- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
Comments (0)
Print
Save/Share
In his new book The Tao of Travel (which we recently touted), Paul Theroux has a list of places with names that sound better in one's imagination than in real life.
Some of Theroux's examples and his descriptions:
Timbuktu: "dust, hideous hotels, unreliable transport, freeloaders, pestering people, garbage heaps everywhere, poisonous food."Marseille: "just a short walk from the pretty harbour are sullen neighborhoods of public housing, tenements, refugees and bewildered immigrants, with no one saying, 'Bienvenue'."
Mandalay: "an enormous grid of dusty streets occupied by dispirited and oppressed Burmese, and policed by a military tyranny."
Personally, I found Bethlehem, Pa., and Mystic, Conn., to be disappointing, given the associations in my mind with those evocative names.
What about with you? Where are the places that turned out to be better in your imagination than in real life?
MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL
8 Common Air Travel Snafus (And How to Beat Them)
User reviews and comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions.
