Overstated article about overrated destinations.

I recently read an article in the Chicago Tribune whose headline read, “Overrated destinations of the world” (same article posted in the LA Times, too). Curious by the title, I read through the 29 places that people thought were overrated. By the time I finished, I was outraged by the ridiculous content of the article and annoyed that the editor would allow such an article to be published, not only taking up precious web space but wasting readers’ valuable time.

Many of the suggested overrated destinations were based on people’s incompetence and their lack of preparation and understating the environment of where they traveled to. It’s like they were expecting the country and the people to entertain them and provide them with the glossy picture perfect vacation they’ve read and seen in magazines and books. I have selected a few to highlight based on the blatant retarded comments the authors had to say about why a specific destination was overrated. Mind you, I’ve not been to most of the places I have highlighted.

One lady (#2) complained about Bali because insects infested her luxury hotel room after admitting to leaving the door open while they went to have dinner. Lady, you’re in southeast Asia. It’s tropical. There’s gonna be insects abound. A one inch opening is an invitation for bugs to make themselves as unwelcome guests especially if you have your lights on. I could not believe she complained about how poor the country is and that there were beggars and poverty around. Sounds like someone was feeling guilty for taking a luxury cruise of the exotic orient. That lady has some audacity to claim a destination is overrated because of her mistakes and ill-preparedness to travel in the tropics of southeast Asia. If anything, her claim as a seasoned traveler is overstated. What sort of travels and destinations has she been to that didn’t have insects or weather that was uncomfortable, or have some level of poverty. Talk about traveling in a bubble! At the very least, her complaint should have fallen on the luxury hotel that she was staying at for their failure to keep insects off the property.

photo taken by Iain Robinson of Vale of Ffestiniog, Wales, UK.

Another lady (#28) who set up the article that she was living in London and was a mother of 15 month old twins. She admitted to not having the disposable income to go on a “real” vacation and took up a friend’s offer to stay at their cottage in Wales. Majority of her story described how unsafe her friend’s cottage was which she called a “death trap”. What an ingrate! She also complained about the rainy weather while they were in Wales which made walking around a nuisance especially while pushing a double stroller. And then she makes a big stink about tea houses that are too small to accept their double stroller. She’s not in London where I’m sure there are lots of room for people and their fancy strollers. Hey, how about using one of those baby harnesses! You don’t always have to push around a stroller! So basically, she suggested Wales is overrated because of her friend’s crappy cottage and at the end of the day, they were dirty and tired because of the damp weather. I think she was hoping for an idyllic country getaway after having to care for and raise two small children. What she needed was a vacation away from her twins.

photo take by Charis Tsevis.

And then there was some idiot  (#20) who boasted that Los Angeles is all you need to be and that everywhere else was overrated. LA!? Pul-eaze! LA is overrated especially around the Hollywood area. LA has crazy traffic and air pollution you can cut with your finger. People are pretentious even if they are attractive looking. How boring is he that he can’t expand his horizons beyond the sight lines of LA?! Perhaps he should stay in his smog filled bubble because the last thing I want to do is read about some lame comparison of how some place isn’t LA on a silly article as this.

photo taken by Janet Zachary-Brown

There were a few destinations that I agree are overrated like the Hamptons (#22). As TH described it, going to the Hamptons is like crashing a party you weren’t invited to. If you don’t know anyone in the Hamptons, it’s not all that exiting a place to go as far as beaches go. The restaurants are overrated and overpriced. Beaches aren’t anything to behold especially when everyone raves about the Jersey Shore!

Las Vegas (#17) is another place that TH has said is overrated although we may be heading out there in October for a special occasion. I can imagine LV being overrated when all you’re supposed to do is gamble, gamble, gamble. We’re not gamblers. There is entertainment for guests who aren’t gamblers like concerts and shows. And then there’s the shopping that is supposed to be amazing. Being from NYC, I don’t think I will be impressed with the shopping. Should I make it over to LV, I may have a decent time but I won’t be raving about it as a must go like Marrakech, or Venice, or Paris.

Image by Christian Ferrari - http://christian-ferrari.blogspot.com/

I’m also a little annoyed that the editors of the Chicago Tribune and LA Times thought it was fitting to publish these personal accounts of people’s travels and claiming that these personal negative experiences as the epitome of worlds’ overrated destinations. It’s like the editors were too lazy and too cheap to do a proper survey and collect the necessary data to determine by majority the worlds’ overrated destinations.

If you haven’t read the article (also a slide show of images not associated with readers’ complaint), you can either read it via Chicago Tribune or LA Times.