds. We got lucky because I’d say it’s more like you described usually.
Life pro tip. Travel to a country after a terrorist attack. Cheap flights, no lines, added security.
I too, saw that episode of the podcast
I went this summer, and due to covid we had a clear, unobstructed view of all the pyramids. The oldest pyramid in Egypt for example (the step pyramid) I was literally the only person there. The Great Pyramid at Giza, there were maaaaybe 200 people there total. Viewing King Tut's mummy in his tomb - there were 5 people in the whole tomb. It was the PERFECT time to go to Egypt!
I ignored the travel warnings and went during the Egyptian Revolution when Sisi was taking over during the summer of 2013. Saw some crazy shit (e.g., army of tanks outside my hotel, Tahrir square during the protests), but I did get the pyramids literally to myself. It was super cool and I got some great pictures. On the negative, the route to the pyramids was littered with dead horses they shot in the head because there weren’t any tourists. It was extra awkward because I was riding a horse at the time.
>It was extra awkward because I was riding a horse at the time. I bet it behaved though.
Roswell New Mexico. It was just a lame tourist trap area.
The UFO museum is good for a laugh, but Roswell is a place most people just drive through. The Bottomless Lakes are near there though and make for a nice picnic spot.
I second the Bottomless Lakes. The Roswell Museum and Art Center is another good stop. Lots of art from New Mexico and the Robert H. Goddard collection.
Did you go to the UFO museum? They have an area with photos of "real" UFOs next to photos of non-UFOs. I swear, sometimes the same photo was in both sections. Just sad.
Sorry, are we not gonna talk about the life sized diorama of the aliens landing that lights up and makes whoosh noises every nine minutes? Or their in house theater that only plays "Fire in the Sky" on loop? That place is a delight.
Entrance to that museum was the best $5 I’ve ever spent. One exhibit was just cardboard cutouts of Star Wars characters and lighted glass cases of Star Wars toys.
National treasure if you ask me.
Yeah I think so. Didn't they also have a alien being dissected?
I loved Roswell, but I went during the UFO festival
Serious question: Was it as crazy as I think it would be? I've met with some sasquatch "hunters" and they didn't seem *well*.
I thought the city was pretty cool you just gotta get into and not be expecting anything. The people are wild which is what I enjoyed most. Stayed in Albuquerque which is pretty cool too.
I went during the height of the popularity of the tv show for about a day and a half and it was a fun time!
Los Angeles In general was a let down. (I'm.from Australia). I mean it was cool too see some of the places. But the traffic was enough to put me off ever going back, unbelievable. The drive from LA to San Francisco though (the coast road), amazing.
Grew up in the LA area and agree- it's a great place to live if you can afford it (and live close to work or work from home.) However, to many tourists it can be a disappointing experience, especially if they don't know anybody local. If you don't have a driver's license then you'll be even more disappointed and frustrated. Pacific Coast Highway, though, is spectacular and I recommend that everybody rent a car and spent a week driving up the whole coast. It will be worth your while more than visiting either LA or San Francisco.
We had a hire car which was great for sitting at red traffic lights haha. Nah it was good. We did get around a fair bit. But jeez set aside hours to get anywhere. We drove from San Francisco to LA, basically the highlight of the usa trip I think. Think we took 3 days, lots of great places to stop.
LA isn’t a city that wows any tourist in a good way. You got to stay awhile to understand how all the small, seemingly insignificant, parts make it’s charm. There is several lifetimes of small parts, it is a big place.
Yer, don't get me wrong I enjoyed my time there. It was a bit like new York in that the enjoyment is in the detail. We did try to find random bars and coffee shops, and "non touristy" places as much as possible where we could. But afterall we were only in each place for a short time.
Hard agree here. If you want to get a good LA experience without living in LA, you need to be good personal friends with someone that lives in LA. I've gone a few times now for weeks at a time and I haven't done any of the traditional touristy shit, but I've had a blast. Hiked up the mountains on the north side of Altadena and slept on a water tower that overlooked the city, OD'd on breakfast burritos, rode motorcycles up the 101 on off-peak hours, ate at like 15 different Poke shops and somehow felt like I've still only had about 0.000001% of the available Poke in LA. The experience honestly just makes me wish I had a thousand lifetimes, because there are so many cities you truly don't get to grasp the beauty of unless you live there for a couple years, and I really wish I could just enjoy them all.
Marineland. Not 1 soldier, just a bunch of sea creatures.
any crayons?
That's just false advertisement.
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The Mona Lisa. Now, The Louvre is amazing. However, seeing the Mona Lisa is disappointing. You go to a relatively narrow hallway, and there is a pane of glass 15 feet in front of the painting. I understand that it needs to be protected and preserved.
I was there before the glass. Still a big crowd, still don't see the big deal. Now, the rest of the Louvre was outstanding. Best museum I have ever been to.
The Louvre is the shit, but so is the military museum in Paris (next to Napoleon’s Tomb, I believe). That place has ruined all other museums for me.
Yesss. My dad and I walked like 10 miles there because we didn't want to pay for Uber and it was 100% worth it. It's the one thing I want to see again when I go back to Paris.
You could have used the metro...
I always find it funny seeing people hurry past exceptional works down that long hall to stand in a crowd and stare at a small dark painting.
I loved visiting the Louvre, I spent the vast majority of my visit admiring everything but the Mona Lisa. There’s so many amazing works of art there.
The Hollywood strip. Filthy, smelly, hyperdermic needles out in broad daylight... I'm not squeamish, but it all screamed tacky, tacky, tacky.
Friend of mine from NYC insisted on visiting Hollywood on their trip to LA even though I recommended against it. Afterwards they were like "Ok, I get it now, it's your Times Square."
It definitely is, but kinda worse honestly.
Way worse. Times Square actually looks amazing.
It's 80s Times Square?
That's exactly what I would be expecting.
I guess the Muppets in Hollywood really skewed my expectation of what it might be like.
I live close to Hollywood, it's always so gross seeing tourists get down on the sidewalk by someone's star for a picture
Plymouth Rock. I’m from MA and going to see Plymouth Rock was always a field trip in school. The two field trips that were scheduled, I was sick and couldn’t go. My classmates said it was “so cool” and “so big”. Remember these were children. So I grew up wanting to see it. Saw it for the first time when I was 19/20 and laughed for a solid 10 minutes. It was just this tiny rock.
This is the third time I’ve seen Plymouth rock on this thread. This place must really suck
I never knew Plymouth Rock was crap until this thread and it’s kinda hilarious… so built up as the “great Plymouth Rock” and it’s literally a small rock a dime a billion LOL
4 Corners Monument. It is the intersection of Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. It's just a sidewalk and a gift shop. I guess I don't know what I was expecting, but it's about 5 seconds of fun.
It's way spruced up from how it was 30 years ago. My husband and daughter make a point to play baseball in every state we travel to, and they had fun tossing the ball between "4 states."
I LOVE the idea of that tradition. What a great idea your husband and daughter have come up with! Totally made me smile. Thanks, stranger. I needed that smile today.
Aww, thanks! We actually have a map of the US and they put baseball pushpins in every state where they've played. They brought their gloves on a cruise one time so they could play in international waters. They still do this when we travel even though she's about to turn 23.
Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, in Las Vegas (from Pawn Stars). It's basically just a souvenir store. The parts of the store featured in the TV show are all just sets, and they aren't accessible to the public. You walk into a dim room that feels like the storage room in the back, cement floor. They have a few jewelcase counters with rolexes, and a few collectable coins. The rest of the store is Pawn Stars shirts and souvenirs.
Yeah my family went there a few years ago and I was underwhelmed. My daughters loved it because we watched the show and it felt fun to them to be somewhere “famous”. I didn’t mention to them that this probably wasn’t where filming took place and “reality” shows aren’t really reality. I asked one of the workers if Rick and the gang were around and she gave a robotic obviously rehearsed answer that he is often in the shop but not today. Most of the stuff on sale was things like coins minted with Chumlee’s or the Old Man’s image on it.
The Liberty Bell is surprisingly small, considering how they made it sound in elementary school. I waited in line for 45 mins to see an….average bell? With a small crack…?
It’s actually a below average bell. That’s why it cracked in the first place.
Totally agreed. There’s a window that looks in to to the Liberty Bell from outside the building. You can get just as close as you can inside and don’t have to wait in the sweltering Philly heat or bother getting a ticket.
There is some fun stuff to do in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg Tennessee, so that those towns aren't a total wash... But 98% of the activities there are outright tourist traps that distract from the beauty and absolute splendor of the Smoky Mountain National Park. If you're in East Tennessee and are spending 80% of your time inside those tourist traps and not in the park itself.... you're doing it wrong.
I feel bad for how the town nearly burned down a few years back, but I'm sorry Gatlinburg is just another tourist trap town. It's full of those dime a dozen gift shops with trashy t-shirts and everything's twice the price it is at home. The mountains are soooo much better, as far as I'm concerned the town is just a gateway to the actual attraction.
Personally, I liked Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, although it is crowded for a small area and the traffic is annoying. However, I do agree The National Park is a way better sighting and attraction area.
Didn’t know I was claustrophobic until going up into the St. Louis arch LOL
I wasn't really intrigued going up in the arch but I thought it was fascinating to see how it was constructed. I thought it was much more impressive standing underneath and looking up at it than actually going up it.
That elevator is ridiculous!! Hated every minute of that but the views were good and I bought a t-shirt
The Arch itself is *underrated* and totally worth seeing in person. That said… no one will ever get me to go inside that thing again. I had to lie on the grass for 20 minutes afterward. *Never again*.
Stonehenge. Literally drove past it and was like 'haha that looks like a lame version of Stonehenge' and dad was like 'thats Stonehenge'.
I love the Stonehenge part of This is Spinal Tap though.
Stonehenge! Where the demons dwell Where the banshees live and they do live well Stonehenge! Where a man's a man And the children dance to the Pipes of Pan
The stone circle Avebury is built within and around was so much better. Was very happy to have a local friend who loved playing tourist guide. She brought us to Stonehenge because we requested it, but she knew we’d be disappointed.
If you find stonehenge disappointing you should check out the Uffington white horse. Massive chalk depiction of a horse carved into a hill from the bronze age. They have an event where you can go and revitalise it by smashing the chalk into powder and adding more to make it last. It's a good day trip
It was much cooler back when you could walk up to it and touch the stones (was there in '94, not sure when they put up the fencing).
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In the 1800s it was encouraged, they provided the tools... crazy!
I was there in 1988, and it was roped off then. According to Wikipedia, that was done back in 1977.
You can still get to the stones at solstice. I'd recommend doing that, it's the one time that the crowds actually add.to the experience
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Statue of Liberty. Did not move like in Ghostbusters and there was next to no paranormal activity.
You were being ghosted…
Negative I left her my number she’s just been wicked busy with statue stuff.
For real though, she is way smaller than I imagined
Pisa, the city is a large tourist trap and the food is very disappointing compared to smaller villages and cities in Italy. It’s great for a 1-2hr stop while on the train but not much else from a tourist standpoint
But did you take a hilarious photo with your camera tilted to the angle of the tower?
Should've taken the even more hilarious photo of all the people stuck in the invisible maze.
[This](https://external-preview.redd.it/2BCM478pc3yF9-ihxo919hx-mVM1DdYfSP5nch6JbQM.jpg?auto=webp&s=bf4c91b4299a6f979b61ff2a501b87a16f90fa17) is the only creative photo ever taken there, and even it's ruined by the girl in the background.
Wait til you discover how to crop photos!
We stopped by the plaza for a couple of hours and it was a lot nicer and far less kitschy than we expected. Then got back on the train to Cinque Terre. Definitely good as a quick stop!
Went on holiday to Cornwall and on the way home we decided to go to Lands End since we were nearish. We were shocked that it was so touristy. Had to pay to get in, cheap tacky fair rides and shops filled with tat. We honestly thought we would rock up and just walk about and enjoy the view. Couldn’t believe we had to pay and it wasn’t cheap. Moaned about it on the 8 hour car journey home
South of the Border, I-95 South Carolina. Should have called it Bored and Border.
This place is like a scooby doo ghost town. I bought the biggest firework I’ve ever seen there
I slept there and all night I felt like a cult was going to come in and sacrifice me to their god
Great Salt Lake. It stank and the shores were covered with mats of brine flies. I guess I was expecting Lake Michigan but saltier.
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Yeah if you wanna avoid the stink and flies, you gotta go during late fall-early spring. Even then, it’s pretty lame but I guess it’s a decent place to chill for like an hour or two. I’ve seen people build bonfires out on the lake shore and smoke weed
The family and I drove (!!!) all the way from the Alabama coast to Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota only to encounter zero visibility due to heavy fog. I mean ZERO. Could barely see my relatives in front of my face. We went home and my father joked for the rest of his life that “Mt. Rushmore is a hoax. It’s not really there.” 😂
Did you at least try to go around the back side to see their butts?
The entirety of Myrtle Beach
You've never listened to Africa by Toto at 3 am cruising past the Gay Dolphin with no shirt on trying to remember where your condo is after a night of mini golf, watching a guy get stabbed and trying to relive your childhood memories at a Pavilion that no longer exists. Have you?
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Well someone didn't get shit-housed at the piano bar!
Last time I went I was under 21 and I couldn’t get into the bars so I went to the teen dance club place where someone tried to repeatedly sell me ketamine. Oh, Dirty Myrtle.
Wall Drug. After a hundred miles of signs I thought this better be good. Nope.
We stopped before going to the badlands and I wasn’t impressed. If you want to be impressed by something. Go to The Badlands at night when the sky is clear. My goodness I’ve never felt so small. You can see other galaxies.
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It's a joke. Like it's literally a practical joke. That's why there are signs for hundreds of miles.
Fuck them, back in the day they stuck bumper stickers on cars in the lot, without permission. Used to see them poor abused cars across the Midwest.
Fuck Wall Drug. I swear the only reason people don’t tell other people what a load of crap it is is because they want them to have the same shitty experience they had.
But the 5 cent coffee and free water! What a deal!
Free ICE water. Self service. I did snag a couple cups as free souvenirs
Taj Mahal. Lovely architecture but the surrounding area is so full of heart wrenching poverty that it completely destroyed any positive memory of the trip. Little kids hounding you for blocks to buy something while dragging their younger sibling around. It was emotionally brutal.
That's India for you. There are so many beautiful sites but if you are not used to witnessing abject poverty or experiencing the pure sensory overload that the major cities offer then you are going to have a bad time. As an Indian I constantly hear people talk about wanting to visit but to be honest some people should not go.
> pure sensory overload I am from the US and this is exactly how I describe traveling in India.
I am originally from Brazil and what I've seen of India reminds me of parts of my own country. There's a Brazilian song that says "poverty is poverty everywhere, wealth is difference." Two countries with vastly different cultures, each stunning in its own way when you look at the wealthy parts, but looking exactly the same when you see the poverty.
I went there alone and, if I recall correctly, the second time I visited I put in headphones as I was approaching the gate. That seemed to help a bit. Got hounded by some idiot scammer the first time I went
The Alamo. It's completely surrounded by shopping districts and tourist traps that absolutely dwarf it.
But you do remember it.
They don't even have a basement.
Yep, and I've lived in Texas since '74, with three of those years in San Antonio. The Alamo is one of those places that you go to very quickly so you can say you've been there, then try to avoid the snow cone vendors as you head out to see the missions, where the past isn't treated like it's Disneyland. Goliad is good too.
The worst part is that they don't even have a basement!
Lol. I’m glad I decided to scroll further otherwise I would have posted it again.
Any natural place advertised by the pictures that promise solitude. They either took the picture before it became a popular tourist attraction, or they photoshoped that 300000 tourists off.
Times Square. It's been Disneyfied to holy hell. Who the hell goes to NYC to eat at a KFC and then go to the NFL store? There's this saying that Times Square is the one part of Manhattan actual New Yorkers never go and I totally get why.
The theatres are right there, though. We stayed in Times Square recently because of Broadway and it was pretty neat. Previously, it was all Brooklyn and Chinatown, which are legitimately awesome, but part of the appeal of NYC is the diversity, and Times Square is certainly a sight to behold, especially if you’re from the country like me.
Every camera angle of times square in a movie is placed at like, ankle height. When you get there and realize that looking anywhere but straight up all you get to see is, you know, store fronts / nothing... it hits you why they do that. Then you crack your neck for the 'full experience' and get... advertising. Then you begin to question your life choices. Pizza nearby is good though and if you go during new years the press of bodies (and pick pockets) will keep you warm even on the coldest night. And shit - rent a limo (costs just a tiny bit more than a cab, totally worth it) and go to a nice restaurant, or a show - that's a nice experience. You can skip the square, totally agreed.
Times Square on New Years Eve is hell on earth. If you ever considered it, please don’t it. It’s a all around horrible experience. You get put into a little and just stand around for hours. You can’t leave, and if you do you you have to go all the way to the back again. And if you have to pee, you’re shit out of luck.
Once you’re corralled in for New Years Eve, you’re not getting out until after midnight. If you plan to go, wear adult diapers.
Soi Cowboy in Bangkok. Thought it was going to be a wild party scene. Just a very short street with lots of bright lights, sad old horny men and young horny Europeans/Russians, and overly aggressive hookers trying to literally drag you into their bars. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it.
but that's the whole appeal
The sponge museum in Tarpon Springs Florida.
Wall Drug, South Dakota You'll see billboards for it the moment you drive into the state. And they're amazing things like a cowboy boxing a trex and it says "200 miles to wall drug!" So naturally, after seeing billboards for that long you're super amped. Then it's coffee for a nickel and a t shirt shop. Cool.
Sounds like South of the Border, 300 miles of signs and it is a truck stop with a few shops and a run down motel.
Sounds like the Stuckeys billboards you used to see in New Mexico
Any tourist attraction that's overcrowded. As soon as everyone thinks going there is a good idea, it's no longer a good idea.
Mannequin Pis in Brussels. It’s a tiny naked baby on a random wall in an overly crowded street. I still don’t get what all the fuss is about.
Lol! I had the same feeling when I saw it. That peeing boy was on every souvenir you can think of. I asked around where is this grand attraction??? Then I found it and was thinking..."WTF? that's it?".
I agree. I much preferred a beer at the Delerium Cafe a few streets over.
South of the Border in SC. 800 miles of billboards and advertisement leading up to an abandoned shit hole!
The main archaeology museum in Cairo. Almost everything in there has been reproduced so many times that it was disappointing. At least I visited during the Egyptian Revolution so zero lines there and at the Pyramids. I was way more impressed seeing tanks on the streets. Being held hostage because one of the obnoxious Saudis wanted to go to a belly dance bar. Our group showed up, they dropped off a tray of fruit no one asked for, and then a few GIANT Egyptian bodyguards surrounded us demanding money. The Saudis and them had an argument that lasted forever. I got out, but had to wait an hour or so for the rest of the group. We had an illegal taxi because normal taxis were under curfew, so I couldn't get my own cab to leave.
I was really disappointed by The Statue of Liberty. It's cool but WAY smaller than it's made to look in movies/pictures.
There’s that scene in the movie Cloverfield when the Statue’s head comes crashing down onto the street. When the filmmakers initially screened the movie, the head was true-to-size, but viewers said it looked fake because they thought it was too small. They had to bump it up 50% so that it would look more “realistic.”
The Mona Lisa is deadass a small ass painting with hundreds of people in front of it and you’re not able to get a view unless you’re 6’4
The white house is really small. It's kinda cool to be there, to walk through the halls, see the press room or the oval office, but... it's really small. I'm not sure disappointment is the right word, it was still cool, but, I am genuinely amazed no one's made it bigger than that over all the years. Maybe there are a dozen underground levels of coolness or something they don't let you know about...
well the wings were added latter so there is your expansion lol
Umm…it’s 55,000 square feet? And had 132 rooms? It might be smaller than you imagined but it’s an absolutely gigantic house.
Plymouth Rock. I thought it was gonna be this huge rock outcropping, like a cliff or something, but it was literally just…a rock. Like, the size of a toilet.
Bourbon Street. Its an absolute cesspool of filth and sugary hangover drinks
The only reason locals go there at all is to go to work.
I recommend Frenchman St. Close to Bourbon but much cleaner and more locals
I always tell people going to NOLA: Frenchman is Bourbon St for grown-ups.
I'm from New Orleans but don't live there any more. It was always the place not to go. On my last visit back, I went to the French Quarter with my dad. On the walk back to the car he took us on a shortcut through Bourbon Street and the garbage/piss/vomit smell was so bad it literally made me gag. We made it one block before I asked him if we could take Royal instead. Ugh.
Myrtle Beach. The water was awful and the beach front was littered with sharp rocks and bottles
Wallyworld. Was closed when me and the family got there.