Do you agree with this? Have there been times when a place has disappointed you because it wasn’t what you had imagined?

For the most part, I am not disappointed when I visit a new place. But there are often challenges that threaten to affect my enjoyment, such as:

• The place I was looking forward to visiting is packed with tourists.
• The place I was looking forward to visiting is packed with tourist stalls which spoil the ambiance.
• The place I was looking forward to visiting no longer exists.
• The weather is crap the entire time.
• I feel ill, or tired, or stressed.
• An event occurs (a robbery, a terrible storm) that clouds my memory of the visit.

So what can be done?

As with everything in life, it is mostly us who control how we feel or react. We can resolve to have a bad time, or we can pull our socks up and make the most of things.

• When it rains: play games, visit museums and galleries, take an umbrella and go out anyway
• When the tourists are swarming: get out earlier, laugh it off, make friends, or get off the beaten track
• When the hawkers are in your face selling t-shirts: politely but firmly decline (unless you want one) and move on
• When the coveted cafe or nook has clearly been bulldozed for a shopping complex: shrug and seek out some other local haunts
• When the place just doesn’t look like the postcards/guidebook promised: lighten up. Try and ‘discover’ things rather than visiting all the usual suspects
• When you get sick: hrm, it’s hard to make the most of this one. Don’t push through it; give in, look after yourself and cross your fingers it’s a 24-hour thing.
• You get robbed: it is stressful and horrible. Report it to the police, keep safe, try and keep going. Don’t let it be your only holiday memory.

Do you find the anticipation of a trip beats the reality? Have you ever overcome a seemingly bad situation and still had a great holiday?

I come from New Zealand, and I think most people who’ve been there would agree it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world.

(Image courtesy of TravelWizard.com)

But for me, one of the unexpected beautiful places was the town of Bled, in Slovenia. I was there in 2004, and took the photo below.

It doesn’t really do the place justice. You can see the church on an island in the middle of a huge lake, which is surrounded by the Julian Alps and has an old castle perched overlooking the scene. The colors changed every day, depending on the weather, and it was so peaceful and romantic.

Where’s the most beautiful place you’ve seen?