NationStates Jolt Archive

Not that I blame all French. But I've found that a lot of tourists these days from almost any country act in ways that I know they wouldn't attempt at home.

From my sister via email:

I just got back from Disney in Fla and every contact my family had with a French tourist was negative culminating with a French woman shoving my 3 year old daughter to the ground so her kids could move up in line at a ride.

Every year it's the same. What the fuck is wrong with them?

I read this, and first, I thought it was Disney - hey, every kind of person comes there, and you never know what idiocy you're going to see, so I wrote back:

I saw a group of burka wearing women with their ghetto pimped male whatevers at Disney. Don't know why the women went as they weren't allowed to do anything. One raised a leg to rub her foot and her old man went medieval on her ass. A massive bitchslapfest where he beat her down to the ground. Of course we have to respect other peoples' cultures more than our own so no one did anything, and neither did Disney security.

And I'm not immune to acting up when I'm a tourist... especially where lines are an issue, so I added:

Standing in line at a ski lift in Tirol. Some punks come sailing in and cut right to the front of the line. Nobody does jack shit. It happens every time I'm there. I excuse myself from the wife - "Here, hold these poles please" and go right up to them and shove both of them sideways on their skis, making them fall over. I then make it 100% clear they are going to the back of the line. I have 50lb on both of them, and they get real compliant. Both get up and shuffle to the back. As I go back to my wife holding my skipoles about 2/3 of the guys in line are grinning at me. Some of the women seem shocked that I decided to get confrontational.

Have your own horror stories of tourists running amok? Or have you ever behaved badly at some tourist spot overseas?

It's a mentality thing. Tourists think they're special just because they're visiting. They're the loud mouth cousin who comes to visit, trashes your house and expects you to be grateful for it. :p All because they're spending money like it's water... of course, it doesn't appy to all but there are those who are like that.

I'm actually a good tourist, which is kind of bad I guess...:confused:

also let this be a lesson that Disneyland is the land of tears and should be avoided especially if its in Florida

As good as you intend to be as a tourist, you can't always 'fit it' to the extent the locals might want you to. The nice thing is...you get a sort of 'pass' for being a foreigner anyway.

If I can't speak the language, I at least don't insist they speak mine. I've gotten good at international charades :D And if someone tells me, in that tight, urgent tone, 'DO THIS NOW', I comply, rather than saying, 'but tell me why, what are we doing, why are we running and hiding here...' It's saved my ass a couple of times.

Then again, I don't go to places like Disneyland.

The tourists that piss me off the most, travelling in Latin America, tend to be:
1) from the US
2) Russians
3) Italians

The French, while they annoy the hell out of me in my own country, tend to tone it down or something when I bump into them in Lima.

I'm actually a good tourist, which is kind of bad I guess...:confused:

also let this be a lesson that Disneyland is the land of tears and should be avoided especially if its in Florida

I've been to Disney World too many times, since it's just about two hours away. It gets boring after you've been there too many times...at least it did for me.

When I go abroad, I make sure I don't look like a tourist. That way pick-pockets, sleazy street traders and thier ilk are less likely to bother you.

I can't think of many particularly badly behaved tourists I've met. But there was this dick of a boy who was obviously a school bully at home I met when I was on a mediterranean cruise at the age of 9. I was swimming in the pool, and this dick started grabbing my legs, and challenged him to a race. I was a trained competitive swimmer, however. Totally pwned him. I think that shamed him a little. The saddest thing was that he cheated when he knew he was losing, only swimming half the pool, etc. He still acted like a dick, but he didn't bothe me too much afterward. I like to think I put him down a few pegs.

I've been to Disney World too many times, since it's just about two hours away. It gets boring after you've been there too many times...at least it did for me.

you should beat up the characters and be a general hoodlum seeing as how your not coming back :cool:

course I heard they shut Disney land down after they found all those giant mice :D

I'm a 'good' tourist, always polite and junk, don't cut in line and yadda yadda...

When I lived in Pittsburgh I met a tourist who thought that just because I lived there I was a qualified tour guide. When I treid to explain I didn't know how to get to whatever place it was from all the way across town he got indignant on me... a beet cop saw him and chastised him for harassing me, threatened to ticket him. It was damn funny!

I'm a silent tourist. You don't even know I'm there. :)

Oh, and Cubans are assholes.

I'm a silent tourist. You don't even know I'm there. :)

Oh, and Cubans are assholes.

Huh!?

You're a yank, yes? Which means most likely you've never been to Cuba. And since most Cubans from Cuba travel as medical or social workers, and don't really have time to be 'tourists' then I must assume you are speaking of the Cuban exiles living in the US. To which I say...

Yeah, you folks got the Cuban assholes. The others are pretty fine people.

I'm a silent tourist. You don't even know I'm there. :)

great now I'll never be able to get to sleep :D

you should beat up the characters and be a general hoodlum seeing as how your not coming back :cool:

course I heard they shut Disney land down after they found all those giant mice :D

Well...I'm not there now. The last time I went to Disney World was probably last summer or something like that. I can't remember for sure, I just know that I got bored with it. I've been to Universal Studios too many times, as well, but I don't get bored of the Horror Make-up Show or the Monster Cafe.

And I haven't heard anything about that...

Absolutely, 100%, and with no possibility of being wrong, American tourists are by far the most irritating.

Australians are cool. As are Spanish and French.

Absolutely, 100%, and with no possibility of being wrong, American tourists are by far the most irritating.


Why do you think we encourage them to travel out of the country?

Would you want to live with them?

Huh!?

You're a yank, yes? Which means most likely you've never been to Cuba. And since most Cubans from Cuba travel as medical or social workers, and don't really have time to be 'tourists' then I must assume you are speaking of the Cuban exiles living in the US. To which I say...

Yeah, you folks got the Cuban assholes. The others are pretty fine people.

You are correct. I couldn't tell you what the others were like, I'm not allowed to visit Cuba. :p

*feels bad for generalizing*

You are correct. I couldn't tell you what the others were like, I'm not allowed to visit Cuba. :p

*feels bad for generalizing*
MUAHAHAHAHAH!

Why do you think we encourage them to travel out of the country?

Would you want to live with them?

Very good point. You have my sympathies...

My dad, as a tourist, is quite polite, but he seems to follow the rules, having sandals and socks, and THAT type of hat. He also dosen't tip, (unless your in one of those facist-tipping nations, like Egypt, and from what I've heard America). He also makes a bad attempt at speaking the local language (as can be seen in Austria and Italy esspecially), but at least he tries.

As for me, well, only the reluctance to tip, and the appalling local lauguage speaking has rubbed off on me. Am I wrong in thinking these are features of the sterotypical English tourists, along with all the other stuff?

I've never actually experienced any horrid experiences with tourists. Then again, I've never been out of the country so perhaps that helps things though assholes can be found everywhere so perhaps I've just been lucky. The most irritating thing I find is when I happen to be downtown in Cincinnati there is the occassional tourist (shocking, can't think of anything really worth seeing) who stands in the middle of the sidewalk blocking foot traffic. It seems small things like that can irritate me to no end. :p

As for me, well, only the reluctance to tip, and the appalling local lauguage speaking has rubbed off on me. Am I wrong in thinking these are features of the sterotypical English tourists, along with all the other stuff?

It's rather untypical for the "typical" English tourist to try and speak the local language. I'd say it speaks very much for your dad and yourself rather than against, and it will certainly be more appreciated abroad than this:

"OI!!! Where the f###ing sausages!?!?!"

You can tell I've been to Mallorca. :D

Next time, I'll go on about a special sort of my fellow German countrymen. Same trash, different language. Better tips, though.

Absolutely, 100%, and with no possibility of being wrong, American tourists are by far the most irritating.

Australians are cool. As are Spanish and French.

Seconded. But I'm going to add English stag and hen groups to the irritating list (specifically - in Dublin at weekends)

Seconded. But I'm going to add English stag and hen groups to the irritating list (specifically - in Dublin at weekends)

Don't forget German bowling clubs.

We get lots of Japanese tourists. They're not too bad.

I've seen Asian tourists with their kids on leashes in NYC. Funny.

Mainly, the problem I have with tourists is that they are slow, and take up room/are noisy in subways. American tourists to NYC are the worst, cause they bother people the most.

MUAHAHAHAHAH!
:(
Mainly, the problem I have with tourists is that they are slow, and take up room/are noisy in subways. American tourists to NYC are the worst, cause they bother people the most.

They're over-enthusiastic. I swear, thier excitment makes them ignorant of all other life. Zoos are horrible places when filled with tourists.

Absolutely, 100%, and with no possibility of being wrong, American tourists are by far the most irritating.

Australians are cool. As are Spanish and French.

Yanno? I see a lot of ads on TV about travelling in the United Staes, but I never see any that ask us to visit outside of the country. It's always California, Las Vegas, Reno, Florida, New York, Wyoming, Utah...

When I went to Europe and Mexico, the people that bothered me the most were the American tourists, except for France. In France there were some pretty rude assholes that were just as bad as the US Americans that got under my skin.

But oh yes, I must concur about the Spanish and Austrailians. The Spanish especially though.

I'm a pretty invisible tourist when I go anywhere, myself.

I try not to be a rude tourist, but in India, I wasn't really there as a tourist, so I didn't get out much.

I try not to be a rude tourist, but in India, I wasn't really there as a tourist, so I didn't get out much.

Isn't it the law [there] that you must kill at least one person to get on a train?

Isn't it the law [there] that you must kill at least one person to get on a train?

Only if you want a seat. I have never been in such crowded trains in any travel anywhere. The prices are right, though. I got a first class seat from Delhi to Bhatinda for something like $3 USD. It took about six hours to get there and I was afraid of falling asleep because I was sure I'd miss the station at Bhatinda.

Yanno? I see a lot of ads on TV about travelling in the United Staes, but I never see any that ask us to visit outside of the country. It's always California, Las Vegas, Reno, Florida, New York, Wyoming, Utah...

Yeah, that's because the rest of the world pays the US stations not to advertise them as tourist destinations for Americans :p

When I went to Europe and Mexico, the people that bothered me the most were the American tourists, except for France. In France there were some pretty rude assholes that were just as bad as the US Americans that got under my skin.

See, I've never had that from French people. They're all great. Perhaps it's because I'm Irish and I speak French decently, and I start off in French when I go into a shop. To be honest, just being Irish is usually enough to make people like you abroad...

Yeah, that's because the rest of the world pays the US stations not to advertise them as tourist destinations for Americans :p


I guess Turkey missed a payment then. I know I've seen commercials for them.

What's sad is that even I was annoyed by the American tourists last time I travelled out of the US. I dunno what it is.

Yeah, that's because the rest of the world pays the US stations not to advertise them as tourist destinations for Americans :p

You sneaky jerks! :D

See, I've never had that from French people. They're all great. Perhaps it's because I'm Irish and I speak French decently, and I start off in French when I go into a shop. To be honest, just being Irish is usually enough to make people like you abroad...


I didn't mean all or even the majority of French people. It's just the country where I encountered the rudest citizens (on the street as well as airport officials, waitresses and cashiers) toward me personally without any provocation. One example: my wife and I were simply walking down the street and a group of young french dudes passed us and immediately I heard "stupid Americans". Uh... OK?

I took French in HS and have nothing against France or the French. Although I never really had a chance to use it and have forgotten it all. :(

Wanna practice Frenching with me? :p

I guess Turkey missed a payment then. I know I've seen commercials for them.

Yeah, that's why we haven't let them into the EU yet.

I didn't mean all or even the majority of French people. It's just the country where I encountered the rudest citizens (on the street as well as airport officials, waitresses and cashiers) toward me personally without any provocation. One example: my wife and I were simply walking down the street and a group of young french dudes passed us and immediately I heard "stupid Americans". Uh... OK?

I took French in HS and have nothing against France or the French. Although I never really had a chance to use it and have forgotten it all. :(

I think as well one of the things might be that the French attitude to customer service is completely different to the US one. You don't get the "Hi my name's *insert name* how can I help you today" sort of thing in France like you do in the US. And that actually really annoyed me when I was there...so false really...

Wanna practice Frenching with me? :p

Oui, oui, mon chéri ;)

I think as well one of the things might be that the French attitude to customer service is completely different to the US one. You don't get the "Hi my name's *insert name* how can I help you today" sort of thing in France like you do in the US. And that actually really annoyed me when I was there...so false really...

I was already used to that in Holland and Belgium. Poor service is not what I consider rude. It's actual huffing and puffing when standing there asking for help and they treat you like you ruined their entire day. I don't give a shit what their name is or if they want me to have a nice day or not. I just want to get my service completed and be on my way without a bad attitude thrown at me from out of nowhere.

My wife was even doing all the talking in French the best she could. There were a few shops where the person helping us was pleasantly surprised that we were even attempting to use French and graciously spoke in English to end her embarrassed attempts. It's not like we expected them to speak english for us. I would rather have not gone to France in the first place because I wanted to be more proficient at the local language but my wife insisted.


Oui, oui, mon chéri ;)

:fluffle: ahhh, the language of love :fluffle:

I was already used to that in Holland and Belgium. Poor service is not what I consider rude. It's actual huffing and puffing when standing there asking for help and they treat you like you ruined their entire day. I don't give a shit what their name is or if they want me to have a nice day or not. I just want to get my service completed and be on my way without a bad attitude thrown at me from out of nowhere.

My wife was even doing all the talking in French the best she could. There were a few shops where the person helping us was pleasantly surprised that we were even attempting to use French and graciously spoke in English to end her embarrassed attempts. It's not like we expected them to speak english for us. I would rather have not gone to France in the first place because I wanted to be more proficient at the local language but my wife insisted.

Fair enough. I've never had that from French people, they've always been cool.




:fluffle: ahhh, the language of love :fluffle:

:)

-snip-

So, in the nicest possible way, which site/forum/blog did you lift this from?

Isn't it the law [there] that you must kill at least one person to get on a train?

I wouldn't know. I've never been on a train there. However, I was in a three-seat (including driver) auto rickshaw once. With seven people in it.

This is your average auto rickshaw:
http://www.lovson.com/gifs/autorickshaw-4-stroke.jpg

I like to think I'm a pretty good tourist. I don't get pushy, I learn a little of the local language, I try to blend in, and I certainly don't assume that everyone is there to serve me.

Doesn't mean I'm perfect...I recall a particularly embarassing occasion in Italy, but I'm doing my best not to contribute to the stereotype of the typical American tourist.

Aussie tourists are awesome. When I went to NYC last summer we met a lot of Australians, and they were all amazingly friendly.

I think Heathrow airport attracts the worst travelers from all nations...like some sort of asshole magnet. :p

The one that left me shaking my head the most was listening to an American family complain that a small resturant in Takayama, Japan did not have any signs or menus in English and that the people running it couldn't speak a word of English either.

It was one of those, "What did you expect them to speak in a small city in the middle of Japan?" moments.

See, I've never had that from French people. They're all great. Perhaps it's because I'm Irish and I speak French decently, and I start off in French when I go into a shop.

I'd go along with this 100%, even though my french is pretty appalling in general terms. I've been to France several times over the past decade or so and the response you get if you attempt to speak in French first is many times better than if you just begin in English. If you struggle in French they'll switch to English and generally be helpful, but if you begin in English they'll often gallic shrug and 'je ne comprends pas' at you. Just a respect thing I suppose.

rule of thumb.

when a tourist is by him/herself they are generally fine.

when they are moving in herds they are irritating twats.


The single biggest group of foreign tourists here are the brits. and they are very, very annoying. and the pride of coming to a place year after year, yet not speaking more than 6 words in the fucking local language.

they should give out pamphlets to the brits before going abroad.

rule 1: learn a few basic sentences. Even if its "sorry i'm english i don't speak your language". This can be achieved on a normal 2 hour flight quite easily.

Rule 2: If you start a sentence "well in england we do it this out" or the equivalent. Shut-up, go back to your lodgings, pack and return to the airport for a return flight. or accept that in other places things are done differently.

Rule 3: alcoholic measures are stronger in most other countries. Work on the assumption that a whisky/coke is about 5 to 6 times stronger abroad. If in britain you drink 5 whisky cokes and are tipsy, divide by 5 when abroad. Unless you wish to continue the glorious british tradition of binging, impressing the locals with your genitalia, throwing up the british food you've been eating all day as the local food looks "iffy", and going back to blighty with an interesting cocktail of STDs.

Rule 4: Everyone understands that getting a tan is one of the best ways to show that you've been on holilday. But THIS (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Lobster_meal.jpg)makes you look like a twit.

please add rules as you see fit

As good as you intend to be as a tourist, you can't always 'fit it' to the extent the locals might want you to. The nice thing is...you get a sort of 'pass' for being a foreigner anyway.

If I can't speak the language, I at least don't insist they speak mine. I've gotten good at international charades :D And if someone tells me, in that tight, urgent tone, 'DO THIS NOW', I comply, rather than saying, 'but tell me why, what are we doing, why are we running and hiding here...' It's saved my ass a couple of times.

Then again, I don't go to places like Disneyland.

The tourists that piss me off the most, travelling in Latin America, tend to be:
1) from the US
2) Russians
3) Italians

The French, while they annoy the hell out of me in my own country, tend to tone it down or something when I bump into them in Lima.

Your Peruvian? I'm going for a month in the summer, any big things I should avoid to stop myself looking like a fool?

Pushy tourists- Well in Egypt there were some Russians who insisted on making tits of themselves, not only did they sit on instead of at the pool bar they danced on it. They treated the Egyptians like shit. Egyptians didn't like them, to the point where we were told, "You don't want to get on that boat...it is full of RUSSIANS!" Although we were actually not supposed to be getting on that boat.

Zoos are horrible places when filled with tourists.
Hehe, that gave me the mental image of enclosures filled with different "breeds" of tourists.

"Over here, you will see the notorious American tourist. Careful - they have no concept of 'personal space' whatsoever.

And over there, his cousin, the English. Known to mark his resting ground with bath towels in the early morning hours.

Now, if you will follow me, I will show you the typical German tourist. Note how he doesn't even try to blend into his surroundings.

The Japanese tourist is a special kind - that's why we have a whole flock of them. They would feel lonely if we wouldn't keep as many as we do..."

;)

I'm a good tourist, though. Most German tourists I encountered in the States couldn't tell I was one of them... Especially funny when they start talking trash about others in the subway or so - scared the hell out of them when I told them off in nasty German when they started making fun of me. Yeah, don't mess with the German Nightmare - he's going to haunt you! :D

I've come across a lot of tourists all over, and a few groups have stuck out, depending on where I was.

France

The English (note the deliberate choice of the term), Americans and anglophone Canadians when in groups. They talk very loudly and are very aggressive while drunk. A group of three is barely tolerable, but they get exponentially more annoying per additional person in the group. Also, they often are indignant (Canadians less so) when things aren't in English. When I'm asked where things are (invariably in English) I pretend not to speak English and walk off.

Michigan

Texans. They make great pains to let you know they're from Texas, as if we didn't notice the cowboy hat, dinner plate sized belt buckle, accent, and use of the word "Y'all".

Illinoisans also get mention (mainly those from Chicago) as they crowd our beaches and get pissy when they can't find everything they'd find in Chicago in some little coastal Lake Michigan town. We use the term "FIP" for them, which doesn't mean "Friendly Illinois People".

There are always some asshole tourist that cuss people in their own language.

When I was in Disneyland Paris, and some Dutch people (looked like fret college students) cussed people, I cussed back.
We talked for a minute, and then I started to join them. The fun doesn't stop :)

In Sweden we mostly get Germans, hordes of Germans rushing into our forests looking for the mighty moose. Yes, I have seen them park right in the middle of nowhere and rush into the woods because they saw some animal.
But I don't really mind them, they are usually very fun to hang around with when doing what they do best. Getting drunk and singing their drinking songs. :D

And over there, his cousin, the English. Known to mark his resting ground with bath towels in the early morning hours.

Funny....that's actually a stereotype here about German tourists...

Being from a town absolutely infested with tourists for all of...oh, one week out of the year, I've managed to develop a healthy dislike for them. (Type in "Masters Tournament" into Google. You'll see what week I'm talking about.)

Of course, I think that has something to do with my absolute hatred for golf and the upper/upper-middle class white jackasses who play the game and waste money on passes to the tournament. The only perk is that people assume I'm a tourist wherever I go, so shop owners and such are quite cordial. That still doesn't make up for people not knowing that a green traffic light means MOVE YOUR ASS, and jaywalking across four lanes of traffic is not normal....

One wouldn't believe it, but in a large survey among hotel owners and employees all around the Mediterranean it was the Germans who scored best with the locals.

Reasons given were

- they give good tips
- they don't trash hotel rooms
- they don't enter churches half-naked
- they always try to stammer the local language (intention matters)
- when they are hammered, they go to bed and don't start hell

The results for El Arenal were different, though.

One wouldn't believe it, but in a large survey among hotel owners and employees all around the Mediterranean it was the Germans who scored best with the locals.

Reasons given were

- they give good tips
- they don't trash hotel rooms
- they don't enter churches half-naked
- they always try to stammer the local language (intention matters)
- when they are hammered, they go to bed and don't start hell

The results for El Arenal were different, though.

I read, write, and speak German and French well enough to understand what people are talking about, to reply, and to listen to the news and read the papers when on holiday.

However, when I make the attempt, the universal response I get is, "Please speak English."

I think my accent must represent an ongoing atrocity.

Not much of that here, the only people who can be touristy enough to come to the most isolated (state) capital in the world are your stereotypical Japanese package groups, and they don't bother anyone.

It's not your accent. I don't know why that is, but Germans today always want to speak English with everybody. Tough for the learners of German. How the heck are they supposed to practise?

Same problem with me in the Netherlands. I don't get to practise Dutch, because the Dutch spot me straight away and speak German with me. Or English.

I am not a bad tourist, I think. I am always very respectful when I go to theme parks, etc. There was one time, however, that I remember when my family caused a small disturbance at the water park in Williamsburg, VA. My mother and my friends mother were getting really into the water slides, and my siblings had just gotten back from VIking Camp (my family is Norwegian). We were standing on this incredibly long line, all the while listening to the other, foreign tourists yelling in their respective languages as they went down the slide. My mother thought this sounded so funny, she my siblings to scream in Norwegiian with her while going down the slide. We all got to the bottom and we wading out of the pool as the next set of people came splashing down. They were yougn kids and they were sobbing uncontrollably- they had been scared badly by the yelling and their parents had forced them to slide down anyway because they had waited so long.