What is America like??? question from an Australian fella.

dunkman

Smellyman wrote:

dunkman wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

and see, i thought it was europeans who did that. most american tourists wear sneakers (trainers to you)


that said, as i said....i hear ya. this is simply how it is here. hope your kiddies had a fantastic time in disneyworld! i know when i went there as a kid i LOVED it! also went to disneyland in cali more times than i can count - had friends/relatives near by we visited often - just soooo much FUN when you are a kid!



btw - do you not consult guidebooks for places you plan to visit? normally, such books tip you off to the customs of the place...such as tipping, taxes, etc. just sayin'...;)

and no.. i never consult guidebooks or anything unless i was going to some 3rd world cycling holiday or something where i might need to know about not using my right hand to eat or it means i'm about to marry the hosts brothers or something.. but i thought i was visiting a civilised country and whatnot... !

Crikey, then you shouldn't be upset about things you do not understand. Its a good idea to read up information on ANY country you visit. If you do that maybe we won't have to hear you whine so much.

you should read up on sarcasm.

nuffingman

Speaking as an outsider that has only crossed the pond twice.

San Fransisco - awesome place.
Pacific highway - awesome
LA - shit hole.

And Dunk I didn't find it easy driving around Orlando. We were lost a few times.

Have a nice day!

surfanddestroy

Why all the hate on LA, I have just spent two weeks there and it was my second time visiting, I love the place.

nuffingman

surfanddestroy wrote:

Why all the hate on LA, I have just spent two weeks there and it was my second time visiting, I love the place.

Either love it, or hate it. I found nothing about the place at all appealing apart from the Getty Museum. We were only there to visit friends that live there. They love it.

kenny olav

Unless you know someone in Boston who can show you around, don't come here. The only thing we have for tourists is this lame Duck Tour ride, which looks totallly ridiculous - it's a military amphibious vehicle repainted with happy colors and a duck face on it, and everytime I see one of these things drive by, the people on it could not look more bored. I've never been on it myself, but I guess it might be slightly fun when the thing drives into the water and floats down the Charles River for a bit, but you could just walk along the Charles too - there are nice parks there, and you can smoke your dime bag because weed has been decriminilized here in MA. Never drive on Storrow Drive, because like Russian roulette, you have a 1/6 chance of dying, but unlike it, there's no prize money if you survive. Actually, there is one more thing for tourists: the Freedom Trail, which is a red line of paint that you can follow thru the city and see a bunch of the historical landmarks of the American Revolution, passing by at least 30 Dunkin Donuts on your way. Other than the site of the Boston Massacre, which today is a bitch of an intersection to drive thru, and the grave of Samuel Adams, I can't tell you what any of those historical landmarks are, but if your a freak for American history, I guess you'd get your jollys from it. You can also go to one of our elite universities and get lectured to by Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn if that's your thing. But getting back to Samuel Adams... we do have really good beer here.

Cape Cod, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Western Mass, Southern Rhode Island... these are good places to see in New England. All of Connecticut blows.

New Yorkers are only rude when they are driving and walking. I can attest to that. Just get out of their fucking way, and you'll be fine.

decides2dream

Kenny Olav wrote:

Unless you know someone in Boston who can show you around, don't come here. The only thing we have for tourists is this lame Duck Tour ride, which looks totallly ridiculous - it's a military amphibious vehicle repainted with happy colors and a duck face on it, and everytime I see one of these things drive by, the people on it could not look more bored. I've never been on it myself, but I guess it might be slightly fun when the thing drives into the water and floats down the Charles River for a bit, but you could just walk along the Charles too - there are nice parks there, and you can smoke your dime bag because weed has been decriminilized here in MA. Never drive on Storrow Drive, because like Russian roulette, you have a 1/6 chance of dying, but unlike it, there's no prize money if you survive. Actually, there is one more thing for tourists: the Freedom Trail, which is a red line of paint that you can follow thru the city and see a bunch of the historical landmarks of the American Revolution, passing by at least 30 Dunkin Donuts on your way. Other than the site of the Boston Massacre, which today is a bitch of an intersection to drive thru, and the grave of Samuel Adams, I can't tell you what any of those historical landmarks are, but if your a freak for American history, I guess you'd get your jollys from it. You can also go to one of our elite universities and get lectured to by Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn if that's your thing. But getting back to Samuel Adams... we do have really good beer here.

Cape Cod, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Western Mass, Southern Rhode Island... these are good places to see in New England. All of Connecticut blows.

New Yorkers are only rude when they are driving and walking. I can attest to that. Just get out of their fucking way, and you'll be fine.

this entire post made me laugh.
and hey, you've got us NYers spot on.

nuffingman

Kenny Olav wrote:

Unless you know someone in Boston who can show you around, don't come here. The only thing we have for tourists is this lame Duck Tour ride, which looks totallly ridiculous - it's a military amphibious vehicle repainted with happy colors and a duck face on it, and everytime I see one of these things drive by, the people on it could not look more bored.

I went on one of those in Singapore. We just had to go on it when we saw this ridiculous vehicle. Unfortunately the guide kept singing this stupid song and we wanted to punch her and throw her overboard.

he still stands

nuffingman wrote:

Kenny Olav wrote:

Unless you know someone in Boston who can show you around, don't come here. The only thing we have for tourists is this lame Duck Tour ride, which looks totallly ridiculous - it's a military amphibious vehicle repainted with happy colors and a duck face on it, and everytime I see one of these things drive by, the people on it could not look more bored.

I went on one of those in Singapore. We just had to go on it when we saw this ridiculous vehicle. Unfortunately the guide kept singing this stupid song and we wanted to punch her and throw her overboard.

Bangkok is the place to go in that part of the world. The best part is the little place where the gal will "drop and egg" in your mouth with her.... hooo haa. then pick up the $$$ off your forehead with her... hoo haa. now that is my kinda tourist attraction! hoo haa!

polaris_x

best way to visit america is via the old fashioned "Road Trip" ... honestly, unless you are totally a city person - i would avoid most of them ... a day or two in certain ones like New York or San Francisco is cool ... but the absolute best part of the US are the national parks ... if you're from australia - it's like going up to Cairns or Kakadu or visiting the Olgas ...

the interstates will allow you to get from one place to another pretty fast so you can explore but really it all depends on how much time you have ... unless you have an entire summer - you might be better off targeting one coast or something ...

oh - alaska is awesome

soulsinging

polaris_x wrote:

oh - alaska is awesome

alaska is the only place i've ever been that made the beauty of ireland look plain. it is unbelievable up there.

polaris_x

soulsinging wrote:

polaris_x wrote:

oh - alaska is awesome

alaska is the only place i've ever been that made the beauty of ireland look plain. it is unbelievable up there.

yup ... i want to go up in the winter sometime ... i think it would be so cool to be soaking up in chema hot springs and watching the northern lights dance ...

soulsinging

polaris_x wrote:

soulsinging wrote:

polaris_x wrote:

oh - alaska is awesome

alaska is the only place i've ever been that made the beauty of ireland look plain. it is unbelievable up there.

yup ... i want to go up in the winter sometime ... i think it would be so cool to be soaking up in chema hot springs and watching the northern lights dance ...

northern lights is number one on my list of things to see/do before i die.

decides2dream

polaris_x wrote:

best way to visit america is via the old fashioned "Road Trip" ... honestly, unless you are totally a city person - i would avoid most of them ... a day or two in certain ones like New York or San Francisco is cool ... but the absolute best part of the US are the national parks ... if you're from australia - it's like going up to Cairns or Kakadu or visiting the Olgas ...

the interstates will allow you to get from one place to another pretty fast so you can explore but really it all depends on how much time you have ... unless you have an entire summer - you might be better off targeting one coast or something ...

oh - alaska is awesome

roadtrips ARE awesome!
i want to do a rodtrip up to the coast of maine/acadia national park.

and and big OH YES....alaska is awesome!
trip of a lifetime, and would love to return someday!

EddieLedBetter

the price is going up while the quality continues to drop.

Byrnzie

A few places in the U.S that I'd like to revisit:

San Francisco
Grand Canyon
Mesa Verde
Monument Valley

And I want to see Austin, Seattle and Alaska


(And I'd also like to ride a fast motorbike across the Utah salt flats Vincent Gallo Style )

Byrnzie

Someone told me recently that they didn't enjoy Yellowstone as it reeked too much of sulfur.

Smellyman

Byrnzie wrote:

Someone told me recently that they didn't enjoy Yellowstone as it reeked too much of sulfur.

around the mudpots and geyser areas yes. but 95% of the rest of the park smells like Bison shit.

Kidding, it is just fresh mountain air.

Heatherj43

Byrnzie wrote:

Only a few places in the U.S that I'd like to revisit:

San Francisco
Grand Canyon
Mesa Verde
Monument Valley

And I want to see Austin, Seattle and Alaska


(And I'd also like to ride a fast motorbike across the Utah salt flats Vincent Gallo Style )

This country is so big that even though you have listed some nice places to visit there are many more. Your list is mainly the western part of the U.S. Did you even get to come to the east?
I have often read posts here that are from people coming to visit the U.S. and ask advise on where are the best places to visit. Its such a difficult question to answer because of the size of the U.S. and how different things can be from one section to another.
Its kinda like the Smithsonian Institute, you can't do it in one visit or even in two. I like to break it up. There is New England, the south, the midwest, the west, Alaska and Hawaii, the pacific coast, and the southwest. I could break it down more, but that's how I see it.

Heatherj43

nuffingman wrote:

Speaking as an outsider that has only crossed the pond twice.

San Fransisco - awesome place.
Pacific highway - awesome
LA - shit hole.

And Dunk I didn't find it easy driving around Orlando. We were lost a few times.

Have a nice day!

I lived in San Fran for a year many years ago. I hated it!! I loved Florida.
I use to think Michigan sucked, but now I realized we have it quite good. All 4 seasons are quite pronounced. We don't have earthquakes, forest fires, hurricanes, and all that other weather related disasters.
Within the state we have vastly different areas from one another. Our lakes are beautiful. The upper peninsula is still mainly untouched, with lots of pines and lakes.
Anyway, I think americans all have their own take about what part of the states are great to visit. So, its best to read up about it yourself in order to enjoy whar YOU like and not someone else, who have their own likes and dislikes.

Heatherj43

South of Seattle wrote:

dunkman wrote:

they have this thing called sales tax... its the stupidest thing in the world. Mix that with tipping and its a proper joke.

great fucking buffets though.

i noticed that a lot of the folks i met were very very polite as well.

and i really enjoyed driving. unlike here where there are corners, lights everywhere, etc... driving in Florida was amazingly easy and enjoyable.

Should have visited a non-sales tax state.

I thought Florida was a non sales tax state?