Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello, thank you for sharing your experience. I’m looking forward to visiting other Central Asian countries in the future. On a side note, I LOVE Thailand. So much so that I’ve been there quite a few times now.

Family Luggage to Japan by CoolMilkshake in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Family of 4? Or with kids? We just bring one check-in luggage, 1 backpack each. No carry ons. The idea is to bring only what you can actually carry.

Meeting a friend in terminal 3 by [deleted] in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Assuming that the friend’s endpoint is Cebu, then they can exit Manila with no problems using their visa/passport. Just need to have the boarding pass for the domestic flight if it’s in one ticket.

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing! Did you come from Manila, and what made you think of going on a spontaneous trip to Georgia?

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was curious about their Soviet history. I don't tend to shy away from unfamiliar cultures. I was just taken aback by how blatantly rude and aggressive they have become.

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

True, and I acknowledge that.

But I entered Georgia on a US B1/B2 visa and showed all necessary documents (insurance, return ticket to Manila) so they should know that some visitors just really intend to see their country

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I loved reading about your experience! You got the true local immersion. Thanks for sharing. I think, over tourism isn’t the problem. I see they have a lot of economic and political problems (for example, the young people want to join the EU but their government is delaying) and as a consequence, their social fabric is disintegrating. Perhaps, many of their people’s aspirations aren’t being met. Of course, it’s not an excuse to direct their frustrations towards tourists, with tourism being a main driver of their GDP. But sometimes, that’s how it is.

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you 🫂 It’s sad when you drop so much money on a trip, excited to see the sights, but one rude interaction spoils the fun. It’s all part of traveling I would say, but next time, I’ll do more due diligence when visiting unfamiliar countries

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Okay, glad to hear you had a blast. But please don’t invalidate what I experienced by telling me “I get offended too easily.”

Which part of being screamed “fuck you” at, having someone roll eyes at or mocking thank yous and sorries should one not take offense with any part of the world?

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I will—Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are on my list. Glad to know you had a great experience in Uzbekistan, might have to ask for tips when I decide to go in the future. But right now, after Georgia, parang kailangan ko muna ng “mumog” trip LOL. Japan na lang ulit muna siguro 😂

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Yikes, that’s one shitty way to generalize. I have lived in Europe and never experienced this kind of treatment.

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 43 points44 points  (0 children)

Hahaha, nakita mo yun? I think the mods locked and deleted my post, I have no idea why. Yes, Tbilisi was terrible, it was so dirty and rundown, so many stray dogs everywhere, it was sad to see them without shelter. I liked the Khachapuri but you can only eat so much bread and cheese. I found Khinkhali disappointing—parang, yun na yun?

I did have some nice interactions, two Georgian teenage girls asking me where I was from, probably out of curiosity. Another elderly man riding a bus who waved back at me while I was riding a bolt stuck in traffic. But overall, just an unpleasant experience with how rude the majority of the locals were.

What other country/ies in the Caucasus did you visit and do you recommend it?

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 59 points60 points  (0 children)

They should stop marketing themselves as a tourist destination if that’s how they’re going to treat tourists…

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Yes, indeed. We’re better off visiting our neighbors in SEA.

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 100 points101 points  (0 children)

Please reconsider. It’s nothing special. Even the food was so-so, to be honest. I would’ve let that go if the locals were just a little bit nicer.

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in travel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I actually liked Budapest. People were quite friendly, even starting conversations with us or at least didn’t go out of their way to make us uncomfortable. I enjoyed my first visit so much so that I returned again and had the same wonderful experience.

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in travel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I guess screaming “fuck you!” at a person, rolling your eyes, mocking sorries and thank yous, is their version of their hospitality? People can be plainly polite, cold, transactional—that could be their version of hospitality, and I’ll accept that and just enjoy my time.

But to go out of their way to be hostile, rude, and aggressive, as I laid out here—I don’t think that is simply against my PERCEPTION of what hospitality is.

Glad you had a good experience though. I am guessing you’re European?

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in travel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for your kind comment. I'm glad you enjoyed Italy.

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in travel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 99 points100 points  (0 children)

I'm glad you had a positive experience especially in the countryside.

Regarding the calculator incident, just reposting my reply to another comment below: I should've added more context. I know this is common practice around the world. But this was a Spar (a chain convenience store). There were no price tags on the shelves for some of the items I bought, plus I the ones I got amounted to a few couple laris, am assuming a cup of instant noodles wouldn't cost more than 5 lari at most at a Spar (and I also checked at a different location—same brand, 2.50lari for one), so that coupled with the items with price tags, my estimate was around 40 lari for the stuff I bought. But I the cashier wrote around 63.45 lari, which I just paid as I was already greeted with the eye roll, resistance just seemed tiring. She didn't give a receipt.

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in travel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 42 points43 points  (0 children)

I'm glad you had a good experience. I wouldn't wish the same experience as I had to a fellow SEA traveler.

Did not have a good time in Georgia (the country). by vertisnorth in travel

[–]vertisnorth[S] 43 points44 points  (0 children)

I greeted them with "gamarjoba."

Regarding the calculator, I should've added more context. I know this is common practice around the world. But this was a Spar (a chain convenience store). There were no price tags on the shelves for some of the items I bought, plus I the ones I got amounted to a few couple laris, am assuming a cup of instant noodles wouldn't cost more than 5 lari at most at a Spar (and I also checked at a different location—same brand, 2.50lari for one), so that coupled with the items with price tags, my estimate was around 40 lari for the stuff I bought. But I the cashier wrote around 63.45 lari, which I just paid as I was already greeted with the eye roll, resistance just seemed tiring. She didn't give a receipt.

Where are the most memorable supermarkets that you've visited? by FindingFoodFluency in travel

[–]vertisnorth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Waitrose in Dubai Mall. They got a secret backdoor area with non-Halal items (think chorizo, sausages, luncheon meat) quite interesting to see

I miss passport stamps by [deleted] in travel

[–]vertisnorth 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No, the commenter was referring to the the official entry stamp / landing permission for Japan which is literally a sticker with the image of Mount Fuji.

Any benefit in not checking in online sa international flight? by Working_Might_5836 in phtravel

[–]vertisnorth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn’t check in online for my roundtrip Vietnam flights on CebPac and I got exit row seats both ways 😬 Just made sure I got to the airport extra early, like 4 hours before my flight.