Stranger danger….

Posted by harb99 on July 28, 2026, 17:16:05, in reply to "India has some great and cheap five star dining. I wouldn't eat street food but "
a CM calendar at work is A-OK

Hope all is well with you and your family. Previous Message I hosted a meal at this place for like 20 people, was one of the best meals and service I've had and I think it was like $1200 USD total. https://www.theleela.com/the-leela-palace-bengaluru If you just hit the 5 star places it's pretty good. In fact if they warped you from the Bangalore airport to business campuses and the restaurants and you couldn't see outside, you''d think you were in a nice version of a tech campus in San Diego or something. Getting there and back though is an existential level of hell. I got stuck in coach once from BGL to LHR on a day flight full of kids and it was maybe the longest 12 hours of my life. Also I have no idea how 12,000 people don't die a day on the roads there. That shit is wild. For Haighter -- just got back from SF. It seemed a ton cleaner than the last time I was there. Chapel Hill is way worse. Previous Message But fortunately, I will never have that problem. Would not step one foot in that horrible cesspool. Bald and Bankrupt travel blog dude on YT was on a train in India and tried to use the restroom. About 2" of shit water floating throughout the entire place. And no one seemingly concerned. Certainly no one trying to either clean or fix the problem. I get the feeling the entire country is just more of the same. I've seen several travel blog folks pretty much advise travelers to avoid the country. Nothing to recommend it. "yeah but you live down where the hoot owls eff the chickens" - illinihiltopper

Excellent! San Francisco is on the come-up...we're a perpetual boom town...

Posted by haighter on July 28, 2026, 16:53:05, in reply to "India has some great and cheap five star dining. I wouldn't eat street food but "
Boo Haighter

Everyone that's visited me in the last 6 months or so has said similar things. "This isn't nearly what I expected." "This is a lot cleaner than I thought it'd be." "I've been totally lied to about this place." That said, there's still some shit (literal and figurative) to go through...but we're living in Daniel Lurie's San Francisco now. Only thin you gotta worry about is how to afford it. Previous Message I hosted a meal at this place for like 20 people, was one of the best meals and service I've had and I think it was like $1200 USD total. https://www.theleela.com/the-leela-palace-bengaluru If you just hit the 5 star places it's pretty good. In fact if they warped you from the Bangalore airport to business campuses and the restaurants and you couldn't see outside, you''d think you were in a nice version of a tech campus in San Diego or something. Getting there and back though is an existential level of hell. I got stuck in coach once from BGL to LHR on a day flight full of kids and it was maybe the longest 12 hours of my life. Also I have no idea how 12,000 people don't die a day on the roads there. That shit is wild. For Haighter -- just got back from SF. It seemed a ton cleaner than the last time I was there. Chapel Hill is way worse. Previous Message But fortunately, I will never have that problem. Would not step one foot in that horrible cesspool. Bald and Bankrupt travel blog dude on YT was on a train in India and tried to use the restroom. About 2" of shit water floating throughout the entire place. And no one seemingly concerned. Certainly no one trying to either clean or fix the problem. I get the feeling the entire country is just more of the same. I've seen several travel blog folks pretty much advise travelers to avoid the country. Nothing to recommend it.

China and Thailand are both awesome. I've heard great things about Vietnam as well.

Posted by villain on July 27, 2026, 12:57:06, in reply to "I really have no desire to go anywhere in continental Asia. Japan and that’s it…"
Stupidhead

I've lost any (slight) desire to go to India....it just seems like a shithole. I've been told by everyone who's been that you absolutely must stay in a 5* place otherwise you'll end up with a cobra in your bed or have dudes taking dumps quite anywhere around you. If I have to pay $500-$1000 a night, I've got about 100 other places I'm going to first. Previous Message I’ve entered the latter half of my life and there’s too many places I’d rather go in the limited travel I’ll likely do. Continental Asia is too far and seems far too stressful / uncomfortable. I will get to Japan sometime though. Bucket list. Previous Message But fortunately, I will never have that problem. Would not step one foot in that horrible cesspool. Bald and Bankrupt travel blog dude on YT was on a train in India and tried to use the restroom. About 2" of shit water floating throughout the entire place. And no one seemingly concerned. Certainly no one trying to either clean or fix the problem. I get the feeling the entire country is just more of the same. I've seen several travel blog folks pretty much advise travelers to avoid the country. Nothing to recommend it. probably just another real jerk in life

I can’t with the weird shit they eat in Japan

Posted by Learning_and_Labor on July 27, 2026, 11:07:01, in reply to "I really have no desire to go anywhere in continental Asia. Japan and that’s it…"

I’m not a huge seafood fan to begin with let alone raw or the sperm sac thereof Previous Message I’ve entered the latter half of my life and there’s too many places I’d rather go in the limited travel I’ll likely do. Continental Asia is too far and seems far too stressful / uncomfortable. I will get to Japan sometime though. Bucket list. Previous Message But fortunately, I will never have that problem. Would not step one foot in that horrible cesspool. Bald and Bankrupt travel blog dude on YT was on a train in India and tried to use the restroom. About 2" of shit water floating throughout the entire place. And no one seemingly concerned. Certainly no one trying to either clean or fix the problem. I get the feeling the entire country is just more of the same. I've seen several travel blog folks pretty much advise travelers to avoid the country. Nothing to recommend it.

I watch a lot of different travel videos. Have for many years.

Posted by Lexillini on July 27, 2026, 10:52:02, in reply to "I really have no desire to go anywhere in continental Asia. Japan and that’s it…"
weiner sleeve

Hotel buffets in China are $$$$ though.

Posted by villain on July 28, 2026, 13:12:56, in reply to "Have you been? I had to go there for work a few times"
Stupidhead

Love the higher end hotels that have the breakfast buffets with American / European / Asian offerings all together. I'm not normally a breakfast eater, but I'll flip the script and eat a massive breakfast and then a couple of snacks later in the day when in Asia. Previous Message Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad. Took some extra time to go to the Taj and then out to Darjeeling. Fascinating country but the food is vomit. I stuck to the hotel buffets and still got sick. Previous Message Previous Message I feel it has become super trendy for people to claim they "love" Indian Food. The reality is, most of that is perfomative. It looks like dog vomit. And I know landlords that won't rent to people cooking that food because the smell gets in the walls. It's third world cuisine highly spiced to hide poor ingredients. probably just another real jerk in life

If you start off pretty tame, like Butter Chicken, or Chicken Tika Masala

Posted by kokomojo on July 27, 2026, 12:25:36, in reply to "I just can't get over the look and smell*"

if i couldn't my college life would have been less fun.*

Posted by AceFrehley on July 26, 2026, 20:20:02, in reply to "I just can't get over the look and smell*"

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