Switzerland was the rudest (so far)! Specifically the German speaking part.

I went on a school trip there when I was 11 and cashiers/shop workers showed absolutely no signs of warmth or friendliness. The worst interaction I had was when I accidentally bought two of the same metal walking stick badge (they were stuck together and I didn't realise until after I'd bought them), and the gift shop flat-out refused to give me a refund for the second badge. Basically just made a face at me and shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "Tough, now f**k off".

I've always wondered why people working in shops in Switzerland were such bastards because I've met and befriended lots of Swiss people since (from the German, French *and* Italian parts) and all of them were absolutely lovely. I've flown with Swiss Air, they were great, and transferred through Zurich Airport which was also great...

Were me and my other 11 year old classmates unknowingly committing cultural faux-pas? Are kids expected to be quiet and whisper in shops and not talk at a "kid volume"? Was it the fact that we were visibly and audibly English and couldn't speak German? Are kids going out and about without parents/on large school group trips with teachers not the done thing? Are refunds not really a thing, and by extension, you're thought to be a c**t if you try to change your order/items that you buy at the last minute? Is Swiss culture funny about the exchanging of money generally?

I've never understood what went wrong on that trip.

As a young woman- Florence, Italy. Spent three months there in college.

First of all, you could feel the nasty demeanor the second you get off the train from any other town, very similar to a NYC vibe. Not in and of itself the deal breaker here though.

The issue was that I have never had SO MANY r*pey and violating things happen anywhere else. Walking around was *relatively* ok, it was Friday/Saturday night activities that were the most problematic. I’d be out with a group of women, and hordes of men would surround and try to grope us. Every weekend. I once had a man come up behind me and put his drink to my mouth. It was regular practice to have to pull friends away from handsy men or literally shove the men away when they didn’t respond to “NO.” Many of us just stopped going out unless our male friends were with us. It became too much work to constantly protect ourselves and each other.

Outside of the weekends, you’d still get the creeper yelling (or worse, whispering) “ciao, bella” and following you across the plaza.

This all happened enough times that to this day, I get ANGRY whenever I see a touristy t-shirt that says “ciao, bella,” because that phrase dredges up memories all the violating behavior, and why the f**k would I want a shirt with the worst pick-up line in the world on it.

Kuwait is a f*****g cesspool.

penswright:

From Kuwait, Seriously don’t come here. There’s absolutely nothing special to do here that you can’t do literally anywhere else.
The lack of entertainment in the country is a huge issue, it’s the reason why we lead in obesity rates and why people don’t like going outside. Also if there’s a concert or a new mall opening, good luck going, if the traffic doesn’t kill you, the crowds will.

I love Italy, but Rome was not great for me. There was an overwhelming amount of shady people trying to take advantage of tourists. The local we were with warned us not to carry any valuables to any touristy spots because there was a 100% chance someone would try and pickpocket us.

One evening, a group of dudes followed me around for almost an hour, harassing me because I was a teenage boy with long hair, which must have meant to them that I was gay (I'm not, but that didn't matter to them). 4 grown-a*s adults following around a teenage boy hurling insults in broken english. I was pretty terrified and have since had an appreciation for some of the challenges gay people have to deal with just for being themselves.

One dude at a train station tried to forcibly 'help' my mom carry her luggage (aka run off with it).

When we visited the coliseum, a lady threw a bracelet at my sister then started yelling at her, saying she was a thief and demanding she pay for it.

Also, driving in Rome was terrifying - courtesy on the road does not exist there, and everyone drives extremely aggressively. I saw a guy in a van hit someone on a vespa, lean out the window and yell at him, then drive off. The vespa guy just got up and left as if it were a regular occurrence.

Absolutely a beautiful country and most of the people were lovely, but a person without 'street smarts' could have a bad time there. This was all more than 20 years ago though, so it may be different now.

Qatar. Slavery is basically legal.

Never leave the hotel in Egypt as an underaged girl without your parents. Even if you're with them you probably will be followed and hit on by older creeps, but they won't do anything when you're not alone.

PhiloPhocion:

The harassment is out of control. My first visit was with family and there were people calling out the lewdest comments about my literally 10 year old sister and our mum. Second visit in my early 20s was with a group of friends including two women, who were physically grabbed or touched by strangers saying lewd comments if we weren't literally standing shoulder to shoulder with them.
The scamming and conning is also out of control. Scams are everywhere, including in areas that most tourists would think are relatively safe (i.e. scammers working on official areas around major tourist sites, even sometimes right at the doors of official areas dressed in pseudo official uniforms, with no pushback from officials). And even officials themselves - I can't tell you the number of friends I've had who have had some form of having cameras or electronics seized by customs for no reason or 'spot check passport reviews' where your passport is taken unless you can pay the cop some pocket money.
I absolutely loved Egypt - its food, its sites, and most of its people are incredible warm and welcoming. But holy hell it makes it hard to love sometimes.
It gets a little better outside of Cairo but I advise literally everyone going to mentally prepare themselves and if they don't know anyone there already, to just hire a guide to at least help avoid the worst of the harassment and scams.