The 'Wow!' factor (or not).
 

To follow up on the conversation in Craigs trip report, I was wowed by Burma; laid back people, gorgeous countryside, Lake Inle...

...and I was underwhelmed by Bali; polluted, crowded...

If we include Turkey as an Asian destination, it provided the biggest 'Wow!' I've had yet.

Places I was "wowed" by:

Angkor
Central Java
Sri Lanka
Egypt
Petra
my first experience of Bangkok
wowed in a quieter way by Luang Prabang


Places that I felt underwhelmed by:
Greece
Chiang Mai

There are lots of places I've enjoyed but did not feel wowed by, for instance, Morocco, Bali, Singapore, Hong Kong, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak, Viet Nam, Turkey.

Hmmm WOW
* Egypt
* Kenya
* Venice Italy
* Paris (ALWAYS)

Underwhelmed
* Greece (got REALLY SICK)
* Limerick (though Ireland is cool overall)

Wowed by places...Denmark...at the age of 17...back in 1973....Ghana a few years ago...went twice in two years...Morocco and Tunisia...back in either 1981/1982 or 1982/1983...Paris...back in 1976...the first time....Singapore/Thailand/Bali...the first time back in 1998....and New Zealand...back around 1994...and also Istanbul..back in 1999. That's all I can think of right now. Happy Travels!

Underwhelmed: Greece

When I discussed this with my wife Jeane she reminded me that we too were "wowed" by our first trip to Thailand.

Places wowed by (in no special order:

Borobodour
Bali (back in 1989)
Cappadocia
Florence & Tuscany
Venice
Alhambra
High Atlas Mountains & their oasis
Karakorum Highway
Kashgar Market
Burma
Killing Fields
Angkor
Bangkok temples first time
Jain temples in India
Lake Atitlan & Chichicastenagro in the 70s
All of England
Paris & Vence/St. Paul de Vence area

NOT Wowed by:
Rome
Spain (escept for Alhambra)
Portugal
Singagpore
Lombok
Phuket
Ireland
Malaysia
Delhi
Beijing
Scotland
Scandinavian countries

Lots of other places I'd put in the middle category (great trip by no wow):Vietnam, rest of Turkey, China, Greece, Israel, Hong Kong, Japan etc

Wow factor?

Angkor (Forever in my memory)
Egypt (Luxor and the valleys)
Vienna
Petra

and of course.....Phi Phi!

Lots of mini-wows....but thats my top five.

If I had to narrow the WOWS down to I think they would be:
1. Jain temples in Rajasthan
2. Karakorum Highway (1992)
3. Morocco -- especially High Atlas Mountains (1980)
4. First trip to Thailand which was also my first trip to Asia (1985)
5. Bali (1989)
6. Florence (1972)
7. London (1968)

You guys are so organized! I've tidied my list up a bit.

Wow:
#1 Turkey (2002)
#2 (Almost a tie for #1) Burma (2006)
England (1991)
Mexico/Cancun (1995)Loved the warm crystal clear water, the pyramids, colonial and indigenous history (Merida).
Laos (2007)- Never seen a landscape like that before. Wowed on the flight into LP.

Non-Wow:
Bali - (2001)For reasons listed earlier
Morocco- (2000) Hassle factor, didn't find people to be that friendly.
Nigeria- (1993) HOT! Steamy, crowded.
Jamaica- (1993) Where I discovered I really didn't want to spend my entire vacation on water sports.
Bahamas- (1997)-Discovered I wasn't into duty free shopping.


Hmmm, looking at the lists above is making me re-examine Greece for next year.

Wow, the Colonial towns of Mexico. Hanoi. English countryside. Safari in Zambia. Nara, Japan. South of France.
Non Wow, Australia. Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Agua Prieta, Mexico, Texas

My list of "wows" in no particular order: A lot

New Zealand
Egypt
Canadian Rockies
Midwest USA - Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, etc.
India (specially Varanasi)
Norway
Switzerland (Berner Oberland)
Bangkok
Patagonia
Peru (Machi Pichu)
Capadoccia (Turkey)
China (Guilin)
Japan
Angkor Wat
Santorini
Amalfi Coast
Iguazu Falls

Non "wowed"

Chile
Mexico
China (except Guilin)
France
Australia
Hong Kong
Denmark
Sweden
Rio de Janeiro

Paris

BKK

RHKKMK

Wowed or not wowed, Bill?

Wowed:

Florence (1967)
Rome (1967)
Paris (always)
Japan (1969)
Hong Kong (1970)
Sicily (1976-1979)
Bangkok (2000)
Istanbul (2007)

Not Wowed:

Nova Scotia

I have always been wowed by Bob!

After sleeping on this question, I realized that there were also "wow" experiences that were a part of a larger trip:

staying in the primary rainforest in the Danum Valley in Sabah

the Tower of London

Wandering alone in the Grand Bazzar in Istanbul until I knew my way around

Bora Bora

Being driven in a beat-up station wagon out into the barren rock and sand of the Sahara outside of Erfoud, Morocco. As a boy on the fender pointed the way through the drifting sand and the water bubbling through the rock, the wind exposed sections of perfect Roman roads. Spending the night at a tiny oasis - the stars so bright and plentiful. Arising in the morning to watch the sun rise over the dunes and returning to the oasis to be served bowls of chocolat chaud and freshly baked bread.

lets see....almost every place we visit with a few exceptions:

non-WOW's:

korea
ireland
all of florida, especially orlando
gpanda in a speedo
las vegas
weekend market, bangkok
chiang mai



WOW's:

turkey X 2
thailand, each and every trip
angkor wat
egypt, especially the first sighting of the pyramids as you fly across the dessert on arrival into cairo
major european cities: paris, london, prague, berlin before the wall came down
collobrieres, france
windsor castle
taj mahal, in any light
first view of machu pichu as you round the corner of the entrace gateway
needham common
any fodors GTG
grand palace, bangkok
d'orsay museum, paris

I forgot to add...Florence...in the early 1980s, I think it was. Happy Travels!

Wow:
Bali (1986)...worried from the comments above that it has changed for the worse

Tobago Cays in the Grenadines...jaw dropping beautiful water/beaches

Chiapas, Mexico (1993)

Tuscany

Paris (I thought it would be a cliche....but it was just lovely)

Ravello, Amalfi coast


So-So
Barcelona (thought I would love it)
Berlin
Capri

"wooooooowwwwwwww"
Starting at age 10 the first time I saw Mt Rushmore.

What has made me say it since:

Preah Khan with the light just right and no one else around.
the Scavi Tour.
First boat ride on the Mekong River, in Lao.
Seville during La Feria, the dancing, the bullfights.
Swimming in the water, looking at Dubrovnik.
David.
Munich to Budapest on the overnight train in heavy snow.
Hale-Bopp Comet sighting in Courmayeur.
Upper meadows at Yosemite National Park in the springtime, circa 1973.
Nurnberg Christmas Market on a snowy evening.
Hall of Mirrors, Palace at Versailles.
Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho.
Amalfi.

the price of gas in Norway....!

Wow

First look into the south rim of the Grand canyon

Staring up the face of the Wickersham wall, Mt Denali(McKinley), while also watching a grizzly mom and cubs meander down the mountainside about 100 yds away

Sunrise at the top of Haleakala

Angkor Wat at sunset

Full moon rising over Hanalei Bay, Kauai

Aloha!

I forgot to add...Vietri...Amalfi Coast Italy...1979. Happy Travels!

I mean...1977. Happy Travels!

Oooh... My wows...

-London, every time! Tower of London is a special "wow" of its own.
-Venice
-Sydney, specifically the Opera House and Harbour Bridge
-The Whitsunday Islands, Australia
-Amsterdam
-Maui, especially the Road to Hana

Happy Travels!

Cruisinred just reminded me, Capri was a big Wow. It's where I first fell in love with the Mediterrenean.

I'm amazed at the number of Wows for Paris. It seems to be quite a winner.

My original post described recent experiences. Many of you have related experiences over the last 3 or 4 decades. So I will relate my own "wow" experiences long past:

1970
Visiting and singing in the great cathedrals and churches of England with my church choir: Westminster Abbey, Canturbury Cathedral, King's College Cambridge and several others.

1980
Backpacking through Europe: hiking to the snow line at Grindelwald, Switzerland, motor biking around Corfu, Greece, visiting the Nazi prison camp at Dachau outside of Munich, Germany

1984
First trip to Asia - Hong Kong

1988
First safari in Kenya

1990
Honeymoon - Hawaii, especially our helicopter tour over the Big Island.

1995
Second safari in Kenya (with Jeane this time)

1998
Antalya, Turkey - buying rugs at prices far below those in Istanbul and with none of the hassle.

Wows, really wows:
Bali - inland
Siem Reap
Crete
Athens
Zermatt
Hong Kong
Singapore
Shirakawa-go/Gokayama
Grand Canyon
Cappadocia (so long ago I can't spell it anymore)

Wows, so so wows:
Bangkok
Kyoto
Tokyo
New York
Valeko Turnovo, Bulgaria

Not wows at all:
Paris
Naxos, Greece
Bali - beaches

One more -

1992
Snorkeling at Cozumel and flying to Chichen Itza.

1993
Our mule ride into the Grand Canyon should be on the list of wows as well. (The not wow would be the saddle sores I ended up with!)

I've been to Paris twice - in honor of Bob, I will mention that the D'orsay would be high on the list. However Needham Common would not be...

Wow locations:
Kyoto
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Bay of Kotor, Montenegro
Rome
Berchtesgaden/Bavarian Alps

Not Wowed at all by:
Florence

I've been to many places that have been amazing but not necessarily "wow" amazing.

Tracy

rhkkmk, d'orsay museum. Funny you mention that. Several years ago, went there with several friends and their kids. For the life of them they could not pronounce the name. It will forever be called the Doris Day Museum.

WOW- reading EKSCRUNCHY's food reports!

i forgot venice X 3.....capri in the late 60's

While I've been there/done that on 6 continents with most of the above "WOW's", I agree with Craig that the mule ride down the Grand Canyon has to remain one of the great adventures in life. (Yes, I've done the slow boat down the Mekong, seen Ankor Wat, etc., etc). Until you've experienced the canyon on a mule or hiked it, you truly can't compare it to anything else!! For what's it's worth, I'm 59 and did the trip when I was 23 before I had ever left the USA.

Ok so now we are going back decades so here goes:

NON WOW:
Living in New Jersey thru my college years.

WOW:
Landing in (and moving to) San Francisoc. The plane left Newark (what a cesspool that place is) and I saw oil refineries then as I approach SF I saw the Golden Gate!

Wows:
-Mirror Lake Highway in Utah
-Sonoma, Napa, Coastal region from San Francisco to Mendocino
-brownstones architecture in Chicago
-Kauai
-Daintree rainforest in Cairns, Australia
-rice fields in Bali
-Paris, more wow with every visit (been there 5 times)
-eastern end of Crete
-Egypt: Luxor and Hurghada (first time scuba diving in clear sapphire blue water with 200 ft visibility)
-All of Switzerland
-Florence, Lake Como, Bergamo, Capri, Amalfi Coast, Ambrosiana Museum in Milan, Italy
-Coullioure and Carcassonne, France
-Amsterdam, especially from canal tour, great architecture
-Bruges
-Yangzte river cruise, Old Town Shanghai, Beijing, China
-the British museum in London
-the Caribbean especially Saba, Playa St. Martin in Cozumel (only that beach), St. Bart, Eleuthera.
-Bora Bora


Biggest wow: white water rafting in Nepal on the way from Kathmandu to Chitwan jungle and Pokhara. Elephant ride to hunt (with camera) black rhinos in the Chitwan jungle.

not wow:

Athens
Pisa
Germany (so far)
Bangkok
Karachi, Pakistan (Big Not Wow!!)
Nassau, Bahamas
Papeete, Tahiti
St. Thomas

picnic & kiss @ La Tour Effel @ 18
Swan Lake performed outside the Louvre
Rome then and now
Venice X3
lucy vincent beach- chilmark, mass.
yosemite
Utah mountain wildflowers
Lake O'hare- Canadian Rockies
Sailing into Bora Bora
Snorkeling off ocean reef in Fiji
Bangkok
Southern shore of Crete

NOT WOW:
Palermo, Sicily
London with no $$$
Moorea
Athens (just a short stay)

Wow:
Siam Reap
Railey Beach-including a private day on a junk beach hopping and snorkling with a chef on-board
The service at The Oriental Bangkok
Sunrise at Haleakala
Hana Maui
Lake Powell on a houseboat
Driving the PCH from SF to San Diego
Skiing in 3 feet of powder at Grand Targhee after a 6 hour drive from hell in a blinding snowstorm

Not:
Paradise Island

WOWS
The beaches of Anguilla

The first sight of Venice after exiting the train station

Interlaken, Switzerland

Frieberg, Germany

The Romantic Road, Germany

Dingle, Ireland

The North Coast of Ireland

Muir Woods and Highway 1, N. Coast of California

The Golden Gate Bridge

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado

Islands off the coast of Washington State & Pueget Sound

Top Wows
Alaska (the entire state)
Bagan (Mynamar)
Bago (Mynamar)
*Myanmar as a whole was wow-able back in 1996
Canadian Rockies
Florence
Grand Canyon
Kanchenjunga (Sikkim, India)
Mongolia (but not Ulan Bator)
Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona
Taj Mahal (India, but see below)
Tianshan mountains (Urumqi, China)
Varanasi
Venice
Yangshuo (China)


Thailand will always be special - my first trip to Asia

Absolute Least Favorite Places (not really 'not wows' - more like **shudder** **avoid at all costs**)
-Agra (India)
-Siliguri (W. Bengal India)
-Surathanni (Thailand)
-Zhengzhou (China)