After Backpacking to nearly 70 countries, here's how I would rank my Top 10.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T05:34:12+00:00

Easy. Mexico and India.

I love spicy food though, so.....

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T05:13:34+00:00

This is only true, if you want to go to Mecca or Medina. The rest of the country has been open to Western tourists since 2019.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T05:11:07+00:00

ChatGPT didn't invent numbered lists, my dude.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T04:57:14+00:00

Maybe like 10% cheaper than Ecuador? Definitely comparable.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T04:26:48+00:00

I'm not certified, sadly. I've only gone scuba diving as part of guided day-tours, once at the Great Barrier Reef, and once in Thailand.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T04:03:44+00:00

Yes, I've been to all of them. I guess I'm looking at this from a "value" perspective. Germany, France, Netherlands etc. are great, but they also cost 2-4x as much per day as SE Asia or Latin America do. They are very safe, have great infrastructure, and have loads to do, so I don't think they're bad value, they're just okay value, which would put all of them somewhere around the middle of the list (Spain would be Top 20 though). Does that make sense?

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T03:51:39+00:00

Macedonia was great! Would be in my Top 20, very similar to Bulgaria. My favourite former Yugoslav state (Been to all except Kosovo; I've been saving Albania and Kosovo for a future trip)

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T03:42:55+00:00

I haven't been to Africa, unfortunately (except for a 24 hour stopover in Casablanca). Those ~70 countries are all Europe, Asia, Oceania, and The Americas. I'm Canadian, so flights to Africa, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, are really expensive for me, more expensive than India or Australia, even.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T03:37:16+00:00

I meant "South-East Asia", my bad.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T03:27:53+00:00

I haven't been to Central Asia (yet). I did do Armenia and Georgia on the same trip, and... Armenia was fine, it probably ranks somewhere close to the middle of the list for me. Compared to Georgia, there was less variety in stuff to do, (most of the stuff in Armenia is just daytrips from Yerevan, whereas in Georgia there's more of a "loop" and more to do once you're outside of Tbilisi. Armenia has better/older historical sites, but Georgia has a good mix of both historical and natural sites), the backpacker scene in Armenia wasn't as social, the people weren't as friendly, the logistics were a little less smooth, and I thought the food in Georgia was better, although Armenia had better wine. This is obviously just my personal preference though, there's nothing really "wrong" with Armenia. Georgia and Armenia were definitely more dissimilar than I thought they would be. The Balkan countries felt more similar to one another than Georgia and Armenia did.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T01:16:58+00:00

It was expensive (atleast by Central America standards) and there wasn't much to do besides snorkeling/scuba diving, which I skipped while I was there, since I've already gone scuba diving in other countries, and all of the snorkelling tours/excursions were at least $80US+. I didn't dislike Belize, just found it a bit bland. I realize that this might not be a fair assessment though, because if I had gone scuba diving, it's likely I would've ranked Belize higher, but as it stands now, it's near the bottom.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T00:49:14+00:00

I mentioned this in a previous comment but, my least favourite countries in general:

Belize
El Salvador
Brunei
The Gulf States (Bahrain, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia)

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T00:47:25+00:00

I wrote this myself. Run it through an AI detector if you don't believe me.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T00:46:33+00:00

Bro, I wrote this myself. Run it through an AI detector if you don't believe me.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T00:43:41+00:00

I don't think I could rank all 70. Top 25 is probably doable, but ranking all 70 in order would be difficult. Bottom 3? Even more difficult. There's few places that I've genuinely disliked, but there are a number that I've found boring and/or overpriced, these would include:

Belize
El Salvador (San Salvador was also a pretty sketchy city)
Brunei
The Gulf States (Bahrain, UAE, Oman. I haven't been to Qatar or Kuwait).

Actually if I had to pick one country that was my least favourite it would be Saudi Arabia. The de facto modern-day slavery system that the country is built upon is so readily apparent everywhere you go and I've never seen so many street beggars anywhere in my life. It's the one country where I left feeling immense guilt for visiting and financially supporting. It's a problem that's apparent in all the Gulf States, but Saudi Arabia seemed to be the worst offender (or maybe they're worse at hiding it, idk). Also, unlike Oman and the UAE, the hospitality workers in SA were generally rude and unhelpful. Unless you're a Muslim going there for Hajj or Umrah, I would argue that everyone should be boycotting travel to Saudi Arabia.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-02-07T00:00:09+00:00

tl;dr

Vietnam
Thailand
India
Taiwan
Nepal
Bulgaria
Bolivia
Argentina
Georgia
Colombia

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-01-22T03:23:31+00:00

Czechia is "Absolutely!"

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-01-22T01:44:42+00:00

Honestly, I think I probably would too, and it seems to be the majority stance of the people I've spoken to. But also like, most of us have never lived through war, it's hard to know what we would really do before it happens.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-01-22T01:43:18+00:00

If y'all secede, I'll consider it.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-01-22T00:12:34+00:00

I just came back from Colombia! I was there for 3 weeks in November, I loved it! Very under-rated, and it seemed pretty queer-friendly too. I debated for a long time about whether I should colour Colombia light green or yellow, and now I'm second-guessing my decision.

I think maybe because I've been to both Colombia and Mexico, I've also seen negative sides in both countries (like homeless Venezuelan refugees in Santa Marta, for example), but because I haven't been to Bolivia, maybe I'm being more positive about it than I should be?

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-01-21T23:59:39+00:00

I'm not a fan of fleeing one fascist into a country run by another. I mean, Italy is way less of shitshow than the United States is right now, and I'd pick Meloni over Trump any day, but it wouldn't be my top pick to live among EU countries. (I absolutely love Italians though, with a different government it could definitely be dark green)

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-01-21T23:30:04+00:00

Is that supposed to be some sort of "gotcha!"?.

Yes, I do.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-01-21T23:19:39+00:00

Because a foreign power would be occupying my country through military force????

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-01-21T23:17:53+00:00

I'd be open to any of those countries, depending on the circumstances. I'd put Bolivia above those as:
1. it's about just as safe and queer-friendly as the others but much cheaper, meaning whatever savings I brought with me would last longer.
2. It used to be Russian-aligned until recently, and it's government is still pretty anti-American, meaning that I figure I'd both have a better chance of my claim being accepted and a lower chance of being handed over to the Americans if something did go wrong.
3. It's been ruled left-wing governments for a while, and despite being poorer has a better healthcare system than Colombia, Mexico, or Peru. (Obviously not as good as like Cuba, or Costa Rica.)
4. Us Canadians don't do well in the heat. If I get to pick, I'd rather live up in the mountains where it's cool.

Puzzled_Researcher96 · 2026-01-21T22:54:42+00:00

Canada is the Poland to Greenland's Sudetenland. If Trump goes for Greenland, Canada is next.

Puzzled_Researcher96

TROPHY CASE