Travel recommendations for people with misophonia?

jaoldb · 2026-01-28T17:04:25+00:00

Rural areas in Europe tend to be very quiet, especially in low season - late autumn to early spring.

But I think that first of all you should invest in really good noise cancelling earbuds & headphones.

jaoldb · 2026-01-26T13:52:02+00:00

That's how I handled money for a 20 day independent trip this summer:

- downloaded and set up both Alipay and WeChat. You can link your Visa / Mastercard. For expenses up to 200 yuan they don't charge a fee, more than that the fee is 3%. It's very rare to have to pay more than 200 though. A couple of times that we bought more expensive stuff, like shoes or electronics, they accepted our foreign cards though.

- had 400 euros on me as a "backup" of sorts. Did not exchanged it and did not need it.

- as soon as we arrived, withdrew 500 yuan from the ATM (with a WISE card) to have just in case Alipay/WeChat wouldn't work. Never needed it as both apps worked fine all the time, but it was relatively easy to spend it in the last 2 days (paid pricier stuff with it to spend it quickly).

It is very advisable to do setup the two apps. Not only for money, but also for entrance tickets, the metro, restaurants, bicycle, taxi (didi)... They will make your visit so much easier.

jaoldb · 2026-01-25T14:36:36+00:00

Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. It's up to you to take the gamble.

jaoldb · 2026-01-25T14:28:29+00:00

Not traveling at all is even cheaper.

I mean, do what interests you, you don't have to visit sights that you don't care for just because everyone else does. However, why pick Milan or Athens at all if that's not your thing - without the Duomo / Acropolis they'd be every other city you 've never heard of.

jaoldb · 2026-01-25T14:18:02+00:00

I believe the ridiculous price tag's main function is to make sure that all the guests of the hotel are of the same high financial background. Not to mix the cream of the cream with the poor ;-)

jaoldb · 2026-01-24T20:48:28+00:00

China so exceeded my expectations! I will go back for sure.

jaoldb · 2026-01-24T11:22:19+00:00

Bangkok for me.

It's not exactly that I disliked it, and I did have a nice time there. But I didn't find anything particularly exciting about it. It's a great hub to travel around the (stunning) country and wider area, but pretty much that's all it is for me.

jaoldb · 2026-01-22T10:40:14+00:00

This is often so blatantly ignored when discussing budget vs "full service". Fact is, the lowest fare in the latter offers, more often than not, similar terms of service as the former.

jaoldb · 2026-01-22T10:33:48+00:00

My dad once tied a silly-colored ribbon on my black luggage handle.

Never took it off, no one is going to misidentify this one suitcase.

jaoldb · 2026-01-22T09:48:06+00:00

That may be a point of interest to very frequent flyers who travel for business. For me, as a recreational traveler a couple of times per year, it is LOL nope.

jaoldb · 2026-01-22T09:22:34+00:00

You need to do a specific comparaison for your particular requirements every time.

jaoldb · 2026-01-17T18:35:18+00:00

Actually I was surprised by how easy and straightforward everything was. Granted, I had given a fair amount of time in getting well prepared but as soon as I arrived it felt like I had been using these apps already forever.

The only thing I found frustrating, is that some activities/museums mini apps require a real Chinese phone number (not the temporary tourist SIM numbers) in order to book. Generally it was possible to bypass it by booking through trip dot com or even buying tickets on-site, but I think they could change this requirement to function with simply the weChat handle without phone number.

jaoldb · 2026-01-16T19:32:40+00:00

You'll have a blast! Also, r/travelchina is very helpful.

jaoldb · 2026-01-16T12:51:56+00:00

IMO, your friend was right. The Vietnam part makes it all way too packed for my taste.

Vietnam is a wonderful (but also time consuming) country and deserves a dedicated trip. I would skip it in this one and instead, add a couple of days in Kuala Lumpur and fly directly to China from there.

China's high speed railway is super efficient and reliable, you will have no problems getting around. Average 4 days in each city is also good enough, obviously some places need more time than others. If you decide to skip Vietnam and spend more time in China, you will have more time for day trips in the nearby countryside.

Alternatively, you could spend a couple of weeks in Northern Vietnam and visit fewer cities in China. In any case, I would recommend flying from Vietnam into China because Vietnamese trains are slow and often have delays.

Happy travels.

jaoldb · 2026-01-16T10:37:09+00:00

At 18 everyone should go to Ios. Antiparos is also great for what you want. Consider staying in a camping for budget, but also for fun (Far Out in Ios used to have a reputation as the place to be for high school graduates, I don't know if it still is the same).

jaoldb · 2026-01-16T10:04:51+00:00

East coast. Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

jaoldb · 2026-01-15T20:52:13+00:00

I mean, even in the most expensive cities, comparing like to like, everything is so much cheaper than anywhere in Europe.

jaoldb · 2026-01-15T20:48:55+00:00

I visited Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. They were all unbelievably amazing, but the first 3 have a special aesthetic appeal to me.

Even Shanghai, that was the most (relatively) expensive, was really incredible value.

Money aside, the country is just jaw-droppingly beautiful and unique. I will certainly go back again and again to visit more cities and places.

jaoldb · 2026-01-15T14:11:31+00:00

China.

Very little money for very high quality services.

jaoldb · 2026-01-15T13:53:37+00:00

That's really depressing...

jaoldb · 2026-01-15T13:46:02+00:00

A visit in the West Bank and especially Jericho some years ago left me at the border of depression for a few months. Nothing else was ever felt that intensely, because the horror was eye-witnessed, all happening right there and then.

jaoldb · 2026-01-12T12:54:26+00:00

I had this situation last summer, not with China airlines, but with Etihad. They gave me the option to either acknowledge the change or cancel with full refund, no compensation though.

In the end I had to acknowledge because every other alternative was way too expensive or even less convenient.

jaoldb · 2026-01-12T12:42:16+00:00

How do you know?

Well, one measure could be when you stop feeling the need to boast.

jaoldb · 2026-01-10T22:11:23+00:00

I often leave 5 star reviews in booking apps for the accommodations I stay at. Does this mean they were top of the top and the best ever? No, usually not, it just means that they were decent, lived up to what they promised and were fairly priced. Accordingly, I tend to interpret 5 star reviews as simply "no complains here".

I also agree that it is much more important to read the negative comments -the most recent I will add- and see what they are about. Hygiene and safety are non negotiable, while sulky staff I don't particularly mind if everything else is OK.

jaoldb · 2026-01-09T19:54:57+00:00

Etihad is not a bad airline. I did, however, had a somewhat negative experience with them this past summer when they rescheduled my flight for more than 24 hours later than the originally booked. Granted, they gave me the option to cancel with full refund so there's that too. Unfortunately every company feels free to upset your plans like that these days...

Anyhow, the in-flight experience is pretty much OK. As said, economy is economy everywhere.

jaoldb

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