What's your favourite city?
I'm going to be a little Eurocentric here because, other than a very brief visits to Israel (which might as well be Europe) and Egypt as a child, I've never been anywhere else - but my choices are...
Manchester (UK) - it has everything London has (plus a really good vegan restaurant) but the people aren't assholes.
Hamburg (Germany) - especially the St. Pauli which, apart from from the Reeperbahn (I didn't explore down there) is what all city districts would be like if everyone had the same politics as me (and come the Glorious Revolution, they better had).
Prague (Czech Republic; but Czechoslovakia when I went there) - just so stupidly, ridiculously beautiful.
Salzburg (Austria) - see "Prague". Also benefits from the fact that, unlike much of Austria, not everyone who lives there is a fascist.
Rotterdam (Netherlands) - what happens if everyone does what they want, but remembers not to annoy anyone else.
Frankfurt (Germany) - a second entry for Germany, which is my favourite country. Go anywhere in Frankfurt, sit on a bench, close your eyes and listen: it sounds like Kraftwerk.
Bilbao (Euskadi) - the Basques. 'Nuff said.
Barcelona (Spain) - Gaudi.
Sydney, Australia
Songkhla, Thailand (where I currently live)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Edinburgh. I got to spend a few days there and fell in love with the place.
Prague and Barcelona sound like places I would like to go
Probably have to be Amsterdam. Lived in The Netherlands for a a few years when i was younger- Have always regretted leaving, never had the right opportunity to return.
Amsters is too commercialised...my daughter called it 'pot smoking porn land' when she was about 12 (she wasn't impressed!)
@Amisja yeah I agree with that as a visitors impression. But most cities have their 'tacky end'. This one has a lot of good stuff too that is well worth digging for. Mind you, I lived in Holland back in the eighties- have only made very brief visits since then, and even my friends bewail the changes!
San Francisco, Ca. Everything you could possibly want ... and some shit that you've never heard about that you now embrace.
A friend of mine moved there a few years back after getting a job with Wikia - having spent his life growing up gay in small and very conservative English town. Needless to say, he's been having lots of fun.
I enjoyed Munich very much, it amazes me that I wandered around that city alone and on foot at 20ish. But it was a different time. I enjoyed Seattle as well, and Bahstun. And DC. I need to go back to DC, there are still museums I haven't seen. I think I will wait til Drumpf is no longer there.
Bangkok, Thailand tops my list for many reasons:
First of all, the people that I have interacted with in Thailand have been, with very rare exception, warm and welcoming. I'm sure there are instances which buck the trend as in any country. You kind of sound like one of these folks, and I'd be perfectly fine NOT to make your acquaintance when I'm visiting, as it seems you would have no interested in making mine.
As for the scam artists who prey on the tourists in Bangkok, Chaing Mai and the beach front areas, yes they do exist. They likely leave you alone because you are not a tourist.
And I've had a 30 baht meal in the slum areas of Bangkok. I find the food to be simple but incredibly delicious, and I much prefer it to the fancy restaurants in Terminal 21 or Mah Bon Krong or any other touristy spots along Sukhumvit or Kosan Road, although the various insect delicacies loved by Thai people have never agreed with my pallet.
As for the dark skinned women who come south from areas like Isaan to date and possibly marry western men, you'll have to ask them about the racism issue. As far as I can tell, much as I love Thailand and Thai culture, the attitudes towards dark skinned people aren't exactly a strong suit. But what do I know? I'm just a farang.
Cuernavaca, Mexico. la ciudad de la eterna primavera.
Sydney, Australia & Buenos Aires, Argentina.
All of the above, I also LOVE Singapore...I know it can be vile but I love the people, KL, HK of course. In USA El Paso and San Diego. Canada...hmmm Toronto. However, I am a small town north of England girl...Oswaldtwistle cannot be beat!
Amsterdam. Looking at the pictures, it seems I had a good time!
Bangkok, no doubt.... Hot weather, crazy lovely super nice people. Awesome place, surprisingly friendly for such a big city
Hated Bangkok been loads. Seeing tiny little girls with old western men ruined it. Oh and despite the death penalty, I never saw so many drugs