Posts by Cama33

50 000 dollars US si tu dort dans ton westfalia, cela correspond à 10 ans si tu vis comme un sdf, 5 ans si tu vis comme un routard et 3 ans si tu vis comme un vacancier.Évites le Venezuela, si tu peux...cordialement

Pour ce qui est du Belize, je ne suis pas d'accord: pays dangereux à l'intérieur des terres, fruits et légumes hors de prix en bord de mer, 1 dollars pièce pour un citron ou une petite courgette, une mer dans la barrière de corail asphyxiée par les mauvaises plantes qui pourrissent sur les plages et un coût de la vie hors de prix, seul avantage: ils parlent anglais...cordialement

Hi everyone, this is the second time I’m sharing my thoughts on this topic. No matter how it compares to other Asian countries—since I’ve visited 80% of them—that’s not the point. There are plenty of Asian countries where I’ve felt great, whether alone or with family.

China is a country with a mediocre population, but one where the diversity of flora, fauna, and landscapes is still exceptional if you venture off the beaten path. The Chinese people have been an oppressed population for centuries, under imperialism and communism. They’re often disrespectful toward foreigners, spit a lot, eat with their fingers, and lack basic manners. Tourists are treated like walking ATMs, especially in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing, and scams of all kinds are everywhere—tea scams, karaoke scams, you name it.

Tips: Stay alert and refuse any "free tea" invitations. If you invite a girl to your hotel, let the reception know (and tip them), but don’t follow her no matter what she says. If you go out for drinks, always keep an eye on your glass or finish it before hitting the dance floor. Stick to group outings—never go alone or just the two of you... Best regards

Hi Eric, you had a bad experience during your trip to China; unfortunately, you got off lightly: every day, tourists of all nationalities are scammed in China’s big cities like Beijing or Shanghai. The method is always the same—scammers use well-rehearsed tricks: first, they lure you in with young people posing as students who offer you free tea (a Chinese welcome tradition, or so they say). Once they’ve hooked you, they take you to a bar slightly off the main streets and offer you tea for free. Next, they suggest a supposedly higher-quality tea, and at the end, they tell you it’s not free—the price ranges from a few hundred dollars, and they make sure to lock the doors so you can’t escape. They hold you there until you pay the $200 or $300 they demand. If you don’t have the cash, no problem! They come with a portable card reader, just like in a French shop, and force you to pay with the credit card you have on you. Every day, hundreds of tourists fall victim to these scams—whether it’s the "welcome tea" trick, karaoke girls who claim they’ve filmed you, or other schemes. I’ve visited China—maybe I’ve seen more sites than you—and I can tell you, I’ve never encountered people as racist anywhere else. And I’ve been traveling the world for thirty-five years by car, sailboat, train, and bus. For example, at the two Novotels in the Chinese capital, there isn’t a single day when tourists don’t come to complain about the scams they’ve suffered during their visits. You were very lucky not to have been scammed and held against your will. The most recent people who told me about this "welcome tea" scam were two big, strong guys from a Nordic country who couldn’t do anything against the four thugs who followed them in, locked the door, and demanded payment. As for the rest of your comments, I can confirm the mindset in the big cities—they spit everywhere, and government officials and the police are the most racist toward foreigners (I experienced this in Guilin and along the Li River). But if you venture into the countryside, people are like anywhere else in the world—wary of foreigners, and it’s up to you to earn their trust. I hope you’ll get the chance to visit other, more welcoming countries. If you like hiking, I recommend Nepal and Pokhara, or the temples of Angkor in Cambodia and its lake with the nearby fishing villages. Or Halong Bay and Saigon (a walk around the lake in the city center) in Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia with its tea plantations in the north and its strait in the south, with the Perhentian and Tioman Islands. Or Sumatra with its orangutan rehabilitation village and Lake Toba, one of the largest craters and a tragedy in this planet’s history.

You’ll see that Asia has a thousand facets, and China isn’t a model for tourism. It’s a country that has known every form of monarchy and communism—a nation of slaves under dictatorship, gasping for air. You’ll need to be patient and wait a few decades before it wakes up. Safe travels,