Pro Sandy said:

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Bluecat_Aggie94 said:

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Quote:

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For me, it is Mount Rushmore. I've been there a few times now and keep holding out hope, but it isn't improving.

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They finished construction in 1941. What kind of improvements are holding out for?

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Animatronics. Maybe lease it to Disney and see if they can improve on it.

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This has so much potential.

I take it from your user name you are from Fredericksburg. Dont get me wrong, I think it has its charm and is nice. I live in Houston now and our neighbors drive to Fredericksburg probably once a month. I get the appeal, but perhaps since I was used to it earlier, I wouldn't drive 4 hours once a month to see it.

But I love the high school mascot!

Guide recommendation??

The Milkman said:

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TXCityAggie said:

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Most of the beaches in Bali were very underwhelming...not to mention it's basically Cancun for Australians.

The interior of the island is another story, however.

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By the sounds of the couple of Bali mentions people spent most of their time in the beach areas. Ubud was so beautiful and the opposite of underwhelming. Very whelmed.

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We split our time between Ubud and Jimbaran Bay, Ubud was cool but not something i would travel to Bali to experience on its own.

And yes, Fredericksburg is overrated (so is my hometown of New Braunfels).

SkiMo said:

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blindey said:

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The leaning tower of Pisa. Just tons of walking around taking pictures of one another doing the Thriller dance.

Seriously, it's worth seeing once, take your dumb photo, and move on. Oh and try to not get robbed in the utter **** hole that is the city of Pisa. Just get off the train, go see the tower and church and get right back on the train to somewhere better.

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Honest question, why take the time to go just for a picture of a leaning tower? Not being shady, just honestly wonder what the big draw is for people? I think I would go and be like, why did we waste our time here when we could be winery hopping in Tuscany or exploring the Dolomites?

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Actually the tower is not the best thing to see. The Cathedral of Pisa next to it is a far better sight to behold. Especially inside.

prague, but it was probably the crowds of tourists that ruined it for me

prague was cool, but I think it suffered from being over-hyped.

in comparison, Budapest was very cool, and better than expected.

schmendeler said:

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prague was cool, but I think it suffered from being over-hyped.

in comparison, Budapest was very cool, and better than expected.

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I agree on Budapest...amazing city. I think Prague really depends on when you go. I went in early March one year and thought it was amazing. It was cold and covered in snow, which added to the atmosphere. I think if you go during peak tourist season it wouldn't be nearly as good of an experience.

Venice remind me of something at Epcot center too many jap tourists.

Texaggie7nine said:

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Aggie991 said:

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Venice remind me of something at Epcot center too many jap tourists.

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Asian tourists (especially from china) have invaded most big tourist cities in Europe on a large scale.

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Here's the thing, I see how they operate. They bus in, go to sites, get their one or two important camera shots and leave.

They don't eat at restaurants, they don't buy anything. They are catered into by some cheap operation and stays seemingly out of town on a boat or a crappy hotel probably 8 deep.

How is this helping the economy? The sites are there for everyone, yes, but the way they go about touring is not sustainable. On any level.

07ag said:

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prague, but it was probably the crowds of tourists that ruined it for me

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I went into Prague with no planning and no expectations then had a fantastic time.

Texaggie7nine said:

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Aggie991 said:

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Venice remind me of something at Epcot center too many jap tourists.

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Asian tourists (especially from china) have invaded most big tourist cities in Europe on a large scale.

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Not just Europe. Chinese tourists are absolutely destroying SE Asia. I lived in Siem Reap for a year and the tour groups from mainland China were relentless. Local Cambodians despised them because they didn't spend money and generally behaved horribly.

It is even worse in Thailand. You have to be very careful when choosing a beach destination. The Thai government has even floated the idea of limiting visitors from China.

TXCityAggie said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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Aggie991 said:

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Venice remind me of something at Epcot center too many jap tourists.

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Asian tourists (especially from china) have invaded most big tourist cities in Europe on a large scale.

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Not just Europe. Chinese tourists are absolutely destroying SE Asia. I lived in Siem Reap for a year and the tour groups from mainland China were relentless. Local Cambodians despised them because they didn't spend money and generally behaved horribly.

It is even worse in Thailand. You have to be very careful when choosing a beach destination. The Thai government has even floated the idea of limiting visitors from China.

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The Thai Government is creating or maybe already has created a Chinese only immigration lane at Suvarnabhumi. Between the Chinese and the Russians Thailand beach towns are getting to be unbearable.

culdeus said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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Aggie991 said:

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Venice remind me of something at Epcot center too many jap tourists.

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Asian tourists (especially from china) have invaded most big tourist cities in Europe on a large scale.

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Here's the thing, I see how they operate. They bus in, go to sites, get their one or two important camera shots and leave.

They don't eat at restaurants, they don't buy anything. They are catered into by some cheap operation and stays seemingly out of town on a boat or a crappy hotel probably 8 deep.

How is this helping the economy? The sites are there for everyone, yes, but the way they go about touring is not sustainable. On any level.

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I saw roughly the same, but on the amalfi coast the groups did go eat at random places- and they would overwhelm the local joints. Was in Serrento and saw literally a boatload of mainland Chinese tourists take every table (40+) at this breakfast place that was staffed by two people. It was like 10:30 in the morning, not really breakfast, not really lunch, and those guys working the place were not prepared. That group is probably just finished getting served.

Texaggie7nine said:

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Aggie991 said:

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Venice remind me of something at Epcot center too many jap tourists.

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Asian tourists (especially from china) have invaded most big tourist cities in Europe on a large scale.

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who is driven absolutely insane by this. It was bad in Barcelona. They offloaded a bus right as we got to Park Guell. What a nightmare. And they have no sense of personal space and do not understand common courtesies. Will bump into and push you out of the way to get their picture. Annoying as ****.

Same happened to me when I was in Moab for the weekend. Unloaded a tour bus into the grocery store just as I was going in to get supplies. You can only imagine that disaster.

bthotugigem05 said:

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Was on my way to Mil ford Sound in New Zealand on a bus tour and we pulled to the side of the road a little earlier than our scheduled pitstop at the Mirror Lakes. I was chatting with the driver and he said "I thought I'd make it easier on you guys and let the bus of Click Clicks up ahead do their thing." A few of us heard him and were kind of taken aback at his phrasing and he laughed and said "Sorry, that's not nearly as racist as it sounds. Just watch."

A busload of Chinese tourists all got out, stood at most a few feet away from the bus, click-clicked their cameras, and were back on their way in less than 5 minutes.

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i think we stopped at mirror lakes for less than 10 minutes,, is there more to do there than that 100ft walking trail?

Not really but they never even made it to the walking trail.

Texaggie7nine said:

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Aggie991 said:

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Venice remind me of something at Epcot center too many jap tourists.

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Asian tourists (especially from china) have invaded most big tourist cities in Europe on a large scale.

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Yep, I visited Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany in 2000 and in 2015. In 2015, there were Asian tourists (even in other parts of Germany). They travel on buses and like to waive their selfie sticks around.

Anyway, sometime between 2000 and 2015, they built a GIANT souvenir shop at Neuschwanstein that caters entirely to Asian tourists. Everything in the store is from Asia - everything from trinkets to food. And all of the prices are in Asian currency (Yen, I guess). I was really taken aback by the shift in tourist demographics in 15 years.

TXTransplant said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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Aggie991 said:

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Venice remind me of something at Epcot center too many jap tourists.

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Asian tourists (especially from china) have invaded most big tourist cities in Europe on a large scale.

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Yep, I visited Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany in 2000 and in 2015. In 2015, there were Asian tourists (even in other parts of Germany). They travel on buses and like to waive their selfie sticks around.

Anyway, sometime between 2000 and 2015, they built a GIANT souvenir shop at Neuschwanstein that caters entirely to Asian tourists. Everything in the store is from Asia - everything from trinkets to food. And all of the prices are in Asian currency (Yen, I guess). I was really taken aback by the shift in tourist demographics in 15 years.

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Heck a buddy of mine went into a Rolex store in Vegas to buy a watch for his wife and they had wait quite a bit for the one salesperson who spoke English, basically everyone only spoke Mandarin or Japanese.

bthotugigem05 said:

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TXTransplant said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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Aggie991 said:

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Venice remind me of something at Epcot center too many jap tourists.

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Asian tourists (especially from china) have invaded most big tourist cities in Europe on a large scale.

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Yep, I visited Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany in 2000 and in 2015. In 2015, there were Asian tourists (even in other parts of Germany). They travel on buses and like to waive their selfie sticks around.

Anyway, sometime between 2000 and 2015, they built a GIANT souvenir shop at Neuschwanstein that caters entirely to Asian tourists. Everything in the store is from Asia - everything from trinkets to food. And all of the prices are in Asian currency (Yen, I guess). I was really taken aback by the shift in tourist demographics in 15 years.

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Heck a buddy of mine went into a Rolex store in Vegas to buy a watch for his wife and they had wait quite a bit for the one salesperson who spoke English, basically everyone only spoke Mandarin or Japanese.

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My sister, son, and I did the rafting trip from the Glen Canyon dam to Horseshoe Bend. We had to go up to Paige day before and stay in a hotel because the trip departed early in the morning.

We pulled up to the hotel right around the same time as one or two bus loads of Asian tourists. We hurried up to the desk to get checked in before they did.

The next morning, we got up to eat breakfast at the little hotel cafe. You know, boxes or cereal, yogurt, fruit...nothing fancy. But those tourists got there before we did and literally took EVERYTHING. All that was left was a few boxes of nasty, sugary cereal. No yogurt or fruit was left. The tourists had taken all of the uneaten items and stuffed their backpacks full. I asked a hotel employee if they had any more bananas, and he looked at me with total defeat and said "We've already gone through 5 boxes this morning!"

The Grand Canyon, Italy, and the Canadian Rockies also had a lot of Asian tourists visiting. And the posters above are completely right when they say they get off the bus, walk a few steps, take pictures, and get back on the bus. Most of the scenic spots in Canada, you have to walk a little ways to get to them. But the Asian Tourists we saw didn't want to do that. They literally took pics at the closest spot, even if it wasn't the main attraction.

TXTransplant said:

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bthotugigem05 said:

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TXTransplant said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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Aggie991 said:

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Venice remind me of something at Epcot center too many jap tourists.

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Asian tourists (especially from china) have invaded most big tourist cities in Europe on a large scale.

---

Yep, I visited Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany in 2000 and in 2015. In 2015, there were Asian tourists (even in other parts of Germany). They travel on buses and like to waive their selfie sticks around.

Anyway, sometime between 2000 and 2015, they built a GIANT souvenir shop at Neuschwanstein that caters entirely to Asian tourists. Everything in the store is from Asia - everything from trinkets to food. And all of the prices are in Asian currency (Yen, I guess). I was really taken aback by the shift in tourist demographics in 15 years.

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Heck a buddy of mine went into a Rolex store in Vegas to buy a watch for his wife and they had wait quite a bit for the one salesperson who spoke English, basically everyone only spoke Mandarin or Japanese.

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My sister, son, and I did the rafting trip from the Glen Canyon dam to Horseshoe Bend. We had to go up to Paige day before and stay in a hotel because the trip departed early in the morning.

We pulled up to the hotel right around the same time as one or two bus loads of Asian tourists. We hurried up to the desk to get checked in before they did.

The next morning, we got up to eat breakfast at the little hotel cafe. You know, boxes or cereal, yogurt, fruit...nothing fancy. But those tourists got there before we did and literally took EVERYTHING. All that was left was a few boxes of nasty, sugary cereal. No yogurt or fruit was left. The tourists had taken all of the uneaten items and stuffed their backpacks full. I asked a hotel employee if they had any more bananas, and he looked at me with total defeat and said "We've already gone through 5 boxes this morning!"

The Grand Canyon, Italy, and the Canadian Rockies also had a lot of Asian tourists visiting. And the posters above are completely right when they say they get off the bus, walk a few steps, take pictures, and get back on the bus. Most of the scenic spots in Canada, you have to walk a little ways to get to them. But the Asian Tourists we saw didn't want to do that. They literally took pics at the closest spot, even if it wasn't the main attraction.

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I think we've all seen the video of the Chinese tourists at the buffet in Thailand or wherever it was stacking heaping plates full of food to take back to their tables with no intention of eating it all.

TXCityAggie said:

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When I was living in Cambodia, we used to stop, take oit our phones, and start taking pictures of random things whenever a Chinese tour group was walking by. Like clockwork, when they saw us taking pictures they would do the same.

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cruel but hilarious. I'm stealing this (and making it into a game to play with my kids when they're old enough)

So i have one that really belongs on both threads (overwhelming and underwhelming):

Asisi, Italy. The town itself, the Rocca Maggiore, and most of the church are pretty but otherwise cutouts of so many other Italian towns. The lower basilica, on the other hand, is one of the most astonishing sites I've ever seen.

drewbie08 said:

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I grew up in Boerne and while that area is very nice, I dont get the Fredericksburg hype either.

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When the vast majority of visitors to Fredericksburg are people from the urban jungle hellholes of Houston, and some from Dallas, it seems like a paradise to them. Those of us who live somewhere where you actually see changes in elevation and scenery besides concrete and strip malls can like Fredericksburg a lot but realize it's not the second coming. I live very close to it so go all the time.

Overrated tourist areas I've been: DisneyWorld. Ugh. Los Angeles/Hollywood.

Barcelona (cool to visit once and the nightlife is crazy but ehhh overall)
Venice (ehhhhhhhh)
San Antonio in general (River Walk + Alamo)


I've heard people mention Statue of Liberty many times which I understand. But if you are going to see it, go pay the money and see it. The free Staten Island Ferry tip people give is complete BS. You won't get a good picture, its smaller than expected, and you just float passed it after 15 seconds. Pay the money to get up close or find a better activity in NYC.

TXTransplant said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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Aggie991 said:

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Venice remind me of something at Epcot center too many jap tourists.

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Asian tourists (especially from china) have invaded most big tourist cities in Europe on a large scale.

---

Yep, I visited Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany in 2000 and in 2015. In 2015, there were Asian tourists (even in other parts of Germany). They travel on buses and like to waive their selfie sticks around.

Anyway, sometime between 2000 and 2015, they built a GIANT souvenir shop at Neuschwanstein that caters entirely to Asian tourists. Everything in the store is from Asia - everything from trinkets to food. And all of the prices are in Asian currency (Yen, I guess). I was really taken aback by the shift in tourist demographics in 15 years.

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Same with Heidelberg, albeit with more Japanese tourists than Chinese.