20 stupid questions asked by tourists
- Thread starter Captain Shaw
- Start date
I have had a dumb tourist moment of my own, many years ago. Not really a touristy dumb moment as it was a business trip, but a dumb moment nonetheless.
I was in Dublin with a colleague (I'm sharing the blame here, it was a collective cock-up
) and after lunch, we were trying to find the location of our next meeting. This was the late '90s, and it was only the second trip I'd ever made to Dublin. As we were a bit lost, we decided to get a taxi - "take us to our destination," we told the taxi driver. "Ok lads, jump in" he said, grinning. He drove around the corner and stopped. "Here you go lads" he said. Grrr. Grinning bastard. 5 punts that cost. Luckily it was on expenses.
I was in Dublin with a colleague (I'm sharing the blame here, it was a collective cock-up
) and after lunch, we were trying to find the location of our next meeting. This was the late '90s, and it was only the second trip I'd ever made to Dublin. As we were a bit lost, we decided to get a taxi - "take us to our destination," we told the taxi driver. "Ok lads, jump in" he said, grinning. He drove around the corner and stopped. "Here you go lads" he said. Grrr. Grinning bastard. 5 punts that cost. Luckily it was on expenses. 
The flip side of this, of course, is when locals go out of their way to be complete assholes to anyone who asks a question. Whenever I'm in New York and need to ask directions, I always phrase it this way:
"Excuse me, sir, can you tell me how to get to the Museum of Modern Art, or should I just go fuck myself?
Whenever I'm in New York and need to ask directions, I always phrase it this way: "Excuse me, sir, can you tell me how to get to the Museum of Modern Art, or should I just go fuck myself?
Just FYI, Dallas/Fort Worth is the fourth largest city in the U.S., after New York, LA and Chicago. Houston is No. 6.
I was there for work 3 years ago, not expecting to have time to see the sights, but finished up much earlier than expected. I had the better part of a day to kill... I'm glad I didn't ask that question if it's considered dumb!
It was a bitterly cold and windy morning, I didn't have a warm enough jacket, and I opted to hop back on the train home rather than sight see properly (without a map or any clue what to see and do there). I wish the day had been nicer, it would have made a nice opportunity to see the city properly.
Interestingly enough, the midwestern (often specifically Nebraska, iirc) accent is the what many think of as the generic neutral American accent. It's the one that is encouraged for television news broadcasts. So, for Americans who think they don't have an accent, blame television and radio
^ Yep, every accent has to come from somewhere. I do not think this should have any meaning or personality traits attached to it though. Not so long ago, the BBC "standard" used to be the queen's English, which is more of an evolved German accent. Accents don't mean much, especially since even families within the same household, who have spent a lifetime in the same city may say a significant number of words slightly differently... you really can't judge a book by its cover.
I also would be lost if someone told me to head "east", especially if the sun is in the middle of the sky in a foreign city... how the hell am I supposed to know which side it bloody rose from? I think only a compass could sort that situation out. I know where it sets and rises in my city due to landmarks - not so easy in a foreign city, especially if you haven't been paying attention.
I also would be lost if someone told me to head "east", especially if the sun is in the middle of the sky in a foreign city... how the hell am I supposed to know which side it bloody rose from? I think only a compass could sort that situation out. I know where it sets and rises in my city due to landmarks - not so easy in a foreign city, especially if you haven't been paying attention.
Here's some fairly common ones about New Mexico that I've encountered:
"Do I need a passport to go to New Mexico [This from an American]?"
"Is it safe to drink the water?"
"Do I have to be Catholic to go the Mass Ascension [an event in a hot air balloon celebration]?"
And my favorite:
"Roadrunners aren't mythological??"
"Do I need a passport to go to New Mexico [This from an American]?"
"Is it safe to drink the water?"
"Do I have to be Catholic to go the Mass Ascension [an event in a hot air balloon celebration]?"
And my favorite:
"Roadrunners aren't mythological??"
My parents live in the old part of town, just around the corner from H. C. Andersen's house (which is a museum), all houses in that area were turned from 'slum' to one of the most expensive parts of town sometime in the (nineteen) seventies and do look rather nice and postcard'y:
Sometimes it's actually very difficult to not laugh when you get a comment/question along the lines of "Are you closing now?" or "Oh, people live here?" when you walk out the front door -- Most such comments come from US-Americans -and I blame Disney!
Sometimes it's actually very difficult to not laugh when you get a comment/question along the lines of "Are you closing now?" or "Oh, people live here?" when you walk out the front door -- Most such comments come from US-Americans -and I blame Disney!
I was there for work 3 years ago, not expecting to have time to see the sights, but finished up much earlier than expected. I had the better part of a day to kill... I'm glad I didn't ask that question if it's considered dumb!
Don't worry, most of us are very polite in our put-down to befuddled tourists.
(if you're in the area again and have some advance notice, drop me a PM and I'll show you the sights. I'll even find the university for you...
)
^ I suspect what you meant is that the university/colleges are at several different locations, and the tourist would have to specify which one they were interested in...? I have the same problem with students and the local university and teaching hospital, which are on a number of different roads... I ask which they're after, they give me a completely blank look, so I have to ask them to show me the map, if they've been provided with one, which they usually haven't! If it's the morning, and they have a map, I'm usually timing myself to get to some unknown place in a hurry myself, so I have to let them literally get lost (although how you can get lost with a map, I don't know!).
If I get sent out to Oxford again, I'll let you know! Although I predominently work within London, and it is rare that I get sent to another city (usually only if by some weird happenstance the client has been tranferred in the middle of a case). Over the years, this has happened a few times... and I always enjoy it as I get to see what's what on someone else's time.
If I get sent out to Oxford again, I'll let you know! Although I predominently work within London, and it is rare that I get sent to another city (usually only if by some weird happenstance the client has been tranferred in the middle of a case). Over the years, this has happened a few times... and I always enjoy it as I get to see what's what on someone else's time.
^ yeah, that's pretty much it. There is no real "University" building I can point you to since there's no specific campus. I guess I could direct you to the admin offices in Wellington Square, but I really doubt you'd want to see those...
It's all integrated into the fabric of the city across multiple dedicated locations. The usual polite reply to tourists is thus either "look around you" or "you're standing in it".
As for getting lost, with or without a map... well, that's why I thank the lord for the satnav on my phone, and a pedestrian mode for it. Very useful in London, for occasional visitors like me.
It's all integrated into the fabric of the city across multiple dedicated locations. The usual polite reply to tourists is thus either "look around you" or "you're standing in it".
As for getting lost, with or without a map... well, that's why I thank the lord for the satnav on my phone, and a pedestrian mode for it. Very useful in London, for occasional visitors like me.
When I saw Buckingham Palace, I thought-ok, so it looks like an office building. I was more impressed with the gates and everything around it than the actual building itself.
Yeah, I think the house itself is actually more functional in its outer appearance... the summer tours of the internal wings opened to the public had some good reviews though. The surroundings however, which include the statues, gardens, trees, flowers, swans, and varied wildlife, as well as the household cavalry and guards which are attached to the grounds, help to create a better general effect, I think. You have to take it all in its entirety. If they had built themselves a doubly ornate Taj Mahal in the middle of the city, at the delicate time Buckingham Palace was built, there may not have been a monarchy remaining to speak of today!
