Noise, chaos and fire in Las Terrenas

[mondongo]

It amazes me what ordinarily intelligent people expect....... when they pay $35/night for beachfront accomodations in the Caribbean. Let me suggest the Four Season's in Nevis...great food...great service....many languages spoken....the staff is educated: Bachelor, Master's degrees...the locals leave you alone...you can go to the local market and no motoconchos...no hustlers..everything you are looking for...

...oh...and by the way....you'll have to fork over $550 per night. Hope this was helpful.

[miguel]

Originally Posted by mondongo

It amazes me what ordinarily intelligent people expect....... when they pay $35/night for beachfront accomodations in the Caribbean. Let me suggest the Four Season's in Nevis...great food...great service....many languages spoken....the staff is educated: Bachelor, Master's degrees...the locals leave you alone...you can go to the local market and no motoconchos...no hustlers..everything you are looking for...

...oh...and by the way....you'll have to fork over $550 per night. Hope this was helpful.

You are 1,000% right.

[Voyager]

First:

This board is about DR, so I will be very brief about Languedoc. This is not on the traditional French Riviera. Languedoc lies west of Marseille. It is the tourist spot for "ordinary people", people like me. If you go off season, you can rent a vacation apartment close to the beach for something like 350 EUROS per week. That is only 175 EUROS each, for me and my girlfriend. I am sure many people can afford that. If you live in the UK, I am sure you can spend a cheaper vacation in the south of France than in DR, providing you do smart planning. I am now thinking total cost. Okey,enough about France!

(Mondongo mentioned $550 per night in Four Seasons in Nevis!? You mean US dollars??? In DR!? Wow! Who would pay that kind of money in DR? I would NEVER pay that! I can't afford it! By comparison, last month, I spent a week in Dubai. I stayed in a 5 star hotel and I paid US$ 120 per night. As I said, you have to plan these things!)

Second:

About languages and "when in Rome" and all that. Of course it is great to be able to speak the local language to wherever you go!

However... I did a calculation of the number of countries I have visited and the number of native languages spoken there. I came up with 18 different languages! To be honest, I don't think it is reasonable to ask that I should learn to speak 18 languages to be able to travel!!!

I would never expect a visitor to my native country in northern Europe to speak my native language.

But okey, you win! I hereby give in and I will make a serious attempt to learn to communicate in Spanish! Does that effort entitle me to a free crate of cold Presidentes?

[Barnabe]

This guy is nuts.

Go back to languedoc and stop that pretentious BS.

Barnabé

[Voyager]

Originally Posted by Barnabe

This guy is nuts.

Go back to languedoc and stop that pretentious BS.

Barnabé

Hm? I like your subtle nuances...

[Barnabe]

it doesn't surprise me, you're such a smart, clever, sophisticated guy, Mr Lonely Planet-Guide du Routard.

Have a nice time in Palavas (off season)

Barnabé

[xiv]

I am travelling in June to Samana, and enjoyed this forum very much for the valuable information I could gather.

But I must say.. I noticed that as soon as someone "dares" to post something negative about the DR. He is getting lynched (figuratively speaking).

It is normal that some "unlucky" tourists have bad experiences visiting a country. I believe it is important to listen carefully to the good and bad experiences and learn from it. Me, being a tourist, will not change my mind of visiting a country if I hear good and bad comments. On the contrary.. I would have found it suspicious to hear just positive remarks about the DR.

It is important to understand that criticism is not always destructive. I guess that many people on this forum love their country very much and are proud of it, and can get irritated hearing negative comments. But it is important to realize that telling someone off (or insulting him) because he honestly is giving out his opinion will not help this forum or the opinion people will have about your country.

I will come to visit Samana in June and hope I will enjoy it like 95% of the users of this forum do

[Forbeca]

[QUOTE=xiv]I am travelling in June to Samana, and enjoyed this forum very much for the valuable information I could gather.

But I must say.. I noticed that as soon as someone "dares" to post something negative about the DR. He is getting lynched (figuratively speaking).

It is normal that some "unlucky" tourists have bad experiences visiting a country. I believe it is important to listen carefully to the good and bad experiences and learn from it. Me, being a tourist, will not change my mind of visiting a country if I hear good and bad comments. On the contrary.. I would have found it suspicious to hear just positive remarks about the DR.

It is important to understand that criticism is not always destructive. I guess that many people on this forum love their country very much and are proud of it, and can get irritated hearing negative comments. But it is important to realize that telling someone off (or insulting him) because he honestly is giving out his opinion will not help this forum or the opinion people will have about your country.





It's a matter of how you come across the board. Some people are not very diplomatic, they go on and on about the DR and in their tirade, do not stop to think that this is a Dominican forum and, inasmuch as they have a right to post their unfortunate trip experience, some dominicans may take offense to the harsh and crude language. At times, Dominicans are also guilty, they fail to realize the frustration the poster feels and immediately take offense at what is being said; knowing full well that all the hassles and inconveniences the poster suffered could not be imagined, who on earth is going to make up such tales! we all know it has happened from time to time, so why take it so personal?

We all love the DR and sometimes feel very protective of it, I understand, but sometimes we can be a little unfair and in the process forget what we're here for. To give advice and not to judge.

[suarezn]

Originally Posted by Voyager

First:

I would never expect a visitor to my native country in northern Europe to speak my native language.

But okey, you win! I hereby give in and I will make a serious attempt to learn to communicate in Spanish! Does that effort entitle me to a free crate of cold Presidentes?

I'm glad you recognize that you should not expect people to learn your language. If you DO make an effort to try to learn a little bit of spanish (if you already speak French it should be relatively easy), I will buy you a few Presidentes - If I'm not down there I'm sure some of these guys could oblige. Like I said, try Las Galeras and Playa Rincon and see how you like it (A whole different animal).

Xiv: I suggest you also try Playa Rincon, if you're going to Samana. Don't expect a lot of restaurants and tourist attractions around, though, but definitely one of the best beaches you'll ever see.

[Captdavid]

Originally Posted by Barnabe

it doesn't surprise me, you're such a smart, clever, sophisticated guy, Mr Lonely Planet-Guide du Routard.

Have a nice time in Palavas (off season)

Barnabé

Boy, there is a lot of pent up anger in you, Barnabe. You should seek therapy.

Is it because deep inside you really know that everything negative that's being said is the truth? Don't take it personnally, the guy is not attacking you.

I am Dominican and would like to see this medium being used in a way that the DR could benefit from. For starters, it would be nice if a "clean the country" campaign could be organized. But it has to start by educating the people. And how do we do this? It hurts to see my country in such shambles.

Corky