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Best country to go on holiday to: the first debate; what's missing?

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    #51
    From the 'A' segment:

    - Albania, for sure. Always had a thing for the Balkans - the food, the landscapes, the architecture - and Albania is such an odd outlier. Linguistically unlike its neighbours (except Kosovo, obviously). Probably the only state in Europe's recent (20th C) history that could have been described as a hermit kingdom. I don't even think I could pick a definite place within Albania I'd like to go, but I'd include Prespa/Ohrid, Gjirokaster, the Bjeshket e Nemuna and some of the adriatic coast. Basically all over. As long as you can get tave kosi.

    - Australia. Always have a great time in Australia. I've never been to the Northern Territory nor Western Australia, so I'd want to see them. Fremantle and Perth are currently top of the 'next visit' list.

    - Armenia for third pick. Amazing landscapes, loads of interesting architecture, and as you get pretty much everywhere in that region, great food.

    As for the 'B's (and Azerbaijan)

    - Azerbaijan, partly for reasons given for other countries (cuisine), it's one of those strangely offbeat places - the mix of old, new and oil-fueled cash would be interesting.

    - Barbados. Best accent in the caribbean, and every Bajan I've met has been fab.

    - Bhutan, mainly because I needed a third pick from a list that wasn't grabbing me the way the A's did.

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      #52
      In the case of Guyana, cricket plays an oversized role.

      To the extent it exists, "West Indian" culture and identity is strictly Anglophone and essentially ignores the French, Spanish and Dutch-speaking parts of the Caribbean.
      Last edited by ursus arctos; 18-05-2020, 14:26.

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        #53
        I travelled a lot with work, and have racked up over a hundred countries visited, once you've added a handful of tax haven dependent territories not showing on the list. But many of them were in and out jobs to the capital/financial centre, where the corporate hotels and offices visited could be anywhere, so I only got a glimpse of the local culture and sights. Some I'd really love to return to and get a proper feel, whereas there's plenty I wouldn't care to go back to.

        So...

        Group A
        Afghanistan
        Argentina
        Armenia

        Group B
        Azerbaijan
        Belgium (never been anywhere there other than Brussels)
        Bhutan

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          #54
          Originally posted by slackster View Post
          Belgium (never been anywhere there other than Brussels)
          Don't rush to Charleroi, unless in need of reassurance that whatever happened to the British towns reliant on steel or manufacturing, it wasn't as bad as here. I've heard Bruges is nice.

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            #55
            Australia - Cricket
            Antigua - Cricket and beaches
            Andorra - I like Spain and it's near there

            Bhutan - sounds cool
            Barbados - Cricket
            Bahamas - Beachy

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              #56
              Bruges is very nice actually. We went on a day trip with my sister-in-law, her husband and son, on a spur of the moment whim because my nephew had a friend from Belgium and had asked where it was. In preparation, we of course watched "In Bruges" the night before. The canals are very pretty. There's a lovely chocolate museum. Great cafés with table terraces and nice beer. Playing "spot the location from In Bruges" makes it even more fun. The queue for the bell tower was too long so we didn't go up it, but that was the only duff note really.

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                #57
                It is indeed lovely. Ghent is also very lovely and somewhat less touristed.

                Charleroi is indeed quite grim; Mons may be worse. The Ardennes are great for hiking, though.

                The North Sea coast is great if one likes windswept dunes.

                And Antwerp is great. Fabulous railway station with adjacent zoo.

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                  #58
                  I keep meaning to get round to Bruges. Everyone I know who goes there always speaks of it highly, but my experience of Belgium (mostly the corporate bits of Brussels for work) always leave me a little gun-shy about selecting Belgium for a leisure trip.

                  It's a more realistic destination for Covid-era travel anyway, since I imagine long-haul trips will be quite some distance off in time.

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                    #59
                    A.
                    Done Australia, not completely, but it wouldn't be new.
                    Done Austria too, but I want to go to Saltzurg.
                    Argentina obviously. I like to Tango.
                    I've seen Albania from Montenegro and Corfu, so maybe there.

                    Comment


                      #60
                      Groups C and D will be up tomorrow. Voting for A and B will finish at midnight the same day.

                      Comment


                        #61
                        Belgian tip: Call them Brugge and Antwerpen so you don't look too much of a tourist. Or do I call them that because I'm pretentious?
                        I preferred the latter as it felt like more of a proper city than a tourist-fleecing operation. Both nice though.

                        Mechelen is quite nice for half a day, until you get to the holocaust museum and discover its role as a deportation centre. Bleak.

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                          #62
                          If it's a European country in which I haven't yet watched a match, then it's on my list. If it's a country I think my wife would like to visit, then fair's fair, I'll include a few of those. Other than that, I'll see where it takes me.

                          I'm loathe to leave Austria and Belgium out. I've only been to Austria once, and that was just a day visit to Vienna from my base in Bratislava to watch Rapid. My wife has also visited it once - she's been in Salzburg doing the Sound of Music thing. And I really need to take her to Halstadt at some point. It must be one of the most scenic villages in Europe. But my Rule 1 means the others take precedence.

                          I've been in Belgium a few times and watched games in Charlerioi, Waregem, Ghent, Mechelen and Duffel. I've also visited Brussels and Bruges with my wife, so I'll reluctantly give it a miss.

                          Albania (this may well be number one on my entire list. I've always wanted to go there).
                          Andorra
                          Armenia

                          Azerbaijan
                          Belarus
                          Bahamas
                          Last edited by Stobart; 18-05-2020, 19:33.

                          Comment


                            #63
                            While giving stragglers the chance to vote on groups A and B until midnight here without further ado are the next two sets of ten countries:


                            Group C

                            Bolivia
                            Bosnia and Herzegovina
                            Botswana
                            Brazil
                            Brunei Darussalam
                            Bulgaria
                            Burkina Faso
                            Burundi
                            Cambodia
                            Cameroon


                            Group D

                            Canada
                            Cape Verde
                            Central African Republic
                            Chad
                            Chile
                            China
                            Colombia
                            Comoros
                            Congo
                            Congo (Democratic Republic of the)

                            Comment


                              #64
                              OK

                              Group C:
                              Bolivia
                              Botswana
                              Cameroon

                              Group D:
                              Canada
                              Cabo Verde
                              Chile

                              Comment


                                #65
                                Group C

                                I already had plans for Brazil and Cambodia. Of the rest, Bosnia has some beautiful mountain scenery and medieval towns, but I've been there. I think I'd choose Botswana just to go and see if zebras are more interesting in the wild than they are at Knowsley safari park.

                                Group D

                                Definitely a Group of Death this. Impossible not to put China and Canada straight through. The middle bits of Africa still sound too dangerous and undeveloped for my liking, and although I like tropical islands, I know nothing about the Comoros and I've heard that Cape Verde hasn't been done very well - built by Thomson like a very low budget Canaries beach resort. That leaves a choice between Chile and Colombia and I think Chile edges it for breadth of scenery (glaciers and fjords at one end, desert at the other).
                                Last edited by Rogin the Armchair fan; 19-05-2020, 09:31.

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                                  #66
                                  Brazil - I'm learning Portuguese specially!
                                  Bulgaria - Sounds nice, and I like the wombles
                                  Cambodia - Always been fascinated by the place

                                  Canada
                                  Cape Verde
                                  Chile

                                  That second group is not a great choice

                                  Comment


                                    #67
                                    Thanks for the Belgium comments above. Living in Kent with such easy access to Eurostar and the Dover ferries it's crazy how we've not bothered exploring our near neighbour.

                                    Anyways,

                                    Group C: Bosnia & H, Brazil, Cambodia
                                    Group D: Canada, Colombia, China

                                    Comment


                                      #68
                                      C
                                      Bolivia
                                      Bosnia Herzegovina
                                      Bulgaria

                                      D
                                      Canada
                                      Chile
                                      China

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                                        #69
                                        Group C
                                        Brazil - straight through
                                        Bosnia and Herzogovina - I work with several Bosniaks and their photos of "back home" convince me. Cheap too.
                                        Burundi - As a young man I used to know and lust after a Burundian girl. And it's a third continent from the group if Mrs D wants a reason.

                                        Group D
                                        Congo DR - massive country with spectacular scenery, plus my wife's parents lived in Tanaganyika and Zaire before settling in Rhodesia. Bit of a trend there.
                                        Colombia
                                        Chile - could do these in the same trip

                                        Comment


                                          #70
                                          C

                                          Brazil
                                          - been to Rio and loved it, as well as a few other places (Parati is gorgeous). Biut there's so much else to see. Would like to see Recife and Salvador, and the beaches up there, and the Amazon, and the Pantanal, and Fernando de Noronha and tons more
                                          Cambodia - apart from being on planes that stopped in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, I haven't been and would love to. Angkor Wat, obviously, all the Cambodians I've met have been lovely people, and I just imagine the food is going to be great too.
                                          Botswana - nice flag, great place for safaris and so on. I had some friends who lived there for 3 years and they utterly loved it.

                                          Bosnia is great, landscape is amazing and Sarajevo is a fascinating city (I'd skip Medjugorje, mind you. Once is more than enough), but it misses out thanks to the competition


                                          D

                                          Canada - that whole bit round Banff just looks stunning. Also the Atlantic Coast. Very happy to go back to Quebec City, Montreal and Vancouver too
                                          China - so much to see, so many places to explore. And the food is amazing.
                                          Cape Verde - just appeals to me greatly

                                          Comment


                                            #71
                                            Group C:

                                            Bulgaria (never been but probably the eastern European country which most appeals)
                                            Brazil (bit concerned about the crime and their monster of a leader, though)
                                            Burundi (wild life and nature)

                                            The only country I automatically eliminated from my consideration in this group was Brunei, though I suppose some of its geographical features could be of interest.

                                            Group D:

                                            Canada
                                            Chile
                                            Colombia

                                            I may be (?) the only person on this board who has spent any appreciable time in the CAR and I wouldn't be averse to returning, but the other three choices just pip this option. As for Comoros I read about it this morning and found out that, basically, human rights are virtually non-existent there. I did consider the two Congos but I had to be brutal and go for places I've never visited. As for China, apologies to Balderdasha but there's simply no appeal there for me.

                                            Comment


                                              #72
                                              Group C:

                                              Bulgaria (I'll just end up having all the Balkans on my list). Maybe avoid the bigger beach resorts though. The Rhodope region is meant to be lovely.
                                              Bosnia (see above re: Balkans, plus it's beautiful, even if it takes an age to get anywhere once you're in the country)
                                              I'll go with Bolivia for the third pick. Need to tick South America off the list to get one continent away from the full set.

                                              Group D:

                                              China. Probably the one place I've not been that I most want to go to.
                                              Canada is always a nice trip, and I've never been to Quebec, so that'd be a definite pick.
                                              Chile gets third spot on the strength of its varied landscapes. Tierra del Fuego is one of those oddly evocative place names that begs for a visit (see also Timbuktu when Mali shows up on this list)

                                              Comment


                                                #73
                                                Group C:

                                                Cambodia - to see Angkor Wat
                                                Brazil - just because
                                                Bulgaria - another ex-Eastern Bloc country from my teenage bucket list

                                                Group D:

                                                DRC - due to my teenage obsession with Zaire. Would love to go east and see the gorillas.
                                                Canada - my mum went to university in Montreal and I also have loads of distant relatives there. I've never been and would love to take the train across to Vancouver.
                                                CAR - on an onion truck at a push.

                                                Comment


                                                  #74
                                                  Group C

                                                  Bolivia: I went once but we started in La Paz and went North so never got to see the Uyuni salt flats. I would love to remedy that.
                                                  Brazil: never been. Would love to go at Carneval time.
                                                  Cambodia: never been. Angkor Wat beckons.

                                                  Comment


                                                    #75
                                                    Group C
                                                    Complete blank slate for me, as I haven't been to any of these countries. I've never found Brazil attractive as a destination, I'm not sure why as it's such a vast country you'd think that there'd be something to pique my interest. Of the four African countries on this list, 2 of them seem more interesting to me than the other 2, and narrowly failed to make the final three (Botswana and particularly Burkina Faso). Brunei - not really. Giving me four countries at the top from which to pick three, a task I found rather hard. Bolivia, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Cambodia. In the end I've decided to pick a regionally diverse set here, which means one of Bosnia and Bulgaria has to miss out.

                                                    Bolivia
                                                    Bulgaria
                                                    Cambodia

                                                    Group D
                                                    I've been to Canada a few times, and would happily go back again. Vancouver's one of my favourite cities that I've visited, Montreal and Victoria were pretty good also. Edmonton and Toronto, not so much. I have only really been to the cities, though, so visiting the fantastic landscapes would be high on my list of potential destinations in addition.
                                                    I see Hong Kong and Taiwan are not on the long list - I presume they are grouped into the China category. Anyway, I've spent a fair bit of time in Taiwan, some in Hong Kong and very little in mainland China. Taiwan was interesting though I wouldn't rush to get back - fantastic scenery in places that was rather blemished by horrible touristy developments (I think aimed at the Taiwanese tourists). Good food, though. I enjoyed Hong Kong - in large part because it was surprisingly easy to get out of the crowds, and more good food. The part of mainland China that I went to (near Hong Kong) was rather depressing, though it was a work trip. Anyway, China would feature on a list of places to visit on the basis of it being so large and encompassing such a vast range of destinations.
                                                    Apart from these two I would be interested in visiting Chile and Colombia - not so much the other 6. I'm not setting a rule that I can't list a country that I've already been to, so my final three would be:
                                                    Canada
                                                    China
                                                    Colombia

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