My obsession with travel began early. While other kids plastered their walls with posters of pop stars, I pinned up a world map.
Growing up in South Africa, international travel felt like a distant dream. But everything changed in my early 20s. After saving up from my first job, I finally took my first trip abroad. It was a chilly journey to London to see the Spice Girls reunite — one of my childhood dreams.
That trip ignited a passion in me that’s never faded.
Since then, I’ve seized every opportunity to explore, whether for work or leisure. And while many destinations have lived up to their hype, some have left me wishing I’d kept those dreams in my imagination.
Having traveled to 40 countries and counting, I’ve learned that some places, no matter how iconic, are better left as daydreams. These are five destinations that left me disappointed.
Cairo’s pyramids, overshadowed by chaos
Back in 2010, a three-day layover in Cairo on an EgyptAir flight from London to Johannesburg felt like destiny calling. I’d always been mesmerized by ancient Egypt’s pharaohs, myths, and architecture. Stepping off the plane, however, the Egypt of my imagination vanished almost instantly.
In its place was a sprawling, brown city of intense heat, dilapidation, and overwhelming frenzy. From the moment I left the airport, I felt like a walking target. Every interaction, from a forced perfume-shop detour to navigating the aggressive markets, felt like a potential scam.
And then, there they were. The Pyramids of Giza. They are, undeniably, breathtaking. More massive, more majestic, more impossible than any picture could capture. Standing before them, I felt a genuine awe I will never forget. But the magic was short-lived.
Turning around, the view was dominated by fast-food joints directly across from the Sphinx. The air was thick not with ancient mystery, but with the shouts of hundreds of vendors and the exhaust of countless tour buses. Even the famous Nile River turned out to be a polluted dump, with a stench so foul that Baby Moses would rot in his little basket.
There’s nothing romantic about Paris
Paris has always been the epitome of romance and beauty — at least in my mind. Since my university days, when I studied French, I’d dreamed of walking along the Seine, gazing up at the Eiffel Tower, and experiencing the city of love firsthand. It was my top European destination, and I imagined it would be a fairy tale. Reality hit hard.
Paris has a certain grittiness about it. I never felt the same sense of safety I’ve felt in other major European capitals. And while Parisian rudeness is legendary, experiencing it firsthand was still a shock. How a city’s people could be so blatantly ill-mannered toward foreign tourists blew my mind.
Of course, there’s the Eiffel Tower, which is indeed majestic from a distance. But up close, you’re met with never-ending lines, security checks, and crowds. Venturing to the top unlocked a vertigo I never knew I possessed — the iconic view was barely a consolation for my white-knuckled grip on the railing.
Hollywood is better in the movies
If travel was my first love, showbiz was my second. Like millions, I grew up on a diet of American movies and TV that painted Hollywood as a glittering, otherworldly paradise of palm trees and perpetual glamour. To walk the Hollywood Walk of Fame was the ultimate dream.
But Hollywood isn’t all glitz and glamour. The reality was a stark contrast to the movies I’d loved. The opulence is there, but so is poverty, grime, and a suffocating mass of tourists. My heart sank to see homeless people on the stars I’d dreamed of exploring.
And the iconic Hollywood sign, while undeniably cool to spot in the hills, is almost impossible to photograph. Despite trying numerous times over the years, my last attempt in 2019 ended with me once again lost in the hills, with zero phone signal, dehydrated, and surrounded by rattlesnakes.
Bali is overrun with a cultlike hippy scene
Bali is sold as the “Eat, Pray, Love” island paradise for spiritual awakening and rustic, tropical bliss. But what I found felt more like a well-branded spiritual-industrial complex.
The reality is an island straining under mass tourism: notorious traffic clogging tiny roads, drunk and rowdy Australians, and hordes of inexperienced tourists wobbling on scooters.
Worst of all, for me, is the performative “enlightenment.” The hippy vibe feels less like a genuine search for peace and more like an overdone tourist trend.
During a visit last year, I attended a meditation session where the man next to me, bare-chested with long flowing hair, turned over and introduced himself as Tarzan. I couldn’t help roll my eyes. In that moment, he encapsulated my Bali experience: A beautiful island where authenticity often feels sacrificed by an almost cultlike, spiritual aesthetic.
Chiang Mai is Thailand’s most boring city
To criticize any part of Thailand feels like a betrayal. In fact, I adore the country so much that I moved there last year. Over the years, I’ve explored the alleys of Bangkok and island-hopped between the country’s stunning southern islands like Phuket and Koh Samui. So naturally, the cultured, serene north of Chiang Mai was next on my list.
However, I was left completely underwhelmed when I finally visited in 2023. Chiang Mai is undeniably pleasant. It’s serene. It’s famous for its stunning temples. But after you’ve visited the fifth or sixth wat, you quickly realize there isn’t much else to do.
My memory is of a dusty, charming town, one sleepy river, and a bunch of temples. In a kingdom bursting with energetic cities and idyllic islands, Chiang Mai is Thailand’s sleepiest, if not downright dull, destination.
Read the original article on Business Insider
The post I’ve traveled to over 40 countries. These 5 bucket-list destinations left me disappointed. appeared first on Business Insider.
