What are the criteria that make you choose one destination over another? (page 8 of 10)

You put it more poetically than others, but you did it. 😉

I can totally picture you in Scotland during the off-season, and not at all in the heart of Calcutta in May! !

Well, for me it's really simple—all my vehicles are Crit'Air 5, so I stay home..😕

Pinocchio ....

(And adapting wordplay like lighting new fires...)

(You still have points on your license, right?)

I haven’t had to choose one destination over another based on this criterion yet, but I’ll admit I’ve steered clear of certain European cities because of it after the fact.

The Crit’Air sticker has a different version in each country, and I still want to see the road through my windshield... Plus, I don’t feel like spending my time hunting down Form 672b just to get the Crit’Air+++ pass!

Here comes the age of ecological criteria... A twist on ethical criteria...

By the way, I have a solution to your problem.

You rent an electric tow truck. You load your old car onto it and drive to Le Havre. (Plan for several days, but you’ve got time.)

You load your 4x4 into a container and pay for its crossing to the land of Uncle Sam.

You bike back home. You call an eco-friendly taxi++ to take you to Lyon.

A long flight with a layover will let you reunite with your favorite vehicle! 😛

The great outdoors awaits!

(Unless your conscience has told you to boycott that destination since a redhead tanning-salon enthusiast took over the nation? )

No no, I have no sense of adventure, but the land of the redhead and his 😇 unhinged friends has never appealed to me. Plus, being super eco-conscious, I don’t fly, and my car refuses containers—claustrophobia, you know...😏 On the other hand, like Tatra, I’m pretty tempted by a visit to central Ukraine... not exactly touristy, just to say a quick hello to some "friendly" police officers and make sure they’re having a good time...😄

With all that, I’m not really sure what your criteria are for choosing a destination... 😇

I think I get that it’s a destination you can drive to from home.

I would’ve bet on Mongolia or Morocco, but it’s just a hunch—I don’t know why those over Monaco or Liechtenstein... 😛

Hi,

Better late than never (I was away), here’s my reply:

More about voyeurism and the thrill of the ultimate rush than actual travel.

which follows my Afghan temptation.

Voyeurism?

But isn’t everything that pulls us away from the frenetic, self-absorbed consumerism at the heart of our civilization a form of that? Why is it more voyeuristic to walk through a theocracy than among African tribes or in India with its caste system, or...?

Afghanistan is the depth of history in Herat, the books of Atiq Rahimi, breathtaking landscapes, Massoud (so much more than Brad Pitt’s character)... And then, I don’t really know. I remember the image I had of Lebanon in the late '80s—a country ravaged by war, destroyed—and my conversations in Urbino with a student who lived there, went to the beach, went out. I’ve been wary ever since of what we’re shown.

When Iran or Afghanistan are no longer dangerous for my safety (and the threat is more external than internal), I’ll go.

Catherine

Afghanistan is

For me, it’s this: A few days in Bamiyan

Hi there,

Why is it more voyeuristic to walk around in a theocracy than in the middle of African tribes or in India with its castes, or...?

It’s just as voyeuristic.

But in the case of Afghanistan, it’s significantly more dangerous.

And then, we come back to the moral criteria that have been discussed at length in this thread.

I don’t want to give money to oppressors or endorse Sharia law.

Afghanistan doesn’t check any of my boxes except for vast landscapes: theocracy+++, no freedom, safety ---, denial of women’s rights, no possibility of driving, etc.

It’d be the last country I’d think of. I’d rather find myself in the middle of a massive rave in Ibiza than set foot in Kabul, that’s saying something.

It’s also about this:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-asia/afghanistan/report-afghanistan/

Yes, of course. But I *did* specify here... and besides, that remarkable travel journal is from 2017.

I know someone who went there in the 70s. As a couple.

In Perju mode, except it was a 4L instead of a 4x4...

I think it was easier to pull off that kind of expedition back then.

Differences were more accepted in those countries than they are now.

On the other hand, for women travelers, it was already quite risky...

People’s criteria must have been very different from today’s. It wasn’t mass tourism yet, and without information, everything was a leap into the unknown.

China was just a visit to Canton from HKG back then—we didn’t enter mainland China at the time!

Canton *has* been part of China for over 3,000 years and part of the People’s Republic since 1949, though. When did you go?

No need to panic. I just wanted to understand this sentence:

you couldn’t enter mainland China back then!

Since you said you went to Guangzhou (Canton) and Guangzhou is indeed in mainland China, right? I still don’t get your answer since you’re using question and exclamation marks everywhere.

the borders were, well, open!? and the checks were strict though, right??

I have no idea since I was the one asking the question All I can say is that Guangzhou was open to foreigners in 1988 (I was there), just like hundreds of other cities in mainland China I can’t confirm if the rules were the same when you went there, that’s all.

At least Lilli one reacted to your post. 😉 I wanted to reply too, but I’m in Nepal right now—for the umpteenth time. I don’t really like typing long messages on my phone. (I admit I do the same thing as you at Dubar Square... )

At least, Lilli one responded to your post.

The big guns...😉😏

I admit I do the same thing as you at Dubar Square... 😇

Watch out, in Patan (the name may have changed) they’ve found a way to track freeloaders: I’d managed to avoid the checkpoint, but since I didn’t know they gave out a badge (to wear visibly on your clothes) when you buy the entrance ticket, I was quickly spotted!😏

When we were younger, we visited the places that called to us—India, Mexico, Egypt, Jordan... Now, without going too far and to get away from our beloved Pyrenees, we snowshoe in small groups, traveling through Lapland, Bulgaria, and the Lofoten Islands. We're hooked on vast white landscapes, and at our age, making the most of our health while we can is what drives us to do things within our reach. Long-distance hiking is on our spring agenda every year—Spanish trails and the Via Francigena... We can't have it all, but we have time, and that's a privilege.

No Spanish-speaking countries: simple, he doesn’t speak Spanish. QED